So if Saitama is a depiction of a character at the endgame with maxed out stats...
Genos is definitely the depiction of a character who's your low level JRPG character party member who's just going along for the ride on the story but he's always going to be underleveled for the main storyline because your main character is already capped and you can't be bothered to grind levels anymore, so he never gets enough exp.
So this low level char always goes against opponents vastly higher level than himself and gets wrecked, whenever you decide to use them to get exp. Over and over again.
Fortunately, your main character has infinite supply of Phoenix downs and you can always reset the game from a save point.
What about if you make New game+ though? And just keep repeating the storyline? Like time travel stuff?
Then we go from Final Fantasy to Dark souls.
The initial or game cycle, created upon starting a new character, is called "New Game" or "NG". Upon killing the final boss, and choosing either ending, the player's character will be thrown into the next game-cycle, known as "New Game+", or "NG+".
If the player continues to play through and beat the game with that same character, the cycle continues, with the third cycle referred to as 'New Game++', or NG++, and so on. NG+ is a significant jump in difficulty from NG, but from NG+ to NG++ the difficulty will only increase slightly. Difficulty will continue to slowly grow with each game cycle, until it plateaus at NG++++++ (NG7/NG+6) and beyond.
Moving into a new game cycle such as NG+ will reset all killed Bosses and NPCs, just like it was in the first game-cycle. The difficulty will also increase, because enemies will have more attack power and health points, and they will yield more souls
What will carry over to NG+
Most items and equipment will carry over, along with character Soul Level and Humanity, to the next game-cycle.
Magic already obtained will also carry over.
Current covenant membership and rank will carry over.
Kindled Bonfires will retain their level.
Estus Flask upgrade level will remain the same.
All sins are absolved.
Some Keys are kept:
The Master Key will not be lost.
The Bottomless Box will not be lost.
What doesn't carry over
Most keys and key items will be gone.
The Repair and Smithboxes will be gone.
All the Embers have to be found again.
The Covenant of Artorias Ring will be lost.
The Orange Charred Ring will be lost.
The Rite of Kindling will be lost.
The Lordvessel, and its warping abilities, will be lost.
Any costumes unlocked to purchase from Domnhall of Zena must be earned again. (with the exception of Great Lord Armor)
Sin will be lost, so the new game starts sin free.
All unlocked doors and shortcuts will close.
The shortcut to Lost Izalith can still be opened if the player remains a Chaos Servant +2.
Wait a second... I found something... (I did not expect this I was just making a funny ref)
Orange Charred Ring
An orange ring enchanted by a witch. Reduces lava damage. Since his sores were inflamed by lava from birth, his witch sisters gave him this special ring. But fool that he is, he readily dropped it, and from that spot, a terrible centipede demon was born
Greatly reduces lava damage.
Adds fire damage element to kick motion.
Acquired from
Dropped by the Centipede Demon.
... it does look like centipede demon and ceaseless discharge doesn't it?
...That has to be a Lordvessel reference too. Or legit same source material. There's no way. No wayyyy.
(It was just a prank bro)
Is OPM just Dark souls NG+? Or more like, NG+++ because we're in third era of change?
...is Saitama just replaying his life or going to? Is this the cycle of samsara (rebirth) depiction?
Is this why we introduced time travel and why future Saitama fused with his younger self...?
Is this why Saitama has conflicting self-images?
Is this why Murata-sensei made a tweet pointing towards Isaac Asimov's Mr.Boy? And a tweet about Keanu Reeves who's most famous for his breakthrough in the Matrix?
The story takes place in the year 2096 in the town of New Canaan, Connecticut, and centers on Peter Cage, who goes by the nickname "Mr. Boy". Peter has lived for 25 years but possesses the body of a 12-year-old as a result of continually undergoing genetic modification ("twanking") to reverse his biological clock. This process is done at the direction of his wealthy but emotionally distant mother. His mother has assumed the form of a three-quarters scale replica of the Statue of Liberty (also through gene twanking), which Peter lives inside. Peter has only ever interacted with his mother through robotic avatars which she controls – her private quarters in the statue's head are inaccessible.
