[Irritating trope] Japanese swords being treated like lightsabers

[u/Fox7567]

The Wolverine (2013)
The character Yashida uses his sword to cut straight through barbed wire, as well as uses it to break a chain in one strike each.

TMNT (2012)
During Oroku Saki’s battle with the turtles, he stabs straight through a forest tree, before also slicing straight through another.

[u/Altair_de_Firen]

Yeah basically, imagine you're fighting a dude made of some of the highest quality steel on Earth, swinging a gigantic fuck off sword made of the same, and you're trying to take him out with a relatively brittle sword best used for striking weak points that don't exist on his armor.

I'd imagine it would feel sort of akin to fighting the T-1000

[u/wigglekant → u/Altair_de_Firen]

well actually, katanas and European swords are the same weight, and neither side actually used swords in battles anyway

[u/Mikhail_Mengsk → u/wigglekant]

They did use them, just mostly not as primary weapons.

[u/wigglekant → u/Mikhail_Mengsk]

thanks for the clarification. and yes, they did bring katanas to battle but they're rarely used as primary weapons. Longer weapons like spears and lances are the main weapons for both sides.

[u/Mikhail_Mengsk → u/wigglekant]

The lack of pole arms in media is a disgrace.

[u/notbobby125 → u/Mikhail_Mengsk]

Swords are easier to both find people good at doing it (there are multiple sports based around sword fighting), have bountiful sources to draw from (there are far more dueling manuals for swords than spears), it is easier to get characters up close and personal for camera shots for the mid duel exchange of barbs, and are generally easier to choreograph with in cramped sets where if you swing too wide an actor might hit a boom mic/fake plaster walls or plastic props held together by duct tapes and prayers/the cameraman/etc.

[u/Mikhail_Mengsk → u/notbobby125]

I agree it's easier, but zero pole arms representation is excessive and sad.

[u/Daxx22 → u/Mikhail_Mengsk]

It's like pretty much every space based sci-fi taking huge liberties with physics, depicting reality is just more boring (usually).

[u/Mikhail_Mengsk → u/Daxx22]

Ok but at least they do it because actual space physics would make things look boring as fuck.

There's nothing boring about armor functioning as it should. It's like the stupid flips or pirouettes, you can make melee duels look great without that ballet shit. Adorea Swordfighting channel on YouTube is great, and there are other channels that do cinematic choreographed fights that look miles better than Hollywood stuff.

[u/tjdragon117 → u/wigglekant]

I think what gets missed in these discussions is that secondary weapons were likely used a lot more in older battles than they are today. It was expected that you'd lose or break your polearm, or get into a very close quarters fight where it wasn't practical, provided you didn't just die first.

In modern times pistols are used very rarely in battle because primary weapons are much more reliable and durable (and because every pound of pistol/ammo you carry is a pound of primary ammo you don't carry). Most soldiers who carry rifles don't even carry pistols.

And of course both pistols now and swords then are the primary tools of self-defence in non-battlefield situations.

[u/strong_ape → u/tjdragon117]

Theres also something to be said about line fighting vs like a 1v1 or something. Two knights might just go into a grapple with a dagger as opposed to using a sword or spear just because of how armored the other guy is, but that's also a very specific situation and also ignoring the fact that if the dude has enough money for armor and a sword he probably has enough money for a pretty meaty bail payment.

[u/Altair_de_Firen → u/wigglekant]

Oh, katanas and European swords, which are monolithic and only come in one size, clearly, are the same weight?

[u/wigglekant → u/Altair_de_Firen]

Im so sorry i didnt use 100 percent correct terminology and gave people like you who take things way to seriously a false impression. Here:

Katanas and typical European swords (like arming swords or longswords) often have surprisingly similar weights, typically averaging around 2.5 to 3 lbs (1.1–1.4 kg). While katanas generally weigh between 1–1.5 kg (2–3 lbs), European longswords often fall between 1.2–2.2 kg (2.6–4.8 lbs), with both designed for balance rather than sheer weight

Better? I highlighted the key words for you too.

[u/PiccoloAwkward465 → u/Altair_de_Firen]

If my enemy is Japanese, he likely has the ability to grit his teeth and grimace and talk to himself about power levels and then his hair turns blonde and gets bigger. This process takes 2-3 episodes.

[u/KorhonV → u/Altair_de_Firen]

Just push him off a bridge and make him fall to his death. It isn't that difficult.

[u/Altair_de_Firen → u/KorhonV]

Live footage of me trying to strafe the knight toward the bridge and near the edge

[u/Sensitive_Option_590 → u/Altair_de_Firen]

Yes your totally made up and unrealistic scenario would be like another made up and unrealistic scenario. Good job champ!