The Archer: Difference between revisions

Archers are often characterized as calm, self-possessed, and analytical. Since they are removed from the raging melee of close combat, they must keep their focus and not let adrenaline upset their aim. In [[High Fantasy]], [[Our Elves Are Better|elves]] usually [[Planet of Hats|share these traits]], and are nearly always depicted as excellent archers.

 

 

If part of a fighting team, the archer is usually less physically strong and robust than their teammates because of the erroneous perception that archery relies more on grace than the brute strength required to hack and slash. In reality, the draw of most warbows can range from 60 to 150 lbs, requiring significant strength throughout the body (especially the upper body) to use effectively. This misconception often leads to [[The Chick]] getting stuck with a bow as a slightly more proactive take on the [[White Magician Girl]]. This also has the benefit of [[Guys Smash Girls Shoot|keeping the delicate female safely out of the bone-crunching melee]].<ref>However, it should be noted that ''arm'' strength is far less important than back and shoulder strength when it comes to drawing a bow. Since archers wouldn't have the huge arm muscles melee fighters would have (but would have ripped backs and shoulders), this is probably where the image of the "graceful archer" arises from.</ref>

Contrast the hilarious randomness of the [[Trick Arrow]]. If [[The Archer]] has [[Improbable Aiming Skills]], he may also be able to do a [[Multishot]]. For added irony, check out [[No Arc in Archery]]. See also [[Annoying Arrows]]. Sometimes overlaps with the [[Forest Ranger]].

 

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== Anime & Manga ==

** It's also a [[Justified Trope]]: In a series chock-full of melee weapons, they are ranged and highly analytical fighters in part by necessity. Because they cannot separate from their physical bodies like the Shinigami, the Quincies must be much more careful about taking damage in battle.

*** They also have seele scheiders, chain-saw-like arrows that can be wielded like swords if need be.

* Rei/Sailor Mars of ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' gains a bow and arrow made of ''flames'' in the fourth season. She's a calm, mystical [[Miko]], rather than the typical temperamental fire warrior (in the manga at least, the anime makes her more [[Hot-Blooded]]), although she occasionally made bids for the leadership (losing out to [[The Fool]], at that).

* Mew Mint from ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]'' has a tiny bow and arrow covered in hearts. In the manga, it was an undetailed longbow, but this was changed out to its anime counterpart later on, along with the other weapons, because Ikumi Mia liked them better. Minto is a dainty [[Ojou]] with a surprising [[Fan Girl]] side, and Mew Mint fights mostly from the air, so it fits either way.

* Fai from ''[[Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle]]'' very rarely carries a weapon; pretty much the only time we see him do so is in Yama country, where he appears as a highly competent horseback archer. This is probably what led to him being depicted in uncounted fanart (''and'' official splash pages) carrying some sort of firearm. Actually, the only people in the series to even handle guns are Kurogane (in Jade) and Sakura (in Tokyo.) Odds are even if he'd even know how to use a gun.

* ''[[Koihime Musou]]'''s Kouchuu, being a [[Hot Shounen Mom]] [[Expy]] of Huang Zhong, comes with a bow and can shoot a straight arrow that stuns birds by ''purposely'' missing their head. And no, those enormous melons of hers do not hinder her bow skills.

** The Sagitta Silver Saint (as in, the ''Arrow'' constellation as opposed to Sagittarius' ''Archer'' constellation) can shoot golden arrows made of Cosmo... and includes a more solid one that hits poor Athena directly in the chest. The entirety of the Twelve Houses segment of the Sanctuary Arc is then spent [[It's All Upstairs From Here|reaching the top of Sanctuary]] [[When the Clock Strikes Twelve|before the arrow reaches her heart]].

* Chikane Himemiya of ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]'' is part of the archery club and is pretty handy with a bow, but when she wants to use it, she's against someone supernatural that her bows almost had no effect. {{spoiler|When she corrupts Souma's mech, it suddenly gains a bow.}}

* In ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', as a young nation England is represented in some sketches as an archer. [[Justified Trope]] because of the [[Robin Hood]] myth and the famous medieval English archers.

* Juna Ariyoshi, from ''[[Earth Maiden Arjuna]]'', practices archery even before becoming the ''Avatar of Time''.

* Kikyou, her sister Kaede, and later Kagome Higurashi from ''[[Inuyasha]]''.

