Name has nothing to do with the trope: Reverse Blade Sword

Before clicking the link, just guess what the trope is.

The Trope Namer isn't even an example; it refers to a sword whose blade is reversed, while the trope has nothing to do with swords or reversed blades.

Strong points. At first, and probably because of knowing the Trope Namer, I thought that it was about a weapon modified to intentionally reduce its lethality. In for a rename.

Not a good name. Redirect is clunky, though.

I can't even tell what the trope is supposed to be about by the description. Can someone tell me? It is honestly completely incomprehensible to me.

I assumed it would be about weapons/techniques designed specifically to be non-lethal, based on the term's usage in Kenshin and Pokemon. Yeah, this could use a rename.

The redirect should probably go as well, it implies weapons specifically being non-lethal instead of "characters surviving damage that ought to be fatal" in general as a sort of gameplay/plot segregation.

I can't even tell what the trope is supposed to be about by the description. Can someone tell me? It is honestly completely incomprehensible to me.

Basically, characters aren't killed after getting a sword run through them 40 times because the "Attack" wasn't designated as "Lethal". The character is usually visually no worse for wear after the attack.

Take a look at the Soul Calibur example. Sigfried and Nightmare both wield BFS's that gives Cloud a run for his money. The Soul series is all about each character using weapons to fight with. These two characters are slashing and slicing with enough force to cut an Elephant's head off. Sigfried's throw involves jamming his sword through his opponent and running it up to the base, where the sword is widest and thickest (wider than most of the smaller framed characters in fact), before slamming them into the ground.

edited 7th Sep '10 7:59:59 PM by DRCEQ

I never would have guessed the actual definition.

If it's about a weapon being purely aesthetic, I'd suggest Aesthetic Weaponry. If it's about non-lethal weapons, such as the Trope Namer, I'd suggest Less Lethal Weaponry. If it's about something else, I'll need to think on it.

Unusually Unleathal... something I can add that keeps up with the alliteration?

If not, Unusually Unleathal Attack or something.

Only Lethal Sometimes?

Almost Never Lethal Weapon?

edited 7th Sep '10 8:46:07 PM by Madrugada

The trope's current description seems to be about edged weapons only, but the examples are all over the place. We probably should clarify how broad this trope is in scope before we rename.

Even though the list of examples isn't too large, the page in general could use some categorizing and a general clean-up too.

Whoo. I knew this one would come up eventually. I think this was either the first or second trope I ever wrote up, like three years ago, back when a name didn't have to make perfect (or even much) sense, so long as it still somewhat fit the trope. Originally, it was supposed to be about wins in fighting games being considered "knock outs", even when characters are using broadswords or hurling ki-blasts or turning into animals and mauling eachother-times when it didn't make any logical sense for the other character to only be unconscious. Over time, it seems to have mutated into some strange combination of that, That Last Battle Didnt Count, and weapons not being as lethal as they should be in other genres as well.

The reason for the original name, to be completely honest, had nothing to do with Rurouni Kenshin- I never watched the show and didn't have it in mind when I came up with the trope- I'd just thought that the weapons blades being on the wrong side worked as a funny sort of explanation for why this makes sense. As for "Non Killing Weapons", that was the only other suggestion for a name I got, so I took it and made it a redirect.

As much sentimental value this trope's name has to me, I'm all for a rename.

edited 7th Sep '10 9:37:56 PM by Wulf

How about "Absurdly Non-lethal Injury" or "Absurdly Non-lethal Attack"? Additionally, should the page clarify that it is not to be confused with normally lethal weapons redesigned to cause non-lethal injury?

I suggest Nonlethal Fatality. It's not as ambiguous as most of the other suggestions, which sound like they refer to actual nonlethal weaponry, like tasers and such, as well as being more concise.

Momma Gonna Knock You Out.

... Don't know why LL Cool J came to mind just now...

edited 8th Sep '10 12:42:48 AM by DRCEQ

Sticks And Stones Dont Break Bones? No Injury Fight? Non Mortal Combat?

edited 8th Sep '10 1:10:51 AM by Autarch

Non Fatality or Life And Fainting Situation?

I think the author probably had the "I hit him with the back of my sword" trope in mind (we DO have that trope somewhere right?) but that doesn't change the fact that it is not a video game trope anyway. So yeah, voting for a rename.

Its Nonlethal Because I Feel Like It?

Somewhat less wordy: Nonlethal For No Reason

Nonlethal Fighting Game seems to fit the actual trope.

Considering what wulf wrote, perhaps we should get the definition of this trope set, and then find the appropriate name.

Bearing in mind that I don't play fighting games, but the trope appears to be "attacks in fighting games never result in death or persistent injury unless the attack is specifically so designated, no matter what the realistic consequences of being hit with the weapon shown would be."

Which seems to be quite close to Non-Lethal K.O.. Perhaps it should be restricted to Non-Lethal K.O. attacks in games which also have lethal attacks?

And I support a rename.

So this is that getting hit with a blade is only dangerous as the plot demands?