Webcomic / Dogfight

Dogfight is a furry fighting Korean Webtoon, featuring anthropomorphic animals engaging in martial arts. The story is written by Hyun-Wook in Naver under the title of "Gaepan" but it is also translated to English by PressedRatpie. The story focuses around Baul, an hybrid fighting dog who faces discrimination as a result of his pedigree. After his Hair-Trigger Temper prevents him from starting his boxing career as a result of him hurting a pure breed fighting dog who insulted him, Baul meets Alessa, a vixen who offers him work at Amaranth, an organization full of heroes that deliver justice where evil is lurking behind the shadows. While initially skeptical, after failing too many times in getting a job and a chance fight with a Killer Rabbit, Baul finally decides to give Amaranth a try. Thanks to his new job, Baul will now find himself facing new enemies, those who oppose Amaranth...and those who lurk in the organization from the inside.

The completed story can be found at Naver but has not been translated on English, remaining on its native Korean language. Currently, only the first 32 chapters are available in a blog but no further attempts have been made on the translation since then.

---

Tropes include:

• Absurdly Sharp Blade: Norman's knives can cut through metal.
• Action Girl: Costa is the only female besides Alessa in Amaranth. She's also its only female agent, as she proves her worth by handling a Curb-Stomp Battle to two Lycaon Brothers in Baul's first mission.
• Affectionate Nickname: Costa likes to be called Coss.
• Ambition Is Evil: For a rat, Dorian was quite ambitious in the slums, managing to enlist Dirk and Hoover as his muscles. Eventually, he became a crime boss and that led to his fallout with Dirk.
• The Apprentice: Norman Pluto is the apprentice of Baskerville.
  • Aaron learns boxing from Baul and later joins Amaranth at the end of his introduction arc to resume his training under him.
• Arc Words: Pawn is pretty much used repeatedly during Baul's mission with Dorian.
  • Rule of Symbolism: The pawn is the weakest and most expendable piece in chess, but it has the potential of defeating a queen and capturing the king in spite of that. He refers to Baul as such because he believes that Baul being unknown to the world gives him the potential of accomplishing much within the shadows. After his defeat, Norman wonders if he is a pawn in the sense that he was expandable to accomplish Baskerville's mission.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: Every fighter in Amaranth uses suits as uniforms. Independent agents like Baskerville and Norman have fancier suits though to reflect their professions as killers.
• Barefoot Cartoon Animal: Everyone in the cast is barefoot as the anatomy of their feet would make the use of shoes unnecessary or impractical.
• Bears Are Bad News: Averted, as Dirk is a polar bear but he is a nice guy. Played straight if you get him mad.
• Berserk Button: Baul does not like it when people assume that he should be or do something just because of his heritage. It was what got him banned from boxing for beating up pure bred fighting dogs who insulted him.
  • Chrome does not like to be called Rolf, his former name before joining Amaranth.
• The Berserker:
  • Dirk enters a berserker rage during battle, which is the main reason he stopped fighting. In the few occasions he fought he defeated Hoover twice and seriously injured him. He would have killed Dorian too had Chrome and company not arrived.
  • Hoover is mostly quiet, but he is a bull that mercilessly pummels his opponents the moment he starts fighting.
• Big Damn Heroes: Chrome and some cheetah twins arrive to prevent Dirk and Hoover from further rampaging and to fight Baskerville.
• Blade Below the Shoulder: Baskerville has retractable blades hidden on his sleeves as his trademark weapon and a main part of his fighting style.
• Blood Knight: Whether as a spectator or as a participant, Norman enjoys a good fight.
• Boxing Battler: Baul was training to be a boxer at the beginning of the story so his fighting style consists mostly of this. It is subverted in that Baul also uses brawling, grappling, and the occasional kick against his opponents. Aaron later learns boxing after Baul takes him under his wing.
• Break the Haughty: Norman suffers a lesson in humility after he was defeated and taken into custody by Amaranth.
