Risky Boots vs Namari Shirogane (Shantae vs Grenadier)






Risky Boots, Shantae’s swashbuckling adversary.

Namari Shirogane, Rushuna Tendo’s rival markswoman from Grenadier.

As the saying goes, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But nothing quite exemplifies this notion than what one does in pursuit of that power. Whether it’s betraying someone you were once close to, becoming so hungry for power that you turn on your own friends and family, or resorting to cold-blooded murder, there are many ways for one to be corrupted by their own avarice. And for these ladies, nothing stokes this lust for power more than trying to upstage some pure-hearted, goody two shoes heroine that gets in their way!

But what will happen when their lust for power allows these two to cross paths? Who will continue their rise to the top, and who will find themselves six feet under, buried in the other’s shadow? Let’s dive in as we find out who would win a DEATH BATTLE!


Before We Begin


For the sake of fairness, we’ll be compositing both characters. Risky’s side of this is relatively straightforward since her only appearances are the Shantae games and a swimsuit comic, though we’ll also be including feats and abilities from Half Genie Hero’s “Pirate Queen’s Quest“ mode.

With Namari, things are a bit different. While Grenadier only has an anime and manga, their stories are completely different past a certain point, with much of the cast having entirely different names, abilities, or backstories. The character we’re covering in this blog is one such example, with her name and backstory depending on the medium (Setsuna Oomido in the anime and Namari Shirogane in the manga). However, we’ll still be compositing them since they share the same design, skills, and story beats. And it’s not like Setsuna’s inclusion gives her anything major since she only appeared in the last 2 episodes.


Background

Risky Boots


Long ago, the magical land of Sequin Land was protected by the Guardian Genies, an all-female race of otherworldly spirits who saved their hometowns from monsters and villains. But that would all change thanks to a monster known only as the Pirate Master, whose power was so great that the Guardian Genies were forced to combine their power to destroy his body and imprison him. This effort cost many of the genies their lives, and the few who survived returned to their true homes in the Genie Realm.

Fortunately for the people of Sequin Land, some of their protectors had fallen in love with humans, resulting in a race of Half Genies who would take up their mothers’ jobs. Unfortunately, the Pirate Master had his own successor: his former first mate Risky Boots.

Having watched from the sidelines as he died, Risky stole the Pirate Master’s men, his ship, and even his skull, sewing it into her own bra out of her hatred for him. After promoting herself to captain, Risky would go on to travel the seas and attack any towns or cities she and her crew would come across. However, one of these raids would lead to a lifelong rivalry with Shantae, the Half Genie guardian of Scuttle Town.

Despite successfully stealing a prototype of the Steam Engine, Shantae foiled her plans by destroying it and the giant mech she had created. But Risky wasn’t done yet, as she set her sights on a device called the Tremor Engine, which would let her twist the stone pillars beneath Sequin Land, manipulating the earth itself to access landlocked towns. And when she learned Shantae planned to stop her with the aid of Mimic’s fellow Relic Hunters, Risky employed a trio of the Pirate Master’s former crew, the Muck Lords, to kidnap them and stop Shantae.

Unfortunately for Risky, even though she briefly pulled off a few heists and deployed her latest creation of the Tinkerworm, Shantae defeated her again. With her mech and Tremor Engine destroyed and the Muck Lords abandoning her, Risky ran away to lick her wounds and fight another day.

Following a brief period of peace, Risky got her revenge by swiping a magic lamp from Mimic and using it to steal Shantae’s powers, turning them against the former half genie. Shantae was forced to destroy her better half as Risky escaped with the lamp, but this small victory would soon come back to bite her.

Unbeknownst to her at the time, Nega Shantae’s destruction had spread dark magic throughout Sequin Land, and this powerful magic stirred the Pirate Master from his grave. With her crew now under a curse that turned them into feral monsters, Risky was forced to team up with Shantae and defeat the Pirate Master, laying him to rest once more and restoring Shantae’s lost magic.

One would think that teaming up with her former enemy would improve their relationship, but Risky went right back to trying to rule Sequin Land and kill Shantae not long after. By switching the blueprints of Mimic’s latest invention with her own, she was able to trick him and Shantae into constructing the Dynamo, a device that inverted Shantae’s magic and corrupted her. As Shantae’s friends tried to bring her back to normal, Risky had her men complete the Dynamo, transforming it into a monolith of corruptive magic called the Tinkerbrain. Its power nearly corrupted the entire genie realm, but once again she was stopped by Shantae.

Swearing vengeance, Risky later resurfaced. By disguising herself as the mayor of Arena Town and setting up a fake Half Genie festival on Paradise Island, Risky was able to motivate the Empress Siren into kidnapping five Half Genies, in turn motivating Shantae to go after the Empress while Risky made off with the Sirens’ airship… or at least that’s how her plan would’ve gone if the Empress Siren didn’t betray her first and kill her by siphoning her life force. Fortunately, the Empress’ defeat was able to bring Risky back to life, but any hope of her stealing the airship was gone, as it was completely destroyed during Shantae’s fight with the Empress. Left with nothing to show but her restored life and a bruised ego, Risky returned to her ship to wash off her anger with a hot bath and dream up some new plans for world domination.


Namari Shirogane


Sometime in the future, the countries in the east were ruled over by the Imperial Capital, an island overseen by an emperor and his court. To uphold order and prevent civil unrest, warriors known as the senshi became commonplace among the nations, but few inspired as much hope as the Grenadier, a legendary markswoman who single-handedly quelled all wars.

Though the Grenadier may have inspired many to follow in her footsteps, one family would be divided by jealousy over their attempts to follow in her footsteps. The younger sister, Rushuna, was a worthy successor to the role (even being named after her), with a pure heart and kind personality whose softness was matched only by her skill with a gun. But her older sister saw otherwise. Believing she had been denied a title that was rightfully hers, Namari Shirogane would stray from the path of the senshi and become the very antithesis of everything they stood for.

