Ronin by kings wild project

[JackBrutusPenny]

I would point out that Jack is known to have a wife - and likely has other resources. It was not the most outrageous choice, not being native aside, for a less than life altering priority set of translations, regarding card suits…

Ha, I HAVE been known to have a wife.

[vasta41]

While we're at it, Jackson's "Alice in Wonderland" deck is also a complete misrepresentation. Rabbits don't wear monocles!

[JacksonRobinson]

While we're at it, Jackson's "Alice in Wonderland" deck is also a complete misrepresentation. Rabbits don't wear monocles!

Exactly! And not to mention that Alice in Wonderland is inspired by Russian folk art is also miss representation as I am not Russian.

Now that I think about.... The majority of my decks are historical in nature, and inspired by the art styles of different cultures in history so I have been miss representing my self for over a decade.

[shermjack]

All accusations and negatively aside, I would really like to hear Jackson's response to why 'Ronin' was chosen for the title of a deck of samurai warriors.

The kanji (which literally means Han Characters or Chinese) of Ronin is ‘浪人’, as Jackson clearly shows on his campaign page. These characters literally translate to 'wave' (浪) 'person' (人) and means 'wanderer' (in both Japanese and Chinese).

This is the exact opposite of what the Samurai are, which are clan based and serve a master (and what the deck seems to represent), they are not wanderers.

[Fenrir]

Johnny,

I was really going to hold off from posting but since nobody else said it, I want you to know how absolutely disrespectful this comment is.

"You mentioned you consulted Jack - while he's assimilated to the Japanese culture, and no disrespect to him, but he's not someone to consult about things of Japanese culture."

Maybe you don't follow Jack's work or are one of his Patron's but I think it is fairly clear the amount of work, thought and attention he puts into every little detail, including language. Given that he has written novella's, stories and books I am sure you can understand that he would do the research and help/ask questions to help Jackson to the best of his ability. That being said, Japanese is a complicated language but who would be in a better position than he would be? He lives in Japan, speaks Japanese, has Japanese family. Clearly, surrounded by resources.

I found your comment incredibly disrespectful and I hope you reconsider your approach in the future.

[GandalfPC]

This is the exact opposite of what the Samurai are, which are clan based and serve a master (and what the deck seems to represent), they are not wanderers.

Some individuals from other warrior classes or occupations could also end up as ronin, but historically, the majority of ronin were originally samurai.

Much like the cowboy, it is a romanticized area, and it is that romanticized version that is meant to be portrayed. The unbound version of the samari. The world around them at the time may have given them a hard time, but it doesn’t mean Jackson has to second class them.

[Fenrir]

This is the exact opposite of what the Samurai are, which are clan based and serve a master (and what the deck seems to represent), they are not wanderers.

Some individuals from other warrior classes or occupations could also end up as ronin, but historically, the majority of ronin were originally samurai.

Much like the cowboy, it is a romanticized area, and it is that romanticized version that is meant to be portrayed. The unbound version of the samari. The world around them at the time may have given them a hard time, but it doesn’t mean Jackson has to second class them.

I don’t think Sherman is insinuating that Jackson has to second class them. He’s pointing out the historical inaccuracy given that Ronin would not be part of a clan. Therefore the theme and then the clans don’t seem to match. It’s just an inconsistency.

[Jykwei]

Hi all,
I would like to try to put the issue to rest in this reply.

First I would like to offer a public apology to Jack Penny. My words are clearly badly written, and I absolutely meant no disrespect. I had exchanged emails him and we knew each other for a while. I am a Patron of his and I have backed Nazo Nazo and Tails of Mischief. I had apologized to him via email on this matter.
Jack has asked to keep him out of this as much as possible and I will respect that. My words were meant to say Jack should not be held accountable.

Culture is sacred to some, like religion and politics to some. I understand some don't care. I am not bringing this up to convince those of you otherwise. It is for those who are on the fence, or those who do care. Which brings me to the following -

I would now issue a sincere apology to Jackson Robinson. I now understand the foundation of his projects and it is entirely my fault to set the wrong expectations. Please support his campaign - do your research if needed then decide for yourself.

Thanks everyone,
Johnny

[JacksonRobinson]

Hi all,
I would like to try to put the issue to rest in this reply.