• Broken Pedestal: Dorian, and Hoover to a lesser extent, to Dirk in the past after Dorian's ambitions spiraled out of control and got people hurt. The same thing happened again with Aaron losing respect for Dorianafter an accident nearly kills Dirk.
• Cane Fu: Costa is badass enough to actually fend off professional assassins with Pann's walking cane.
• Cats Are Mean: Norman Pluto is a French Jerk who likes to toy with his opponents and looks down on everyone who is not a feline like him.
  • Most citizens dislike felines because they have a superiority complex, with Chrome being the only humble feline so far in the comic.
• Cool Big Sister: Costa acts like a casual friend to Baul since he joins Amaranth, even coming with him on his first mission.
• Curbstomp Battle: Baskerville dishes one-sided victories in most of his appearances.
  • Costa easily beats two of the Lycaon brothers during Baul's first mission to show her fighting prowess. In comparison, Baul barely defeats the remaining two brothers, showing how Costa surpasses him in experience and fighting prowess.
• Dance Battler: Hester tends to use lots of kicks and handstands when fighting.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Chrome has a very painful past as Alessa explained to Baul. He was declawed and left to die before he joined Amaranth.
• Determinator: Pretty much what allows Baul to change the tides on his fights or to survive them against superior opponents is his fighting spirit.
• The Dreaded: Baskerville is a source of fear to Hester due to him being sent to kill him and succeeding. He then goes to become this to Baul.
• Evil Brit: The Lycaon brothers. They're the first enemies Baul fights after joining Amaranth and their dialogue has them use British expressions.
• Extremity Extremist:
  • Baul has a preference for fighting with his fists, being a Boxing Battler.
  • Hester is a hare and a Dance Battler so he uses kicks when fighting.
  • When fighting seriously, Chrome prefers to use kicks due to him being declawed and only able to use the claws on his feet for serious battles.
• Fantastic Racism: Baul is not very lucky in getting a job thanks to his heritage. His boxing career is stalled due to fighting dogs looking down on him for not being a pure breed like him. Similarly, regular dogs are scared of him due to him being a fighting dog. This is why he ends up joining Amaranth in the first place.
  • Felines are not very popular among other animals and the feeling is mutual. Norman and the cheetah twins were shown remarking their superiority over other species due to them being felines.
• Fate Worse than Death: Among felines being declawed counts as the equivalent of a slow death sentence, since they can no longer use them to defend themselves. Chrome doesn't seem to mind though, due to him still being a badass fighter and using the claws of his feet for fighting.
• Finishing Stomp: Costa finishes a fight with the Lycaon Brothers with a mighty stomp to the head. Subverted in that she misses her opponent's head on purpose to do an Intimidation Demonstration so that she could convince him to give up. Her opponent gives up immediately as Costa's large hoof stands beside his head.
• Fragile Speedster: Hester is fast and agile enough to hit Baul repeatedly in their fight. However, he can't take a hit, as Baul immediately beats him down once he gets within striking distance.
• French Jerk: Norman Pluto is one of the nastiest characters in the comic. He's condescending, sadistic, and a racist against non-felines. He also speaks with a French accent when insulting Baul.
• Genius Bruiser: Baul may be a fighting dog, but he is very perceptive and a strategist in combat. During his fight with Norman, he used close spaces to prevent him from using his knive effectively, allowing him to get a strong hit on him.
• Glass Cannon: Norman Pluto is fast, agile, and he can use his claws and weapons to severely injure Baul. But just like Hester, he cannot take a hit once an opponent gets close enough.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Fight scenes usually show the characters eyes glowing when they fight, often leaving color outlines when they move around and attack their enemies.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: It's what ruined Baul's boxing career in the first place and what got him working on Amaranth.
• Happily Adopted: Aaron looks up to Dirk as a loving uncle ever since Dirk adopted him as his nephew. The feeling is mutual with Dirk.

• Hell Hound: Baskerville has red eyes, black fur, and his occupation is as an assassin.