* Gokudera Hayato from ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' uses his Flame Arrow that turns into a bow that shoots powerful Dying Will Flames when merging his Flame Arrow and Cambio Forma Box Weapon Uri. It is also said that the first Generation Storm Vongola Guardian used a bow given to him by the Primo himself when the situation turned serious.

* When the eponymous character of ''[[Madoka Magica]]'' becomes a [[Magical Girl]], she uses bow and arrow. Homura uses a similar weapon in concept art, but not in-series.

** It turned out that in the end, Homura does use the bow {{spoiler|from Madoka}}.

* Abigail Whistler of ''[[Blade]]: Trinity''.

* In ''[[Musa]]'' (a.k.a. ''The Warrior''), Jin-lip, the veteran sergeant of the envoy, uses a bow to deadly effect. Jin-lip is the most competent member of the envoy and its de facto leader. He subverts an archer's typical behavior in one scene where he inspires his unit to attack by being the first one to charge toward the enemy, loosing arrows all the way.

* Susan in ''Prince Caspian'' is able to hit a specific cone in a pine at more than thirty paces. When shooting at the Telmarin cavalrymen, each arrow hits and disables or kills.

* John J. ''[[Rambo]]'' uses a bow in various occasions (with and without shirt). His bow (or rather an imitation thereof) can also be bought somewhere on the internet.

* Gwyn in ''[[Princess of Thieves]]''. Scarcely surprising given she is the daughter of Robin Hood.

* One of the mercenaries in ''Ironclad''

* Rutger Hauer's charactet in [[Sam Peckinpah]]'s final film ''[[The Osterman Weekend]]'' uses bows a crossbows in his house against the enemies, as immortalized on the cover.

 

== Literature ==

** Note that in ''The Silver Chair'' Jill got a dagger while Eustace got the bow and arrows; she got her own archery set only in ''The Last Battle''. Same goes to Lucy, who originally received a dagger too and only became an archer after growing into Queen Lucy the Valiant; Susan got to use her bow and arrows since the very beginning, although Father Christmas told her and Lucy that "battles are ugly when women fight" (Queen Lucy at least seems to disregard this, since she fights in the climactic battle in ''[[The Horse and His Boy]]'').

* Thomas of Hookton, an very skilled archer in the army of Edward III, is the main character of The Grail Quest series by Bernard Cornwell. He's basically Sharpe with a bow and arrow instead of a rifle, but isn't particularly good with a sword.

** It's actually a better shot. Robin Hood splits the arrow exactly in the middle, something [[Myth Busters]] tried doing repeatedly, even creating machines to do such, but could never make it.

** And the point was that he split his ''own'' arrow, thereby hitting the bullseye twice; in contrast to his opponent who hit the bullseye on his first shot and then merely very close to it on his second.

** Beleg (''Quenta Silmarillion'') favors his bow and is an excellent archer, but also quite skilled in close combat as well.

** Bard the Bowman (''[[The Hobbit]]'') is a rare example of the dragon-slaying hero using a bow.

** Hobbits in general. None of the main characters, but hobbit snipers are the backbone of the resistance to "Sharkey's" regime in the Shire, and in the appendices it is said that they sent archers to help the King of Arthedain against the Witch-Kingdom of Angmar. Bilbo never uses a bow in ''The Hobbit'' but he certainly has excellent hand-eye coordination when he has to throw rocks.

* The archer Lelldorin in ''Belgariad'' is a prodigious bowman, but hot-headed and impetuous rather than cool and analytical.

* Squint from ''[[The Malazan Book of the Fallen]]'' is correct to life in being described as a very heavy-built man with extremely powerful arm muscles.

* Catti-brie, of R.A. Salvatore's ''Drizzt'' books, was for a long time the group's specialist archer. She actually wasn't as skilled an archer as Drizzt was, but she had one helluva magic bow. She conforms to the archer stereotypes by being the group's moral center of sorts.

* Birgitte Silverbow from ''[[The Wheel of Time]]'' series. A literally legendary shot that is bound to the Wheel and the Horn of Valere until {{spoiler|she ends up being "spun out" into real time by an angry Forsaken for saving Nynaeve.}} She has the cold analytical traits described here in spades, to such a high degree that others linked to her mind can sense her supreme focus in tense situations, and compare it to "a drawn bow aimed at the target."

* Centaurs from the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series are well-known for their archery skills, along with some other things.

* In ''[[Percy Jackson and The Olympians]]'', the children of Apollo as well as the Huntresses of Artemis use bows as their primary weapons, and are a great shot with them.

