Description[]
Shadow of the Colossus vs Princess Mononoke! These two humble swordsmen hail from classic historical fantasy epics, facing off against themes of darkness and fanciful conflict. These two may struggle with holding down their own inner demons, but which could return victorious if they were to clash?
Interlude[]
Wiz: In all forms of media, there are different forms of traditional swordsmen, telling the classic tale of a man struggling with suppressing their inner demons—many times in a quite literal sense.
Boomstick: These two oriental swordsmen/archers go through many lengths to protect what is dear to them, in epic fantastical fashion! It doesn't matter how large or imposing you are, you can't escape the gleam of their blades!
Wiz: Wander, the pawn of Dormin and slayer of the Sixteen Colossi.
Boomstick: And Ashitaka, Prince of Emishi Village and hero during the struggle between the gods of a forest and humans! He's Wiz and I'm Boomstick!
Wiz: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills, to find out who would win... a Death Battle.
Wander[]
Wiz: In the cold of the night, two companions traveled through the rocky plains to reach their destination—the Shrine of Worship. Arriving at this long-awaited place, the young boy hopped off of his horse and placed a woman on the altar before him.
Boomstick: That man was named Wander, and the dead woman was Mono. Mono and Wander were… lovers? Brother and sister? Was it even specified, because that’s kinda important.
Wiz: No, it’s never stated.
Boomstick: Damn... Well, regardless. Along with his horse, Agro, Wander called upon the mysterious disembodied entity, Dormin, asking how he could resurrect Mono from her cursed fate!
Wiz: From then on, Wander was tasked with defeating the sixteen Colossi, that were scattered around the Forbidden Lands. With the legendary Ancient Sword in hand, Wander had no idea what he was in for.
Boomstick: Killing white-tailed lizards, of course!
Wiz: Well, aside from that.
Boomstick: Oh… I guess you’re right. The Colossus themselves are a bit of a big problem. A really, really, REALLY gigantic problem.
Wiz: On his travels, Wander gained all sorts of experience with his swordsmanship and bowmenship. Such as with the Colossus, Kuromori, that required precise shooting to knock it off of the walls.
Boomstick: Revenge of the lizards!
Wiz: Weird. I never saw it that way.
Boomstick: Colossus such as Pelagia, Phaedra, and Quadratus all showed Wander the ropes in terms of climbing skills! They’re all quadrupeds too, whaddya know. He’s even faced against Colossus like Avion that fly around the sky, and Colossus like Hydrus that are submerged underwater!
Wiz: All this goes to show just how powerful and courageous Wander truly is. He’s taken on Colossus, notably Phalanx, that are nearly 200 meters long, which is nearly the length of two football fields. Furthermore, he’s even scaled Colossus such as Malus, that stand at around 60 meters tall.
Boomstick: His stamina must be insane! To climb all that, all the while holding on to Colossi that shake around, and even at times while having to hold his breath underwater!
Wiz: But while he can do all this, Wander would’ve never been able to finish off the Colossi without the help of his weaponry. Wander’s two main forms of attack are through his sword and his bow.
Boomstick: Wander’s first sword is the Ancient Sword! This sword is said to have sealed away Dormin long ago. Stealing the blade, Wander would then go on to use it against the Colossi! But the sword has additional uses, such as being able to pinpoint the location of shadowy being, and their weakest points, by sending out beams of light as guidance!
Wiz: Wander also later gets upgrades for his sword. The Queen’s Sword is able to take out Colossus in very few hits. But his most powerful blade, the Sword of Dormin, deals even more damage, and also glows red when Wander’s enemies are on the attack.
Boomstick: But that’s not all he has! Wander is even a skilled bowman, wielding the Ancient Bow, which Wander mainly uses as a way to alert his opponents as opposed to actually damaging them.
Wiz: However, despite having defeated all the Colossi, Wander was in for a cruel surprise. With each Colossus dead, Dormin’s spirit was released, and he took over Wander’s body as a host, which was it’s plan all along.
Boomstick: Which really sucks, by the way! Dormin/Wander was defeated in the end, but Wander himself was reverted to the form of a child! So when Mono revived, she had to, y’know… raise him. Not quite a happy ending.
Wiz: It’s unknown at one point in time Dormin would’ve been able to take over Wander, or from what distance away from the Shrine of Worship would Dormin be able to find Wander as a host. However, such transformation only increases Wander’s power and body mass.