Much of Namari’s past is a mystery, but what is known is that she was raised by the famous senjutsu master Soun Kongo, and at age 5 she accompanied him while exploring a recent shipwreck. Within the wreckage he located an infant foreigner who was miraculously unharmed, and impressed by her survival, he named her Rushuna after the legendary Grenadier.

Soun, Namari, and Rushuna began living together, and he came to see them as his daughters. In time Rushuna would show potential by mimicking Soun’s movements during his senjutsu lessons with Namari, particularly by copying his Instant Reload. This impressed Soun so much that he allowed her to join these lessons and slowly trained her in the art of gunplay.

Unfortunately, this streak of good fortune wouldn’t last forever. When they were still children, Rushuna and Namari were attacked by a black bear. Namari tried to convince Rushuna to run, but when she turned to rebuff her fear-paralyzed sister, the bear clawed out Namari’s eye.

Though they both survived the encounter, Namari’s mind was now clouded with hatred toward Rushuna. Believing her injuries had cast her from the path of the senshi and that Soun preferred Rushuna over her, Namari struck out on her own in pursuit of power, unaware that Soun’s inattentiveness came from a different source.

Thanks to the machinations of a mysterious man known only as Iron Masked Baron, the nation had been thrown into civil war, with the Baron setting his sights on the Imperial Capital. In an effort to stop him, Soun was asked to band with the other senshi to serve as a pillar and save people from the chaos. Together with nine of the strongest senshi, they formed the Juttensen, a group dedicated to protecting the emperor and his people. In a long, hard fought battle, the Juttensen faced off against a mysterious weapon known as the Perpetual Motion Solar Jacket, but in the end they managed to secure a victory.

Following the war’s end, Namari began traveling the nation, using what she’d learned from Soun to battle the strongest senshi and prove her worth. As her power grew, she soon realized that if she truly wanted to surpass Rushuna, she wouldn’t just need to defeat her; she needed to conquer everything about her, right down to her name and title of Grenadier.

This hatred would be further stoked by the Iron Masked Baron. Upon discovering her relationship with Soun, Iron Mask began using Namari as a pawn, going so far as to outfit her with an advanced device called the Scan Eye. With her help he was able to sway several of the Juttensen to his side and began work on a top class warship called the Death Horn, all under the guise of giving Namari the recognition she deserved.

After years of training Namari encountered Rushuna and nearly killed her before Rushuna’s allies helped her to escape. Angered by this, she had the Baron kidnap Rushuna and drag her to the Death Horn, where they’d be able to properly do battle. This time both sisters would pull out more surprising attacks, with Rushuna relying on Soun’s guns and teachings and Namari wielding Iron Mask’s advanced technology. In the end Namari would be defeated and her Scan Eye destroyed by Rushuna’s ultimate technique, the Super Special Rainbow Star, but this defeat caused her to have a change of heart. Seeing the attack in action reminded Namari of the lessons Soun had taught them long ago, and she remembered her original wish: to become a senshi capable of healing the wounds of war.

Seeing no further use for her, the Iron Masked Baron abandoned Namari and focused on the imperial court, preying on their hatred of the Juttensen and their own lust for power. Using his cybernetic body, Iron Mask integrated himself into the war machine they had been studying, the long abandoned Perpetual Motion Solar Jacket.

Hoping to stop the mad cyborg, Namari and Rushuna teamed up, but in the ensuing battle Namari would be forced to shield Rushuna from one of his blasts. Though it left her horribly burned, she was able to watch as Rushuna finished the Iron-Masked Baron. With the battle over, Namari was placed in intensive care, but she wouldn’t let herself be tied down so easily. Before she’d even finished healing, she was out of there, and as she watched Rushuna sail away to her homeland, Namari went away to embark on her own journey.


Experience, Intelligence, and Skill

Risky

Risky has many accomplishments under her belt, but none are as obvious as her intellect and trickery. She’s an expert when it comes to manipulating others into doing her dirty work, often tricking Shantae into obtaining the items she needs for her plans and stealing them while she’s vulnerable.

She’s disguised herself as Bandit Town’s Guardian Genie to gain Shantae’s trust, developed a contingency plan for Shantae by coercing the Muck Lords into hunting the Relic Hunters (29:08-29:54), convinced Rotty and her brothers to kidnap Shantae’s uncle Mimic to use as a bargaining chip, tricked Mimic into constructing the Tinkerbrain to corrupt Shantae and the Genie Realm, disguised herself as the Mayor of Arena Town and creating a false Half-Genie Festival to lure five Half-Genies to Paradise Island.

That last one’s more impressive than it sounds since it was part of a bigger plan to get the Half Genies out of the way, have Shantae and the Empress Siren fight each other, then use the airship to blast the winner into quivering jelly (19:41-21:24). The only reason it failed is because she never considered the Empress Siren betraying her first, or that their fight might also destroy the airship.

Namari

Namari has trained from childhood to become a senshi, a warrior skilled in the use of firearms. While her exact age has never been revealed, we do know that she was training under Soun at five years old in a flashback that took place “16 years ago,” meaning she’s at least 21 when the manga occurs. Though the amount of time she spent training with Soun is extremely vague, she’s still displayed enough prowess to be among the top of her class.

Her skills have been stated as equal to Rushuna or even surpassing her, with Rushuna having received the senshi’s greatest rank of Grenadier. Their first battle had Namari show some cunning tactics by tricking Rushuna into becoming so focused on their clashes that Namari was able to land a headshot with a spare bullet. She also displayed some sadistic and pragmatic tactics, like deliberately targeting Rushuna and Yajiro’s injuries.

During their rematch, Namari matched Rushuna’s strategies by coming up with responses on the fly, like catching bullets with her teeth after they changed direction mid-flight.


Equipment

Risky

Scimitar



Risky can use her sword to perform long upward and diving slashes, throw it like a boomerang, or enhance the power of her slide kicks.

In Shantae’s hands it was able to perform a downward thrust that destroys blocks, attacks enemies, and pogos across spikes. She could also use it in tandem with Risky’s boots to charge through whatever was in her way, which Risky also showed in Risky Revolution.

Flintlock Pistol


Risky’s secondary weapon when fighting at long range. It has several different types of ammo, which can all hold up to 99 rounds excluding the pellets.

