FourthWall
Love & Destroy
- Location
- Chiraq
You do disservice to his ultimate secret technique: 'what if I punch you very very fast, many times'.
Capitalism ho! Let's Read Kengan Asura
- Thread starter Manic Dogma
- Start date
- Discussion Manga
- Location
- Surrey
...Remember when Kuroki thought he had Rei all figured out and paid for his hubris? Turns out he actually did have him all figured out, and he was just being polite by letting Rei think his attacks actually mattered.
In fact, that seems to be a running theme with Kuroki's matches. He thinks his opponent is beneath him, takes a hit to disprove that, and then immediately obliterates them, proving he was right to denigrate them in the first place and going on to repeat the cycle in the next match.
Which is weird because Gaolang vs Kaneda was entirely about taking your opponents seriously even if they're weaker than you, and Kuroki, the guy the manga sets up to be the last word on martial arts...consistently refuses to do that until forced.
In fact, that seems to be a running theme with Kuroki's matches. He thinks his opponent is beneath him, takes a hit to disprove that, and then immediately obliterates them, proving he was right to denigrate them in the first place and going on to repeat the cycle in the next match.
Which is weird because Gaolang vs Kaneda was entirely about taking your opponents seriously even if they're weaker than you, and Kuroki, the guy the manga sets up to be the last word on martial arts...consistently refuses to do that until forced.
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- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Well, he has another gimmick. Surely a future Rei fight could build on aspects of his characterization beyond the Raishin style itself? Perhaps his surprisingly warm relationship with his girlf—
I'm glad Rei fell here, or we'd probably see this also escalate somehow.
Manic Dogma
This, I can't deny.
- Location
- The far side of tired
- Pronouns
- Whatever
I think that really, that only applies to his match against Rihito, and only kind of. Since Rihito never forced him to get serious. What actually characterises his second and third matches is Kuroki stepping in, making an entirely correct judgement of a young fighter, and then that judgement being surpassed. Surprising Kuroki, and forcing him to adapt, which he generally does. Because his fighting style is kind of inherently conservative, he doesn't seem to like taking an aggressive stance in favour of letting his opponent approach and make their own mistakes for him to capitalise on. Which isn't to suggest the man isn't pretty haughty, but there's no pattern of him just letting shots through out of sheer hubris only to casually shitstomp anyway.
It wasn't hubris that earned Rei that initial hit on Kuroki, it was that Kuroki made a genuine mistake based on incomplete information. And even then, for all his speed, Rei couldn't penetrate deep into his guard for fear of counterattack. Thus, while severe, Rei couldn't convert that initial hit into real momentum and Kuroki adapted to the new information. Something he's highly suited to doing, with his strongly defensive style. And, well, at that point he knew to anticipate bursts of unprecedented speed. And Setsuna's match was even less suited to this sort of messy angle of critique, Kuroki went into that explicitly concerned about Setsuna's main weapons and focused, he even went for actual finishing blows way earlier than he did against Rihito or Rei. It's a very serious match where he's constantly dancing on the edge of mortal peril, he just sticks the landing well.
Gaolang vs Kaneda was an especially odd comparison to cite, because like...yeah Gaolang apologised and took Kaneda seriously, but that doesn't mean he wasn't holding back? He clearly was, we both saw the shit he pulled versus Agito, taking an opponent seriously and going all out with everything you have are just two pretty different things.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Y'know, I will give Omega this, at least until the part where I stopped reading I don't think they ever made anyone be faster than a speeding bullet.
Either that or I'm forgetting parts of Omega, which, honestly, would please me immensely.
looks at Rihito
looks back at Manic
looks at Rihito again
looks incredulously at Manic
Genuinely two of the hardest panels in the series, I think. And such simple ones, too. Kuroki seems to have a gift for summoning the best out of the art. Also, divorced a bit from the context of the fight and the general coolness of the moment, Rei pinging off of Kuroki like a pinball hitting a bumper is fucking hilarious.
Anyway, the third fight of this round! This one's rad, no two ways about it. Kuroki continues unbothered through the tournament. And with it now finished, I should mention... well, why mention when I can let the manga show it for me.
