banner_jpg
Username/Email: Password:
Forums

Badass Old men/geezers

You must be registered to post!
From User
Message Body
Member

4:55 am, Jul 6 2013
Posts: 155


One of my favorite literature troupes had always been the bad ass old guys. The mentor, the wise old sage, and when it down to business, they kick serious asses. I meant people like Gandalf, Albus Dumbledore, and Yoda are legendary as popular icons. They are not always the good guy either like Magneto. Nor do they require to posses superhuman power like Tywin Lannister (ASOIAF), Carl Fredricksen (Pixar-Up), and Aramaki the Ape (Ghost in the Shell). The only requirement is to be bad ass old guy like Uncle (Jackie Chan Adventure).

Now with the intro out of the way, I want to introduced my list of top 11 bad ass old guys from manga/anime/ and other eastern comics. To be on the list they kinda need to either look like an old person or have old person characteristics. I don't put people who is like hundreds of years old but look like any young person and act just like any young person >__<

But first let's mentioned who didn't make the list.
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
-Master Asia (Gundam)- The Undefeated of the East didn't make it into the list even though G Gundam is one of the first anime series I saw when I came to the USA. I don't recalled too much of it. And there are just so so many other great geezers. I mentioned him because he would have been on many people's top 10 list.

-Makarov Dreyar- The 3rd and 6th master of Fairy Tail can be indeed a bad ass. But since my list is quite personally bias. The reason he didn't made the list is also a personal prejudice on my part. I don't really like his power all that much. And his heroic moments are eclipsed by others on the list.

And Askeladd (Vinland Saga)- A total badass, he is on the border of being old enough.

People that would have made the list if they had been in the manga/anime/eastern comic category. The west comic culture does provide us with quite aged badassery from time to time.
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
-Uncle Iroh (Avatar: the Last Airbender)- The series is anime influenced cartoon. Uncle Iroh is lovable guy all around. His back story is heart breaking. If he had become the fire lord instead of his younger brother, well, the world of Avatar would have been very different. The guy is a beast pretending to have a mental break down while train to break out of his prison. Then later, he would lead a band of bad ass old guys, the White Lotus (Buma, Pakku, Jeong Jeong, and Paindao) to liberate the city of Ba Sing Se (a city he failed to conquer in the past). Uncle Iroh, a hedonist, a sage, a fighter, a respected master, and a loving forgiving father. And totally would have a place on my list.

-Bruce Wayne (Batman Beyond)- Who doesn't love the Bat? I meant the guy is probably the most popular character in the DC universe and probably more popular than anyone from the Marvel universe too. Batman is great because of the supporting characters like Alfred and of his unique villains. But boy oh boy, I love the geezer in Batman Beyond when he retired as the batman. Bruce is so so good at the grumpy old mentor to Terry (though I love his relationship with son, Damien, in the new 52 also). And when he does take action, he is still quite a bad ass in his old age.

-Sun Wukong the Monkey King- Journey to the West is one of the 4 classic Chinese literature that has been adopted in various media forms and satirized in many more including the infamous Dragon Ball series. Although Journey to the West does have an anime in the late 60s, but I didn't see it so I can't put him in the list. However, I am very much familiar with the story. The Monkey King is the embodiment of individualism and undoubtedly the main character of the series. In many way, Journey to the West is a tragic story and of animal abuse (rofl) and is a tale of how society punished individualism (irony). Sun Wukong is well over 500 years old by the time the journey began. He always referred to himself as old Sun. Sun Wukong is cunning, brave, strong, no bullshitter at time, impatient. And Sun Wukong is never meant to be a hero. He meant to kill and kill and terrified demons and gods alike. Born from a rock and not of civilization, Sun Wukong was meant to be free.

-Hong Qigong (Condor Heroes Trilogy)- Like Journey to the West, Louis Cha's works had also been adopted in anime form. I haven't seen it nor am I actively seeking out the series. But I am awfully aware of the story. Jin Yong (Louis Cha)'s universe is full of the bad ass old men. The rule of wuxia is that if you are old, you are likely able to kick everyone asses. Hong Qigong nicked name the Northern Beggar is among the five Greats (Eastern Heretic, Western Venom, Southern King, and Central Divine). Qigong is the 18th leader of the Beggar Sect, the largest sect of jianghu, which included most of the beggars in China. Qigong is a notorious glutton who chopped off one of his finger after he failed to rescue a friend because he was distracted by food earned him the nickname "Nine Fingered Divine Beggar." Because of this characteristic, he was tricked into becoming the mentor of the dimwit protagonist Guo Jing and his girlfriend Huang Rong (Huang Rong's father, Eastern Heretic is also one of my favorite badass old man). Qigong's martial art included the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms and Dog Beating Staff Technique. Both are quite relevant to his character as a righteous man. Dragon is a symbol of royalty whereas dog is a symbol of thugs and low lives. Qigong would punish the corrupted government (dragons) and or low live thugs (dogs) on a whim if he wanted to. In the end, he died while laughing to death while embracing his lifelong nemesis Western Venom, erasing any enmities that the two had in the past.