  • Pellets: Standard ammo. An unlimited number of round white balls that can be rapidly
  • Seeker: Mini rockets that home in on enemies and explode on contact. 
  • Spread: Fires pellets in three directions simultaneously. 
  • Bomb Shot: Fires large explosives that can destroy large stone blocks. She also has a sticky version that creates a larger explosion whenever it’s shot or hit.

Pirate Hat


Whenever she’s in the air, Risky can stretch it out to slowly descend across long gaps like a parachute or ascend through the air on gusts of wind.

Pirate Boots

Allow Risky to run at super speed, letting her cross spikes and lava without any trouble.

Cannon

Gives Risky an extra boost in midair while sending a cannon ball straight down on her enemies’ heads. She can fire it up to four times.

Risky Revolution also depicts it firing ricocheting spiked, green cannonballs when aimed beneath her and 5 green cannonballs when aimed above.

Rope

A long strand of rope used to tie Shantae up and leave her helpless. While she did eventually free herself, it took a while for this to happen, meaning the rope’s really strong or Risky’s skilled at tying knots.

Anchor

A giant anchor that Risky used to crash Mimic’s relic expo and when fighting Shantae in Half Genie Hero. She can use it to crush her enemies or support her weight while she tosses fire bombs.

Magic Lamp

An ancient artifact used to store or kidnap genies, forcing them to grant any wish their new master desires. Risky used this during the events of Risky’s Revenge to strip Shantae of her genie half (and subsequently her powers) and create Nega Shantae, a full genie under her control.

Even without a genie inhabiting it, the lamp acts like a vacuum and can absorb material from the surrounding area like dark magic, fragrant aromas, or loose items like gems and hearts. It can also release these items should the need arise.

It’s worth noting that Risky no longer has this. She gave it to Shantae at the start of Pirate’s Curse and never took it back.

Fire Bombs

Giant metal bombs that explode into pillars of fire which last for little under a second. Risky typically throws them while sitting on her anchor.

Trap Bathtub

A bathtub that Risky snuck into Shantae’s house. It is equipped with a clamp to trap anyone in it.

Also why the hell doesn’t Shantae own a bathtub?

Fly

Risky’s main transportation in Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution. The cannon on its carriage can fire cannon balls and explosive pods containing a single Tinkerbat (both sometimes coming equipped with helicopter packs), though the cannon balls can be sent back at it, knocking the fly off balance and potentially crushing Risky under its weight for a few seconds.

Tinkerworm

Also known by its full name: the “Big-brainy, Sub-terrainy, High-Flying, Deep-Diving, Tectonic Tunneling, Acid-Drooling, Sequin Land-ruling, Totally Terrorizing Tinkerworm.”

Crafted using rare metals, forgotten alchemy, and royal jelly, this mechanical worm was made for the sole purpose of letting Risky and her crew burrow underground to plunder anywhere she wished.

Its drill can burrow through rock at high speeds, and it contains a cannon in its mouth. When piloted by the Muck Lords, the cannons can fire up to three pairs of spread shots at once, three exploding spiked green cannonballs, or three cakes that explode into bursts of energy and rain down. When Risky’s in command, it uses three cannons with exploding pods that contain Tinkerbats.

Tinkerslug

Also called the POOPTOOT (Part Omni-Organic, Partially Titanic, Ocean-Optional Tinkerslug), this three-eyed sea slug was outfitted with a ship deck and various cannons to serve as Risky’s latest ship.

Like Risky’s previous ships, it can fire massive pods containing multiple Tinkerbats and Risky herself.

Grappling Hook

A pistol with an extendable anchor. Risky can use this to latch onto surfaces and immediately reel herself up. Once she’s secure, she can move left and right using wheel-like gears or pass through platforms.

Kraken Ball

A strange orb stolen by the Tinkerbats that allows the user to breathe and move underwater.

Recovery Items


The following are support and healing items exclusive to Pirate Queen’s Quest.
  • Pirate Flare: Sets off fireworks that act as a signal for Risky’s men to pick her up and take her back to her ship.
  • Rancid Jam: A jam that tastes awful and restores 1/6 of her health.
  • Juicy Melon: A ripe, juicy melon that quenches thirst and restores the body by giving Risky 1/3 of her health.
  • Corndog: Mystery meat on a stick that restores 1/2 of her health.
  • Tuna Roll: Sushi that recovers 2/3 health.
  • Tentacle: A rubbery, pickled tentacle that restores Risky to full health.



Namari

Revolver

Namari’s main weapon, a six shot revolver that’s similar to Rushuna’s Himawari 38, which is harder than diamond

Bullets


When she isn’t flinging them from her cleavage and firing them from her revolver, Namari has been known to fire bullets with her bare hands. Using her thumb, she flicks the bullet out of its casing, launching it hard enough to ignite in midair and create an explosion upon impact. She’s used this as a sneak attack while distracting Rushuna with her gun and to defend herself from Yajiro’s sneak attack.

Face Mask

A layer of fake skin used to hide her disfigured face and Scan Eye.

Scan Eye

After losing her left eye from a bear attack, she gained this cybernetic prosthetic eye as its replacement. It’s capable of 100x magnification and programmed to calculate movements and flight paths for bullets.

It was eventually destroyed trying to process the flight paths of Rushuna’s Super Special Rainbow Star.

Oni Asura

Four attachable mechanical arms that Namari can wear. The lower ones are mainly used to let her walk around, though they also make for useful restraints. The middle arms can punch people into steel walls hard enough to dent them, unleash a swift barrage of punches, and catch bullets mid-flight. The ones at the top are equipped with rapid fire machine guns containing heat-seeking explosive ammo and mechanized shells.

Housed within its lower hands are a series of fans that disperse a volatile, incendiary gunpowder in a straight line. Namari then creates a spark to ignite the gunpowder into the “Hell Flare Blow,” a volatile, fiery explosion. Even if her target survives this attack, their muscles will be paralyzed from the burns.

The suit was taken out of commission when Rushuna used the Super Special Rainbow Star.

