The East - From Demon's Souls To Elden Ring

[@soulbr34ther]

Always found it hilarious how FromSoft definitely only mention eastern lands as an excuse to put katanas in their medieval Europe themed games

[@ThommyofThenn]

i'm so glad your comment got pinned.its hilarious and very true lol

[@letusplays1]

To me it always felt like a homage or like a nod to the home country of the dev team but that’s also probably part of it lol 😂

[@ThommyofThenn]

@@letusplays1 why not both!

[@dziosdzynes7663]

There's also swords from middle east, Russia, southern Asia etc. Also souls aren't just "medieval European", there's so much stuff that's not strictly European in there. Stop projecting fr

[@gregorylaufend2570]

​@@dziosdzynes7663almost a half of Russia is in Europe, wdym?

[@ABrickinTime]

Elden Ring did a great job of being just vague enough with their distant worlds to make me want to visit every one lol

[@Funko777]

Uhhh, Imma pass on the war torn eastern country where everyone practices blood magic but you do you homie 🙏 ✌️

[@ABrickinTime]

@@Funko777 haha I’m sure the Land of Reeds had some good scenery

[@TheHonoredMadman]

I wanna see eochaid, for some reason i imagine it to be like death strandings world

[@phlegmfiend]

@@TheHonoredMadmanEochaid would be so badass

[@ABrickinTime]

@@TheHonoredMadman yes 🙌 maybe in the dlc?

[@crestfallenhussar895]

An Okina mask isn't just an old man mask but a particular style of mask from Noh theatre, a type of theatre often portraying stories about demons.

[@samkingofthedank]

With Alonne, how he dies is actually shown, but it’s complicated how it works. You see, the Souls series loves messing with Time. There’s time travel in all 3 games. It’s thanks to the ashen heart in souls 2. For perspective, the reason Nashandra hasn’t been able to take the Throne of Want is because the key to get into it, the giants kinship, was taken by the player long ago when you travel to the past to kill the Giant King. That’s why it’s been missing and Drangleic has been stuck for so long. With Alonne, you are traveling to the past when he was alive and You the player are the one that kills him. That’s why everything says he mysteriously vanished, because you literally teleport in from the future, duel him to the death, and peace out back to your time without elaborating in like 5 minutes. Another thing that was “plucked out of time” in Souls 2 was the ancient dragon soul. You went and took it from before the first flame was even lit, and all these years later Aldia found it’s corpse and wanted to recreate, but couldn’t do it without it’s soul, so he supplemented it with a Giant Soul. If you boil it down, Souls 2 is about completing the temporal loop for the timeline and current state of things that you, the player, caused. If you hadn’t gone back and killed the giant king and taken the Kinship, someone might have linked the flame and fixed everything a whole lot sooner, saving Drangleic. Or Nashandra would’ve sacrificed someone to the 1st Flame to possess it herself and become the new Dark God. Alonne is a piece of the greater puzzle. Temporal loops are a headache to explain but that’s the gist of it.

[@Slender_Man_186]

It’s funny how Dark Souls 2 is more consistent with its time travel rules than Avengers: Endgame. Another example involving the Giants is the Giant Lord and Last Giant, the same boss in different points in time, the whole reason the Last Giant gets pissy at us and breaks free from his imprisonment out of sheer rage is because he sees us specifically, the same asshole from hundreds of years ago who defeated him in the first place. This is also why the Drangleic set is missing it’s helmet, the fort Captain gave it to us all that time ago. I’ve seen this style of timetravel being called “Temporal immutability,” basically unlike in most stories, time travel isn’t a change being made to the timeline, it’s something that has already happened in it. It worked the same way in DS1 too, it was never Artorias who defeated Manus and Kalameet, it was The Chosen Undead.

[@SolarFlareWings]

When do you go back to take the ancient dragon soul?

