"Realistic" in the sense of being a realistic depiction of arms, armor, and martial technique. Obviously the gameplay mechanics aren't going to be a full-on proper HEMA simulator, but things like the moveset animations and the way various weapons interact with one another can still be analyzed for realism, which is what Shad tries to do here.

Why is it suddenly cool to hate on katanas? There is no finer weapon to have come about before the invention of gunpowder.

Has the Katana gone full circle and is now lame? I've been out of the loop on the matter since 6th grade.

RSR - There's been a large backlash against katanas, yes, but it's been a very well-reasoned backlash. Evidence was presented on both sides, the case was fiercely argued before the online assembly of nerds, and in the end, katanas were found lacking.

I haven't really seen anyone (besides Cena) argue in favour of the katana in quite some time. At this point, it's more or less "settled science" that European swords were superior to Japanese ones.

Now the interesting new development that *I've* been noticing, and which Shad touches upon here, is the *anti-sword backlash*. That is to say, there seems to be a movement afoot that's swinging away from swords, and towards various other types of medieval armaments - most notably, polearms. And this makes sense, because given all the evidence (both from historical accounts and from modern reconstructive practice, like HEMA, reenactment, or LARP), it is clear that in most combat situations, swords are not the optimal weapon to use. Polearms (Shad specifically references poleaxes, but it could also be a pike, a halberd, a lucerne hammer, or even a humble spear) are by far the most versatile alternative, which is why they were the most dominant form of weapon on ancient battlefields, and why certain sections of the nerd community (small, but growing, sections) have started to shake off the sword-mindset entirely. Today's Knights vs Samurai may well turn into tomorrow's Voulge vs Bec-de-Corbin.

That is not to say that people don't still have an *emotional* connection to swords. They do! In fact, most nerds still have a very deep emotional connection to katanas, too - katanas remain, and may indeed forever continue to be, the most beloved and widely romanticized of all swords.

But there is a difference between the romantic and the rational, and I think that the march of knowledge and human progress has led us to a point where the nerd community as a whole is willing to, intellectually, move on to where the evidence points us.

OZ - that is a great observation!

My own theory here would be that American political discourse tends to shoot for the lowest common denominator, a level which, due to various factors, continues to drop year by year. Katana drama, on the other hand, is almost solely the domain of nerds who have too much time on their hands. This class of people tends to be bright, articulate, and (mostly) rational - hence why katana drama is generally of a higher quality then its political counterpart.

Gunpowder was invented thousands of years ago, so Cena is not necessarily incorrect. Stubby, single-edged, slashing swords made from folded pig iron likely were the finest tools of warfare to be had in the eras before that.