Death Horn


A battleship constructed by the Iron-Masked Baron as his main weapon against the Capital. It’s 300 meters in length, armed with 15 cannons and a 158 meter main cannon with a range of 200 km. Its main cannon fires enormous shells that reach extreme high and create devastating explosions, and its wheels let it traverse on land. All operations on the ship are carried out by its crew of advanced robots called the Shiki.


Cloak


Can be used to block bullets.

Tanto


A Japanese short sword Namari used to defend herself and Rushuna from a bear when they were children. It’s unknown what happened to it afterward since it’s never seen again.

Binoculars


Lets her view events as far away as the impact of the Death Horn’s explosive shells.


Abilities

Risky

Agility

Risky is capable of leaping wide distances, and can even slide kick across the stage to enter hidden passages, avoid attacks, or damage others.

Disguising

Risky has occasionally relied on disguising herself in order to trick Shantae and her allies. These range from the blatantly obvious disguise as the guardian genie of Bandit Town to the more complex Mayor of Arena Town, which included disguising her voice.

Dark Magic

A negative form of magic that Risky can collect in Pirate Queen’s Quest to enhance her health and abilities. She can even use this to summon Tinkerbats, which will move in a straight line and attack anything in their way for a few seconds before dispersing.

Namari

Disguising

Thanks to being trained as one of her body doubles, Namari’s anime counterpart, Setsuna, successfully disguised herself as her sister Tenshi and seized control of her kingdom. She was only discovered when Rushuna, someone also trained to act as Tenshi’s body double, noticed subtle differences like her eyes having a slight anger to them, not caring when she broke off a tree branch, and her chest being bigger because she was hiding a gun.


Marksmanship

Being trained in the use of firearms since childhood, Namari is naturally talented with them. Rushuna even admits that Namari’s skill is equal to hers, and Namari is one of the few senshi to actually harm her. This is the same Rushuna that can fire her bullets in such a way that they multiply each other’s power, completely destroy advanced miniguns with a single shot, and single-handedly killed an entire army of trained gunmen without being injured. In the anime, Setsuna could match Rushuna’s marksmanship even while jumping through the air (as seen above).

Gun Fu

A form of close-range combat between two gunmen or gunwoman. In the anime, Setsuna used this during one of the many phases of her battle with Rushuna, and ultimately proved superior to her by shooting Rushuna in the leg without her noticing.

Senjutsu Techniques

Thanks to Soun’s training, senshi like Namari and Rushuna have been trained in senjutsu, a gun-based style made to crush the enemy’s strength by destroying their weapons. While Namari is never shown using most of these techniques, she should be able to since she received the same training as Rushuna.

Instant Reload

An extremely fast reloading technique taught to her by Soun, but with a key difference. Soun’s version involved shaking the bullets out of the chamber, throwing new ones into the air, and swinging his gun to perfectly catch them. Namari’s has her flex her chest, using the momentum of her breasts to send out 6 bullets before catching them. With enough practice a user can reload in under a second.

This technique is often used when running toward an opponent, spinning in place, leaping or flipping through the air, or while dodging attacks in the heat of battle.


Clashing Tactic


Within a split second, Namari reads the path of bullets and intercepts them with her own shots. Other users like Rushuna have even done this against an advanced machine gun.

Point Blank Range Tactic: Double Impact

The user removes the hammer from the back of their gun and holds it between their knuckles. They then place the gun against their opponent and punch it with the hammer, striking the detonator and smashing the gun’s weight into the target. This activates the second “strike,” where the bullet is fired at point blank range with greater power than usual.

However, this isn’t the technique’s intended purpose. It’s supposed to be a reversal technique that turns the opponent’s attack against them. Performing it in the way listed above places stress on the gun and could potentially break it.

Short Distance Shooting Technique: Shooting Star

The user throws their gun cylinder into the air and leaps after it, flipping at the height of their ascension to perform an Instant Reload. They then unleash a powerful kick, using their foot and the bullets as a firing hammer to send all six bullets at the target simultaneously

Rushuna used this against Juzan after he dismantled her gun.

Senjutsu Special Technique: Rainbow Star

The ultimate senjutsu technique taught to her by Soun. Namari fires six shots from her gun simultaneously as the image of a horned, black-haired dragon appears over them. The bullets create their own lineated air streams that amplify their power before splitting off into their own separate, unpredictable flight paths.

It’s meant to be used in conjunction with Rushuna, but considering Rushuna’s used it on her own and what’s shown in the picture above, Namari should be able to perform this solo.

Resistances

Risky


Poisons:
Was only annoyed after being sprayed by Froglips, which are extremely poisonous.

Namari

Nothing.


Support

Risky

Tinkerbats



Risky’s crew consists of the Tinkerbats, small, mute creatures made of dark magic that she can somehow communicate with.

They come equipped with many different weapons, including scimitars, pistols, molotov cocktails that create pillars of fire, battering rams, explosive barrels, bombs able to destroy entire buildings, harpoon guns, and mallets.

They’re also capable of hiding in barrels, piloting mini mechs, using mechanical wings and helicopter packs to fly, sailing on boats that can cross lava, or gathering and relaying information while camouflaged (28:40-29:04).

If they get infected by dark magic, they’ll transform into winged, monstrous versions of themselves called Cacklebats. This reduces them to savage, feral beasts only capable of flying and charging, and they become so powerful that Risky can’t control them.

Tinkerbeasts



A dinosaur-like monster with a mini ship mounted on its back. Often ridden by multiple Tinkerbats, Tinkerbeasts attack by spitting boulders that roll toward its victims.

The Muck Lords

Three pterodactyl/dragon things who were originally part of the Pirate Master’s crew and imprisoned for betraying him. They joined Risky after being offered freedom in exchange for preventing Shantae from finding the Relic Hunters. While their own attacks and strategies are rather basic, they work together to pilot the Tinkerworm.

However, they aren’t completely loyal to her and will refuse her orders or abandon her without hesitation if she’s on the losing side.

MishMash



The first of the Muck Lords. He attacks by spitting fireballs and swinging his hammer. While he’s initially coated in a layer of rocky skin, hitting it with two powerful enough explosions will destroy it.