The Matrix is a 1999 science fictionaction film[5][6] written and directed by the Wachowskis.[a] It is the first installment in The Matrix film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. It depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality, the Matrix, which intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source.[7] When computer programmer Thomas Anderson, under the hacker alias "Neo", uncovers the truth, he joins a rebellion against the machines along with other people who have been freed from the Matrix.
Is that why he has that piggy bank on his tv stand?
It's a memento? A memento mori?
Memento mori (Latin for 'remember that you [have to] die') is an artistic or symbolic trope acting as a reminder of the inevitability of death. The concept has its roots in the philosophers of classical antiquity and Christianity, and appeared in funerary art and architecture from the medieval period onwards.
Because Piggy Bancon, the monster, took his money so he can no longer pay for the toll cost of mon, currency, to cross the Sanzu river into the afterlife? The toll that was stolen by humans first and then also taken from them too, so Saitama decided he'd be a bloody hero and intervene?
(Pluto, King of the underworld reference at the end of season 1 anime, is also a pig)
And also when he tries to pay for the grocery store in episode 1, a giant fucking feet destroys the entire doorway and leaves a giant footprint and there's a moon on the background of Beefcake?
Because the destroyed doorway is a reference to Torii gate, like Saitama's shadow looked like Torii on 169 cover? And OPM god directly blocks him from moving to the afterlife?
So Saitama ofc had to punch him, to save humanity and himself and became the Abominable fist that went against God. By going against the designs set out for him.
A torii (Japanese: 鳥居, [to.ɾi.i]) is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred.
(my reaction rn)
"Our dreams of future feats, our sorrows of the past, that we all have etched deep down inside our souls
Will they help us along or will they hold us back
We may never know until the end of time
Still, we hope that finally days of serenity will come
When we'll find it in ourselves to forgive each other's sins
Even if we tried to split apart, we're so important to each other
That we never could forget, no matter what
Our bond can teach us our kindness is another kind of strenght
That you can use just by reaching out your hand
It's something dear to us we couldn't bear to live without
So I swear I'll make it back to you
I swear that I'll come back here to you"
If that's not a depiction of soul fire then idk what it is. And the song is extremely telling.
Susanoo (スサノオ; historical orthography: スサノヲ, 'Susanowo') is a kami in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory characteristics (both good and bad), being portrayed in various stories either as a wild, impetuous god associated with the sea and storms, as a heroic figure who killed a monstrous serpent, or as a local deity linked with the harvest and agriculture. Syncretic beliefs that arose after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan also saw Susanoo becoming conflated with deities of pestilence and disease.
Home is a goddamn metaphor for the soul innit? And home is is where the heart is, like the heartbeat that guides Saitama back home when he has lost that map.
Idk if at this point we're talking about same soul inhabiting different bodies, like different player characters being played by the same player. Which would explain all the parallels and similarities honestly.
So, how does the game end then?
To Link The Fire
Triggered by defeating Gwyn, Lord of Cinder and lighting the final bonfire. By choosing this ending you succeed Gwyn as the next - "Great Lord" and accomplish the designs of Kingseeker Frampt. By linking the fire, The Chosen Undead embraces self-sacrifice, thus revitalizing the land and banishing The Curse of The Undead.
The Dark Lord
Triggered by defeating Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, then leaving the boss arena without lighting the final bonfire. By choosing this ending, you become The Dark Lord, The True Lord Of Men, thus realizing the designs of Darkstalker Kaathe. As The Dark Lord, you will usher in an Age of Dark... an Age of Men, and your Lordship shall prevail as the supreme sovereign.
Regardless of the ending you've chosen, you will be transported back to the cell you started the game, in the Northern Undead Asylum, after the credits roll. From here, the stakes will change slightly.
Well then.
(I had thought about soul reincarnation before but not dark souls lmao)
(Saitama turning to break the 4th wall while looking at the monitor or whomever is monitoring him though)
Working on a Dark Souls Tarot set that is heavily inspired by the wonderful work of @steftastan. If you don't know her check her out. Her art is amazing. I love her Dark Souls Tarot so far and I wanted to do give these art pieces to my boyfriend Brandon for our anniversary. Hope you all like I will be drawing more later this week<3
