Line #144 Webcomic/DemonBlade


1	->''"Many years ago, a war broke out between two empires. Shinigami, with their brave warriors and spiritual power, and Orochi, with their sneaky tactics and advanced machinery, made the entire world their battlefield. Chaos had erupted all across earth."''
2
3	Demon Blade is an UrbanFantasy webcomic, created by [[https://www.twitter.com/Samsonese Samsonese]] and launched in 2009 on [=SmackJeeves=], before it was eventually moved to Webtoon in 2019. The comic is about a bounty hunter named Tsurugi Diablo, who is somehow in possession of a magical, ancient sword. The author has described the comic as "''[[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Gurren Lagann]]'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness''."
4
5	The story begins with him hitting it big by catching a notorious bandit called Dibi the Rhinoceros. However, this attracts the attention of a ReligionOfEvil who are trying to collect souls of powerful warriors as part of a plan to resurrect an ancient demon. For [[AntiHero no other reason than to save his own skin]], Diablo sets out to destroy the Cult... which is easier said than done.
6
7	Also has [[Characters/DemonBlade a character sheet]].
8
9	The comic can now be read on [[https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/demon-blade/list?title_no=366540 Webtoon]].
10
11	----
12	!!This work provides examples of:
13	* AdorableEvilMinions: The Ibli.
14	* AlternateHistory: The story is mainly set in Australia, where a large number of Japanese migrated to during a war. The hero's town in particular is a Japantown, with one of the few Australians by birth in said town running ''a ramen stand.''
15	* AnachronismStew: The comic was originally supposed to take place in 1950, but this only lasted one chapter, before the author decided to set it in modern times instead, but left the exact year ambiguous for a while. As a result, you'll see console radios, computers with CRT monitors, and phone booths all in the same setting... despite the year later being outright stated as 2009, well into the era of satellite radio, LCD monitors, and mobile phones.
16	* {{Animesque}}
17	* AprilFoolsDay:
18	** In 2010, there was "Chapter 8.5", a five-page alternate version of the then-unreleased chapter 9, consisting of several video game and anime references and some sexual tension between Diablo and Loki.
19	** In 2011, ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVs Demon Blade vs. Capcom]]'' was announced out of the blue as a joke. However, the announcement was lost in 2019, after [=SmackJeeves=] removed its news feature.
20	* ArtEvolution: The art quality gradually improves throughout the Faustian Cult arc, but really starts to ramp up once the Mephisto arc starts... primarily due to the long delays between chapters nowadays.
21	* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: [[spoiler:Just as Diablo is about to finish Loki off, Zula comes and disposes of him instead.]]
22	* BarehandedBladeBlock: Dogma stops Diablo's sword with his fingers.
23	* BattleInTheRain: The party's third encounter with Heimdall takes place on a rainy night.
24	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Most of the villains are either butt ugly or have a [[RedRightHand horrible deformity]].
25	* BigDamnHeroes: Diablo does this by accident, [[spoiler:chopping off Vlad's tail by sheer coincidence when the latter is about to kill Michiko]].
26	* BilingualBonus: The scroll in the background during the flashback in chapter 29 reads "Kill Death" in Japanese.
27	* BishieSparkle: The "illustration" of Michiko's yaoi fic is rife with them.
28	* BlackComedyRape: Diablo's reaction to Michiko hugging his tail? "SHE'S TOUCHING ME INAPPROPRIATELY!"
29	* BloodlessCarnage: Diablo can control the sharpness of his sword. This is done as a way to avert OnlyAFleshWound, so if someone does bleed, you ''know'' the character is hurt.
30	* BreakTheHaughty: Are you an overly proud person in the Demon Blade universe? Watch that pride shatter within ten chapters of your first appearance.
31	* CaptainObvious: A bedridden [[spoiler:Dogma]] says he might not be able to defeat Heimdall alone. {{Beat}}. Diablo replies with, "Duh."
32	* CoDragons: The Marino Siblings.
33	* ColossusClimb: Ivory implies that Carl did this in order to hijack Kamaoh. [[spoiler:It is later shown in a flashback exactly how he did it.]]
34	* CombinedEnergyAttack: [[spoiler:Faust is defeated with one, using energy from both living ''and'' dead characters.]]
35	* CompositeCharacter: Yara-ma-yha-who takes some elements from the Muldjewangk, another Australian myth. Namely the fact that it's amphibious.
36	* CreepyTwins: Although one is older than the other, the Marino Siblings fit this trope quite well.
37	* CurbStompBattle: For the penultimate battle before the confrontation with Dios, Yowie sure goes down like a punk.
38	* DavidVersusGoliath: The first fight in the comic features the slender, nimble Diablo against the bulky, towering Dibi.
39	* EarlyBirdCameo: The fourth chapter's splash page displays every member of the Faustian Cult, even the ones who hadn't appeared yet.