[@samkingofthedank]

@@SolarFlareWings after you get the ash mist heart, go back to where you fought Duke’s Dear Freyja, the giant spider. If you remember the arena, there is a giant suspended ancient dragon corpse at the edge. When you come back, there is this large crystal in front of it that wasn’t there before. Use the mist heart on it and you get to go to a little memory trip all the way back to the time of the dragons. Like in the original Dark Souls 1 intro talking about before the first flame being a grey world of Arch Trees and Everlasting Dragons. You’ll walk a short distance and find it’s corpse. You go to it’s head and click on it to get the Ancient Dragon’s soul. Click again to leave the memory.

[@specialnewb9821]

@@Slender_Man_186 It has to happen because it's already happened!

[@anonomit8229]

@@Slender_Man_186I see people say Endgame had complicated time traveling but it didn’t really seem that complicated to me. Am I miss understanding something? Maybe I don’t actually get it

[@jakomaniac]

Literally 90% of my favorite bits of world building in souls. Been waiting for this since your last one.

[@skellymen2395]

"Eastern Lands" mentions are cool and all but personally I love any mention of badlands or barbarians, just imagining theres a conan or essos-style land full of raiders and mysticism makes me wanna see a souls game set in these badlands

[@minespatch]

Glad you noticed the term "spooks" in this video. The term in ds3 always had me curious since the Vinheim assassins used a spell with that name.

[@qwopiretyu]

60s word for spy, I figured Miyazaki chose it because it's esoteric and occult-sounding

[@minespatch]

@@qwopiretyu Exactly why it stuck out to me. You mentioned "60s" and it's a medieval game. 😆

[@OceanMan69]

My first Souls Game was Ds3 and finding the Easterlings Ashes really made me really interested in this mystical eastern land far away that we never get to see. Thanks for shining some light on this trope in the Souls Series.

[@refundreplay]

Feature Presentation is a voice I haven't heard in forever....

[@aquazamm4926]

Always hitting us with the dark souls ASMR at the start or end just makes these videos that much better

[@alecolson8360]

All the video capture for this is staggering! And all the concept art. Very awesome!

[@FloppeyPyro]

There is evidence our player character is the 3rd black hand of the King of Lothric. I would explain but I dont wanna go on a tangent no one will read.

[@Sohelanthropus]

Go off bro but don't make TOO long💀

[@TheHonoredMadman]

I would read it

[@Unleasheddragon]

I believe it was a game theory video

[@specialnewb9821]

Ah Makoto. Probably my favorite katana because I once defeated Peeverson and German Spy as Old Monk. I miss pre-patch DWG Ring that not only activated at mid-level load, but also made you run at low-equip speed.

[@slightlytwistedagain]

If you want to know more about the ninja inspirations look up the Iga Ninja Clan. This is the same clan that Hattori Hanzo was from, the most famous ninja in the world from the Sengoku period and around the same time of the unification of Japan. I recommend playing Nioh if you want to have some idea of the events around that time. Every single named NPC from that game is a real historical figure.

[@Jasonmakesvideo]

Nioh 2

[@beyondnetero894]

And Sundayu Momochi. Samurai Warriors 5 features the Iga as well 👍🏽

[@eW91dHViZSBpcyBjZW5zb3JzaGlw]

NIOH/2 ftw.

[@rexzs794]

Do you remember when DS1 came out and people called the DWG cartwheel was called the “fairy flip”? That’s engrained in my brain.