• Heroic BSoD: Baul does not take his first meeting with Baskerville well especially with Hester being killed in front of him.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Deep down, Dorian misses Dirk and regrets losing his friendship. He is very ashamed when an attempt to intimidate Dirk nearly kills him. However, he is willing to pretend that he doesn't care to keep up appearances. Deconstructed, as this nearly got Hoover killed, had him watch Dirk go berserk again, and nearly cost him his life by the climax of his arc.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: Baul has the misfortune of facing opponents than are more than a match for him in either size or skill.
• Idiot Hero: Baul is not dumb per se, but he does commit foolish mistakes that are lethal in his new line of work. This includes fighting against opponents that outmatch him, revealing his real name to Baskerville, and nearly revealing his mission to Pann in spite of the possibility of him being a traitor. He gets called out repeatedly on this.
• I Just Want to Be Badass: Aaron wants Baul to teach him boxing shortly after meeting him because he desires strength. He believes that if he is strong then he can help Dirk with his conflict with Dorian.
• Impaled Palm: Baskerville impales Baul's palm in the climax of their first fight.
• Improbable Weapon User: Costa can beat professional assassins by using a walking cane as a weapon. She can also use the hooves that she has for feet to block strikes from weapons and crush them underfoot.
  • Chrome also counts with the way he uses the claws on his feet.
• Interspecies Adoption: Dirk is a polar bear and his adopted nephew Aaron is a wolf.
• Interspecies Friendship: Baul is a dog and he has made friends with a vixen, a snow leopard, a horse, and a goat in his work. Given that the setting is about anthropomorphic animals, friendships between species are to be expected.
  • Chrome is a snow leopard who is best friends with Hester, a hare.
  • There is also the friendship between Dirk, Dorian, and Hoover with them being a polar bear, a rat, and a bull respectively.
• Intimidation Demonstration: Costa appears to use a Finishing Stomp at the end of her fight with the Lycaon brothers, only for her hoof to be shown next to her opponent's head. She then asks him to give up, which he does as he notices that Costa's hoof is big enough to crush his head underfoot.
  • During their fight, Baskerville non-lethally slits Chrome's throat, just to show him that he could have killed him anytime in their fight. He makes it clear that he only spared him because he was paid to give him a message.
• Jobber: Baul was supposed to act as a training dummy to pure bred fighting dogs thanks to being a half-breed, much to his resentment. He even refers to himself as such during a conversation.
• The Juggernaut: Hoover is a bull and can take a lot of punishment without losing his fighting efficiency. Dirk also counts when he is angry enough.
• Killer Rabbit: Hester is quite a good fighter in spite of being a hare. He's introduced when he tries to kill Alessa and would have succeeded had Baul not defeated him.
• Lightning Bruiser:
  • Chrome is bigger, faster, and stronger than Baul in their fight.
  • Costa has enough speed and reflexes to give a Curb-Stomp Battle to two Lycaon Brothers. She's also a weapon specialist and packs a mean kick.
  • Baskerville is fast and deadly with his fighting style. He also takes blows from Hester and Chrome with barely any damage to him in his first two fights.
• Make It Look Like an Accident: Dorian once had Aaron put a bomb at the basement of Dirk's inn. Subverted in that he never meant for Dirk to be caught in the blast, only wanting to intimidate him and feeling guilty about it.
• Mighty Glacier: Baul is not fast or agile, but his attacks are quite damaging in comparison to his enemies.
• Monochromatic Eyes: Hoover's eyes are milky white, which is fitting given his intimidating posture inside and outside fighting.
• My Greatest Failure: Baul being unable to protect Hester from Baskerville in his first mission really depressed him. The fact that he was scared of Baskerville only made him feel more disgusted at his weakness.
• Natural Weapon: Being in a fighting story featuring anthropomorphic animals, the characters use their natural anatomy to their advantage.
  • Baul bites on account of being a dog.
