Talk:Samurai/@comment-97641-20180322180255

The Samurai is a bit of a paradox; honorable and loyal yet corrupt and repressive, wears heavy armor but refuses to use shields, has a reputation that is both earned and overhyped. The Samurai are normally compared to the Knight, and the similarities are clear (although not absolute). This upperclass warrior had the resources necessary to obtain the best materials and gear possible. In a period as chaotic as the Sengoku era, it only made sense for the winners of the civil-war to be the best warrior Japan could make.

A good way to describe the Samurai would be as a ‘light tank’. The swordsmanship especially was known for their speed, a fair way to compensate for the lack of a shield: this is especially since Samurai are good at parrying. This armor is slanted in order to deflect enemy strikes, and was confirmed to maintain its effectiveness even after centuries of aging. With that said; the Samurai is still a ‘light tank’ as the armor does indeed have gaps: although this does limit the weight and thus allow the Samurai to be quite balanced.

This is seen with his weapons; all of which are very effective at what they do. The Samurai has the Yumi for long-range, Naginata (and Yari) for mid-range, Katana for short-range, and Kanabo for anti-armor. Since the Samurai has no shield; all of these weapons are 2-handed. If I were a medieval warrior, fighting enemy foot soldiers in the field, and I was only allowed 2-handed weapon: these weapons would be my choice. True that the Naginata’s range makes it better than the Katana (in terms of being an effective weapon): but the Katana is a sidearm anyways (despite popculture).

Weaknessess
I might sound like a broken record at this point: but the fact that the Samurai doesn’t use a shield is a big factor in why he lost to the Spartan. The Samurai is able to prevent enemies from coming in close thanks to his Yumi bow: but a ‘heavy tank’, who uses a strong shield, will easily walk through the arrows: historical records confirm multiple times that a Hoplite, Legionnaire or Knight can easily advance into no-mans-land by blocking all incoming projectiles with their defenses.

There is also the possibility that a ‘quick projectile’, like the throwing spears, can be used after entering the effective range by blocking the Yumi. This is somewhat confirmed in the Viking vs Samurai episode. Ninja Shurikens were also designed to exploit the fact that Samurai had few options in defending a barrage of projectiles.

In close combat; the shield again can be useful. The Viking’s shield was made of wood, and so broken when hit by the Kanabo and also could not absorb the impact effectively. But the Spartan Aspis was made of stronger bronze, and while severely dented, maintained its strength. The Kanabo is an exhausting weapon to use, simply surviving or avoiding it can allow the enemy to counter attack. The Samurai is still quite effective no doubt; but his adaptability has its limitations. It’s great at many things, but compared to other ‘tanks’, he needs to use the speed and effectiveness of his weapons to prevent the enemy from winning a battle of attrition. And while he is agile enough to chase down almost anybody; the Ninja confirms that specializing in speed can be useful in outrunning even a ‘light tank’. Although I will mention that a Ninja vs Samurai duel is a relatively even fight; it mostly depends on if the Ninja is able to use his tricks effectively or if the Samurai can properly engage him in a fair fight.