Boomstick: Wander isn’t quite used to such a large body, and so fighting in that form actually just proved to be a massive disadvantage to him. But regardless, when in his peak form, Wander is not to be messed with!
Wander: Please, I need you to bring back her soul.
Ashitaka[]
Wiz: Emishi Village was a very peaceful and historical place, deeply connected with the Earth and the spirituality surrounding it. All the villagers worshiped the Forest Spirit as a god, and called upon it to bless their land.
Boomstick: And, well, the Forest Spirit was doing just fine, I’d say! Until, of course, a god-like boar possessed by demons came barreling out of the forest, with its only intent to kill all the humans in its path!
Wiz: The boar demon wreaked havoc throughout the village, until one boy emerged from the shadows, proudly seated upon his loyal red elk, Yakul. This boy was none other than Ashitaka, the Prince of Emishi Village, and a renowned hero.
Boomstick: It wasn’t long before Ashitaka, bow in hand, outmaneuvered the boar demon and killed it for good. All seemed fine and dandy from then on, until the young Prince suddenly noticed a purple mark growing upon his right hand.
Wiz: In fact, while facing off against the boar demon, Ashitaka accidentally touched it. The curse that had plagued the boar now resided within the Prince’s right arm, which lead to the people of Emishi Village being forced to banish him.
Boomstick: Ashitaka fled from his village along with his steed, Yakul, and made way for Irontown. Ashitaka was fascinated by the people of Irontown, including the leader of the town, Lady Eboshi, but it wouldn’t be long before Ashitaka found himself heading out again!
Wiz: However, on his way to plea with the Forest Spirit to have his cursed right-arm restored, the Prince ran into a young woman named San, and her adoptive family of wolves. San was hesitant to open up to Ashitaka due to her hatred of humans, but Ashitaka’s pure heart and iron will eventually pulled through.
Boomstick: I’m pretty sure she was more impressed by his absolute badassery, Wiz! Ashitaka is an absolute tank, and extremely tactical too! His ability to influence people can only go so far, but his skill completely makes up for the places in which he lacks!
Wiz: I’d have to agree with you there. Ashitaka is a phenomenal swordsman, able to keep up with even the greatest in his land. it’s unknown at what point Ashitaka began his sword training, but regardless, he is incredible in blade-to-blade combat.
Boomstick: But where the Prince really shines is in his archery! The guy has never been seen to miss a shot, and, with his bow skills, has been able to defeat a large array of deities and cavalry soldiers! Ashitaka has even shot an arrow so hard, that he’s sniped entire limbs off of people!
Wiz: Ashitaka’s cursed arm plays a big part in his feats, however. Although this curse is fated to eventually kill Ashitaka, the amount of raw strength it gives him is unmatched. With it, the Prince has not only shot limbs off of foes, but single-handedly opened doors said to require the strength of ten men to open.
Boomstick: Hell, this cursed arm gives durability too! Ashitaka was shot straight through the chest with a rifle, and kept on walking as if nothing happened! Along with all that skill, I guess he can take just as much of a beating.
Wiz: Ashitaka was almost destined to complete his journey. He’s got the smarts, skill, and magical advantages enough to almost ensure he pulls through whatever encounter awaits him.
Boomstick: Hell yeah!
Ashitaka: This is what hatred looks like! This is what it does when it catches hold of you! It's eating me alive, and very soon now it will kill me!
Fight![]
"Hyah!" Wander shouted, issuing for his steed, Agro, to continue speeding forwards. His mission was clear—defeat the Colossi, in order to get his dearest Mono back into the world of the living. However, despite having destroyed the twelve Colossi... nothing happened.
Just minutes earlier, Agro had appeared to Wander in peak condition. Wander knew something was awry, so he raised his sword, and was shocked when another light beam erupted from it, and pointed far out into the Forbidden Land. Did Wander forget a Colossus? That couldn't be...
The wind blew Wander's hair all over the place as he sped through the moonlit plains. That's when, all of the sudden, Agro let out a hefty neigh, and stopped in its tracks. Wander looked up to his raised sword, only to see that the beam of light he had used as guidance ended it's trail. Confused, Wander looked around.
"I see nothing here. What Colossus could this forsaken blade have sensed?" Wander inquired, looking from left to right upon his horse. The plains stretched for miles around him, leaving no place for a Colossus to hide from sight. Confused, Wander patted Agro's side and leaped off of her.
