Anime

My Pirate Crew!

Introduction 

Many thanks to Merlin’s Musings for nominating this site for the My Pirate Crew tag! I’ve never built a pirate crew before. Even in my fiction (which I swear will someday see the light of day — no, seriously!), I didn’t do pirates. It’s not that I had anything against them. It’s just I never gave them much thought!

For the sake of clarity, these are going to be the fun, Bodacious Space Pirates kind of pirates, not the “I’ll take this oil tanker off your hands and ransom you to your government” kind of pirates. Let’s face it: Bodacious is more fun, and I know at least I need a break from reality!

Here are the rules as Merlin’s Musings presented them:

  1. Display the My Pirate Crew logo and add ‘My Pirate Crew’ as a tag.
  2. Thank the blogger who nominated you and post a link to their blog (Thanks Merlin’s Musings!).
  3. Link back to the original post here (so I can compare your crews to mine).
  4. Select seven anime characters and give them a position on the crew. These are the positions you can to fill. Warrior, sniper, chef, doctor, scientist, navigator, strategist, mechanic, entertainer.
  5. Nominate 5-10 bloggers.
  6. Set sail and rule the seas!

Not sure how to implement rule #6, but we’ll see what I can do. I wonder if I can wander around my neighborhood in a vaguely pirate sort of way?

My Very Own Pirate Crew

Warrior

Tatsuya was modest, focused, efficient — and unbeatable. Pretty good qualities for a warrior! Capture from the Netflix steam

You want a warrior who can not only fight, but can think on their feet, inspire their fellow crew, and break the enemy’s morale. Oh, and if they can automatically come back from the dead, those are serious bonus points! Turns out, there is such a character: Tatsuya Shiba from The Irregular at Magic High School. The dude could seriously fight! It was a treat to see him in action. It’s probably an unfair advantage, but I strongly suspect everywhere he goes, you’ll find his sister Miyuki Shiba, who is really, really — really! — protective of her brother. So it’s almost like a two-fer!

Cheating? Maybe! When it comes to pirates, I think cheating might be okay! Maybe even expected.

And the “coming back from the dead part?” Tatsuya can restore himself from a backup. That’s the best arguments I’ve ever heard for keeping your backups up to date!

Sniper

I kinda think that if she missed her target with her first shot, she’d just track it down and beat it with her rifle. Yoko was not someone who did things half way! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream

I don’t think this selection is cheating as much as it might be overly obvious. For my sniper, I’m going to draft Yoko Littner from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. She was not only a good shot; she was not only strikingly beautiful; she was not only amazingly head strong; but she got exponentially more amazing, in all categories, as she got older. Yoko in Teacher Form was flat-out amazing! 

There was actually a point in the first 1/2 of the series where she seriously pissed me off. It almost made me stop watching the series! She seemed to turn her back on Simon when he despaired. In retrospect, I suspect she was just trying to harden him in preparation for what was to come. She didn’t know what that might be, but that’s part of her charm: By virtue of who she was, she inspired those around her to be better!

Chef

Erina’s teacher mode was super effective! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

It’s a pirate crew. I can’t have someone can simply cook be the chef. The chef has to have other skills! Preferably combat skills, but leadership skills will work, too. That’s why I’m nominating Erina Nakiri from Food Wars as my chef. Sure, she’s got the “god tongue,” and she’s got amazing cooking skills, so she’ll keep the crew happily fed. I mean, by nature, I don’t like the killing and pillaging part of pirating, so I’ll need to keep the crew occupied with something, right? Might as well be great good!

But what if we run into some evil royalty? We’ll need someone with a queen-like presence to counter them, right? Erina will be right at home in that scenario! Well, as long as her dad doesn’t show up. He seems to rattled her…

Doctor

From the first time we meet her, Chisato was enigmatic. Being able to keep secrets is a great skill for any member of a pirate crew! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Look, when all’s said and done, I’m still a guy. So I’m asking for a little understanding for this choice. For my pirate crew’s doctor, I’m going to choose Chisato Hasegawa from The Testament of Sister New Devil. Yes. I know. She’s stupidly attractive. By that, I mean guys tend to get stupid around someone that ridiculously attractive. But remember — my crew has to multitask! So when male rival pirates attack, she can work her magic and distract them. And while you’re snickering at my apparent shallowness (for which I have no real defense, so I’m about to try to distract you), did I mention she’s also able to kill gods? Talk about a handy pirate power!