[img]http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/264/e/d/huang_yaos hi_by_403shiomi-d5fekvx.jpg[/img]
-Huang Yaoshi- like Hong Qigong, Huang Yaoshi is among the five greats representing the East and Peach Blossom Island nicknamed Eastern Heretic. Old Huang is an eccentric man who disliked traditional formalities or moral dogma but valued artistry, genuine honor, and love. Huang, especially, had a really bad reputation in jianghu as someone who is cruel and that he crippled all the servants of his island. Huang doesn't care what people thought of him or even try to correct people's misconception even when people falsely accused him of murder crimes. The fact is that Huang does good deeds just for the heck of it. He save cripples along his journey and brought them to his island to live. But he ended up crippled most of his disciples because 2 of them betray him. His martial art included Divine Flick where a pebble can be a dangerous weapon. When he played his jade flute and channel his inner qi, he can drive people mad with libido.

11th to 8th
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
[img]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20121010122122/blea ch/en/images/d/d2/BigYamaDeath.png?dur=370[/img]
-->11) Genryƫsai Yamamoto (Bleach)- It is really sad that Bleach was one of the more enjoyable manga that I have read is now turned to something I skim over in 3 minutes weekly due to old habits. The reason for the captain commander of the Gotei 13 is dead last is quite simple. I really thought Kubo really destroy the badass-ness out of him. For the most part, the guy didn't do much. Then when he got into action, he ended up didn't kill the female Arrancar trios. Then he got troll by Aizen, even though, his action was quite bad ass at the end of that battle. Recently, he went on a rampage. Turn out he kill less quincies than Kenpachi and die in a rather pathetic death. He would have ranked much higher, if Kubo had killed off the 3 quincies that ambushed him (as it turned out all survive the ordeal). And I really like the panel where he died too, sigh. I meant how bad ass is it that even after getting cut in half his arm still clings on to the other person. But up course, he didn't even injured the big bad >___<

-->10) Genkai (YuYu Hakushho)- I just realize she is the only female of the list. Genkai is awesome. Her techniques are awesome. I supposed her highlight was the fight between her and Toguro which was quite touching. And lastly, she trained three psychic newbies that get the better of Yusuke and his companies.

-->9) Hiruzen Sarutobi (Naruto)- In the case of the 3rd Hokage, the Professor didn't really exude badassery. But I always have a soft spot for him, and I really want Kishimoto to showcase him a lot more after resurrection. By the time for Hiruzen to shine, he is already so fatigue of old age and overloaded with emotion facing his former masters and student. Regardless of how the battles of the second half of Naruto making the first half look so so tone down, but Hiruzen took on 3 Kage level fighters, sealing 2 of them and pretty much crippled Orochimaru.

[img]http://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/characters/8/121367.jpg [/img]
-->8) Choji Ochiai (20th/21st Century Boys)- Well, since not a lot of people read this master piece. I won't go into details and risk of spoilers. But ya, he got no super power and he is a freaking badass.

7th to 4th
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
-->7) Master Roshi (Dragon Ball)- it has been more than a decade since I read Dragon Ball. Though Dragon Ball was one of those series that I self taught myself how to read (along with Doreamon). And as a kid, no one is cooler than the old pervert Master Roshi. Because of the guy, the sea turtle was my favorite animal as a kid. Unlike Yamamoto from Bleach, Master Roshi had real bad ass moments like defeating Goku, blowing off the moon, walking out on Tien Shinhan's match, and or gave Piccolo the scare of his life. Dragon Ball doesn't belong in my top 10 manga or anime but Roshi does have a place on this list.

