Unfair
Still going on about height difference, Rex?
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hey robin ever heard of the phrase show don’t tell https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show,_don%27t_tell
That never applies in physical skills. They have to be seen.
i brought up the show don’t tell thing because rex blurted out he can jump that high? to quote Anton Chekhov Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass https://www.google.com/search?q=Don%27t+tell+me+the+moon+is+shining%3B+show+me+the+glint+of+light+on+broken+glass&oq=Don%27t+tell+me+the+moon+is+shining%3B+show+me+the+glint+of+light+on+broken+glass&aqs=chrome..69i57.34507j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Panel 5 shows that Kai can jump that high. Panel 6 shows Rex’s shocked reaction. The exclamation makes it clear exactly what complex emotion is being expressed on a non-human face – perhaps the face could speak for itself, but without text, it could potentially be read as angry or scared. And while Rex may feel those things in part – his reputation is on the line – the text makes it clear that his primary reaction is surprise
I’m afraid you’re mistaken on the concept. To put it in proper perspective:
“The moon was shining brightly that night.” would be telling rather than showing.
“On the mill dam a piece of glass from a broken bottle glittered like a bright little star, and the black shadow of a wolf rolled past like a ball,” is showing rather than telling (of course, you need context that it’s a moonlit night in that sentence).
If you read the examples below in that article, you’d even know that doing too much of that both blunts the effect and is draining on the reader. It took about twice as long to show and not tell in the example; if all you needed to know for that scene is that it’s a moonlit night, it’s better to just tell the reader that and move on to the important parts.
As far as this comic goes: We’re shown Kai making the jump and surprising Rex without words already. Rex’s reaction is simply characterization. Sometimes you shouldn’t over-analyze and just enjoy the scene.
There is also the chance that the panels were made like that intentionally to trick you into believing exactly this, while the next page shows that he used his tail to boost himself up.
Just speculating, guess I won’t know until next week 😛
exactly. In a serial graphic it can be overly complex (ie hard to discern) and take considerable time (ok if you’re publishing a book once a year) and the comment isn’t out of line for something which would be much more difficult to show through real freeze-frame graphics.
Chekhov concepts assumes that there is a continuity to give such items context (thus exposition should be rare). In a book, even “showing” is words but they build up a frame in the readers mind. In plays or movies, there is a much wider visual area and the context can be built up through the scene.
Much harder to sell the idea with a few frames.
TL;DR? Thank you, the comment helps sell the picture much better
It’s not far off from reality: the wolf was caught off guard and verbalized his shock. The only real way to get more ‘true to the moment’ involves language that the author probably wants to avoid!
There are good points for both arguments in this old debate.
Robin did both simultaneously so I doubt either camp really has a case on this specific page.
I like the page the way it is. When there are no walls of text, I don’t mind whether the author shows, tells or does both. Also an exclamation like this is very common in Anime, and in there I like it, too. E.g. “He dodged it?” or “He disappeared!” or “Fast!”
I know about it. I figured already that you were talking about Rex talking about Kai’s jump. Sometimes people blurb out what they’re thinking when they’re genuinly surprised, so that’s what I was going for here. Good point though, made me think about my artistic choice here.
Now, then, it’s discovered
that green guys can jump
Next to see, when recovered,
is if Wolfie’s got the hump.
A second trick revealed,
so early in the game.
Two points ahead is nothing
but the wolf will know his name.
Kai’s already won here
in the battle for his pride.
Now let’s hear the cheer
As Wolfie let’s him on his side.
_cheers for Kai_
Nice, so Kai CAN block Rex’ throws.
But what will happen to the ball? At least in the past Kai had bad luck with aim.
1. Out (possibly hitting a spectator)
2. Kai catches it (with his tail)
3. Rex somehow gets to it before it leaves the field (unlikely )
4. Critical fail, the ball goes into the basket, point for Rex.
5. Other
Collecting the bets now.
Tiny nitpick: ‘Sparks’ three panels in a row feels like a bit to much.
