Board Thread:News and Events/@comment-17970636-20140527002935/@comment-24728342-20140527051856

Dammit all, beated me to the punch. Alright. After looking this over (thank god for short character backgrounds =D) I'll give this to Shiro. Now some might be thinking: GODDAMMIT NAPPA! How could you choose a pure melee fighter over a grenade launcher gal?! Well, here's my reasons. And to make this fun, I'll extend this debate longer than their backstories (this is, in no regards, making fun of these characters; I like em, but com'on, when God opens a window, you're urged to jump through it like Dukes of Hazard =D).

Where do we begin? Since both characters don't have much background stories to build upon, let's assume they both received the same formal training like all the other Hunters in Training. Okay, that's all good and dandy n' all but now let's kick things up a notch shall we? Semblances... The make or break of any fight and for this one, Shiro has the advantage. His semblance allows him to take more hits from Testament and also allow him to swiftly move his shield and sword in a better striking position while engaged in close quarter combat. I know the HUGE benefits of launchers, but for anyone who has seen 300 then you know where I'm going with this point. That launcher, all it's going to do is hit the shield. That's it. All shiro has to do is turtle up, wait for Gabrielle to reload and the rush her with a few key strikes.

Another thing to note is synergy (yes, this is a big deal!). Manus' ability to "stun" gives him a huge lead in close quarter combat. This combined with his semblance and his sword makes him a formidable opponent to fight at close range. Also, he doesn't need to use the Dust in his shield to stun his opponents; a few good bashes and anyone on the opposite end of that shield will get FUBARed. Also the best part about his two weapons, Dust isn't a huge factor to them. Gabrielle's tonfas are useful, that is a sure fired FACT, but with each hit they lose their Dust powers and reloading in battle is a pain. Without the Dust, they're just plain old tonfas, and I don't know about anyone else but swords plus shield is waaay more effective than a single tonfa weapon.

Though Gabrielle is one tall sister, this can be a double edged sword for her. In fact, her height makes her far more vulnerable to Shiro's attacks overall. As far as I can tell as well, Shiro has more protection than Gabrielle, and not just because she lacks a physical shield. Armor is important in some of these matches. In a combat scenario, Gabrielle would have to wear him down with all of her Frozen Grenade rounds to freeze him and then use impact rounds to tire him out. But he's fast. He's not some hefty tank lugging a ton of gear. He's mobile and his dexertity give him an edge in surviving all of that punishment. And as I said in many of my reviews: IF YOU CAN'T HIT THE DAMN THING, IT AIN'T WORTH IT! Yes a five meter blast radius is highly damn effect, there is no denying that. But again, turtle shell. The spartans did it, Shiro can do it, only he's blocking an ice grenade. Still though, same concept.

To add to a previously address issue about weapons, Shrio doesn't have to worry about running out of ammo. The perks of being a single based fighter is that you are aware of your limitation and you try to work with it/around it. Melee fighters aren't concerned about ammo conservation. All they have to do against a longe ranged opponent is to bob-and-weave. Now for Gabrielle, she'll have to focus on well placed shots and try to keep her distance at all times. The downside, her only defense is to also bob-and-weave from his melee attacks. Shiro's compliments his weakness though with speed and defense. Unfortunately, Gabrielle has none from what I can see.

Final verdict: Shiro. Honestly, both OCs need some more info. Though they were simple to read and though I didn't have to pull my hair out (heheh, bald joke XD) I would rather enjoy having a tough fight. Spices thing up. I like em both, but they both need a lot more detail into them: backstories, etc. But hey, not my place to judge, sorta. Anywho, may the best/faved OC win. o7