--> 6) Jiraiya (Naruto)- I supposed the Toad Sennin has enough badassness for himself and his master, the 3rd Hokage. The dude is a freaking beast, scare away the likes of Itachi and Kisame (though Itachi was after all a good guy). The scene when all 3 Sennins summon their beasts was awesome. Although, I didn't care too much for Pein's power nor the fight between him and Jiraiya, however, I thought Jiraiya infiltrating Amegakure all by himself was pretty badass. He was on the verge of winning too if Pein's power wasn't so hax. But he ranked 6th was because I really like the dynamic between himself and Naruto. Jiraiya was truly the first father figure that Naruto had (Iruka is more like a guidance counselor, and Kakashi had always more interested of Sasuke).

[img]http://fdzeta.com/subir/images/C9Eo.jpg[/img]
--> 5) King Bradley (FMA and FMA Brotherhood)- Bradley is quite neat as the embodiment of Wrath which is quite the contrary of the facade that he showed people as an easy going Fuhrer. Unlike his fellow homunculus, he doesn't really have supernatural abilities or regenerative power (though he had regenerative power in the 2003 series). And yet, he is one of the more dangerous character of the series. He dominated against competent opponents like Greed, Fu (a fellow badass old man), Mustang, Ling Yao, and Scar. His fights are usually very fun to watch. In the Brotherhood version, of all the original homunculus, it seemed that Bradley (and maybe Envy) was the only person have some sort of empathy with the humans and have some sort of personal aspiration outside of Father's plan.

--> 4) Zeno Zoldyck (HunterxHunter)- As the strongest assassin in the world, he is probably one of the strongest in the HunterxHunter universe. I like Zeno because he is the grandfather of one of my favorite character (Killua) and probably the only person in the family that truly care for him (Silva seemed to be more manipulative). But what got him to the 4th position on this list is his strict abidance of his own professional philosophy. During the Yorknew city Arc, he was willing to risk his life because he was paid to do so (even he admit it wasn't worth it). Even though he and Silva got the upper hand on Chrollo Lucilfer, they walk away after Killua's brother successfully killed the clients. During the Chimera Ant Arc, he took on another tough assignment as a favor to an old friend. I am sure he would put his life on the line against a much superior opponent that is the King of Ants, Meruem. And only he could just easily walk away because he killed an innocent bystander during his job (professional ethic) and still look like a badass.

3rd to 1st
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
[img]http://obdpictures1.wikispaces.com/file/view/Elder_kwon_p rofile.png/343304858/Elder_kwon_profile.png[/img]
-->3) Jae-Kyu Kwon (The Breaker: New Waves)- The second in command of the Sun-Woo clan, and the second strongest of the ten Grandmaster (the only Grandmaster who isn't a head of a clan or a martial art school), elder Kwon exude so much badass every time he got serious. So far, it seemed he is mile ahead of everyone else, his punches are so fast, and most can't comprehend them. The reason he is 3rd on the list is that out of the 11, he is one of the few who had not yet been humiliated by an opponent. In recent development, he is about to show down against a fellow member of the 10 grand masters and I am totally looking forward for it. Who know what the future is install for him, but I hope he won't get kill off like the fate of many on the list. Though, loyalty usually isn't a good trait to have if the goal is surviving.

[img]http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/063/3/8/Whitebeard_ by_blackwolf581.jpg[/img]
-->2) Edward Newgate (One Piece)- One Piece is among my top 10 favorite series. And I know you guys are all going crazy of why Whitebeard isn't number 1 on this list. Initially, I didn't enjoy the Marineford Arc because I thought there is so so so much going on. But Whitebeard is probably one of the reasons why the arc is super badass. Oda is such a masterful storyteller. I meant the ass whipping of Akainu was super emotionally satisfying (the timing was perfect). I don't think anyone on this list would make a person felt that way. I didn't like how the anime let Akainu had a few exchanges back, it totally destroy the pacing (in my bias opinion). And then Blackbeard showed up, and Whitebeard totally humiliated him. Watching BB begged like pansy for his life, really contrasted the badassness of Whitebeard. His power is totally awesome, and the way he went out was really satisfying. Sigh, I would have put him at number one. But I have done a lot of thinking, and 2nd place is where he is at.