If that happens, he’ll enter his second phase, where he uses his wings to fly around the area, alternating between ramming into opponents or spitting fireballs from above.

FlimFlam



The second Muck Lord. He swaps between surrounding himself in a circle of winged, one-eyed bats that expand and contract around him, or moving to the background and summoning them to attack in the foreground. These summons sometimes include a red bat that responds to attacks by forcing its comrades to charge at the attacker all at once.

Hogswoggle



The final Muck Lord. He spends the fight sitting around eating cake, but after enough damage, he’ll get pissed and slam his fists on the table, somehow shifting the arena. In this new area his opponent will have to deal with monstrous cakes that shoot fireballs and figure out which three-layered cake contains a hidden Tremor Switch to get back to Hogswoggle.

Nega Shantae



Created by stripping Shantae of her genie side, Nega Shantae is a living manifestation of dark magic. She possesses amplified versions of all of Shantae’s transformations, including the following:
Despite this, she isn’t a flawless creation. Like her normal counterpart, Nega Shantae can only transform by belly dancing, leaving her open to attacks. To belly dance in the first place, she needs to maintain her footing. If that can’t be done, she won’t transform. And upon dying, her leftover magic becomes dark magic (4:16-5:01), which can potentially infect Risky’s Tinkerbats and turn them into Cacklebats.

The Tinkerbrain



Originally called the Dynamo, its intended purpose was to serve as a source of unlimited electricity, but thanks to Risky switching Mimic’s blueprints with her own, it instead uses the counterflow of negative energy from its rotations to create dark magic. This process inverts positive magic and corrupts it, letting Risky turn anything she wants from good to evil. It can even affect beings made of magic, transforming half genies like Shantae into violent sadists.

It was later modified by Risky and her crew into the Tinkerbrain, letting it generate enough dark magic to transformthe entireGenie Realm.

In battle its first phase can fireup to three loose gears and call down lasers. In its second phase upon reaching the Genie Realm, it uses the realm’s corrupted inhabitants to form a shield around itself. The genies will defend themselves either by surrounding their bodies with barriers or by firing waves of dark magic.

However, a smart enough opponent can unscrew the Tinkerbrain’s head by running in the opposite direction of its screws (i.e go left to affect the right screw and go right to affect the left screw), which will eventually expose its vulnerable power cells. And even with the genies enhancing its power, enough damage will revert them back to their true form of light magic, which can then target the Tinkerbrain’s core and destroy it. Though it should be noted this was only accomplished canonically with a device specifically made to redirect dark magic.


Namari

Shiki



Robotic foot soldiers from a foreign land that were created by the Iron Masked Baron for combat and manual labor. They’re armed with thermal targets, rocket launchers, swords, and shields. They typically work in groups, and while we don’t see much of their combative abilities, three of them threatened to overwhelm Yajiro.

The Juttensen



Nine of the ten Imperial senshi who are considered the strongest warriors in all the land. They were convinced by the Iron Masked Baron to join Namari’s side after he had their leader, Touka Kurenai, exiled for refusing. Each one possesses their own unique Heavenly Weapon.

Ouka Kurenai



The Juttensen’s General and sister of its previous leader. By spinning her spear she can conjure whirlwinds that pick up debris from the surrounding area and fire it as an omnidirectional barrage.

Furon



The 17 year old king of Tara who resembles a child due to the effects of the Devil’s Light, a gun powered by the wielder’s growth that fires compressed, blade-like waves of air capable of cutting through stone and creating explosions. During battle he wears a blond, bulletproof mech suit equipped with drones that can carve holes through floors and walls. He has a high tolerance for pain, able to survive being at ground zero when his suit self-destructed and emerging with only light injuries.

Teppa Aizen



Member of the esteemed metalworking Aizen family and master of Gaifu Senjutsu, a martial art based on manipulating armored cloth. To perform this, he uses the Adamantine Gaifu, a bulletproof robe interwoven with steel wire and said to be as hard as a diamond. He can use the cloth to shield himself and others from attacks or wrap it around itself multiple times to increase its density and turn into different shapes, including cannons, spears, and multiple blades. As a bonus weapon, he has explosive gauntlets capable of destroying boulders.

Aizen’s fast enough to block gunfire, but he has one crippling weakness: he’s a complete pervert, though when it comes down to it he’ll prioritize his mission over his love for the ladies.

Sanzo Soma



A musclebound giant that wields Kanonho, an amplifier which converts the airflow into ultrasonic sound waves to attack the target’s auditory functions and semicircular canals, destroying their equilibrium. These waves have also been shown to destroy the surrounding terrain, tear open clothes and skin, and cancel out bullets.

For extra weapons, he has gauntlets that act as speakers for Kanonho, making it so you’ll be off balance even if you dodge his attack.

Shinnoshin “Suiro” Hakubi



Nicknamed “The Water Wolf,” he’s a scuba diver that specializes in underwater combat, using the water’s increased density to avoid attacks and exploiting his opponent’s lack of mobility by using claws and torpedo launchers. However, a smart enough opponent can take him out by sending his torpedos back at him.

Juzaemon “Juza” Shiga



A pretty boy who’s so attractive he needs to hide in a bunny costume so the ladies won’t get in his way during battle. While his overstuffed costume makes him seem like a clumsy oaf, he’s one of the Juttensen’s strongest members, with his most dangerous aspect being his fighting style “Shiga Kaikoken.” Having studied the schematics of all firearms, he can use this knowledge to dismantle an enemy’s gun in exactly one second, forcing them to surrender.

Honmaru “Kiko” Tojo, Danjo “Nekko” Oma, and Yuzuriha “Kayaku” Shimon



A trio of Juttensen who teamed up to take down Rushuna. Unlike their contemporaries, they’re all rather one-note. Honmaru wields gauntlets and a stone mask, Yuzuriha has an energy whip that creates explosions, and Nekko relies on a suit of armor decked out with missile launchers and miniguns. It’s unknown how effective they are in combat since Ouka defeated them offscreen.