40	* EatingTheEyeCandy: Michiko has a nosebleed upon seeing Diablo shirtless.
41	* ElaborateUndergroundBase: For starters, the entrance to the Faustian Cult's hideout is ''under a grave.'' It's also littered with traps and has many mechanical functions, including electric doors and a bridge that extends and retracts at the flip of a switch.
42	* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Diablo and Michiko. At first, Natsuki is the only ShipperOnDeck, but toward the end of the Faustian Cult arc, Hinako joins in.
43	* FantasticRacism: Humans and demons generally don't get along well.
44	* AFatherToHisMen: Don Falco adopted the Marino Siblings and raised them as his own children.
45	* ForScience: Dr. Suno offers to remove Diablo's tail for this reason. [[AxCrazy As he pulls out a bonesaw from under the table.]]
46	* FourTemperamentEnsemble:
47	** Diablo, the most aggressive of the main cast who is often rude to friend and foe alike, is choleric.
48	** Dr. Suno, as the team's resident tech guy and the most level-headed of them, is melancholic.
49	** Hinako, being the social butterfly of the group, as well as usually having the most positive attitude, is sanguine.
50	** Michiko, with her comparative shyness and overall politeness, is phlegmatic.
51	* FourthWallMailSlot: The semi-animated "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIKWYvfKGVg Ask Diablo!]]" which stars a [[Memes/TouhouProject yukkuri]] resembling Diablo answering viewer questions (about any of the author's works, not just Demon Blade) with a synthesized voice and DeadpanSnarker tendencies.
52	* FriendlyLocalChinatown: Tengu Town is a Japantown.
53	* AGlassInTheHand: [[spoiler:Zula breaks her own mask while feinting her breakdown.]]
54	* GambitRoulette: The entire Yaibato Mansion mini-arc and the events leading up to it [[spoiler:were this on Zula's part to eliminate Carl as a threat to Dios.]]
55	* GlassesPull: Dogma keeps an extra pair of sunglasses for the sole purpose of invoking this trope.
56	* GrossUpCloseUp: [[spoiler:Zula gets one while revealing to Carl that she killed his wife.]]
57	* HandsOnApproach: Diablo corrects Michiko's stance while teaching her how to fence. The blushing that ensues is more because it causes Michiko to [[ShipperOnDeck remember something Natsuki said earlier]] than because of an actual crush though.
58	* HeelFaceTurn: Diablo's father makes one of these to end the Chaos War in the prologue.
59	* HorseOfADifferentColor: The uyagi. A fully-grown one can be ridden, as demonstrated by [[TerribleTrio Yaibato and his men]], and later by the Lieutenant.
60	* HumiliationConga: Things... really don't go well for Vlad and Yaibato during the Yaibato Mansion mini-arc. Just when it looks like they're about to win, [[spoiler:Vlad gets his tail chopped off. Then Yaibato gets knocked out with a single kick. Then Jay betrays the Cult, beating Vlad into submission in the process. Finally, the two of them are arrested and jailed offscreen.]]
61	* IAmYourOpponent: [[spoiler:Hinako]] shows up at the entrance to the Faustian Cult's hideout to hold Loki off while Diablo goes in.
62	** Later, Diablo himself does this against Touya and Ishimaru so that Dr. Suno can chase after Yaibato.
63	* IronicEcho: Physical variant: Five chapters after Diablo pulled a sneak attack on Loki, the favor was returned.
64	* ISurrenderSuckers: Diablo pulls this on Dogma. It actually works, and he lampshades it right after.
65	* LamePunReaction: Diablo makes a sword pun in an omake strip. Not even [[TheCutie Michiko]] is amused.
66	* LegionOfDoom: A meta example. Several members of the Faustian Cult (namely Loki, Heimdall, and Vlad) are updated versions of {{Big Bad}}s from the author's previous, unfinished works.
67	* LiteralCliffhanger: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] with a reference to ''Franchise/TheLionKing''.
68	* LoadBearingBoss: [[spoiler:The floor underneath Yowie breaks after he's defeated.]]
69	* LockAndLoadMontage: Diablo sees the Ibli marching past his house, triggering one of these. The chapter is even titled "Lock and Load".
70	* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: After his fight with Diablo, Dogma is more worried about [[MyFavoriteShirt his sunglasses being broken]] than the fact that ''almost the entire front of his shirt has been dyed with his blood.''
71	* MasterApprenticeChain: Two of them:
72	** Kyaku > Diablo > Michiko
73	** Charles > Jay > Hinako
74	* MixAndMatchCritters: The uyagi, which resemble a cross between a rabbit and a goat.
75	* MorphWeapon: The titular weapon changes shape depending on its user.