Scientist

Rika never does anything half way. That kind of dedication to an idea is perfect for a pirate scientist. Capture from the Funimation stream

Sometimes you have to emphasis attitude over experience. I mean, where would we be if no gave General Patton a chance to prove himself when he was a young ‘un? So for my crew’s scientist, I’m going to go with a character from one of my favorite all time series, Haganai: Rika Shiguma. She’s a genius. She’s uninhibited, which in a pirate crew, is a plus (and I’d argue it’s a plus in general — look at how much of a rebel I’m becoming in this post!). She’s willing to work herself almost to death if she thinks the goal’s worth it. Remember how she almost ended up in the hospital because she worked so hard to add the special effects to the club’s movies? But most of all, she was willing to go to extreme lengths to break through Kodaka Hasegawa’s stubbornness so he’d realize something important. Sometimes, I’m an idiot, and if I’m in command of a pirate crew, we’ll need someone like Rika to remind me when I’m stupid. I just hope I don’t exhaust her…

And hey, is Kodaka related to Chisato? Or do I have the names backwards? If they’re related, that’s kinda scary…

Navigator

I think she might be the most sane member of the crew! Her level-headedness would be perfect as a navigator for my pirate crew. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream

She might be the science officer, but the maintains the ship’s navigator logs — at least in episode 5 of the series Martian Successor Nadesico. I’m talking about Ruri Hoshino, who’s responsible for interfacing with the ship’s computer. I’ve always admired her focus and her ability to get the ship to do what’s necessary. She also prefers the computer’s companionship to many of the human crew. I have to respect that kind of honesty! And really, when it comes to navigating the ship, where a single error could result in the loss of the entire ship, don’t you want someone who’s focused and is unlikely to be influenced by extraneous stuff like human contact?

Strategist

Shiroe had a motto to always look several moves into the future. Useful advice for a strategist! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream

Sometimes, the obvious choice is the right choice. That’s why I’m going with the “villain in glasses”, Shiroe from Log Horizon. If he can stay focused, he can see the whole playing field, understand all of the players, and project their moves several steps into the future. When he’s in the zone, he’s almost unstoppable. And if he loses his confidence and stumbles? Well, he can depend on the ninja Akatsuki to set him straight. I don’t see that as a weakness — we all have those moments. He’s luck to have someone like her who can straighten him back out! That kind of run-time correction will be important for my strategist. 

Mechanic

Winry’s mechanical work is her passion. In this line of work, that’s a huge asset. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream

One trait that’s critical for a mechanic is a love of tinkering. A mechanic has to love to understand why things work the way they do, too — otherwise, how will they know how to fix stuff in a pinch? Or improvise? Whenever I think “mechanic” in the context of anime, the first character I think of is Winry Rockbell from Full Metal Alchemist and Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. She works on stuff because she loves working on stuff. She’s shown herself to not only be technically capable — she’s also passionate about her work. Just look at some of her reactions when Edward Elric breaks his automail! Pride in workmanship is important!

Entertainer

She’s smart. She’s beautiful. She’s talented. And she was second in command of a biker gang, so if things go south in the field, she could easily take charge. Talk about multi-faceted! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Keeping with the theme of multitasking, it’d be useful if the pirate crew’s entertainer was also a badass, wouldn’t it? And the more badass, the better. Personally, I think anyone who can walk away from a flaming motorcycle crash — especially after she’s already dead! — counts as badass. So, I’m picking Saki Nikaidou from Zombieland Saga. I mean, as the heavy for a biker gang, she’s pretty much a pirate already! And there’s no disputing her badassery. And the zombie can sing, too! So she’s a perfect choice for this crew! 

Nominations

Of course, if you’re too busy or just don’t want to do this tag, cool! But if you’re so inclined, I would very much like to see what you come up with. For my 5-10 bloggers, I nominate:

The rules said 5-10 bloggers; I picked 11. See how I flaunt the rules? I’m trying to be a pirate. Gotta start small!