"Greetings!" Said an unfamiliar voice in cheerful fashion. Wander, completely caught off guard, took a short hop backwards and braced himself. In front of him stood a boy of around Wander's age, who had seemed to have completely avoided detection just seconds before.
"Who are you?" Wander asked the mysterious young man.
"My name is Ashitaka. I'm a Prince from Emishi Village." He responded, taking note of how on-guard Wander seemed to be. Wander had never seen Emishi Village himself, only heard rumors. But regardless, Ashitaka's words didn't relax Wander any.
With caution, Wander unsheathed his blade a tad, only to find that the beam of light focused instantly on Ashitaka's right arm. "No... It cannot be." Wander gasped. Ashitaka saw Wander's sword, taking a timid step backwards.
"Your blade," Ashitaka pointed out. "why do you reveal it? I mean you no harm, wanderer."
"The light of this cursed brand rings true. Your appearance is deceiving, Prince, but fate plagued you." Wander explained, finally allowing for his sword to completely divulge itself. "You're a Colossus."
"I cannot deny it, I was cursed during my troubles. But this Colossus you speak of, I promise you I am not."
"Such fair words for a foul beast, befitting of your deceptive mien. Mono's branch to life can only grow from the touch of your dying breath." Wander scowled, finally realizing what he needed to do. "I must save her, through whatever means."
"Your judgement is clouded. Why unlawfully take life to save one already taken? Nature forbids this as I do, if you truly wish to attack." Prince Ashitaka concluded, letting his sword free from it's receptacle. "I won't hurt you until you force my accursed hand."
"I trust in Dormin's words. And for that reason, I will destroy the Colossus within you, Prince." Wander said solemnly, trudging towards Ashitaka with the Sword of Dormin gripped tightly in hand. Agro backed up, as Wander's walk turned into a sprint.
FIGHT![]
Wander finally reached Ashitaka, his Sword of Dormin shining an intense light focused around the Prince's right arm. With a hefty swing towards the highlighted position, Ashitaka was keen in using his own sword to block the strike, before using his strength to push Wander off of him.
Stumbling backwards, Ashitaka found himself needing to narrowly an incoming lunge from the Prince of Emishi—quickly parrying the strike and rolling off to the side. Ashitaka continued his assault, trudging towards the wanderer and dishing out a few sword slashes.
Wander tried his best to avoid the attacks, but was nicked by the last swing. With a cut down his shirt, Wander let out a small grunt before tumbling backwards and rolling back a tad. Seeing her master in pain, Agro let out a neigh, and galloped to Wander's side.
Getting onto a knee, Wander looked up to Ashitaka, who was currently looking down to Wander with a solemn expression plastered upon his face. In a quick move, Wander leaped up onto the saddle of his trusty steed, who kicked Ashitaka in the chest with her hooves.
Stumbling to the ground, Ashitaka grasped his chest, but had little time to wallow in pain, as Wander took out his bow, and began to shoot arrow after arrow at Ashitaka. In a quick means of defending himself, Ashitaka raised his cursed arm. Shocking Wander, the arrows cracked upon coming in contact with the forsaken limb.
Ashitaka rose to his feet quickly and took a few steps backwards, before turning and calling, "Yakul, to me!"
From off in the distance, a large red elk came riding towards the Prince. In no time, Ashitaka flipped onto his elk, Yakul's, back and faced off against Wander and Agro. Sheathing his sword, Ashitaka took out his bow, to match Wander's own. Arrows flew by Wander's head as he circled around Ashitaka and Yakul.
As Ashitaka fired, Wander's blade was glowing an intense red color. Wander took the red blade and batted away at any arrow that came near him, before charging head on towards Ashitaka. As he passed, Wander swung his blade and knocked Ashitaka's bow straight out of his hands.
Wander circled back around towards the defenseless Ashitaka, this time taking a swing towards the Price's head. Ashitaka quickly ducked under the swipe, then kicked to his side, knocking Wander right off of Agro's saddle. Wander landed on his left shoulder; the joint cracking under the weight of his fall.
Rolling a few feet away, Wander clutched his shoulder and let out a gasp of pain. Looking up, Wander saw as Ashitaka and Yakul raced over to him, bow and arrows back in his hands. Wander was left little time to react as Ashitaka pulled back his bow and let an arrow fly, piercing the shoulder that Wander had just broken.