76	* MyFriendsAndZoidberg:
77	-->'''Vlad:''' Do you think you can defeat us all? Look how outnumbered you are! One little Kitsune, against two of the Four Avatars of Dios, and our gatekeeper!
78	-->'''Touya:''' Hey, what about us?
79	-->'''Vlad:''' What ''about'' you?
80	* MythologyGag: Diablo wonders if he should have a "cool mercenary name", and his first and only idea is "Diablo the Echidna", a reference to an early prototype of the comic which was intended to be a ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' fancomic. The idea is immediately shot down by Jack.
81	** A ''literal'' [[Myth/NorseMythology mythology gag]] occurs in the AprilFoolsDay chapter, in which Loki makes a reference to his namesake's FateWorseThanDeath. (Specifically, how he'd actually ''prefer'' that over what happened in [[spoiler:his dying dream.]])
82	* NeckLift: Loki does this to Jack.
83	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Many real-world celebrities have expies in the Demon Blade universe, usually appearing as minor characters or one-time cameos.
84	** Emperor Keiji's design is stated by the author to have been [[CompositeCharacter a mish-mash]] of Hitler and Tojo.
85	** Commander King resembles Patrick Stewart. While this was unintended in his first appearance, later appearances rolled with it.
86	** One of the soldiers at [[spoiler:Carl's]] funeral looks suspiciously like [[WebVideo/JonTron JonTron]], even wearing the [=YouTuber=]'s signature hat instead of the standard military police cap.
87	* NoodleIncident: "...and that's why you should always bring a helmet whenever you visit the Honda area."
88	* {{Nosebleed}}: Michiko has a nosebleed when Diablo takes off some of his wet clothes to restore his mobility. In the omake strip for the same chapter, she is shown with a bloody tissue in her nose while writing a yaoi fic.
89	* NotSoDifferentRemark: Loki points out that Diablo is similar to the Faustian Cult, in that he only thinks of himself.
90	* NowOrNeverKiss: [[spoiler:Hinako and Dogma]], after the latter makes it perfectly clear that he's either going to kill Dios or die trying.
91	* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler:Hinako and Dogma]] are implied to be this when the latter defects from the Faustian Cult, but their NowOrNeverKiss toward the end of the arc seals the deal.
92	* OneSteveLimit: Humorously averted; there are ''several'' Bruces in Tengu Town.
93	* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Demons are considered an entire biological kingdom, rather than just one species.
94	* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Demon Blade's souls are translucent, colored balls surrounded by white flames.
95	* OwMyBodyPart: Loki yells "Agh, my spleen!" after being kneed in the chest by Hinako.
96	* PrisonRape: Humorously subverted. Touya brings a pack of cards into his cell, and Carl insists on "making the game interesting" since he feels Touya owes him for his help. Touya is understandably horrified. Later, it turns out they're gambling for each other's food.
97	* RecoilBoost: Jay uses the recoil from his dark flames to dodge an attack while fighting the Marino Siblings.
98	* ReligionOfEvil: The Faustian Cult.
99	* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Dios is an evil spirit who has taken over Diablo's dead brother's body, his previous host was Emperor Keiji, he created the Demon Blade... and Diablo is adopted.]]
100	* RocketTagGameplay: Fights tend to be very short, and the number of blows exchanged in most fights can be counted on one hand. To date, the longest fight in the comic, against Dios, lasted only a chapter and a half, and only 11 hits in total were made among five combatants.
101	* RuleOfThree: The name "[[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Bruce]]" is listed exactly three times in the phone book when Diablo looks up Dr. Suno's number.
102	* RunningGag:
103	** Diablo tends to leaves things behind, but he's always interrupted by a shocking sight when he's about to say what he forgot.
104	** If a background character has a name, it will almost invariably be Bruce.
105	* SadisticChoice: The entire reason behind Dr. Suno and Carl Baki's duel. The Faustian Cult had [[LetsYouAndHimFight set it up]] so that no matter who wins, an innocent person dies.
106	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler:Carl leaves his post and takes Kamaoh with him to save Michiko. He goes to jail for it.]]
107	* SelfFanservice: In-universe; Stuart Levi is ''[[{{Bishonen}} a lot]]'' prettier in the illustration of Michiko's yaoi fic than what we see of him in the ''Dusk'' poster.
108	* ShoutOut: Several internet memes are referenced, such as the "guy yelling at his cats" video and "[=IMMA FIRIN' MAH LAZER=]!"
109	** One of the names listed in the phone book when Diablo looks up Dr. Suno's number is "[[VideoGame/PunchOut Ryan, Aaron]]"
110	** Instead of a picture, Diablo's X-ray is shown as a writing, "[[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Everything's fine! Nothing is ruined.]]"
111	** Chapter 5 is titled "''Literature/TheFoxAndTheHound''".