Feats

Risky

Overall

  • Seized control of the Pirate Master’s crew after his death and turned his skull into her bra
  • Led a siege on Scuttle Town and stole Mimic’s steam engine
  • Stole the four Relic Stones from Shantae
  • Successfully plundered several towns while using the Tremor Engine
  • Tricked Rotty and her brothers into kidnapping Shantae’s uncle Mimic
  • Stripped Shantae of her powers
  • Helped Shantae regain her powers and defeat the Pirate Master
  • Tricked Mimic into building the Dynamo and nearly succeeded in corrupting the Genie Realm
  • Killed Shantae in Pirate Queen’s Quest

Strength





Speed





Durability





Namari

Overall

  • Saved Rushuna from a bear as a child
  • Defeated the strongest senshi across the land, including the Juttensen
  • Briefly surpassed Rushuna in power and skill
  • Nearly killed Rushuna in their first battle
  • Oversaw the Death Horn’s test run
  • Saved Rushuna from the Perpetual Motion Solar Jacket and quickly recovered from her burns
  • In the anime, she successfully impersonated Empress Tenshi, manipulated her kingdom, and smeared her and Rushuna’s reputation to outsiders

Strength





Speed



Durability





Barons of Sequin Land



Risky has regularly battled Shantae, who always defeats the Barons prior to her fights with Risky, and Risky has even defeated all four of them in Pirate Queen’s Quest.

Pirate Master



Risky has repeatedly fought Shantae after the events of Pirate’s Curse, often proving an even match for him. These fights occurred long after Shantae fought the Pirate Master, where she held her own without her magic and defeated him single-handedly with it, so Risky at bare minimum should be comparable to her old boss.


The Seven Sirens + The Empress Siren




Namari

Rushuna Tendo



Namari served as Rushuna’s rival and partner, matching her strength and speed in base and heightened forms.


Base Rushuna


Heightened Rushuna


Perpetual Motion Solar Jacket



The final boss of Grenadier and the source of its best feats. Both Namari and Rushuna were able to dodge and survive direct blasts from it while it was at full power.

Weaknesses

Risky



Risky might call herself the Queen of the Seven Seas, but she’s far from perfect. While she has no problem fighting her opponents one on one, she usually only resorts to that after her plans have been foiled. Most of the time she just lounges around on her ship and has her Tinkerbats do the fighting for her. And even when she is willing to fight, she’ll only do it if she has access to her weapons. Otherwise she’s unable to fight on her own.

The Tinkerbats aren’t infallible either. They can occasionally get out of line by starting raids without her, accidentally leave her behind, or even get too scared to fight, forcing Risky to threaten them so they’ll stay in line. Pirate Queen’s Quest went as far as to have them screw up building the Tinkerbrain so badly that it self-destructed the moment it turned on.


Namari



Despite Namari’s ambitions to become the strongest, she still has a few weaknesses she never managed to overcome. Since her bullets are stored in her top, pulling it off will scatter them and hinder her ability to reload. If this happens, she’ll prioritize covering herself or getting it back on over attacking the one responsible, allowing enemies the chance to fight back or escape.

She also tends to rely on the Scan Eye to predict attacks rather than her own skill. This might not sound bad on paper, but the Scan Eye has numerous problems. Its ability to predict attacks is tied to Namari’s awareness of her surroundings, so if she doesn’t know someone’s there, they can catch her off guard with sneak attacks. It also has trouble adapting to attacks that change trajectory mid-flight and can even break if there are too many bullets constantly changing paths.


Before the Verdict

Giga Mermaid’s “lightning”

If you’ve seen the G1 blog for Shovel Knight vs Shantae, you probably remember that one of the feats listed for Shantae was moving in tandem with lightning from the Giga Mermaid, which got calculated at Mach 187. Why are we bringing that up?

Well, upon closer examination, the feat has a major hole in it. While the attack spawning from above could give the impression Giga Mermaid is calling down lightning, we don’t have a cloud source for it. As a result, it’s hard to gauge the distance from where this “lightning” fired compared to Shantae’s position, so unless you rely on some major assumptions, this feat is inapplicable.


Are the Solar Jacket’s beams actual lasers?

During the scene where it’s activated, the Solar Jacket unleashes six beams of energy that creates six explosions larger than the Capital. The next page has Soun explain that the Solar Jacket is “capable of producing power from the sun’s light alone.” So does this mean the beams it produces qualify as actual, lightspeed lasers?

Before we answer that, we need to explain the qualifications for a laser to be legitimate. In order for a laser to be probably lightspeed, it needs to exhibit the following properties:
  • Light based in nature
  • Travels in a straight line
  • Reflects off surfaces
  • Burns instead of explodes

Of these requirements, the Solar Jacket’s beams are shown traveling in a straight line, and while it’s a stretch, being created through solar power could point to them being light based. Unfortunately, they fall short in the last two categories. We never see the beams reflect off any surface, and each time they hit something, they’re shown exploding. We see it during the Solar Jacket’s activation and when Iron Mask uses it on Namari and Rushuna.

With that in mind, we can conclude the Solar Jacket’s beams aren’t actual lasers, meaning Grenadier’s best speed feats cap at Hypersonic to Massively Hypersonic.


Verdict



Stats

The stat trinity for these two is a bit odd to discuss. On their own neither one has anything quantifiable for Attack Potency, so we’re limited to physical feats that can’t really be compared. Risky’s got moving stone blocks, beating up a dude off screen, and sending a tiny crocodile man flying with a swing of her sword. Namari has stuff like flicking a bullet hard enough to shatter a sword, stomping on Rushuna, throwing her into a rock hard enough to crack it, and kicking Yajiro away. The closest they get to having direct AP feats is from their equipment. Risky’s sticky bomb creates an explosion that’s over 100 times weaker than 1 ton of TNT, while Namari’s Oni Asura can generate an explosion of over 3 tons of TNT.