First I would like to offer a public apology to Jack Penny. My words are clearly badly written, and I absolutely meant no disrespect. I had exchanged emails him and we knew each other for a while. I am a Patron of his and I have backed Nazo Nazo and Tails of Mischief. I had apologized to him via email on this matter.
Jack has asked to keep him out of this as much as possible and I will respect that. My words were meant to say Jack should not be held accountable.

Culture is sacred to some, like religion and politics. I understand some don't care. I am not bringing this up to convince those of you otherwise. It is for those who are on the fence, or those who do care. Which brings me to the following -

I would now issue a sincere apology to Jackson Robinson. I now understand the foundation of his projects and it is entirely my fault to set the wrong expectations. Please support his campaign - do your research if needed then decide for yourself.

Thanks everyone,
Johnny

I appreciate your words and comments.

As to the clarification that everyone is asking about the use of the title Ronin,

That will be something that is answered during the project as there is story left to tell with the court cards.

[shunterino]

So, I like this deck. I like the art, the name Ronin is cool, the pips are fine, overall it fits into the kind of strongly themed deck I like. My only issue is with the tucks. It feels very basic to me. Not that you can't have cool minimalist tuck design and I'm sure it cuts down on costs and simplifies production (who doesn't want cheaper, qucker Kickstater fulfilment?), but these are very, very plain tucks. And the recent Frazetta deck also had a very simplistic tuck design. I'll still pick up a deck of these because I like the courts a lot (although not through KS - the shipping is just too prohibitive and it'll be much cheaper to wait for it to become available through local stockists) but honestly the tuck makes it feel sort of unfinished to me. Hoping this doesn't become a trend with his KS decks.

[SRO]

I really like this project, and as someone who is trying to improve his art, design, Photoshop, and Illustrator skills, it's been amazing to see Jackson Robinson work on YouTube. I think it might be easy for anyone who hasn't tried deck design or working with Photoshop to think it's not incredibly difficult. It is.

I think the idea that someone has to be of a specific cultural origin to have knowledge of, express admiration for, or emulate that culture - or aspects of that culture - is problematic at best. While I understand the idea behind the term "cultural appropriation," I think it's both misused and overused.

I think the entire project is gorgeous. I think the pips are inventive, the court card artwork is fantastic, the simplicity of the tuck cases is perfect, and the card backs are beautiful. I'm not bothered by having 4 different card backs; there were varied designs on the Cavaliers project and I bought most of them. As for Ronin, I got all the decks plus the box and coin, and if there's something else released, I'll more than likely get it, too.

[JazzBaloo]

So, I like this deck. I like the art, the name Ronin is cool, the pips are fine, overall it fits into the kind of strongly themed deck I like. My only issue is with the tucks. It feels very basic to me. Not that you can't have cool minimalist tuck design and I'm sure it cuts down on costs and simplifies production (who doesn't want cheaper, qucker Kickstater fulfilment?), but these are very, very plain tucks. And the recent Frazetta deck also had a very simplistic tuck design. I'll still pick up a deck of these because I like the courts a lot (although not through KS - the shipping is just too prohibitive and it'll be much cheaper to wait for it to become available through local stockists) but honestly the tuck makes it feel sort of unfinished to me. Hoping this doesn't become a trend with his KS decks.

If I order 6 decks off kwp site I can get free shipping but it will cost me 20$ for 6 through ks. I'd like to help out the campaign but this is not acceptable to me.

[Evilgamer]

If you feel a need to kill your inner demons, the "special" edition was added today with alternate jacks

[steampunk52]

Never been into gory stuff myself. Easy pass.

[BaconWise]

Interesting update. I am curious if Jackson will upload a better render of the back design. It looks like a censored image at the moment. I like the idea of black foil on the back - just need to see more

[Evilgamer]

Interesting update. I am curious if Jackson will upload a better render of the back design. It looks like a censored image at the moment. I like the idea of black foil on the back - just need to see more

I looked back through the livestreams where he drew it and there was no clear picture of the "final" art (a lot of what the figure looks like though)

they did post this version on patreon at one point which I assume is still correct

[laitostarr777]

And this is why it’s so hard to keep up: new decks in mid-campaign

[zuccha]

I have lived in Japanese culture for about half a century, but I do not have any historical expertise, just an opinion as an average Japanese person.

