Wizards of the Coast Has a Very Lengthy Rationalization for Why It Modified Raph’s Weapon within the Ninja Turtles ‘Magic’ Set

When Wizards of the Coast began lifting the lid on its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover set earlier this week, eagle-eyed followers of the heroes in a half-shell seen that there was one thing a bit off with the weapon of alternative for one of many brothers. Wherever Raphael was depicted in artwork for the set, his trademark sai had been seemingly lacking one of many aspect prongs. However it wasn’t a mistake—it’s truly a distinct weapon solely, and the selection was made by Wizards of the Coast deliberately.

All through the TMNT set (and named in a number of of the playing cards), Raph is depicted wielding a pair of jitte slightly than sai—a blunt weapon popularized in feudal Japan with a singular hooked tine. However to clear the air, Wizards launched a whole blog post explaining the potential confusion to TMNT followers who had been unfamiliar with the weapon.

The quick reply is twofold: first, the iteration of the Ninja Turtles that star within the Magic set are a novel iteration of the crew in their very own proper, impressed by however distinct from the myriad incarnations of the TMNT universe which have existed over time, and in addition to having their very own distinctive designs, it was determined that one other method this new model of the Ninja Turtles might stand out is that if among the teenagers wielded totally different weapons. Second? Familial trauma.

Properly, sort of. So explains the Wizards of the Coast weblog, merely titled “Raphael’s Jitte”:

On the core of all of it, beneath the cool aliens, ninjutsu, and flying transdimensional bovines, you’ve acquired the story of this tight little household making an attempt to bond, argue, and survive in extraordinary circumstances. After we designed the search for our Turtles, we requested, “How do these 4 American youngsters relate to one another and the tradition their father comes from? What did they be taught? What do they cling to? What do they reject?”

When it got here to visuals, that relationship was entrance and middle by giving the brothers very related costuming that was nonetheless personalised to speak little components of their character—that’s why we very intentionally gave Mikey straps that resemble a backpack (to assist make him really feel youthful than his brothers) and made Raph’s masks distinct (to assist him visually talk how he sees himself as an outsider and totally different from his household).

In the long run, we noticed Splinter as very historically Japanese, following cues from the unique Mirage comics and his numerous animated incarnations. In that mild, it made much more sense that he would train his sons learn how to use extra conventional ninja weapons—Leonardo the ninjatō, Donatello the bō, Raphael the jitte, and Michelangelo the kusarigama—however youngsters are rebellious, and every one would specific that by their expertise rising up in NYC. Leo may internalize a bit an excessive amount of popular culture about Japan and picture himself a samurai, for instance.

In most incarnations of the TMNT, Raphael and Splinter arguably have the closest emotional relationships—they share plenty of anger. Splinter has mastered that rage and hopes to show his son learn how to do the identical, whereas Raph desperately needs his father to be pleased with him, and his perceived failure of this can be a huge supply of his sibling rivalry with the “golden boy,” Leonardo. You may’t simply throw that away, however we don’t have hours of screentime to discover it, both. So, you consider how one can specific these dynamics in visuals and designs.

It was determined, then, that the jitte felt extra “historically Japanese,” in response to Wizards, to match Splinter’s heritage, and Raph’s option to proceed utilizing it as a substitute of favoring one other weapon (whereas the weblog notes that the Magic Mikey was educated with a kusarigama, most playing cards he’s depicted in present him together with his regular nunchaku) is supposed to convey his respect for his father determine, regardless of their clashes.

That’s a lot of reasoning to clarify a single (and, on the finish of the day, comparatively minor) artwork design alternative in an entire Magic: The Gathering set full of them. However it on the very least exhibits that Wizards has put plenty of considering into its personal stamp on the Ninja Turtles… even when it results in some very foolish moments within the set the place basic comedian artwork of Raph together with his sai has been reused to taste playing cards of his new weapon of alternative:

It’s the thought that counts. The Magic: The Gathering – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles set releases on March 6.

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