No Need For Bushido

A weekly samurai action webcomic. Read more at NN4B.com

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I wanted to post our NN4B Volume 2 Kickstarter pitch video because I think it's rad, and other than my silly voice, it's 100% made by Joe (well, I guess all the art is mine!)

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No Need for Bushido page 578 -

Don’t mess with her stuff, Ken! Geez, that’s like girlfriend etiquette 101.

Friends! Our Kickstarter for Volume 2 is LIVE. Fingers crossed it makes its (we think pretty reasonable) goal, and perhaps far beyond! I’ll not go over all the details of the campaign, since that’s laid out on our actual Kickstarter page. Check it out! Joe put a lot of time into the video, and I think he really sells it, and that’s coming from a totally unbiased point of view!

NN4B.COM | Start The Comic Here

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We’re rapidly approaching the launch of our Volume 2 Kickstarter! Joe’s working out the financial details to determine our ideal monetary goal, but we’ll have an exact number soon enough. We’re intending to launch the kickstarter NEXT WEEK, fingers crossed. Tell your friends! We’re currently editing together our video pitch, which is going to have a rad semi-animated opening bit, and I have some completed Volume 2 cover art to show! I tried to incorporate characters from most of the big scenes that will be in in the book. I realize the bandits are conspicuously absent, but I’m sure they’ll be prominently displayed on Volume 3.  I also included our new logo logo designs, which I think really pop much better than the old version. 

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No Need for Bushido page 577 -

This page was pretty background intensive! I think it came out alright though. I like how Yumiko almost looks shy showing Ken her private room full of Daisuke clan paraphernalia. Maybe she’s not a stoic ninja badass 100% of the time! And maybe Ken’s not a psychopathic jerk 100% of the time. Or maybe I’m wrong on both counts and they’re perfect for each other!

I picked up Pikmin 3 for the WiiU. I haven’t played it much because I’m still obsessed with unlocking all the things in Hyrule Warriors, but from what I have played, I can see it becoming an equally time consuming addiction. For such a light, happy go lucky game, there’s a high level of stress that comes with the sunset time limit on each level. I don’t like time limits! Also, the Pikmin controls are awkward as heck. Maybe they’ll feel better once I spend more time with them and figure out how to lock on to bosses. And what’s the deal with this planet you’re on? It’s full of weird aliens creatures, but then there’s also sorts of terrestrial fruit and vegetation, and at least one cell phone that looks like what I owned in college. Maybe the Pikmin games take place thousands or more years in the future after Earth colonized other planets, but the human race died off, leaving an assortment of artifacts and transplanted agriculture across the galaxy. Or maybe it’s just a coincidence.

NN4B.COM | Start The Comic Here

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Masuhiro REFUSES to be assassinated! It’s excellent foreign and domestic policy, really, so it’s understandable why he’s such an effective leader. Also, it helps that his brother-in-law is packin’ all the effective strategies within the many folds of his chins.

Hyrule Warriors is a dangerous game, it’s the time sinkiest of time sinks. I suppose I now understand why Warriors games get such a bad wrap for being ‘too repetitive’ or claimed to function on the strategy of ‘repeatedly press X to win’. That hasn’t really been my experience with it, since the combat is pretty well varied between characters, and you’re often unlocking new moves and power ups, although on the surface level I understand the criticisms. BUT THE DANGEROUS PART is that every character has, like, 100 levels to level up, and each new ability requires a plethora of collectible items of various rarity salvaged from battlefields. Since each mission takes, like, ten minutes to half an hour, and you can’t upgrade your myriad of characters (which must be done one at a time) until you finish a battle… well, I was going to go out on Saturday, but I thought “I’m really jonesing for some army murdering, so I’ll just do one mission in HW and then head out!” Five hours later and the day was shot, but, HEY Impa was a level 30 murder machine, so s’all good!

And how ’bout that Star Wars movie title? ‘The Force Awakens‘. Sure, okay, why not. If it’s good (it’d better be good!) I can see myself calling it “Awakens” in short form like I refer to Empire, Jedi, and New Hope. I’m more concerned about how well it’ll emotionally resonate with me as a story than I am about the title. But, still, if The Force Awakens pertains to events in the film, I hope it’s not going to drudge up more nonsense about vague prophecies written by someone about something that has no real meaning that everyone just believes for no good reason. The ‘balance of the force’ prophecy was Lucas at his dumbest, though, so I don’t honestly expect the new films to perpetuate it in any form.

And lastly, I saw Big Hero 6 and I think it’s my new favorite superhero movie! So cool, so rad, so wow. I do appreciate a well paced film that makes me both cry and laugh. I guess that’s just the definition of good storytelling! Although I’m highly entertained by awkward romance scenes, I really appreciated that BH6 didn’t feel any need to shoehorn in a romantic subplot. This also allowed all the female characters to just be characters and not ‘the romantic interest’. That’s nice, too, if one cares about such things. I also love silly fist bumps (I swear we’ll have Ken and Yori fist bump at some point in nn4b!!) of which there were several in BH6. Go see it, people! It’s probably better than Interstellar, which I have not yet seen but with which I have every intention!

