Ronin Galaxy

“In the distant future, humanity has ushered in a new feudal age. The solar system is ruled by massive corporations and their executive aristocracy. But amidst this new order is a universe filled with adventurers, outlaws, thrill seekers and treasure hunters looking to carve out their own legacy amongst the stars.”

—Quote from Roningalaxy.com.

Ronin Galaxy was an action-adventure web comic that ran from 2011 to 2013. It has a manga appearance, but is read left to right like western comics.

The story follows the main characters, Cecil Onimaru the samurai ronin and Giancarlo Baccari the gun-slinging mercenary who eventually pick up Taylor May, a plucky refugee from Earth. Along with their ship and robot cat-girl Ai, they embark on various mercenary adventures that end up being more trouble than they expect. Their adventures bring them to new and exotic places, saving damsels in distress whenever they can.

The website for Ronin Galaxy is long gone, but a copy can be found here at the Wayback Machine

Tropes used in Ronin Galaxy include:

B-Cup Angst: Taylor, on this page specifically.
All Planets Are Earthlike: Just another average day in Japa- Whoa! Those are some huge potholes. That look suspiciously like moon-craters...
Action Girl: Leona attempts to infiltrate a brothel and doesn’t waste any time lunging on her foe.
Anime Accent Absence: Despite being on the Moon in the future, the places the characters visit are clearly reminiscent of Japan and so are the people. Though there isn’t any language barrier between anyone; specifically with Giancarlo, Taylor and Leona, who are foreigners.
Animesque: The art, and especially pages are made to look like a manga, despite being read from left to right like a western comic.
Anti-Hero: Cecil, despite having all the optimism and badassery that ideal heroes ought to, he only keeps that up for as long as it’s convenient (or safe) for him to do. When he’s outmatched he has no problem with kicking his opponent in the crotch.
Art Evolution
Awesome McCoolname: Cecil Onimaru – simply mentioning an Oni in your real name (supposedly) is pretty over-the-top, and Leona Gallant – What are the chances that she could possibly be a gallant knight?
Back-to-Back Badasses: For Cecil and Giancarlo it seems to be natural for them.
Badass Adorable: Cecil gives his opponent a cheesy little v-sign before dispatching of him. Twice.
Berserk Button: Ai, normally a passive computer, goes into attack mode the instant an unidentified person enters the ship.
Between My Legs: Page 16
Big Damn Heroes: Cecil and Giancarlo to the rescue!
Boobs of Steel: When comparing Taylor and Leona, the latter’s bustline automatically dictates that she is the combat-orientated girl.
Break the Cutie: Poor Taylor, she has quite an adventure in chapter one.
Catgirl: Ai gets away with being a real life cat girl by being robotic.
Chef of Iron: Giancarlo can hold his own in a gunfight and still manage to cook up a full-course meal for breakfast the next morning.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: Pretty much all the time Cecil sees an opportunity arise, but Giancarlo makes note of it on page 61.
Damsel in Distress: Taylor in the first chapter. Although she does take it upon herself to escape her situation, she is quickly caught and must be saved.
Earth That Used to Be Better: There aren’t many details, but on page 43 both Cecil and Taylor elude to the fact that Earth isn’t quite what it used to be.
Finger Gun: Cecil holds up a thug with his fingers instead of a real gun. Which he then proceeds to punch him with.
Funny Moments: There are quite a few of these, some notable examples include the part where Cecil realizes he’s screwed, the groin kick. The suggestion at the end of chapter one, and the second damsel in distress moment that goes embarrassingly wrong, among others.
Foreign Fanservice: Leona fits this stereotype like a glove. Interestingly enough, she fills the role from a Japanese viewpoint, though the comic is western.
Gratuitous Italian: Hey mangiare!
Gratuitous Japanese: There isn't too much of this surprisingly, given that the comic takes place on the equivalent of Japan-the-Planet. The examples of this trope are primarily in the titles of the chapters: Chapter One - Gaijin Girl and Chapter Two - Cho Han Hustle. Kira Moritomi also calls Leona a "stupid gaijin" on page 60.
- This trope is somewhat subverted in the fact that the word "gaijin" in particular doesn't seem to be used gratuitously, so much as it is succinctly. By use of the word, the reader would be able to realize that the person being called a gaijin is a foreigner, is being referenced to by a Japanese person, and also that person's possible tension towards said foreigner. (Since gaijin can sometimes be a rude expression.)
- Also the title itself is alternatively written in katakana.
Great Offscreen War: On page 43 Taylor makes refference to a war on Earth, but nothing else is said about it, and is quickly forgotten about.
Hime Cut: Ai sports this particular Japanese haircut.
Implausible Fencing Powers: Somewhat averted, Cecil manages to block a bullet with his sword, but its quickly explained that it's not exactly skill that's responsible..
Impossibly Low Neckline: Despite all the action, Leona somehow manages to keep her bust from spilling out.
Katanas Are Just Better: Guns are no good against the hero (of course) gotta break out the auto-blocking katanas!
Kimono Is Traditional: Ai.
Male Gaze: During the beginning chapter two conflict, Leona’s breasts manage to make it into just about every frame of every. Single. Page.
Mega Corp: The Moritomi Financial Group in chapter two. Cecil explains the extent of their influence here.
Perma-Stubble: Giancarlo never seems to shave completely around his goatee.
Pretty Freeloader: Taylor is taken onboard Cecil and Giancarlo’s ship, despite not having any discernable talents. Cecil also proclaims her “his maid” though she is never shown cleaning anything. Not to mention she almost got them both killed in the first chapter.
Ronin
Silk Hiding Steel: Ai in the first chapter, and Leona in the second.
Smoking Is Cool: Giancarlo doesn’t just smoke, or chain-smoke, he chain smokes cigars. Probably leading him to look Older Than They Think. Taylor points this out.
Rule of Cool: Happens a few times, but specifically in chapter one, Cecil couldn’t just run during the firefight - he stands there until someone aims right for him just so he can look super awesome by deflecting it.
Terraform: Background shots of the Moon show a land mostly vegetated or urbanized with no artificial atmosphere visible. One can only assume (so far) that this is the explanation.
- The author states on the about page that the planets are made "habitable by future science."
The City Narrows: Cecil explains at the beginning of chapter two that the Moritomi Complex seems like an average city until you enter a suspiciously dark alley. Then it turns into a feudal Japanese red-light district.
The Future
The Syndicate: The Akuma Gang in the first chapter and the Moritomi in the second.
Unusual Eyebrows: Ai has Heian eyebrows.
Victoria's Secret Compartment: Of all the places Leona could keep her sword.
You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Giancarlo, and Leona, although the latter is blonde with blue highlights.

[[Category:Web Comics of the 2010s]