I mentioned back on chapter 196, the one immediately preceding the start of the fight, that something important had come up then. And this was it: before the fight even started, Rei was late to it, and Kuroki very pointedly mentioned that he shouldn't fight with his mind preoccupied elsewhere. So what eventually defeats Rei here if not Rino herself, his shackling himself to her, him using her power to give himself a boost (dare I say, an improvisation) to try and come out on top. Rei's come far, but in his eagerness to leave killing behind all he did was replace it with other limits. Small wonder that as his focus comes back to him he gets a last-second chance at Kuroki purely out of his own skill.
But that was that, and next up we have... I'mma be real, my least favorite fight of this round, so it'll be fun seeing it from the perspective of someone who likes it. And hey, I'm gonna need the chance to chill a bit, because coming up after that is my favorite round of the tournament, and hoooh boy am I going to have a good time with that.
GilliamYaeger
M'crazy.
View: https://youtu.be/i7HzUL5d1mc
Rei's final stand is a bit lacking in this animation, but it's still good.
Like all Kuroki matches, this was a firm 10/10. And up next, we have Sen vs Agito - Ill agree with Odysseus above that it's not my favourite fight at all - and then...the semifinals.
Ohma vs Wakatsuki and Kuroki vs...well, I'm sure you can make a guess.
One of these is the best fight in the entire series, hands down. Get hype for the pinnacle of Kengan.
And then the long-awaited final fight of the series will happen. We're so close to the end of it all.
Peanut-007
Hat or Hair? America decides.
- Location
- Maryland, United States of America
Funnily enough this is basically how things develop in History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi. Kenichi is an untalented kid who gets into martial arts to stop getting bullied at school. As the series progresses this turns into fighting death matches against the students of the worlds greatest assassins.
The one special technique he really develops over the course of the series is a technique to predict his opponents moves and block them taken to an unreasonable extreme. By the end it gives a very similar feeling to what Kuroki does in his fights, constantly blocking and weaving then blasting an enemy with a decisive counterhit when they open up.
It's not quite as grounded as Kengan but there's a clear love for martial arts flowing through it. It's 70% caveats by volume are different to Kengans but no less infuriating. Beware of truly excessive fan service and some very annoying writing about the protagonists supposed chivalry all ye who enter here. That aside definitely worth a read.
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Manic Dogma
This, I can't deny.
- Location
- The far side of tired
- Pronouns
- Whatever
The Ripper is legitimately dangerous! I believe the peanut gallery when they say it'll put you in the hospital if he lands it clean!
It's just...You know...
It's attached to Rihito.
- Location
- Somewhere on Earth
I think there's something else to that, actually, which is that, fundamentally, Rei is split between a lot of different drives here. He does love Rino, and the narrative never treats it as shallow or insincere, maybe a little bit cheesy but as a sort of 'look at this wifeguy lmao', but while he wants to live a lovey dovey life with her, he also wants to reform the Raishin style to be nonlethal, something that was inspired by Rino but which he clearly holds a personal stake in, and he also wants to be the best fighter he can be. Love. Desire. Pride. And on a fundamental level he cannot have all of those. If he decided to spend his days lazing about with Rino, I'm sure the story would poke fun at him, but I think it'd respect it, but it would also mean he'd be stagnating. The time he'd be spending with the love of his life would be time not spent training, and I think Kuroki gets this in a way only he can, as someone who did focus purely on martial arts.
I'll have more to say about it in the next chapter, but I think it's clear enough in this fight that Rei is stuck, and he's being faced with the cold reality that he's going to have to give up one side of his life if he wants to get the most out of his other dreams. In trying to do it all, he's left himself too embroiled in dirty politics to have an innocent life, and too weighed down by hesitation to match the highest echelon fighters. So what does he give up?
Opaline Dreams
Virenina's handler
- Location
- Tei Ura
- Pronouns
- Any
The art in Kengan already goes extremely hard. I know this. We all know this. Nobody needs me to tell them this.
But man imagine how fucking awesome the art'd be if Daromeon knew how to draw feet
But man imagine how fucking awesome the art'd be if Daromeon knew how to draw feet
- Location
- Wörms, the half continent
Kurkoi deflecting a bullet in that flashback is one of the most iconic moments that just establishes the sheer The Man-ness of Kurkoi.
Full-face mask. Riot armour. Has to move these giant heavy pots in the way before the bullet is fired. No expressions to read.