[img]http://i19.mangapanda.com/hunter-x-hunter/298/hunter-x-hun ter-1219687.jpg[/img]
-->1) Isaac Netero (HunterxHunter)- The number one spot goes to the 12th chairman of the Hunters Association. Netero has the Buddha theme and yet like Sun Wukong (ironically) is pretty brutal. The guy was ecstatic to fight Meruem because within his universe he is at the very top. Like many other on this list, Isaac Netero is also prone to his own emotions and pride unlike the stereotype of the calm wise sage. As the fight went on, Netero was tearing from limb to limb and yet he was dangerous through and through. But why is he number 1? Let's take a look back at our competitors:

-Yamamoto failed to defeat Aizen and Yhwach/Juha Bach
-Genkai failed to kill younger Toguro.
- Hiruzen Sarutobi failed to kill Orochimaru
-Roshi failed to seal Piccolo and didn't defeat Tien
- Jiraiya lost to Pein
-Whitebeard didn't kill either Blackbeard or Akainu

Do you see a pattern??? The literature troupe of badass old man usually set up that the wise sage failed of killing the ultimate bad guy like Obiwan Kenobi and Darth Vader. But this isn't a case during the Chimera Arc, because Meruem's death was pretty much due to Netero. And this is why, I kinda piss off at Yamamoto's death. Genkai's death was meant to inspire Yusuke. Hiruken managed to crippled Orochimaru, Roshi scared Piccolo shitless, Jiraiya discovered the secret of Pein, and Whitebeard humiliated Akainu and Blackbeard/inspire a New Generation/ended the old one/ and set up an escape path for his crew. When Netero was reduced to almost a corpse and about to die at any moment, his words to Meruem is eerie. Even if Meruem is a superior creature and fighter, to Netero, Meruem is still a child had yet fathom the capacity of malice of humankind. I, personally, can't wait until the anime caught up to this epic duel (even though I didn't really like Netero's power).


I hope you enjoyed my ranking. Maybe, I will do one for my favorite powers/abilities.


Last edited by movingstone at 5:02 am, Jul 6 2013

Post #606246
user avatar
Member

3:01 pm, Jul 6 2013
Posts: 838


20th century boys have some bad ass ojisans... not quite old to be called geezers but they are old biggrin

Post #606251 - Reply to (#606246) by aagcnet
Member

4:15 pm, Jul 6 2013
Posts: 155


Well, I think they are quite old. They found the hideout in 1969, which I would place them at least somewhere from 6-10 years old then. The story jump forward to 2014. I meant most of them are at Jiraya's age (50 years old more or less). And Naruto called Tsunade as old granny.

user avatar
Member

7:04 am, Jul 7 2013
Posts: 374


I like your list and really agree with No. 1 but I never thought of Bradley as a geezer. While he may be old, he doesn't look as old as the others (he needs more gray hair biggrin)

To add a badass geezer: Jin Tae-Jin from The God of High School.

Post #606328
Member

7:35 am, Jul 7 2013
Posts: 130


Badass geezer should be Furinji Hayato, Kensei Ma and Akisame Koetsuji from Strongest Disciple Kenichi

Post #606330
Member

7:54 am, Jul 7 2013
Posts: 226


Think it is really hard to top Netero's badassness. I am a bit biased though since I absolutely love HxH. His background is cool too, when he was younger he went to the mountains and trained for years. He punched 10,000 times a day before stopping. In the start it took him 18hours to complete 10,000 punches, and by the time he left the mountain it took him 1hour. eyes

Post #606331
Member

8:18 am, Jul 7 2013
Posts: 130


What about the turtle from Kung fu Panda 1 (forgott the name, to lazy to browse) biggrin

Edit: not to include him in the rankings, he is just my image of a badass old geezer: a sage but strong too and we don`t know if he could have beaten the tiger because he died beforehand wink

Member

11:09 am, Jul 7 2013
Posts: 155


Thank for some of the recommendation. The list is basically limited to what I read/watch.

On Kungfu Panda- The turtle guy has no epic feast that rival anyone on the list in my opinion. Neither was Sifu. I saw a clip the other day on youtube. I laugh out loud when they said "Master Sifu" That is the most redundant thing ever by repeating "teacher" in 2 language.

On Netero- yeah, I agree. But I don't think mangaka should try to one up another. They should do whatever the story develop organically. Though, in the case of Bleach, there is a lot of miss opportunities. So many very minor details that could have change the whole thing.

Furinji Hayato- made the list on one of the youtube vid I saw. I never read that series, do people recommend that is a good series confused

Wow, the God of High Chool and Disciple Kenichi have quite decent ratings. I may check those out when I had time.

As for King Bradley- Hmmm, I see what you meant. He has the age, but I supposed he kinda look like a middle age man.

Last edited by movingstone at 11:15 am, Jul 7 2013

You must be registered to post!