Perhaps it is more of a Chinese thing, White Haired Demoness and all that?
Hmm . . . But the Japanese take almost everything from the Chinese, being understood to be ancestraly Chinese themselves (it is what it is!). Even from that example we see visual parallels to Kaguya - white hair and feminine purity for the white hair part and overwhelming power and reputation for the demoness part.
See, this series did an exceptional thing in managing to combine most major categorical aspects of the mainstream childhood genres - fantasy and science fiction. You have the different clans/species from both myth and science fiction, the magic from fantasy yet with scientific rules and somehow they mixed in relevant weapons/artifacts from rpgs. So it stands out to me when I notice one of the most iconic weapon classes - the lash whip - missing from the main story. This is especially because the whip in such stories is usually one of the culminatory weapons/tools, combining much of the foundational principle and prominent technology of any world into one. To explain, a comparison. Swords, fitting of the philosophical purity they encompass, either depend on technology (forging quality) or magic (streaming) that makes the MCs stick sharper than anything else - you can already picture the scene. Spears and such tipped weapons as knives work tactically (increased range) and sometimes have a special effect, but all this is type-sourced - it comes with their form, irrespective of how the weapons are forged or boosted. Non-sharp tools such as shields and hammers either depend on forging quality or have special magic tricks to boost them - rarely do thet combine both. Non-conventional geometry weapons such as scythes almost always work with special effects, particularly relating to their real-life counterparts being so phasmophobic. Non-manual weapons such as bows and guns either work as improved tactical variations to spears and knives or ranged special effects. Of course, in some worlds these feed off of each other - better forged weapons being able to host stronger magical boosts and effects - but the foundation is always one side (technology) or the other (energy forces). The whip, on the other hand, always works with both sides in balance as far as the world allows for it. The free-flowing form of it always requires structural integrity of high order while connecting to foundational energy forces - the thunder whip! Even for worlds that do not host such forces, the whip has special quirks relating to movement and such - Mana series being a prime example. So the whip is always a culmination of these two sides. And even more than that, is far more iconic than even the likes of the scythe. So how is it that the latter has some of the strongest characters in this series in Hidan and Hanzo wielding it while the whip is found nowhere? Even in other worlds, wielders of the whip do so to powerful effect fitting some associations of its real-world counterpart, yet in this series it does not even make an appearance . . .
So the question is why. On my side, I go into the martial arts and related field of weaponry for the essence more than the practicality. I would, most honestly, be more pleased with myself for attempting and failing some sort of 'thousand crimson streams on a hill' sword technique in a street fight than getting through it by throwing some stones and surviving to be mocked another day. We live in an age of guns, get over whatever you have not gotten over! Anyway, what this means is that such an iconic piece of genre direction being missing stands out to me.
Let us go through some ideas relating to this matter.
Indeed the Japanese seem to inherit much from the Chinese, but they certainly apply it differently. The Chinese have a free-flowing approach to their martial arts while the Japanese is more rigid. Even the hard styles are free flowing, like Shaolin, but never rigid while even the softer Japanese styles are built on strict steps - as seen in their traditional bow training schools. So maybe something like the whip is too loose for Japanese principle. At least in such an active world as this?
Could it be the eccentric, sidestream associations of such a thing as a whip, then? While we do have the likes of Jiraiya, Tsunade and Mei bringing some sexuality into the picture, there was always a comic-relief, non-lethal elements to it. One could even call them childish - which is somewhat disturbing, accounting for certain fucked up elements of Japanese media. The whip, conversely, is lethal by draw and carries a heavy atmosphere with it that simply may not merge well with the atmosphere of this series. Perhaps this is impressive, with all the serious topics this series managed to bring up and build from. Perhaps the 5th Mizukage can be considered to ebe wielding a philosphical whip with her elemental bloodline powers - the Corrosive Mist being unable to be used around conventional allies while the Lava is most lethal. This would fit somewhat with the mixture of fire and water creating alcohol in other media . . .
With weapons carrying such a philosphical impact in this series - the battle between Hanzo and Mifune being prime example - could it be that the real-world value of such a thing is unfitting with this series? In conventional usage, whips are for discipline from the top down. This series drove a message of solving problems relating to authority and established systems. Such a weapon as a whip would have worked only with the darkest of final villains and by thst time the series had changed somewhat.
