Sinister Scimitar: Difference between revisions

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[[File:676934xiahou20dun20art0 6781.jpg|link=Dynasty Warriors|frame|Yup, That can't be good...]]
 
{{quote|''"Have you seen those warriors from Hammerfell? They have curved swords. Curved. Swords."''|'''Random Guards''', |''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]''}}
 
Whenever an army of evil creatures like Orcs and such is introduced, be sure that most of the time they will be armed with scimitars, falchions, sabers and other curved weapons. Alternatively, a particular evil character or warrior is armed with such a weapon to underline his bad guy status. Seen more often if the "good guys" or the "good army" wields straight swords.
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Of course, this trope has one primary exception, if the hero comes from a place where scimitars and sabers are used as a "default", though in these case it's more like because everyone use them. See also [[Weapon of Choice]] and [[Good Weapon, Evil Weapon]]. Expect to see it often in [[Qurac]]-like settings.
 
Compare and Contrast [[Katanas Are Just Better]], which is the Eastern equivalent to this trope.
 
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== Played Straight ==
=== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ===
* ''[[Vampire Hunter D|D]]'': D's crescent sword.
* Many high-level enemies in ''[[Yaiba]]'' are armed with large scimitars, namely the [[Elite Mook|Mushroom Soldier]], [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|Gold]] and [[Noble Demon|Gozuma]].
* [[Knight of Cerebus|Tao Pai Pai]] and [[Demon Lords and Archdevils|Darbula]] from ''[[Dragon Ball]]''. Also [http://images.wikia.com/dragonball/images/e/e3/YamchaVsGoku.png Yamcha during his bandit career]. This was [http://images.wikia.com/dragonball/images/f/fc/Westwoodsword.jpg carried over in the] live action adaptation ''Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins''.
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* An [[Elite Mook]] from ''[[Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple]]'' wields one.
 
 
=== [[Film]] ===
*Arabs used curved swords in [[Lawrence of Arabia]]. They are a coalition of tribes from a technological cul-de-sac fielding a horde of irregular cavalry outfitted to the needs of generations of rustling and feuding on horse-and-camelback. Perhaps you expect them to use rapiers?
* The huge swordsman in ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' has a [[BFS|Big Fucking Scimitar]] and the Thugs in the sequel brandish curved swords too.
 
=== [[Literature]] ===
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** Played even straighter when Eustace isn't even allowed to carry a scimitar even though he knows how to fight with it, but has to relearn how to fight with a Narnian longsword from scratch.
* In the fantasy novel ''[[Shadow Keep|Shadowkeep]]'' [[The Dragon]] pulls a large scimitar from his throne in order to take on the main characters.
 
=== [[Film]] ===
* The huge swordsman in ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'' has a [[BFS|Big Fucking Scimitar]] and the Thugs in the sequel brandish curved swords too.
 
=== [[Tabletop Games]] ===
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* ''[[Bleach]]'' has [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass|Shunsui Kyoraku]]'s Shikai, which takes the form of two large scimitars.
** Also in the filler episode 287, which has a [[Arabian Nights Days]] setting features scimitar-looking Zanpakuto for everyone.
* [http://xhunterxhunterx.altervista.org/Immagini/armi/scimitarra.png Agon]{{Dead link}} from ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]''. Though he's more neutral than fully evil/good.
* In ''[[Naruto]]'', [[Those Two Guys|Izumo and Kotetsu]] both used curved blades.
* One of the other forms of [[Rave Master|Ten Commandments]] is [[Holy Hand Grenade|MillionSun]] which is definetively positive.
* in ''[[Inuyasha]]'' the Tessaiga blade is fang-shaped, hence looking a bit like a massive scimitar.
* In ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', Sailor Uranus uses the Space Sword, which is a curved sword that looks a lot like a jeweled scimitar. In this case, the fact that she has it is proof of her pure heart, since it's one of the three talismans and came out of her pure heart crystal.
 
 
=== [[Film]] ===
* Thong in ''[[Cave Dwellers]]''.
* Gai Xing from ''[[Red Cliff]]'' is seen using a dadao in battle, and is one of the good guys. Most of the other characters (both good and bad) use straight swords and pole weapons instead.
* Arabs used curved swords in [[Lawrence of Arabia]]. They are a coalition of tribes from a technological cul-de-sac fielding a horde of irregular cavalry outfitted to the needs of generations of rustling and feuding on horse-and-camelback. Perhaps you expect them to use rapiers?
 
=== [[Literature]] ===
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* ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' has also used several curved swords himself, including scimitars, sabers and tulwars ([[Knife Nut|which are wrongly described as long knives]]). He however often stated that he was at his best with a western longsword.
* Averted and played straight in ''[[The Dark Elf Trilogy]]'' and the rest of ''[[The Legend of Drizzt]]''. Drizzt Do'Urden (a dark elf but one of the most morally upright characters in whole series) wields [[Dual-Wielding|twin scimitars]], but so do some of the [[Exclusively Evil|other drow.]] Note however that in contrast to the typical drow, [[Defector From Decadence|Zaknafein]] used straight blades.
* In the ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[Discworld/Moving Pictures|Moving Pictures]]'', Victor uses a scimitar in the click ''Sons of the Dessert''. He's not impressed.
{{quote|'''Victor''': I thought swords had to be straight.
'''[[Dirty Old Woman|Mrs Cosmopolite]]''': Perhaps they start out straight and get bendy with use. A lot of things do. }}
 
=== [[Film]] ===
* Thong in ''[[Cave Dwellers]]''.
* Gai Xing from ''[[Red Cliff]]'' is seen using a dadao in battle, and is one of the good guys. Most of the other characters (both good and bad) use straight swords and pole weapons instead.
 
=== [[Tabletop Games]] ===
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]
[[Category:Obviously Evil]]
[[Category:Sword Tropes]]
[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]
[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]