I think the problem is more with the sparks’ consistency. The first two sparks are reactionary symbols showing that each character is being caught off guard/surprised. The third spark is just a placeholder showing where the ball was before it was slapped. There should probably be a different “special effect” to show physical reactions versus perceived/mental reactions (something as simple as changing the color pallet) but at this point it’d ruin the stylization consistency for this arc.
Mostly just an idea for future reference.
I call 4) just for the heck of it. It would make a good joke and the laws of comedy demand it! 😛
I guess I went a little overboard with the Sparks here, but I don’t get to use them a lot, so I’m making good use them while I can during this chapter xD
Well : second (and last) ability revealed , but the point isn’t on yet . And the game is going to become very hard now , for Kai
1) tail
2) speed
3) jump
4) … Something to do with accuracy of dunking rather than throwing?
Speed isn’t Kai’s “personal” ability , and i doubt he has other tricks
Then sorry to say it , but i have checked for : Kai is making an impossible jump . Remember what the coach said : https://www.twindragonscomic.com/comic/dragon-thing/
But the tail adds some weight ; so , see Kai success to jump already at the normal height of his weight is the maximum …….. because auto body protection : try to overcome it is great chances to break a leg by falling back to the ground
Well, no no one said it was going to be easy for Kai :p
BENJI, DUCK!!! … Ahem. Sorry. I couldn’t help it. Great as always Robin. For such a fast-paced game as basketball on an image based medium (AKA a comic strip) you’re doing amazing at putting some action into this! Kai seems to be doing a fine job at demonstrating that underestimating a dragon is not a mistake often made twice.
*Benji already went to take shelter under a table*
Hehe, thanks, I like drawing action and movement. It’s one of those things that pulls me into manga so much. ^^
Okay, THAT’s quite a feat for Benji, considering that they’re in a gymnasium.
Oh, I dunno… I’ve seen tables in gymnasiums before. Non-professional level gym’s get used for lots of other things and it could be left over from something like that. After all, this is just a one-on-one game, not two full teams and many spectators. (I know of one basketball gym that’s used for square-dancing every Thursday night.) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Ok, but if so, then it wasn’t on-panel.
He should really do high jump instead of basketball
He would do very well there, wouldn’t he xD
Who needs height when you can jump like Mario? At this point, Rex is definitely rethinking his opinion of Kai. Unless he goes straight into competitive ‘I’m the best, I must not lose’ mode.
When pride is on the line, it could get ugly :p
White dogs can’t jump?
But green dragons can :p
Reminds me of an episode of “Welcome Back, Kotter” where Mr. Kotter challenges one of his students to a basketball game to convince him to stay in school. Mr. Kotter only scores basket, but the kid decides to stay in school anyway. The idea is that if Mr. Potter could score a point, the kid wasn’t as good as he thought he was.
I don’t think Kai needs to win the game, just show enough ability to been seen as a worthwhile teammate. Someone Rex would want on his team to help win games. But that will take more than just tricks. Being able to jump and reach higher than the tall guy is a good start 🙂
There’s still a bet going on between them, so Kai really wants to win though xD
kai’s serious face in panel 4!
kick his ass little dragon!
That’s his plan ^^
I liked Panel #4 very much: Rex jumps up to make a shot, and finds himself with a facefull of dragon.
Facefull of dragon, could be a movie title xD
would definitely be a comedy :p
Seeing how things are turning , i know already what there will be in the next strip …………………
Are you sureeee :p
a sudden finish to the game, with the results. That’d be SO ANTICLIMATIC
Yes , i’m …….. See below ^_^
And on the next page we’ll see the ball going into the basket and it’s 1:1. 🙂
But somehow I get the feeling that Kai doesn’t have enough tricks up his sleeve to surprise Rex everytime. Yes, the pro trainer said there was a small chance, and I assume that the pro trainer knows Rex inside-out, so there will be strips where Rex will try and fail to use his tricks, buuuuuut it still won’t be easy for Kai.
I think more about Kai running fast as he has made previously and get his second point …………
21 tricks would indeed be a bit much xD
Kai will have a difficult game ahead.
What happens if that rejection slap makes it into the hoop? Is it Kai’s point? Or did Rex technically shoot it?