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No Need for Bushido page 574 -

Oh Masuhiro, you're out of the loop! Ina and Yori are totally not getting married anymore, sorry.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT! So when it comes to this 'next generation' of consoles, for whatever reason I'm most interested in the WiiU. Maybe it's because Nintendo in HD looks DELICIOUS, or maybe I'm just burnt out on drab, gritty, post apocalyptic zombie games, or I'm not really into shooters, or all three! Either way, the WiiU's library is piling up with all these games I'm interested in; Wonderful 101, Mariokart 8, Bayonetta 2, Hyrule Warriors, Smash Bros WiiU, those Amiibos(I know, I'm a sucker)! But, oh, well, geez, $300 for the system, or $350 for a bundle, that's a lot of money.

Well, I finally took the plunge, but instead of buying a brand new system or a user system, I ordered a refurbished WiiU from nintendo.com.  It showed up at my door about a week ago, along with an amazon.com ordered copy of Hyrule Warriors, and I have been playing the cuss out of that game since. As refurbished products go, I can't recommend this enough! The WiiU runs great ( even despite being left on for hours when I have to pause in the middle of a Hyrule Warriors level), looks like a brand new console, and is $100 cheaper than a standard new WiiU. So to anyone who wants a WiiU but finds the $300 price tag a little too steep, and doesn't feel comfortable trying to get a used console for cheap, be aware of those $200 refurbished models. GOOD DEAL, FRIENDS.

Also, Hyrule Warriors is super rad. Impa's my jam.

NN4B.COM | Start The Comic Here

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No Need for Bushido page 574 -

OH HO, back to these guys! Masuhiro’s back in his maroon armor from so long ago, and Ina borrowed some clothes from Ayane’s wardrobe. And who is that red headed ninja...?

NN4B.COM | Start The Comic Here

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No Need for Bushido page 573 -

Genchu's ready to lay down THE LAW. Well, I mean, like a vigilante, I guess. If Necessary.

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No Need for Bushido page 572 -

Genchu gave up the ghost pretty fast there! Then again, he may just be relieved to find kindred spirits in his current goal. I’m looking forward to the probable antics that will transpire with these three.

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No Need for Bushido page 571 -

OH HO, so tell us what you REALLY think about the good captain, why don't you guys?

Come this update, I'd expected I would have a lot to say about Korra, and Rebels, and Smash bros, but of those three, the only one I've spent any time with is Smash. And lemme tell you, there's a poop ton of characters in that game! Choosing a main is more stressful than buying a new car, because that's the character you're going to learn, and grown, and murder with for countless hours into the future. Personally, I waver between Wii Fit Trainer and Rosalina, but...oh, Greninja, Shulk, and Palutena are also great! And then there's the fighters I was previously proficient in, Pikachu, Peach, and Olimar. And then there's those great alternate costumes. You can be Fierce Deity Link, for cryin' out loud! And you better believe I used the mii custom character creation to stick Ken, Yori, and Cho in the game.

Joe has been playing, I don't know, basically every spare moment he can. I think progress on NN4B Volume 2 has come to a screeching halt over the past four or five days! It's okay, we're still on schedule, I think, maybe. At this point Joe is most likely a force with which to be reckoned. I fear to challenge him, but I'll put on a brave face and meet him at the final destination, balance board in hand...  it won't be pretty.

In closing, Smash Bros 3DS, so much fun, and my experience with the online features has been pretty solid, too. I do admit, though, that playing on a 3DS leaves a bit to be desired in terms of tight controls. I'm super looking forward that WiiU version! I got on the hype train and even preordered some Amiibos. This game seems to have become quite the danger to my poor wallet. Anyway,  have some friend codes!

Alex: 0619-4547-2438 Joe: 2793-0704-2809

NN4B.COM | Start The Comic Here

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No Need for Bushido page 570 -

I’m not very good at rrrrrrrrrrolling my ‘r’s, but Joe’s a pro at it. I wish I had a recording of him saying ‘Rrrrrrrrrrrrricardo!’ that I could post here, because it’s very impressively rolled, I assure you.

So OCTOBER, wow, I don’t even, I can’t even… Well, let me do a checklist here. Legend of Korra Book 4, Star Wars Rebels, Smash Bros 3DS, and Bayonetta 2. This is like the coolest October ever. Mileage may vary depending on your love of these things, of course! Hyrule Warriors just came out recently and I am still in desperate need of  a WiiU. I may rectify that in the coming week, though. Speaking of WiiUs, Joe and I want to start a Smash Bros night with any of you who are interested once the version of Smash Bros everyone’s REALLY waiting for comes out. We could probably be doing a Mariokart 8 game night right now if anyone’s interested! It’d just take a little coordination, admittedly, but we could broadcast on Twitch. I have no idea how to do that, though it can’t be that difficult. Just a thought, of course, just THROWING IT OUT THERE, friends!

NN4B.COM | Start The Comic Here

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No Need For Bushido: Page 569

New pages every Sunday at http://nn4b.com/

I hate this page, it is my enemy. Don’t anybody compliment it, it has been the bane of my existence for the past two days! I don’t think there’s anything more disheartening to a digital artist than to lose their work right near its completion to a corrupted file. We bought a PSD file recovery program and saved some of the background painting, which was a curse and blessing because I had to draw over the painting, which resulted in less good drawings. It’s not awful, the page is fine, I guess, but the headache of doing it again from almost scratch was not fun, I assure you, dear readers!

EDIT: After careful consideration, I have decided not to hate this page.