* Katniss Everdeen in ''[[The Hunger Games]]'', as well as her hunting partner Gale Hawthorne.

** In ''Trickster's Choice'' and ''Trickster's Queen'', Sarai is portrayed as headstrong and careless, and uses a sword, while Dove is quiet and clever, and uses a bow and arrow.

* [[Quantum Gravity]]: {{spoiler|Zal}} fits this trope very well, being cool, calm, and calculating, as well as rather ruthless...when he's in a fight. When he isn't, expect him to be active, free, and quite a bit more easygoing. Aaaand possibly high.

* This is the specialty of the Mackenzies, and most especially the Aylward family, in the [[Emberverse]], due to the first Aylward being a hobbyist bowmaker and archer and [[Contrived Coincidence|just happening]] to show up in the Pacific Northwest just before the Change. Multiple [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|crowning moments]] come at the behest of some enemy learning [[Rain of Arrows|the lesson of Agincourt]].

* Though archery seems to be a common skill in the series, Renn from ''[[The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness]]'' is the standout, having practised it for so long that her bow is almost a [[Companion Cube]] to her.

* Felicity in [[Gemma Doyle|The Gemma Doyle Trilogy]] is hotheaded, impulsive, tempestuous, and in all other ways completely the opposite of the usual calm archer personality. Does this mean she can't put an arrow between your eyes if she feels like it? Heavens, no.

* Kevin Crossley-Holland's Arthur books retell the [[King Arthur]] stories with a sensitive teenage boy, who is much better at archery than swordfighting, wrestling or any of the skills he's supposed to have as a knight-to-be.

* [[The Asian Saga|Shogun]] has Toda Buntaro, who shows himself able to shoot his longbow with perfect accuracy while sitting down (more impressive than it sounds) against a target he can't actually see (there's a Japanese paper wall between him and the target). One character also remembers that at an archery competition Buntaro scored six bullseyes on a target 200 paces away, and fired so quickly that the sixth arrow had been loosed before the first had hit the target. Note that this book is a work of realistic historical fiction, and is a well-researched representation of samurai life and culture, so presumably these [[Improbable Aiming Skills]] were actually shown by certain real-life samurai!

 

* [[Kamen Rider Kuuga|Kuuga (Rising) Pegasus]]

* [[The Dukes of Hazzard|Beau and Luke Duke]] are under probation, and are not allowed to carry firearms. So, they defend themselves with bows and arrows -- including explosive arrows.

* [[Community|I'm Bing Bong the archer]]. [[Shaped Like Itself|I'm an archer, and such]].

 

*** Heracles.

*** King Odysseus, notable in that he proved who he was by being the only man able to string and let fly with a trick shot from his ''enormous'' bow, sometimes believed to be based on the Asian composite bow.

*** Philoctetes. Who actually offed ''Paris'' with HIS poison arrows, which he inherited from Heracles.

*** Teucer, who spent a good bit of the Trojan war sniping from behind big brother Ajax's ''massive'' [[Barrier Warrior|shield]].

*** ''The'' Amazons were a race of such. Amazon literally means "without breast," as some stories say that they would [[Breast Attack|cut off a breast]] to prevent it from interfering with their archery. However, Amazons are never depicted as single-breasted in any historical art.

** Archery enjoyed particular respect in India, which is reflected in mythology and even the Vedas. Upaveda dedicated to the warfare issues is named Dhanur-veda, "the Veda of the bow."

*** In the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', Arjuna, who is the closest it has to a main character, is an archer. It also has mentions of full-metal arrows used, beheadings and cutting down things like banners with arrows, [[Automatic Crossbows|and so on]]. Virtually every [[Nominal Importance|named]] warrior's [[Weapon of Choice]] is mentioned, but the two most prominent heroes (bitter rivals, demigods and [[Long-Lost Relative|in fact half-brothers]]) Arjuna and Karna are both great bowmen, so the Great Battle's crucial moment is a shoot-out.

** The Chinese legend of Hou-Yi, a master archer who shoots down nine suns in the sky, leaving one to be enjoyed by humanity.

* Hayk, the legendary patriarch of the Armenians, was depicted as an archer who took down the tyrannical Assyrian titan Bel with his arrow and liberated the Armenians from Bel's rule. The ancient Armenians referred to the constellation Orion as Hayk.