So all in all, could it be that the series simply had no place for a whip? I am not at ease with that, at least not yet. In terms of characters, there are quite a few whose style or fighting style had openings for it. Tenten has no specific weapon, although her character certainly revolves around the conventional. Perhaps a chain-dart (admittedly, a Chinese weapon) would have sufficed? The Seven Swordsfolk could have fitted one in, seeing as a needle-spear (again, Chinese) and hammer made their way in. I think it could have done well to replace the Twin Fangs, with their lightning element as well as their best wielder being a woman. The group itself is also built on ruthlessness so lethality is less of an issue. Perhaps Obito could have worked with one in his Ten Tails Host incarnation, using a world-shattering whip made of Truth Seeker matter in a fit of rage. Or perhaps inserting a temporary appearance of such a wielder, if being overwhelmed by the Ten Tails would not justify it. The timing would fit well with all expressed qualities of the whip thus far. In terms of the world, it could have been thematically inserted into some of the smaller villages - the advantage of having such an extensive world. While some of the non-canon material we got was rather comical, some of it was very workable, as proven by the canonisation of Guren in the end. It could easily have been done to have any of the Sound Village locations or smaller nations have a lore which includes extensive whip usage as such dark themes were used in filler. Perhaps even one of the main villages could have had such. The Kinkaku Squad was never extensively explored and did not seem to be built around any single fighting style or theme, unlike the Explosion Unit or Puppet Squad. The lightning association would be there as well - although in fairness all but the earth element can work with whips. It could even be inserted as a weapon associated with the daimyo class, which would even work with the upbeat, positive philosophy of the main story since the daimyo are authority and their role has been questioned in the series. Then there is usage and appearance. Supposing the traditional whip is too much, it could have worked as a ribbon or chain. Many characters have decorated dissapearance or escape methods as we saw with Orochimaru, Sasuke and Kabuto against Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato. You can imagine a ribbon working for such purposes. A chain would have satisfied the rigid nature of Japanese martial arts while still being a free-flowing (or capable) tool. The existence and nature of seals and barriers in the series would have worked well with any such form. With Kushina having already showcased it, one can easily imagine a squad of tailed beast sealers using energy-reinforced ribbons or chains to form a barrier. We already saw Lee teaching an entire squad of youths the Eight Gates and that should be far more difficult. Maki of the Sand, with her cloth technique, was already very close to it. Would you say she satisfies the presence of a whip? Or perhaps the Uzumaki, with their dark/heavy theme and role, were or would have been whip users? Them being attacked for their power would somewhat fit the element of the whip. Well, I suppose that is an advantage of such an extensive world - even with the story so well told, there is room to insert almost anything into it!
I say, accounting for all this, I wonder why I only came upon this topic now.
Anyway, what says you?
Hmm . . . But the Japanese take almost everything from the Chinese, being understood to be ancestraly Chinese themselves (it is what it is!). Even from that example we see visual parallels to Kaguya - white hair and feminine purity for the white hair part and overwhelming power and reputation for the demoness part.
See, this series did an exceptional thing in managing to combine most major categorical aspects of the mainstream childhood genres - fantasy and science fiction. You have the different clans/species from both myth and science fiction, the magic from fantasy yet with scientific rules and somehow they mixed in relevant weapons/artifacts from rpgs. So it stands out to me when I notice one of the most iconic weapon classes - the lash whip - missing from the main story. This is especially because the whip in such stories is usually one of the culminatory weapons/tools, combining much of the foundational principle and prominent technology of any world into one. To explain, a comparison. Swords, fitting of the philosophical purity they encompass, either depend on technology (forging quality) or magic (streaming) that makes the MCs stick sharper than anything else - you can already picture the scene. Spears and such tipped weapons as knives work tactically (increased range) and sometimes have a special effect, but all this is type-sourced - it comes with their form, irrespective of how the weapons are forged or boosted. Non-sharp tools such as shields and hammers either depend on forging quality or have special magic tricks to boost them - rarely do thet combine both. Non-conventional geometry weapons such as scythes almost always work with special effects, particularly relating to their real-life counterparts being so phasmophobic. Non-manual weapons such as bows and guns either work as improved tactical variations to spears and knives or ranged special effects. Of course, in some worlds these feed off of each other - better forged weapons being able to host stronger magical boosts and effects - but the foundation is always one side (technology) or the other (energy forces). The whip, on the other hand, always works with both sides in balance as far as the world allows for it. The free-flowing form of it always requires structural integrity of high order while connecting to foundational energy forces - the thunder whip! Even for worlds that do not host such forces, the whip has special quirks relating to movement and such - Mana series being a prime example. So the whip is always a culmination of these two sides. And even more than that, is far more iconic than even the likes of the scythe. So how is it that the latter has some of the strongest characters in this series in Hidan and Hanzo wielding it while the whip is found nowhere? Even in other worlds, wielders of the whip do so to powerful effect fitting some associations of its real-world counterpart, yet in this series it does not even make an appearance . . .