Durability is a similar story. While there is a change since we now have actual quantifiable feats, there’s still a major gap between what Risky and Namari have survived. The Queen of the Seven Seas could tank explosions from Ammo Baron’s airship and the Tinkerbrain, which would come out to 912.4 tons of TNT and 534.3 kilotons, respectively. Namari completely steamrolls this by surviving a direct blast from the Solar Jacket. This did leave her horribly burned, meaning it would be the upper limits of her durability, but that same weapon had previously made six massive craters with its explosions. Even just one of these craters would be worth 2 gigatons, making her over 3700x more durable than Risky.

Things don’t get much better when we apply scaling… mainly because their rivals would also scale to those durability feats. Even if we scale Risky to higher feats like the Pirate Master’s massive storm or the Quake Dance’s mountain moving statement, it doesn’t really matter. The Pirate Master’s storm comes out at nearly 604 kilotons, leaving Namari 3312 times stronger, while the mountain statement (assuming it's not hyperbole) would be over 15 megatons. Certainly less of a hurdle to overcome, but still a 129x strength difference in Namari’s favor.

Fortunately, the speed gap is far closer. Risky has dodged arrows and electricity, and moved fast enough to appear as a streak of energy, which would require speeds close to Mach 2. And we could easily scale her to Sky’s war bird Wrench, who can travel beyond the horizon at anywhere from Mach 19 to Mach 110. But Namari has kept up with Rushuna’s base and heightened states, even perceiving her actions when Rushuna’s perception was so enhanced she saw bullets as frozen and deflected each one perfectly, which would require speeds of Mach 204. Using the best feats for both characters, Namari is 1.85x faster, which is an extremely small margin but notable nonetheless.

Namari takes the edge in stats.

Tertiaries

Experience is rather easy to pin down. While neither characters’ ages have ever been officially stated, Namari being Soun’s student at 5 years old in a flashback “16 years ago” would make her at least 21, and unlike her opponent, she’s accomplished way more in terms of both training and combat. She’s got statements of defeating the Juttensen on her own and being equal to or surpassing Rushuna’s skill, a woman who received the senshi’s greatest rank of Grenadier. She’s nearly killed Rushuna and Yajiro, and could help against an island-destroying cyborg without her prosthetic eye, unlike Risky whose closest equivalent required her to employ artillery from a distance.

Intelligence is much the same. Both have shown that they’re willing to don disguises to further their plans, and while Risky is certainly a skilled manipulator, she rarely if ever shows any of that intellect during combat. Meanwhile, Namari has been able to trick similarly intelligent opponents into getting so focused on their fight that she can catch them off guard with a headshot, deliberately targeted injuries to inconvenience them, and could adapt to unpredictable circumstances on the fly.

Even their mindsets are a complete mismatch! Risky rarely engages in physical fights unless she absolutely has to, and she spends most of her time lounging around while her men do the work for her. Namari goes into her fights ready to kill (or at least mortally wound) right off the bat!

Tertiaries also go to Namari.

Equipment

This is where things start to get rather curious. When it comes down to it, Risky and Namari possess many of the same equipment. Both carry firearms equipped with explosives that home in on adversaries. Both can wield swords. Both have ships armed to the teeth with cannons. While they may possess similar equipment, the advantage would ultimately have to go to Risky.

Risky has more vehicles, and some of those vehicles can operate in the air, giving her more ground to cover than Namari. If Risky took damage, she has plenty of items that can be used to heal herself. The same cannot be said for Namari.

This isn't to say that Namari doesn't have her advantages. The scan eye can predict the flight path of bullets and the Oni Asura can catch them all together. If the Hell Flare Blow lands, it could paralyze Risky. In terms of versatility though, Risky ultimately has the advantage.

Abilities

While both are masters of disguising themselves, it’s a bit hard to determine who’s necessarily better in this regard. Risky’s disguise as the Mayor of Arena Town is certainly impressive, but you could say the same of Setsuna disguising herself as Tenshi. The Tenshi disguise was simpler in comparison (it was just a wig, some robes, and disguising her voice) and she was eventually found out, but the only person who saw through her was Rushuna, someone who had personally trained under Tenshi as her body double to the point she could pick up on subtle cues between them. The things that gave Setsuna away wouldn’t stick out to the average person, like her eyes having a subtle anger to them or accidentally snapping a branch off a cherry blossom tree.

Risky’s agility would let her put more distance between herself and Namari, but given her marksmanship, chances are Risky would be kept on her toes trying to make sure Namari doesn’t snipe her with her revolver. While her dark magic could let her summon Tinkerbats to distract Namari, they only exist for a few seconds at best and are basically fodder.

In terms of combat skills, Namari easily trumps Risky. Her marksmanship and Gun Fu would be hard for Risky to deal with given she’s not really used to fighting up close or having to dodge projectiles moving that fast. And Namari’s Senjutsu techniques basically counter any attacks Risky has ever pulled in a 1v1 fight before. The Clashing Tactic could intercept any of her ammo and Namari can potentially ricochet her shots to destroy Risky’s flintlock. The Double Impact being a rush into a counter move could turn Risky’s charging scimitar attack against her. The Shooting Star would act as an answer to the cannonball shots. And the Rainbow Star’s unpredictable flight paths would make it extremely difficult for Risky to avoid Namari’s shots.

Namari has the better Abilities.

Support

While these two have lots of deadly options on their own accord, their support and allies are where this matchup truly ramps up.

In terms of the small fry, Risky’s Tinkerbats easily outnumber the Shiki. While the Shiki do have better showings of strength with three of them nearly overpowering Yajiro, they don’t hold a candle to the Tinkerbats’ sheer versatility in arsenal, and the Tinkerbats easily outclass them in terms of tactics and strategies with how many ways they go into battle.

Not only that but the Muck Lords and their Tinkerworm could prove problematic for Namari’s army as it is filled with numerous tools and weapons that she has no way of predicting like burrowing underground, shooting large cannonballs, or raining down exploding cakes.

Risky’s biggest advantages come from Nega Shantae and the Tinkerbrain. Firstly, Nega Shantae’s ability to transform into different animals makes her more unpredictable, while the Tinkerbrain is likely the biggest trump card in Risky’s arsenal. While its main ability of converting light magic into dark magic is completely useless against a team that doesn’t use magic, it is unlikely that Namari or her crew have a way to exploit its main weakness, that being to destroy the core. The only time the Tinkerbrain had been destroyed was specifically with a device meant to counter dark magic, which again Namari does not have.