** Riverwind the Plainsman, a stoic human [[Noble Savage]] from the ''[[Dragonlance]]'' setting, uses a longbow.

** Fighters in the earlier editions could use bows as well as melee weapons, before they got repurposed as a straight-up melee class and the ranged role was handed off to the ranger.

** The Archer from ''Thorns of the Lotus'', basically a Killer with a bow.

** The Guiding Hand Archer from ''Blood of the Valiant'', who has the special schtick of channeling chi through his arrows, allowing certain fu powers to be used with a bow.

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

** The sword may be his main weapon but Link is also a talented archer. The bow and arrow are essential tools in many puzzles, battles, and mini-games throughout the series.

** The sequel has DLC character Sebastian Vael as the archer (like Nathaniel, one of his weapons belonged to a family member). Varric also uses a... [[Automatic Crossbow|one of it's kind Crossbow.]]

* Curiously, the only character in [[Neverwinter Nights 2]] who specializes in using a bow (besides possibly the PC) [[Chaotic Evil|is most definitely not the kind of person you would want as your team's moral center]].

** In ''Resident Evil 5'', Sheva has an unlockable alternate outfit called Tribal Sheva that uses a longbow as its signature weapon.

* The Seeker bloodline of ''[[Bloodline Champions]]'' is this in addition to [[Elemental Powers]].

* Mary/Maki Sonomura from ''[[Persona]]'', and Yukari Takeba in ''[[Persona 3]]''. Takeba also subverts/lampshades the typical stereotypes of an archer in one of her Sunday Social Link advancements. Choosing the comment, "You look like a hero," in the conversation causes her to comment on the arm strength needed to effectively use a bow, and then berate you for [[No Guy Wants an Amazon|implying she looks like an Amazon]]).

** Given that the Archer of the previous war was {{spoiler|Gilgamesh}}, it seems like 'Archer' in that world simply means 'primarily ranged fighter'. And while he's no slouch hand-to-hand, Archer's main trick is his ranged attack.

** [[Fate Extra|Fate/EXTRA]], in addition to the original Fate/stay night Archer, finally has a Servant Archer that actually uses a bow - in this case {{spoiler|Robin Hood himself}}.

** Though it's not to say that he can't shoot a bow. In the main game Archer shows off his bowmanship several times, and the sequel Hollow Ataraxia at one point explores what would happen if Archer just decided to snipe the entire war from afar. It takes Shirou ''hundreds'' of repetitions through the [[Groundhog Day Loop]] to beat him.

* Though Lina from ''[[Riviera the Promised Land]]'' uses bows as her primary weapon, she's whimsical, spontaneous, and childish, not to mention immature, whiny and selfish. Fia the fencer and Serene the scythe-and-claw girl come far closer to typical personality.

** Lady Sylvanas Windrunner, Banshee Queen of the Forsaken, is regarded as one of the four best archers on Azeroth. She, her two High Elf sisters, and the Night Elf Shandris Feathermoon are considered to be equal with the bow and the best four archers on Azeroth.

** The [[Snake People|Naga]] Lady Vashj is also a superb archer, though more magically focused than most Archers.

** [[Fire Emblem Elibe|Sword of Seals]]: Wolt, Dorothy, Sue, Shin, Klein, Dayan. And Hanon the [[Horse Archer]].

** [[Fire Emblem|Blazing Sword]]: Wil, Rath, Rebecca, Louise, Lyn (as Blade Lord), either Bartre or Dorcas (if promoted to Warriors). In the enemy side: Uhai the Soaring Hawk, Denning the Morph.

** In ''[[Final Fantasy II (Video Game)|Final Fantasy II]]'', Maria begins with a bow.

** The default weapon of [[Final Fantasy XII]]'s Fran is a bow, and her personality fits this trope as a level-headed member of the party - provided there's no Mist around.

* The mecha Angelg from ''[[Super Robot Wars]]''. Its pilot Lamia Loveless also fits the typical "calm, self-possessed, analytical" personality.

* Also the Valzacard from ''W'' when it does it's Exa Nova Shot, which, being a Combining Mecha made of two ''battleships'', uses a [[Humongous Mecha]] for a bow.

* The Rogue from ''[[Diablo]]'' and the Amazon from ''[[Diablo II]]''.

* Inahime from ''[[Samurai Warriors]]''.

* Amongst the old school BG characters, we also have Kivan the elven ranger, a very typical example of this trope. [[Lady of War|Mazzy Fentan]], the halfling pseudo-Paladin and shortbow specialist, is another perfect psychological match.