I like the color of the tuck case. I feel a bit of the dull hue of the mineral pigments used in Japanese painting. I also like the simple Japanese calligraphy title, but I am not sure if this calligraphy and the colored backing go well together.
The bamboo box is great.

I really like the painting on the court card. The aforementioned use of color and lack of shading feels very Japanese to me. I am uncomfortable with the difference in atmosphere between the font of the index and the font of kanji below it, and the gold frame (foil?). It might look better if I see the actual foil.

As for the design of the back, as some people here have said, I didn't feel much Japaneseness either. Ronin + clan + crest makes me think of a "家紋"(family crest), and if that is the case, the design on the back seems too complicated and colorful.
https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E5%A ... B&tbm=isch

The simple line drawing on the tuck looks a little like a family crest (but the details are still too complex and out of the common pattern), as Strag writes, the colors seem to be Mayan, Incan, or Asian, but not Japanese.

Pips has a strange impression that I can't figure out what it is, and it's not a Chinese character. Probably my least favorite part of the deck.
I thought this is Jackson's style, which is more like THE CUT and OZ's hand-drawn pips and indexes.

Now, what I wanted to write here is about the kanji that Jykwei was writing about.

Heart, "心"(heart, mind) : This is unquestionably correct. My wife's answer was "愛"(love), but the theme is Ronin, so "心" is perfect.

Spade, "鋤" : "鋤"(spade) is a farming implement, so I think it is a direct translation of Spade.
If spada is the origin of the word and it is a sword, then it is a "剣"(sword), and if it is used by a ronin, then it is a "刀"(katana).
"鋤" is also a typical weapon used by farmers in revolts, so it is interesting to see it in that sense, but it is odd because the theme is Ronin and not farmers.
However, since the heart is a simple kanji for “心” and ”刀” would be too simple, I thought it might be possible to use ”鋤” for its appearance without considering its meaning.

Club, ”棍棒"(cudgel) : This is a weapons. From the etymology it should be “棍棒”, but some Japanese call “club” “clover,” and many people think it is a three-leaf clover. Then I don't think the word “棍棒” makes sense. But "葉"(leaf) and "三葉"(three-leaf) don't seem to fit either. It is not reminiscent of clover. Clover has a Japanese name, "白詰草", but it is not often used.
I thought "棍棒" would be fine, since it is a simple translation and origin.
I prefer "棍" alone, since "棍" has the meaning of club and also means a ruffian.

Diamond, "菱形"(rhombus) : "菱"(water chestnut), "形"(shape), "菱形" is shape of water chestnut(≒rhombus).
Some of the aforementioned "家紋"(family crests) are based on the diamond shape. "菱紋"
https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E8%8 ... B&tbm=isch

The "菱" was also used as a weapon, making it an interesting combination with a "刀" and "棍". "まき菱, 鉄菱"........the image of a ninja weapon.
Although completely removed from the etymology of the word, many people have the impression of wealth because of the strong impression of the "三菱財閥"(Mitsubishi financial clique). The trademark of the Mitsubishi Group is also “three diamonds".
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B9 ... 4%E3%83%A4
So I would use only "菱" because it has multiple meanings, not just a shape.

I thought about what I would do. "刀", "心", "棍", "菱", but I think other Japanese would probably have a completely different answer.
In Japan, not all foreign words are used with Kanji(Chinese character), so I think everyone would have a hard time if they were to apply Kanji to a suit.

I don't need to make the cards faithful to history or culture, and I think the creator should do what he/she wants. I didn't write this to list my complaints about the deck, but to hope that someone will be interested in this sloppy story.

I have not backed the kickstarter because of the high shipping cost, but I think I will buy one or two if they are sold to the general public. There are many things I like about Jackson's work, and I am always excited to see what he creates.

[zuccha]

Another really unimportant piece of information is that in Japan, people who fail the university entrance exam and study without belonging to a high school, university, or company are also called “ronin”.
My wife was once a ronin

[shermjack]

I haven't really been following this campaign, but has Jackson revealed why the deck is called Ronin, yet?

[Strag]

there has onlyt been one update, so if he did say the "why" yet I can't find it

Interesting to me some numbers;
545 backers with current campaign total of 72,690 is an average pledge size of $133.

For comparison Gio's project is at around $141 per backer whilst JBP is at 62.45. It does seem like having variants does help with overall revenue per backer, but of course that doesn't necessarily equal profit.