Yakul then proceeded to kick Wander onto his back, and Ashitaka looked down to his opponent with a drawn bow aimed at Wander's forehead. Wander looked up to his incoming demise with disgust. Seems it was over for the Colossus-slayer. Until...
"Agro!" Wander called to his horse, who had been racing throughout the plains since Wander was knocked off of her. In an instant, Agro bolted back towards Wander, and quickly noticed her master about to be slain. In a flash, Agro reached Yakul and Ashitaka, and kicked Yakul over. In a cry, Yakul topped over, catching Ashitaka completely off guard.
Wander rolled out of the way and stood back up, patting Agro on the side. Ashitaka gave a pained cough before carefully getting up off the ground, quickly looking over to the motionless Yakul. It was fatally kicked by Agro; so hard that it seemed it would be grounded for quite some time. Furious, Ashitaka glared up at Wander.
The earth shook, with Ashitaka's dark aura growing by the second. In no time at all, the Prince's right arm was engulfed by what seemed to be shadowy worms. Wander backed up a tad, drawing his bow as Ashitaka tredged forwards. With one powerful shot, Wander pierced Ashitaka's abdomen with an arrow.
However, completely against expectation, Ashitaka kept walking forwards as if nothing had happened whatsoever. Wander was surprised, and thus drew his sword, which had an incredibly intense beam focused towards Ashitaka's arm. With one fell swoop, Ashitaka released a powerful overhead shot, his sword digging deep into Ashitaka's right shoulder.
Yet again, Ashitaka didn't flinch. Instead, with his cursed arm, Ashitaka grabbed hold of the sword planet in him, tore it out from his body, and slammed it into Wander's own chest. Agro, seeing this occur, let out a neigh, and got ready to kick Ashitaka. Without much thought, the Prince grabbed hold of the horse, and effortlessly knocked it out.
Wander fell to his knees, dearly clutching hold of the sword that was currently punctured through him. With a groan, Wander fell onto his side. However, it wasn't long before a dark aura began to surround Wander as well. The Prince noticed this, looking down to Wander's body.
“Hark, he's been possessed by that parasitic Demon, just as I have!" Ashitaka deduced, although he truly had no clue that this wasn't the case. However, without much other thought, Ashitaka took out his own blade. "The only way to defeat these Demons... Is to destroy them!"
"You cannot destroy my host! Kill him, and you will have killed me as well!" A voice boomed from above, speaking to Ashitaka. "I can grant you whatever you would desire. Eternal life, perhaps? Simply lower your blade, Prince, and you shall have it."
Ashitaka pondered it for a moment, but wasn't quite sure who exactly was speaking to him. After the second of contemplation, Ashitaka knew what his answer would be. "My life is meaningless compared to the hundreds of others that this curse threatens. If you are the harbinger of this disease, then I must destroy you!"
"NO!" The voice yelled, its fearful cries echoing across the vast lands. Wander steadily stood to his feet, with demonic eyes and horns piercing out through his head, looking towards the Prince that refused Dormin's offer to him.
Trudging towards the Prince like a diabolic puppet, Wander savagely ripped the Sword of Dormin from his abdomen and faced Ashitaka. The Prince, disturbed by the transformation he saw occur before him, held his sword close to his chest.
Wander lashed out towards Ashitaka, swinging his sword wildly, but maintaining a cold, dead face the entire time. With one final overhead strike, Ashitaka’s quickest means of defense was raising his accursed arm in front of his face.
Just like that, the Sword of Dormin slammed against Ashitaka’s wrist and… broke! With a shattered sword in hand, the Dormin-possessed Wander lunged at Ashitaka, and plunged it into the Prince’s side.
“We, Dormin, have been sealed away for time immemorial. None can stand in the way of our absolution.” Wander cooed, in a voice that most certainly did not belong to him.
Emishi Village’s prince let out a small whimper of pain, but it wasn’t nearly enough to put him down. With his enemy now within reach, Ashitaka grabbed hold of Wander’s throat, and slammed him to the ground; with so much force that a small crater formed underneath him.
The demonic Wander writhed in pain as Ashitaka stood back up and readied his sword, aiming it above Wander for a killing blow. With the last of his remaining conscience, Wander looked beyond the plain—spotting the temple in which his beloved lay deceased.
“Before long… I will be with you again…” Wander managed to say in a raspy, defeated tone. He could feel Dormin’s influence, goading him to continue fighting with his unholy power, but Wander gained enough control to resist in his final moments.