* In ''[[Dynasty Warriors]] 6'', Sun Shang Xiang and Yue Ying become these (although in ''[[DW 6]]: Empires'' and ''Strikeforce'' Yue Ying uses a forearm-mounted crossbow with a blade attached). In previous games, Huang Zhong and Xiahou Yuan use swords and clubs, respectively, but would use their bow in some of their charge attacks.

* Sarara of ''[[Magical Battle Arena]]'', who uses a mechanical bow that fires energy arrows and can be charged to release [[Wave Motion Gun|a massive beam]]. The bow also comes equipped with a dozen [[Attack Drone|Attack Drones]] for [[Beam Spam]] purposes.

* The Archery powerset in ''[[City of Heroes]]'' utilises a customisable bow and various types of arrows. On some Archetypes it can be paired with the [[Trick Arrow]] powerset.

** Let's not forget the original archer of the series, Manticore, who is an [[Expy]] of Green Arrow with a bit of Hawkeye thrown in.

* In ''[[Dissidia Final Fantasy]]'', [[Final Fantasy II (Video Game)|Firion(el)]] uses a bow and arrow for his damaging move. And when it comes to his bursts, his arrow is made up of the tons of weapons he carried.

* Reimi Saionji of ''[[Star Ocean the Last Hope]]'' uses a high-tech bow. True to form, she is extremely calm and level headed, {{spoiler|even taking over as the leader of the group during Edge's [[Heroic BSOD]].}} Her restraint usually only fails her during Edge's [[Accidental Pervert]] moments.

* ''[[Luminous Arc]]'' got Theo, Alph's brother. He's your archer character despite not showing the usual personality traits, being young, cheerful and [[Trademark Favorite Food|love eggs]]. {{spoiler|Once he gains his dragon arm, he can use it in close combat.}}

* ''[[Luminous Arc 2]]'''s Rina is your cheerful archer and close friend of [[The Hero|Roland]].

* Tempest in ''[[Lunar Silver Star Story Complete|Lunar: Silver Star Story]]''.

** Bows are common secondary equips for magic users in the ''[[Lunar]]'' series. Nash from ''Lunar: Silver Star Story'' can switch from his [[Weapon of Choice]] of [[Boom Stick|Boom Sticks]] to bows, and the Sega CD version of ''[[Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete|Lunar: Eternal Blue]]'' the same is true of Ronfar and Lemina.

* While he is incredibly bad at using his blessed sword, Wander from ''[[Shadow of the Colossus]]'' appears to be a well-trained bowman.

* Hans in ''[[Shining Force]]'', as well as Sniper-type enemies.

* Morgan from ''[[Tears to Tiara]]'' is the player's primary archer for a lot of the game, but she doesn't fit the personality type at all, being a very energetic [[Big Eater]].

* In ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]-2'', Serah, the first game's [[Distressed Damsel]], takes up arms with a [[Swiss Army Weapon|sword that doubles as a bow]].

* In ''[[Skyrim]]'', most players will want to become somewhat skilled in Archery, since it's one of the only ways to force a Dragon to land. As for NPCs, only the Master level trainer fits the personality type. The Expert level trainer, Aela the Huntress, is a Hot Blooded warrior woman {{spoiler|and Werewolf}}, and the Journeyman level trainer is a civilian [[Nice Guy]].

* Celestine of [[Magna Carta 2]] alternates between using shortbows and [[Improbable Weapon User|aroma bottles]]. Her personality is atypical of the trope though, what with her being a [[Ms. Fanservice]] [[Genki Girl]].

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* ''[[The Dreamland Chronicles]]'': Nastajia

* Julie, the protagonist from ''[[Our Little Adventure]]'' uses a bow as her weapon of choice and since gaining two levels since the comic started, she's gotten quite [[Improbable Aiming Skills|good with it.]]

** Tanna aspires to be as good as Luero (the very first pages of the comic are her practising shooting), but isn't very good yet — though she believes herself to be. She doesn't have the calmness often associated with being an archer, which might contribute to this.

** Luero, however, is well known for his great archery and tracking skills, and can use a bow at close and long range.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Rodimus Prime in ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' uses what appears to be an [[Energy Bow]]. The string is made out of some kind of glowing energy stuff, and a pair of bolts appear whenever he pulls the "string" back. It works, we're just not sure how.