So the question is why. On my side, I go into the martial arts and related field of weaponry for the essence more than the practicality. I would, most honestly, be more pleased with myself for attempting and failing some sort of 'thousand crimson streams on a hill' sword technique in a street fight than getting through it by throwing some stones and surviving to be mocked another day. We live in an age of guns, get over whatever you have not gotten over! Anyway, what this means is that such an iconic piece of genre direction being missing stands out to me.
Let us go through some ideas relating to this matter.
Indeed the Japanese seem to inherit much from the Chinese, but they certainly apply it differently. The Chinese have a free-flowing approach to their martial arts while the Japanese is more rigid. Even the hard styles are free flowing, like Shaolin, but never rigid while even the softer Japanese styles are built on strict steps - as seen in their traditional bow training schools. So maybe something like the whip is too loose for Japanese principle. At least in such an active world as this?
Could it be the eccentric, sidestream associations of such a thing as a whip, then? While we do have the likes of Jiraiya, Tsunade and Mei bringing some sexuality into the picture, there was always a comic-relief, non-lethal elements to it. One could even call them childish - which is somewhat disturbing, accounting for certain fucked up elements of Japanese media. The whip, conversely, is lethal by draw and carries a heavy atmosphere with it that simply may not merge well with the atmosphere of this series. Perhaps this is impressive, with all the serious topics this series managed to bring up and build from. Perhaps the 5th Mizukage can be considered to ebe wielding a philosphical whip with her elemental bloodline powers - the Corrosive Mist being unable to be used around conventional allies while the Lava is most lethal. This would fit somewhat with the mixture of fire and water creating alcohol in other media . . .
With weapons carrying such a philosphical impact in this series - the battle between Hanzo and Mifune being prime example - could it be that the real-world value of such a thing is unfitting with this series? In conventional usage, whips are for discipline from the top down. This series drove a message of solving problems relating to authority and established systems. Such a weapon as a whip would have worked only with the darkest of final villains and by thst time the series had changed somewhat.
So all in all, could it be that the series simply had no place for a whip? I am not at ease with that, at least not yet. In terms of characters, there are quite a few whose style or fighting style had openings for it. Tenten has no specific weapon, although her character certainly revolves around the conventional. Perhaps a chain-dart (admittedly, a Chinese weapon) would have sufficed? The Seven Swordsfolk could have fitted one in, seeing as a needle-spear (again, Chinese) and hammer made their way in. I think it could have done well to replace the Twin Fangs, with their lightning element as well as their best wielder being a woman. The group itself is also built on ruthlessness so lethality is less of an issue. Perhaps Obito could have worked with one in his Ten Tails Host incarnation, using a world-shattering whip made of Truth Seeker matter in a fit of rage. Or perhaps inserting a temporary appearance of such a wielder, if being overwhelmed by the Ten Tails would not justify it. The timing would fit well with all expressed qualities of the whip thus far. In terms of the world, it could have been thematically inserted into some of the smaller villages - the advantage of having such an extensive world. While some of the non-canon material we got was rather comical, some of it was very workable, as proven by the canonisation of Guren in the end. It could easily have been done to have any of the Sound Village locations or smaller nations have a lore which includes extensive whip usage as such dark themes were used in filler. Perhaps even one of the main villages could have had such. The Kinkaku Squad was never extensively explored and did not seem to be built around any single fighting style or theme, unlike the Explosion Unit or Puppet Squad. The lightning association would be there as well - although in fairness all but the earth element can work with whips. It could even be inserted as a weapon associated with the daimyo class, which would even work with the upbeat, positive philosophy of the main story since the daimyo are authority and their role has been questioned in the series. Then there is usage and appearance. Supposing the traditional whip is too much, it could have worked as a ribbon or chain. Many characters have decorated dissapearance or escape methods as we saw with Orochimaru, Sasuke and Kabuto against Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato. You can imagine a ribbon working for such purposes. A chain would have satisfied the rigid nature of Japanese martial arts while still being a free-flowing (or capable) tool. The existence and nature of seals and barriers in the series would have worked well with any such form. With Kushina having already showcased it, one can easily imagine a squad of tailed beast sealers using energy-reinforced ribbons or chains to form a barrier. We already saw Lee teaching an entire squad of youths the Eight Gates and that should be far more difficult. Maki of the Sand, with her cloth technique, was already very close to it. Would you say she satisfies the presence of a whip? Or perhaps the Uzumaki, with their dark/heavy theme and role, were or would have been whip users? Them being attacked for their power would somewhat fit the element of the whip. Well, I suppose that is an advantage of such an extensive world - even with the story so well told, there is room to insert almost anything into it!
I say, accounting for all this, I wonder why I only came upon this topic now.
Anyway, what says you?