This is where problems arise for the pirate queen as while she does have far more numbers, Namari’s crew is more versatile and competent. This coupled with the stat difference makes it so that Risky’s normal lackeys will be wiped almost instantly. The Muck Lords can be destroyed by Furon, Teppa, Sanzo, Yuzuriha, or Nekko as their battle strategies are much more straightforward and simple as would make easy targets for the Grenadier cast.

Now onto the MVPs, Nega Shantae is one of the more predictable members of Risky’s forces but her belly dancing takes comparatively longer than normal Shantae, meaning that any member of Namari’s crew could theoretically blitz and destroy her before she can pull anything off. With the Tinkerbrain, nothing really changes what we’ve said before. It will likely be the one thing Namari and her crew can’t fully destroy. While its gears can be countered by several Juttensen, its lasers, barriers, and other abilities can prove some real trouble. That topped with its unique weakness means that the only real way for Namari and her crew to fully destroy it is through brute force and raw power, which is a possibility, but not a guarantee.

So while Risky has the numbers and an unstoppable ally in the Tinkerbrain, Namari’s more competent and explosive crew have the strength to overpower most of the Pirate Queen’s squad. Namari just nearly takes Support.


Conclusion

Despite Risky having a few edges over her, Namari still has most of the advantages needed to pull off a win. She completely decimates Risky in stats, experience, and intelligence, has the means to counter most of Risky’s base arsenal, and her more combat-oriented abilities would quickly leave the Lady Pirate on the backfoot. While Risky’s sizable arsenal and the nigh-unstoppable Tinkerbrain would definitely give her trouble, Namari and her crew have just enough ammo to permanently dethrone the Queen of the Seven Seas.

Looks like messing with this gunslinger was risky business, and this pirate ended up getting the boot!

The winner is Namari Shirogane.





Summary

Risky




Advantages:
  • Larger numbers and arsenal
  • None of Namari’s allies can reasonably take down the Tinkerbrain
  • Healing foods can keep her in the game for a while


Disadvantages:
  • At a MASSIVE disadvantage in AP and durability
  • Slightly slower
  • Outclassed in tertiaries and abilities
  • Less competent allies
  • Lazier attitude toward combat would result in a quick death with Namari’s no-nonsense approach to fights

Namari




Advantages:
  • Leagues stronger and more durable
  • Slightly faster
  • More experienced and intelligent
  • Would go for the kill immediately
  • Better abilities
  • More diverse and competent allies



Disadvantages:
  • Lesser numbers and arsenal
  • Can not reasonably take down the Tinkerbrain
  • Her series is obscure as hell


Credits

Shovel Knight vs Shantae G1 Blog
DoctorMooDB’s composite Risky Boots and Setsuna/Namari profile
Strunton, Kaiser, Lucci_Agenda, Jinri, CapeJedi, and VS Battles Wiki for calcs

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ragna the Bloodedge vs Velvet Crowe (Blazblue vs Tales of Berseria)

Image
(Br3ndan5) (Scarat) (NathanTheManTheMHFan) Ragna the Bloodedge , the Grim Reaper from Blazblue ! Velvet Crowe , the Lord of Calamity from Tales of Berseria ! Vengeance can drive one to do many things and commit to any extreme to satisfy their grudge. And nobody knows it better than these two. With the loss of their arm and the mysterious disappearance of their siblings, these two have ventured the world on a quest for vengeance against the one man that ruined their lives. But what happens when these two harbingers of destruction cross paths? Will the Grim Reaper claim another victim, or will the Lord of Calamity devour yet another monster? Let’s find out as we dive deep into both series to determine who would win a DEATH BATTLE! Before we begin Given Blazblue’s status as a multimedia franchise with multiple canon games, manga, and novels, for the sake of making things fair, we’ll also be including any feats or abilities found in the spin-offs and adaptations for Tales of Berseria. This...
Read more

Yuki Terumi vs Michael Roa Valdamjong (Blazblue vs Tsukihime)

Image
Yuki Terumi , the Black Susano’o from Blazblue ! Michael Roa Valdamjong , Tsukihime ’s Serpent of Akasha! Ouroboros, the depiction of a serpent devouring its own tail. As a symbol this represents the eternal cycle of death and rebirth, or creation and destruction. And it’s an appropriate pick for these two serpent themed villains. Unable to die and constantly reviving, these two sadistic bastards have endured by living on through proxies and hosts, manipulating events from the shadows to achieve their depraved goals. But when they cross paths, which one will have their cycle broken? Let’s find out as we decide who will win a DEATH BATTLE! Before we begin For this blog, we’ll be analyzing the main canon for both Blazblue and the original Tsukihime continuity (i.e the games, manga, and visual novels), as well as the non canon anime Blazblue: Alter Memory . Stuff from the Tsukihime remake continuity will not be included . Background Terumi “This whole world is nothing but lies! LIES! ...
Read more

Power Girl vs Hyperion (DC vs Marvel)

Image
(Br3ndan5) (Studio8558) (Scarat) (Morkez) (BangJang) Power Girl , the last daughter of the Multiverse! Hyperion , the sole survivor of the Squadron Supreme! Forced into mainstream continuity from elsewhere in the vast multiverse, these two mighty heroes have made themselves at home in this new universe. And like any superhero these days, they have to deal with supervillains, complicated relationships, and most importantly: continuity reboots! If you think reading through them is confusing, try having everything you know hard reset by the higher-ups! And yet these two persevere, rising above their survivor’s guilt to defend the innocent. But even then, no world exists where both will walk away from a DEATH BATTLE! Before we begin The following analyses are going to focus on specific iterations of Power Girl and Hyperion. For Power Girl, she’ll be given feats and abilities from the Pre-Crisis, Post Crisis, and Post DC Rebirth eras. While the New 52 has its own Power Girl, she won’t be co...
Read more