  • Chrome and feline characters use their claws to slash at their enemies as well as their natural agility and flexibility.
  • Costa also uses her hooves as makeshift shields against weapons and then crush them underfoot to disarm her opponents
• The Nose Knows: Being a dog, Baul can track his opponents by scent, either to look for them or defend himself against sneak attacks.
• Noble Demon: Baskerville only kills his intended targets. He also doesn't like to kill cowards, being pleased when Hester decides to fight him rather than run away.
• The One Who Wears Shoes: Subverted, Dirk is the only character in the series to have footwear. However, he uses sandals rather than shoes.
• Parasol of Pain: One of the Lycaon brothers uses a parasol as one as his preferred weapon. He can use it as a stabbing weapon due to the tip being sharp, or he can use it as a distracting tool by opening it to attack his opponents with another weapon. Unfortunately, he's fighting against Costa, who figures out his tricks easily.
• Plot-Triggering Death: Baskerville's desire to kill Hester is what convinces Baul to join Amaranth full time, partly out of regret and partly to prove himself to Baskerville.
• Professional Killer: Baskerville and his apprentice Norman work as professional killers, which puts them at odds with Amaranth. Baul first met Baskerville when the latter was tasked with killing Hester, resulting in Baul getting defeated while Baskerville killed his target. Baul meets Norman on his second mission, with Norman being more of a Smug Snake but still a major threat in terms of fighting and manipulation.
• Rebuilt Pedestal: By the end of the story arc Dorian makes things up to Dirk and Aaron by assisting in the defeat of Norman, and goes back to being friends with Dirk.
• Red Baron: Todd Baskerville...otherwise known as the Hellhound.
• Redemption Equals Death: After Dirk nearly kills Hoover during their second fight because of his association with Norman and Baskerville, and nearly tried to kill him in the past with a bomb, Dorian attempts to give up his life as penance. Luckily, Chrome and company arrive to save him.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Baskerville has red eyes that complement his image of a professional killer. Coupled with the Glowing Eyes of Doom that happen in the story, this makes him attacking a very scary sight.
• Retired Badass: Pann may be an old goat with a need for bodyguards, but he was a former agent and still has enough skill to slip through security and talk to Baul.
• Scars Are Forever: Baul gets a scar on his hand after his first encounter with Baskerville ends with an Impaled Palm.
  • At the end of the second arc, Hoover lost one of his horns in his rematch with Dirk.
• She-Fu: All feline characters favor their agility in their fight scenes.
• The Stoic: Hoover is a bull of few words. Once he gets into a fight though...
  • Not So Stoic: He's pretty much a rampaging bull bent on destroying his enemies. He does have a soft side that is more present with his friends. He felt insecure with the bomb that was planted on Dirk's basement, to the point on which Dorian had to reassure Hoover, in spite of Hoover just recently been beaten by Dirk in a fight. He later comforts Dirk over Aaron leaving at the end of the story arc.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Baul does take after his father, as shown by one of his family pictures.
• Troubled, but Cute: Aaron spends most of his debut arc being stuck in the conflict between Dirk and Dorian. The fact that he nearly got his uncle Dirk killed in an explosion only makes him feel more guilty about his perceived weakness.
• We Used to Be Friends: Dorian and Hoover used to be friends with Dirk but they split up as they grew older, to the point of Dirk getting into a fight with Hoover after a disagreement with Dorian. By the end of the story arc, the three of them are on the road to repair their friendship.
• World of Badass: Zigzagged between characters. Some characters are excellent fighters because of their species, particularly most of the cast being filled with big predators (such as felines and canines) with claws and teeth to kill and big prey (like bulls and horses) with hooves and horns to defend themselves. Other characters like Dorian (a rat) are just not meant to be fighters, which is why he relies on Hoover to do the fighting for him. Being a half fighting dog, Baul has trouble adapting to a world that is not this trope as he is discriminated for his breed.
• World of Funny Animals: The cast is made of anthropomorphic animals.