What happens if you play soccer and kick the ball into your own goal? 😉
Your team kills you ………. ^_^”
Strictly speaking that would be a foul in a one-on-one game. Real life rules demand you return back over the three-point line after you steal the ball of the opponent (since you’re playing on only one side of the court). Since Kai technically stole the ball he should be going back behind Rex and start the attack from there.
I’m not really following the rules that strictly in the comic though. I go for what’s most interesting. It’s not a basketball webcomic after all xD
Oooooh, it’d be a foul! That’s good to know! In that case I reinforce my assumption that the ball will go through the basket. So, if you’re making your own rules, I’m waiting with bated breath for the next update to see what your rules in that case are. ^^
https://youtu.be/dJFyz73MRcg?t=8s 😀
Kai the tigger? xD
Well, Kai showed you, how unfair Mother Nature can be!
Haha, yeah, that’s actually a good way to look at it xD
Robin: Do you actually plan to have a scientific discovery explaining how hybrids are born, or is it going to be a mystery factor for all eternity? If you have it planned, please don’t give the answer here.
Not exactly a scientific discovery, but an explanation is planned for later in the comic.
I actually hope that either Kai loses, or he wins by a small margin. It’s great that he’s showing Rex that he can learn and play, but a dominating victory feels a little too easy (unless it turns out that Rex was crap at the game all along).
agreed. a close game says more than a noob defeating the star with “tricks”.
Well, I can tell you that Rex definitely isn’t crap at the game.
That should put you at ease for what’s to come :p
Kai: “Sorry, you had a spark effect on your ear there…”
So he slapped the ball away instead? :p
Naah, he slapped it in the air in the next pannel
*glue Kai’s tail on the ground after his landing back in the last panel* ^_^”
Nooo why would you do that xD
Just because it’s funny LOL
Seriously : to much serious comments . So , i make a joking post ^_^”
“You can FLY?!?!”
“No. Jump good.”
All hail Da Samurai.
I feel like I should know where that comes from :p
Samurai jack, just google “jump good”
I have a theory regarding why Kai hasn’t used his fire during this confrontation (self restraint no withstanding) it might have to do with his fire lung, if they have them
Option A: they have a methane based fire lung, this would act somewhat like a fishes swim bladder: keep it full to increase buyancy, allowing for a little more vertical height. Admittedly this probably wouldn’t make much difference but might be some kind of placebo for him.
Option B: a chemical fire lung (mixing two or more reactive liquids to create a controlled combustion) in this case a full fire lung would mean more mass and Kai may regularly empty his fire lung to reduce the weight he’s carrying around (maybe use it to cook, maybe the gimmick of the dad’s restaurant “Cooking with Dragonfire”)
I personally think it would be option A biologically since B would be more likely to stick to something (a la napalm) witch would put one of Chloe’s old friends in the burn Ward and Kaya likely in juvi.
Thank you for bearing with me. (I just caught up and I WAS going to analyze their potential strength if they grew like normal kids scaled to dragon strength but it seems like that’s an old topic by now)
You’re right with the option A …………. Except it’s not a lung but a stomach ^_^”
And why Kai hasn’t used his fire during this confrontation is because rules forbids to put any opponent in fire XD
I know it’s against the rules, it was just a thought (a lot of people seemed to be eging him on to do some pyrotecknics in the comments and Kaya is a bit quick on the trigger)
Second I think the whole “lung vs stomach” thing is beside the point, thinking about it stomach makes more sense, though either could work
Has this been discussed before and I missed it somewhere?
Not that i know , unless i’ve missed it too …….. ?
It was discussed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FIDeOOL52Q
It hasn’t been discussed as of yet. It’s something people like to theorise about. I leave it to the imagination for now ^^
Mmm.. Shrimp! One of my favorite foods! 😉
What ! You want to vore Kai ? 0_o
Yuck! Never! But shrimp is very good. 🙂
Yeah… those legs and feet are downright tiny for things meant to support that amount of tail, let alone jumping that high.
Looks like Kai’s got his game face on.
Jump by Van Halen starts playing in the background.