Also, I chose 9 characters, not 7 as requested. Good heavens, I’m turning into a pirate faster than I thought I would! This stuff’s dangerous! 

Thanks for reading — I hope you enjoyed meeting my pirate crew!

tcrow
Copyright 2022 Terrance A. Crow. All rights reserved.
https://www.crowsworldofanime.com

21 thoughts on “My Pirate Crew!

  1. I definitely agree with Ruri Hoshino as a navigator. She would be great at her job and a team can always use an insufferable genius to get people motivated. Haha!

    1. “a team can always use an insufferable genius to get people motivated.”

      That’s a really good point! She’s be perfect for cutting through the BS!

  2. Saki nikaido would be my highlight of that crew ❤️
    What an awesome post concept.
    As always thanks for the tag, i see you ‘broke’ the rules just to add me skdjdudj

    1. “Saki nikaido would be my highlight of that crew”

      I suspect she’d overthrow me as captain in under a week. And you know what? I can live with that.

      “What an awesome post concept.”

      Lynn done good!

      “As always thanks for the tag, i see you ‘broke’ the rules just to add me”

      The pirate spirit overcame me and rules couldn’t contain me! Seriously, I’m looking forward to seeing who you choose for your crew!

    1. I wondered if you’d see that!

      I realized I’d see you talk about how much you didn’t like the show, but I’d missed your post saying why. So, I went over to Shallow Dive in Anime and found your December 2018 post.

      I was shocked — shocked, I say! — when I found your quote, “There is nothing WRONG with Shinmai Maou no Testament.”

      Seriously, I not only get why you don’t like the show, but I agree with your reasoning.

      It really seems like the show’s still irritating your subconscious, despite your post! I wonder if it’s time for your to write another article exploring why?

      That’s be fun to read!

      1. I’ve made my peace with the show (go look at the other post I made where I talk about it’s one good scene) a long time ago, now it’s more of a running joke.

        But…I’m probably going to have to go back and watch it, maybe for my one year special. Ugh….

        1. “But…I’m probably going to have to go back and watch it, maybe for my one year special. Ugh….”

          I admire your dedication to your craft!

          I found the post that talks about the scene you didn’t think sucked (December 3, 2018, “Shinmai Maou’s Basara Toujou: Anime Blue-Balls, Sexual Independence and A Moment of Greatness,” right?).

          Did you know the video’s been deleted? Was the scene from the OVA? I haven’t watched them yet.

          You make a pretty good case for it!

          1. Yeah, but putting it back up requires me to either A) go to a porn site for the link, and B) watch that show again.

            It was from episode 13, the bath scene with Toujou and Chisato, the only..ONLY good scene in that entire series.

  3. Great crew, I love some of your picks. I suspect with Tatsuya on board your pretty much home free but at least you’ll be well fed and entertained.

    1. “Great crew, I love some of your picks.”

      Thanks! And now I’m curious about which ones you didn’t love!

      Also, I didn’t intentionally copy Winry from your list. She just seems like a perfect choice!

      1. Winry was the perfect choice for that role.
        Not so much didn’t love as don’t know a couple of your choices because I haven’t watched their anime.

  4. It’s as if pirating comes naturally to you. The rules just don’t seem to apply to some people. I can’t believe this tag is still going. It’s almost my claim to fame… almost.

    Great crew. Nicely selected. I had Yoko in mine too. She’s awesome.

    1. ” can’t believe this tag is still going. It’s almost my claim to fame… almost.”

      You have to feel pretty great about that! It’s going strong!

      “Great crew. Nicely selected. ”

      Thanks! Most of them occurred to me quickly; only Ruri took a bit, but that’s because I thought I’d confused her role on the ship. Had to rewatch a few scenes!

      “I had Yoko in mine too. She’s awesome.”

      Didn’t meant to copy! But she’s the best choice, isn’t she?

    1. Ah! So it wasn’t the original from my perspective, but the ultimate original!

      Corrected. Thanks for pointing it out! I only want to break rules on purpose, not by accident!

Please let me know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.