112	** The slogan on Dr. Suno's sweater in one chapter reads, "[[VideoGame/GuiltyGear A doctor's job is to cure.]]" (Dr. Suno himself being an {{homage}} to Faust)
113	** The AprilFoolsDay short was full of references to ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'', ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', ''VideoGame/MegaMan'', and even ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros''.
114	** Touya cracks an [[VideoGame/BlazBlue ice-car]] reference when attempting to justify his {{whoring}}.
115	** Natsuki's "I'm not trying to be disgusting, I'm trying to be realistic" speech is a reference to a rant about Fleshlights by Website/YouTube user [=DemoniusX=].
116	** During one conversation with Michiko, Natsuki makes a face resembling that of [[VideoGame/BlazBlue Arakune]].
117	** "[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure I reject my humanity!]]"
118	** During a flashback, Ivory wears pants with "What What" printed on the seat, much like the ones Samwell wore in the "What What (In the Butt)" music video.
119	** Heimdall, appropriately enough, quotes ''Film/ThePrincessBride'''s Count Rugen after he [[spoiler:has Dogma cornered]]. However, unlike Inigo, the latter does ''not'' receive a HeroicSecondWind.
120	** One omake strip directly references ''WebVideo/SassyGayFriend''.
121	** Chapter 20's splash panel pays tribute to the cover of Music/TheBeatles' ''Abbey Road'' album.
122	** The "Dusk" poster in Michiko's room features a character making a trollface.
123	** Right before stomping Diablo's hand as he's hanging from a ledge, one of the Ibli says, "[[LampshadeHanging I think the appropriate response here is,]] [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 'Long live the king.']]"
124	* ShownTheirWork: Fencing is the author's favorite sport. It shows when Diablo teaches Michiko how to do it.
125	* SpannerInTheWorks: As soon as Diablo gets blown through the wall of Yaibato Mansion, that's when Vlad's plan [[HumiliationConga starts to go down the hole]].
126	* SpitTake: Ivory spits up his (very hot) tea this after finding out that Diablo's story, which sounds like something a child would make up, is in fact true.
127	* StayInTheKitchen: [[spoiler:Dogma]] tries to convince Hinako not to join in the final battle against Dios. Although, it's slightly justified, since she had just recovered from a life-threatening injury.
128	* StupidJetpackHitler: Even though the Orochi Empire weren't German, Keiji was intended to resemble an [[CaptainErsatz Asian version of Hitler]], so it's close enough.
129	* StylisticSuck: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h9hfx6On0c The advertisement for the official dub.]]
130	* TakeThat: At one point, it appears the mechanical half of Vlad's face is running on Windows...
131	** Michiko has a poster in her room for a movie called "Dusk", obviously a parody of ''Film/{{Twilight}}'', except the vampire looks more like, you know, [[OurVampiresAreDifferent a vampire]].
132	* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: When Diablo wakes Hinako up after freeing her. He later busts out, "Don't knock it 'til you try it, bitch!" in regard to Zula underestimating his speed.
133	* TheThreeFacesOfEve: Among the female characters are the intelligent and serious Hinako, the innocent and naive Michiko, and the vulgar and perverted Natsuki.
134	* TrainingFromHell: Diablo strongly implies that this is what Michiko will experience under him. As an example, before he could even ''begin'' to train her, he made her hit herself until it was made clear she could take pain.
135	* {{Tuckerization}}: While Loki is posing as a cat, Jack names him "Sam", which is also the author's first name.
136	* UnderwaterBossBattle: After Diablo falls into the lake in Dios' hideout, he is ambushed by Yara-ma-yha-who.
137	* UnsoundEffect: The sound of Dr. Suno pulling a bonesaw from under a table? "BONESAW!"
138	* WorldOfTechnicolorHair: Downplayed. While there are plenty of green, blue, and purple-haired characters who are no different from the others, natural hair colors are much more prevalent, with only one of the four main characters having an unnatural hair color.
139	* XanatosGambit: [[spoiler:Dios put Yowie in a room with a weak and easily breakable floor. If Yowie succeeds in killing any intruders, then he succeeds. If he fails, his sheer weight as he's knocked down breaks the floor and sends the intruders falling to their deaths anyway.]]
140	* XanatosSpeedChess: A wrench is thrown into Zula's plot when [[spoiler:Loki attempts to provide Diablo with a means of curing Hinako's scorpion sting]], but that very same wrench is incorporated into it and later used against the heroes.
141	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Zula kills Loki after the latter is defeated by Diablo three times in a row.]]
142	* YowiesAndBunyipsAndDropBearsOhMy: A Yowie appears as a minor enemy, simply named "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Yowie]]". The Yara-ma-yha-who also makes an appearance, and there is an area of the Demon Blade universe called Bunyip Desert.

Context Webcomic / DemonBlade