Battles that get you every time

Firefox had a pretty good idea: make one person makes one new thread every day. And then we discuss. While the current political climate in the states is always as volatile as ever, mayhaps we should move discussions back to our roots- anime and manga based.

In that light, explain what battle in what anime/manga was your favorite and why. If you can drop an eps number, great. It doesn't necessarily have to be a violent fight, it could be a battle of wills or of the mind.

Post! Chat! Discuss! I'll follow up with my own in a little bit.

~W

 

Hmm ironic. I just posted about a fight i found particularly interesting.

BUT i think that the battle i find most interesting is probably Sekigahara.

October 21st, 1600. A battle that would set the stage for 264 years of Japanese History.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi had unified Japan, his leadership and control of Japan had been ultimate, but his attempted invasions of Korea had gone poorly, and significantly weakened the Toyotomi Clan. Strife soon erupted and split the clan in two. Despite Hideyoshi and his brothers attempts to keep the clan unified, upon their deaths, the clan fell apart. Hideyoshi's young son Hideyori would take over, but coming from peasent stock, as his fater did, he would never be accepted as Shogun. Ishida Mitsunari, a politician of the Toyotomi's would seize power, and soon the entire country was on the edge of war.

Within the Toyotomi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, once the hostage prisoner of the Imagawa clan, and once close ally to Oda Nobunaga, and then Toyotomi Hideyoshi, began to consolidate power. Ishida Mitsunari took control of one faction, leaving Ieyasu in charge of the other.

Mitsunari began to make plans to fight Ieyasu, gathering Otani Yoshitsugu, Mashita Nagamori, and Ankokuji Ekei to his side. On July 19th, he declared war upon Tokugawa and seiged Fushimi Castle, controlled by Torii Mototada, a Tokugawa retainer. In Edo, Ieyasu got news of the battle and sent forth some former Toyotomi Daimyo that had allied themselves to the Tokugawa to combat them. His son Tokugawa Hidetada marched the Tokaido, with some 38,000 troops but met with resistant from Sanada Masayuki, a genius strategist. Despite having only 2000 men, his position was well fortified, and he held off Hidetada for days, delaying his march to Sekigahara.

Finally, on September 15th, 1600, both sides began to deploy troops onto the field of battle. Tokugawa's forces numbered 88,888 men, while Ishida Mitsunari had some 81,890 men. Despite a overwhelming tactical advantage over Ieyasu, the western army commanded by Ishida soon met with resistance. Ieyasu had offered many Western Daimyo leniency and even land should they ally with him. Two such Daimyo were Kikkawa Hiroie and Kobayakawa Hideaki. They were in such a position, that should they attack, they would have surrounded Ieyasu on three sides, but believing that Tokugawa would ultimately be victorious, they both allied themselves. Hiroie's men were at the front of the Mori Army, and he claimed that fog obscured his ability to move forward, backing up the army behind his men, and kept them from attacking. Hideaki was unsure of his decision and remained neutral until Ieyasu ordered his men to open fire on his position to force them to make a desicion. He joined Tokugawa and turned his forces on Otani Yoshitsugu. Soon, other commanders followed suit, and the tide of battle turned against Ishida Mitsunari. At the battle's end, Tokugawa had taken some 30,000 heads, including Ishida Mitsunari, whose head was displayed publicly in Kyoto.

This battle, would shape the course of history, as Tokugawa Ieyasu now held the country in his hands, and in 1603 began the Tokugawa Shogunate, being named Seitaii Shogun, the ultimate ruler in Japan.

It is then, with some irony, that some of the clans displaced at Sekigahara, would ultimately lead to the downfall of the Tokugawa during the Bakumatsu.

 

Both of you have such good ones.

Mine is the battle between Light and L. Battle of wits my favorite type of battle. I liked everything they did. Light trying not to get caught but also being friendly with L. L trying to prove that Light is Kira. The way they died was brilliant.

BTW death note is looking to be made into a live action USA based movie. Warner Bros. picked it up.

 

Hrm... another battle to discuss!

This battle, is more an internal struggle.

So lets begin,

A young boy, merely 6 years old, the son of farmers who died from Cholera that was sweeping the nation of Japan. Sold into slavery, he would befriend a group of girls, and come to think of them as his sisters, people he could give his love to. Until one night, while crossing a field, they're besieged by bandits, ronin looking for money. As they're attacked, Shinta, the only boy in the group would take up a sword, in a futile attempt to protect these girls. They grabbed him and tried to protect him, begging for them to spare the young child, and he sat, and watched these girls be butchered. Left alone, the bandits raised their blades to kill him, until a passing swordsman, would strike them all down with little trouble, and leave the boy there, telling him to live.

With no where else to go, and no where to turn, Shinta buries the bodies, of both the slave traders and the ronin. The next day the swordsmen returns, to bury the bodies himself, stating that in the turbulent times its the least he can do. He steps into the field, to find crudely made wooden crosses, scattered around the field. The boy he saved stands before a group of three stones. When he asks him about the burials he says "Once theyve died, they're just bodies, no longer slavers, or bandits".

The swordsman, Hiko Seijurou, observes a deep passion for life, and a purity in the boy. Along with a strong desire to be strong, to make up for the lives he couldnt save. Hiko takes the boy under his wing, and renames him "Kenshin" meaning "heart of the sword". As the boy grows, Hiko trains him in the art of the sword, teaching him an ancient style of Kenjutsu known as "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu". Kenshin becomes an extremely strong swordsmen, but as the slow decay of Edo Life begins to come to a head in the Bakumatsu, Kenshin desires to leave. He believes that his strength can be used to save those who are suffering, those who need help. Hiko warns him that if he goes to help, eventually he will have to take sides, and that will lead him to conflict, with himself.

Hiko refers to him as "Baka Deshi" or stupid student, telling him he should remain and focus on his training, but knows that his purity will lead him away, no matter what he does, and releases him from his training. The boy, now a man, wanders into a training camp of the Kiheitai. There his skill with the sword catches the eyes of Takasugi Shinsaku, the leader of the Kiheitai, and Katsura Kogoro, the leader of the Choshuu Faction of the Ishin Shishi. Katsura talks to the boy, and knowing that for the world to change, the old must die, asks him to become an assassin for the Ishin Shishi.

Truly believing that by killing those in power, he can change the world, Kenshin sets out on a path of bloodshed, his sword stained with those of the old world, in hope that the new world can be built. Despite the blood path he walks, Kenshin's purity remains. But a conflict grows...