Wander reached out to his dearest, before he could no longer hold his arm up any longer. Ashitaka looked down to his opponent with remorse; and even sadness, too.
The Prince plunged his sword into Wander's neck, causing for the dark aura to fade around him. Wander let out one final breath, closing his eyes for good. Ashitaka looked to his cursed arm, then yanked his sword from Wander's throat.
KO![]
Running back to Yakul, Ashitaka knew he had to get it to the Forbidden Forest and ask the spirits for healing. It wouldn't be long before Yakul's injuries killed it. However, Ashitaka knew luck had came to his side, and was confident that now, both Yakul's injuries and the Demon's curse will soon be removed from this world.
“That man must have been the Demon that’s plagued me ever since Nago raided Emishi Village.” Ashitaka concluded. “I didn’t want to kill him, but at the brink of death he proved to me his true self.”
Ashitaka stood, using his strength to carry the paralyzed Yakul across the plains and towards the Forbidden Forest. “Although it’s curious…” the Prince said with a sigh. “I would have though the curse placed upon my arm would disappear as well…”
Conclusion[]
Boomstick: Damn! I couldn’t tell who was gonna win that one!
Wiz: As you shouldn’t have; this fight was extremely close, and could’ve reasonably gone both ways. However, in most cases, Ashitaka is the one to edge out a tough victory.
Boomstick: Having the exact same equipment, this fight was a complete stalemate on the surface level! However, there are many more factors to the fight! For one, Ashitaka’s power is just leagues about Wander’s!
Wiz: While it’s true that Wander is able to take down huge Colossi without much of a struggle, there are many factors that go into this. Most noticeably, each Colossi has a glyph that can severely damage them when struck.
Boomstick: So it’s unreasonable to say that Wander’s own power took out these behemoths! They had giant sensitive targets on their bodies just waiting to get stabbed, and the prominence of striking these glyphs makes it clear that defeating a Colossus can’t be attributed to Wander’s strength alone!
Wiz: On the other hand, Ashitaka has plenty of strength feats that can be attributed to him, all thanks to his cursed arm. With his strength boosted, Ashitaka was able to easily open a door that required ten men to open, and he did so with a single hand.
Boomstick: Even more, Ashitaka was able to shoot down the cursed beast Nago, without much trouble! And unlike the Colossi, Nago didn’t have any consistently obvious weak points that would lessen the feat!’’’
Wiz: Wander does surpass Ashitaka in terms of defense, however. While Wander can survive attacks dealt by Colossus that can regularly crush stone pillars, Ashitaka’s greatest defense feat would be shrugging off a rifle shot to his abdomen.
Boomstick: But all this really means is that Wander would be able to survive a fairly substantial time against Ashitaka! Wander himself has never shown to have enough power to back up his defense, so there’s not much he could do back to him.
Wiz: It becomes even worse for Wander when you take into consideration just how fast either combatant is. While Wander has shown himself able to dodge around even the quickest-moving Colossi, it’s not quite enough to stack up.
Boomstick: Ashitaka has been able to dodge arrows shot at him from extremely close ranges, which simply outclasses feats such as Wander being able to avoid Malus’s hand blasts!
Wiz: Keep in mind that Malus was hundreds of feat away from Wander, and Wander can only barely react to and avoid his incoming attacks. Compared to Ashitaka dodging close-ranged arrows, it simply doesn’t match up.
Boomstick: The only way Wander could really beat Ashitaka would be by getting help from his ol’ friend Dormin. But unfortunately for him, Dormin simply isn’t a reasonable ally to give Wander.
Wiz: Although Dormin gives Wander a tremendous boost in power, it is unlikely that Dormin would ever be able to influence Wander from every possible battle location. Keep in mind that Dormin was sealed in a specific area, and has only ever been seen speaking in said area. It’s reasonable to believe that his influence is only in effect within that region.
Boomstick: Meaning Wander can’t always rely on Dormin to pick him up when he falls, and that’s one big power boost you don’t want to miss out on! On his own, Wander may be able to take a ton of punishment, but he just can’t dish it out quite the same!
Wiz: If he even caught up to Ashitaka in the first place. The two fighters may both be extremely creative in all sorts of battle scenarios, but Wander simply can’t keep up or do enough damage for it to even matter.
Boomstick: In the end, Wander was left feeling colossally defeated!
Wiz: The winner is, Ashitaka.
Music Track[]