Still does it? How? How? Fuck you, he's Kuroki Gensai, and not even a rifle can defeat a Karate Master.
Full-face mask. Riot armour. Has to move these giant heavy pots in the way before the bullet is fired. No expressions to read.
Still does it? How? How? Fuck you, he's Kuroki Gensai, and not even a rifle can defeat a Karate Master.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
So ... given that Rei is trying to reform his style to non-lethal ....
If he weren't. If he'd gone fully-lethal and all-out on Kuroki. Do you think he would've actually taken the win? If not, how badly off would Kuroki be?
I don't think so. I think it'd play out more or less the same, except the initial wound(s if I feel generous) are scarier and cause more bleeding. Maybe enough to be fatal if left untreated, but Kuroki just toughs it out to beat Rei before collapsing of blood loss and getting rescued by Dr. Wizard.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Kuroki fought a specialized killing machine, driven by someone who isn't licensed to operate heavy machinery.
This feels like the wrong question to ask. Very slightly wrong, but still wrong. Kengan Asura rewards and respects fighters who know their values and fight accordingly.
Nowhere is this more obvious than the fight between Sekibayashi Jun and Kiozan Takeru.
Kiozan compromises his sumo, fighting with an imbalanced blend of modern sumo wrestling and more ruthless strikes; this creates a training regimen which doesn't match the stresses his fighting style actually puts on his body.
By contrast, Sekibayashi knows his wrestling. His wrestling philosophy is, um, stupid, but he's committed to it. Nobody can take a blow better than Sekibayashi, nobody can turn it against the striker like Sekibayashi, because nobody commits to pro wrestling like Sekibayashi.
If Rei took all the same actions leading up to the tournament, and at the last minute decided to murder Kuroki, he would lose in more or less the same manner.
But if Rei kept refining what was passed onto him? If he never changed, making the old Raian Style incompatible with who he became? If he never met Rino?
Win or lose, Kiozan isn't fighting in the next round.
I think there's an issue here too. The Rei that surprised Kuroki is, fundementally, the Rei the met Rino. The mechanics of that are stupid, yes, but the idea that Rei sacrificed the murderous edge of his style for love, which in turn allowed him to surprise Kuroki? That still stands. A colder, more murderous Rei would be one that Kuroki understood before the fight began, and that initial hit would not have happened.
Wade Garrett
Just trying to do the right thing
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Somewhere there is an extremely funny timeline where instead of slicing off a strip of gi to teach the Old Man not to underestimate him Rihito makes a connection with Kuroki's throat or neck.
Just the one in a billion but it's out there.
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- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Predictions for how that AU goes down:
- Kiryu trashes Rihito. He knows to take that grip strength seriously.
- Rei saves his love-boost, but beats Kiryu anyways.
- Rei breaks out the love-boost against whoever wins the next match, and for reasons I can't explain without spoilers, I think that Rei's top speed would counter his fighting style.
- Then it's Rei against whoever wins the first semifinal match, which...I'm less certain about.
GilliamYaeger
M'crazy.
I genuinely can't see Rihito beating Kuroki even with that lucky hit.
No, the butterfly would be Kuroki having to fight while dealing with the grievous wound Rihito left on him.
No, the butterfly would be Kuroki having to fight while dealing with the grievous wound Rihito left on him.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Rihito's fingers have been compared to knives. If one of those hit a vital artery, Kuroki doesn't have long to school Rihito, and he's definitely not getting up to fight Kiryu,
Of course he is. You have to remember Dr. Wizard is on staff, after all.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Kuroki just flexes a bit and the vein closes back up.
The Curious Fan
Perpetually sleep deprived
Attrition only matters if you're on the left half of the tournament roster.
Peanut-007
Hat or Hair? America decides.
- Location
- Maryland, United States of America
Kuroki was there when martial artists first discovered and developed arterial bleeding so he knows how to flow all the blood from his arteries into his veins.Kuroki would just grumble something about the veins of a karate master and his injury would sheepishly close back up.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Ugh. I always forget about Dr. Wizard.
Though if (as Wade Garrett implies) Rihito hit the carotid artery or something, I don't think he'd be in the fight for much longer. Longer than Rihito expects, perhaps, but not that long.