Pirates versus Ninjas

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Pirates versus Ninja or vice versa refers to a joke about a supposed debate in various internet subcultures. The meme raises the question: Who would win in a fight: pirates, ninja robots, or zombies? The present popularity of this debate was most likely sparked by the site Real Ultimate Power or The Legend of Zelda video game series, in which Princess Zelda has had two different alter egos, one being a pirate captain, the other being a ninja; although at least one example of the meme exists prior to that website's creation. The question's humor is partly based on the fantasy that pirates and ninja are two of the most formidable opponents in physical combat, as well as the fact that their stereotypes are extreme opposites of each other (e.g., ninja are silent and wear black clothes, while pirates bluster and wear colourful, more attention-grabbing outfits). However, because both pirates and ninja have been heavily stereotyped in video games, movies, and television shows, many people use these stereotypes to make a quasi-logical argument in favor of one over the other for comedic value. The debate assumes that both pirates and ninja are as represented in popular culture, rather than in history (for example that ninja wear black and that pirates say "Arrrr!" and shiver me timbers). Occasionally, other creatures are added for a more complex debate. An example of this could be seen in the Atomic Sock Monkey Press role-playing game Monkey, Ninja, Pirate, Robot. However, the 'winner' is hard to determine. Constant fanbase criticism, leads to the battle being as balanced as possible. While girls are lead on with the 'Pirates of the Carribean' movies, a majority of online users, such as in active forums or role-playing sites, are often found to be ninja-lovers. Most of the fanbased opinions have unsupported bases such as: 'Pirates have guns and ships, therefore, Ninja lose.' or 'Ninja have magic, and high speed, therefore the Pirate can't even touch the Ninja.'

Timeline

• 1981 - In the movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark" there is a quick scene that shares Pirates versus Ninja similarities. Our hero, Indiana Jones (as a rough Pirate-like Raider) pulls out his revolver and shoots a Ninja-like Arabian with a huge scimitar. It isn't known whether the Arabian survived.

• 1995 - International Talk Like a Pirate Day was started. It became well known in 2002.

• 1998 - The PlayStation ninja video game Tenchu has a level that involves the ninja eradicating Portuguese (Spanish in the North American version) pirates from a Japanese village.

• 1999 - The manga (and later anime) series One Piece and Naruto are released and reach a level of mass popularity in Japan and abroad. While one features the adventures of a young pirate, the other shows the life a young ninja. The similarities between the two series are obvious, making the debate of pirates vs. ninjas enter the anime world.

• 2002 - Nintendo released Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker in which Princess Zelda's alternate form is a pirate captain. Throughout the whole series, Zelda has only had one other alias, Sheik, who is a very ninja-like character.

• 2002 - In June, the webcomic author Scott Kurtz of PVP Online took a fictitious holiday from his comic and in its place he ran a new strip title Pirate vs. Ninja [1]. This was done in mocking response to alternative comics artists who protested the treatment of alternative comics in the story arc which immediately preceded the Pirate vs. Ninja storyline. The comic ran for five days, after which PVP returned to publication.

• 2003 - Day of the Ninja started on December 5.

• 2003 - On March 15th Gamespy released the results of their voting survey for Pirates vs. Ninjas. In it Fargo and Shaithis discuss the various merits of Ninja and Pirates. Fargo even includes Dungeons & Dragons-like attributes for Ninja (Lawful Evil, Dexterity/Constitution, Katana: 1d10 Damage, Wa-tah!, Stocking covers face, Yin-Yang, and Honor) and Pirates (Chaotic Evil, Strength/Charisma, Cutlass: 1d6 Damage, Yar!, Kerchief covers head, Skull/Crossbones, Booty). Out of the 49,327 votes 77% voted for Ninjas. The accompanied PVP comic strip was provided by Scott Kurtz.

• 2003 - Monkey Ninja Pirate Robot Deluxe (the boardgame) was published on December 6.

• 2004 - Monkey Ninja Pirate Robot (the RPG) was published on May 27.

• 2004 - The video game Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal featured a secret level that could be found by entering a code, giving you a two player fighting game between a robot ninja and robot pirate (both of which appeared in the game). This was most likely in response to the internet debating.

• 2004 - In the MMORPG World of Warcraft, eating a "Savory Deviate Delight" will cause your player character to turn into either a Pirate or a Ninja. The effect will read as "Arrrrr (Transformed)" or "Flip Out (Transformed)". The effect is merely cosmetic, changing your appearance for one hour (or until cancelled or killed).

• 2004 - The webcomic Legostar Galactica begins a "Space Ninjas vs. Space Pirates" storyline [2]

• 2004 - The webcomic Nodwick runs a cartoon in which the protagonists run into a band of Ninja-Pirates, to which they respond "[...] He's a Ninja and a Pirate", "That's a level of awesome you just can't beat [...]."[3]

• 2005 - In Animal Crossing: Wild World, one of the personality questions an animal might ask you is "What do you like more?", asking you to choose between 'pirate ninja' and 'zombie sasquatch' .

• 2000s - The band Raptors Away released a song called PvN in which Pirates and Ninjas do battle in a final fight. In the most widely-circulated version of the MP3, the Pirates win, although an alternate version allows the Ninja to win.

• 2006 - On July 17th, a popular listing [4] appeared on the auction site eBay detailing the struggles of a Pirate who had his family reunion wiped out by Ninjas, requesting bids on his used crossbow so that he could afford Kung-Fu lessons as a prerequisite for revenge.

• 2006 - Ask a Ninja has run weekly podcasts on ninja related questions. On one episode, he critiques Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and is talking about everything wrong with the movie, and states that if the movie was called Ninjas of the Caribbean, it would have been a much better movie. The ninja also says that he can easily defeat the Kraken without a problem, where the pirates could not pose a challenge to it in the movie.

• 2006 - The PlayStation Portable video game SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2 has a skin which can be purchased with CE, that is either a Pirate (Mercenary Team), or a Ninja (Seals Team).

• 2006 - In the webcomic, The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, Dr. McNinja and the rest of the McNinja family defeat a pirate crew by hurling frozen shamrocks, while the doctor repeatedly asserts that "this is so retarded." References are repeatedly made to the ninja-pirate rivalry throughout the series, and it is implied that the rivalry is a joke created by ninjas because ninjas are "obviously superior to pirates."

• 2006 - T-Shirt merchant Jinx plays both sides of the debate selling Pirates Are Way Cooler Than Ninjas and Ninjas Are Way Cooler Than Pirates T-Shirt sets. The Debate continues...

• 2006 In the internet based RPG, Kingdom of Loathing, there is a familiar called the Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot. [5]

• 2007 - The World of Warcraft Trading Card Game also contains a card game, based on Hearts called "Pirate versus Ninja", as a way to encourage people to collect the Upper Deck Entertainment (U.D.E.) points printed on the cards.

• 2007- Antarctic Press releases a comic entitled Pirates vs Ninjas.[6]

See also

• Ninja Burger
• Internet phenomenon
• Ask a Ninja
• Ninja in Western fiction
• Pirates in popular culture
• [[[7]

External links

• Example of typical arguments
• International Talk Like a Pirate Day
• BF2 Pirates mod
• Aidan Broadbent's "Historical" Document
• Ongoing Debate - Pirates vs. Ninjas
• Ask a Pirate!!