User blog comment:Leolab/Ancient User Tourney, Round 7: Hirai Norio (Cfp) v Oliver Moreau (Winter)/@comment-28741452-20160625043711

Hindenburg's Vote: Ronin vs Mercenary (Failure to protect his master vs Failure to kill a king)

The men: Hirai Norio vs Oliver Moreau Lets start with the histories. Hirai Norio is a highly trained samurai. He knows the trade of his craft to a fine degree. I going to say that Hirai is from the Edo period although he could be anywhen from the 12th century to the Edo period. I going to say that he is in his late 20's, early 30's. His one hesitation that might make him waver is not appicable since he is fighting a man who try and killed a king (like a man who betrays his master(disgraceful)). Oliver Moreau has traveled the world of the 17th century. Most of my knowledge of the time period Oliver Moreau comes from is the weapons and armor he has. Althought, Oliver Moreau is well travel and well fought, he does not have the experiance with all the weapons and armor he acquired to use them effectively. Oliver Moreau is very clever to sneak in to a shotgun castle, however that cleverness can not compare to the training Hirai Norio has for his whole life. Oliver Moreau is also going to be older than Hirai Norio due to him leaving his native France at age 20 and going through India, going in Japan, and doing mercenary work. I would place his age at his mid-30's, late-30's. I going to give it to the man who is younger and has more training with his weapons.

Edge:

Initial: The Exiled's Companion vs Naginata-Modified This is not a fair comparsion. Both weapons are going to be recognize by both sides. However, Hirai Norio is going to know the in and outs of his weapon and his opponent. He got to be able to counter that weapon more effectively than Oliver is going to. That said Oliver does have the range advantage. It is my belief that knowing how to counter the weapon is going to be more useful, than the range that weapon gives you.

Edge: Hirai Norio

Short Range: The Exiled's Companion vs The Cutlass Both swords seem even in my mind. Yes the Exiled's Companion is an inch longer, but that should not affect thing to much. Both weight the same, 2.5 lbs. Both of these swords are good slashers, both are reasonable at thrusting. Both warriors are trained very well to be good with their weapons. The Cutlass does have better metal work than the Katana, making it less likely to break. However, both are steel and comes down to who get the first good blow. Both warriors are well trained in their respective swords. However, I have to give it to Hirai Norio for his life-long training with the Exiled's Companion. While great to be train by many fighting styles with the Cutlass, it does not overcome the dedication to a single weapon for most of your life.

Edge: Hirai Norio

Mid Range: Kanabo vs Naginata-Modified This is not a contest. The Kanabo was a weapon not use that often in battle. Since the Kanabo was more used by mythical monsters than by samurai. The Kanabo is also 2 feet shorter, and weights, at least, 10 pounds heavier. Yes the Kanabo may break the weapon or armor, but it is equally likely to miss. It would take a lot of skill to recover from a miss of that magitude since the weapon is heavy. The Naginata is much more useful in this fight. It is more controllable, it longer, and has the range.

Edge: Oliver Moreau

Long Range: The Broken Oath vs Persian Composite Bow Let's get to the point. The yumi bow is very tall. However yumi bows are built asymmetrical. The long part of the bow would be above the arrow grip. The training with the yumi bow with samurai emphasized on grace and putting the shots on the mark. That does not means it could not be fired fast, it just suffer the rate of fire (not that it matter I image that there would only be 3 shots fired before the fighters get in close). Persian Composite Bow is a shorter bow and be proficently handle by Oliver Moreau. However it is unlikely that either would go for their bows in this case. Edge is to who gets an accurate shot in.

Edge: Even

Special: The Twins vs Katars Katars are punching weapons. They were meant to punch the blade into someone. However, Oliver would not know how to use these weapons to the max. Oliver would most likely try to cut as well as stab and get mix results. Hirai Norio would know very much what his weapons were able to do and go for exposed parts. However the Katars are a good 6 inches longer than the twins. It is a tie between experience with the weapon and a more dangerous and bigger weapon.

Edge: Even

Armor: Do-maru armor set vs Musketeer armor Is there even a point? Okay the Do-maru armor weight 10 pounds and is a steel leather torso covering, with leather covering the rest of his legs and arms. The Musketeer armor is 17 pounds and is only a breast plate (front and back) with nothing coveing the arms or legs. While it is possible to surprise Hirai Norio with the armor of Oliver Moreau, I give my edge to the armor that is lighter and protects a bit more.

Edge: Hirai Norio

Overall verdict: I give it to the man who has the better training with his weapons, lighter and better protected armor, and for being slightly younger, Hirai Norio. Oliver is going to have a harder time catching the quicker samuri with a killing blow and has more exposed parts to be sliced apart.

Winner: Hirai Norio burns Oliver Moreau