[@djspit8929]

Ever since sekiro dropped its been my headcanon that Ashina is the fabled "eastern lands" that Shiva came from. Nobody will ever convince me otherwise

[@bgbupkiss8466]

But Ashina is like an actual place in japan

[@djspit8929]

@@bgbupkiss8466 yeahh thats not even true bro. They speak japanese, but there isnt a single mention of japan in the game. Its called the land of Ashina, presumably ashina is the country/land

[@SeventhSeraphOfficerRevolver]

​@@djspit8929I mean they reference the history of Japan, The Ashina clan was a real group and Tokugawa Ieyasu was referred to as the Interior Minister, which is a more accurate translation of interior ministry. I believe his troops even wore red armour

[@sebastiansteven9588]

@@djspit8929 no? It takes place in Japan, they talk about the Sengoku era. Besides if it took place in the dark souls universe can you explain the absence of souls? Because in Dark Souls all “life” originated from the first flame, why wouldn’t any of the life in Sekiro drop souls if they’d also have come from the Flame. And just like I said it most definitely takes place in Japan. L take

[@bgbupkiss8466]

@@djspit8929 Lmao your very confident about something you're very wrong about. Look up The Ashina clan and their territory they called Ashina during the Sengoku era of Japan. It is quite literally a real place and people. There are fantasy elements of Sekiro yes, but it is historical fantasy, unlike the fantasy worlds of Souls

[@azurespectrum1985]

Hell yes, this is the video I've been waiting for. The interior ministry, the land of the reids, Shiva of the east, we all get to eat!!! Wish they honestly would make a DS game set completely in a Japanese folklore era type game with a variety of armor sets and weapons!

[@craig-machine8137]

Aw man, good stuff having Souls of Mist playing in the background, it's easily one of my favourite tracks from any Souls game.

[@TheHonoredMadman]

It quickly rose to the top of mine as well

[@craig-machine8137]

I think it's up there with Aquatic Ambiance and Stickerbrush Symphony from Donkey Kong Country in terms of songs that make me emotional everytime I hear them.

[@diredier]

Woohoo! was waiting for another delicious chunk of lore drop! Love your style: chill, ponderous, wise, insightful and modest I watch so many different lore gurus big and small, you're my favorite by far! "Potion" up, breakfast, and Honored Madman - my favorite way to start the day

[@Robocopnik]

The thing about a lack of ninjas is, is it a lack of ninjas, or just ninjas being very, very good at their jobs?

[@unclet9825]

I've never really been a big fan of the eastern lore to be quite honest, but this video made me appreciate it just a little bit more. Amazing work as always.

[@AngraMainiiu]

You actually missed a character. Giant blacksmith Makoto, famous for forging both Magic Sword "Makoto" and the Chaos Blade!

[@bq1422]

Recently found your videos bro. Your content is fire!

[@eternilly]

another really interesting video as always! can't wait till the next one

[@yuzunatsuyoshi501]

The thing about sir Alonne is what we actually kill him, and iron king unable to accept it created a fabrication of him leaving, and most likely hired prowlers from kingdoms of alkenn&venn to guard his armor and weapon. Imagine how low morale would be for his main force, alonne knights, if they find out their idol got bested in battle.

[@TheHonoredMadman]

Thats a great observation i completely agree, especially on the morale aspect as alonne clearly commanded alot of respect and his death would probably result in completely desertions, especially if they were already losing faith in the old iron king as he gave into to his ambitions

[@Conzort_1]

To add a little background to the term "Ronin": A ronin is a samurai whom no longer has a master. Typically, a samurai would serve a lord. And these lords ruled over portions of land, with denizens. They reported to the Shogun, whom ruled the entire country. If a lord were to perish, the Shogun would determine the fate of the Samurai. Whether it be to serve another lord, or to be banished and sentenced to wonder the lands with no lord. Those banished were then called "Ronin". I believe the film, "The Last Samurai", covers this topic briefly.

[@dustyknuckles295]

Nice, honored madman video. Time to break out the 2 footer.

[@jacksonhemeon960]

The one we’ve all been waiting for

[@gatovolador3677]

Keep up the good work brotha

[@HarrowedDweeb]

Never caught you this early, made my night man. Your outro is gonna be my into, then I’m gonna watch this glorious 40 minute long video

[@paololanzafame9125]

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR A VIDEO LIKE THIS FOR TOO MUCH TIME

[@Gunkboosters]

Appreciate how much effort you put innto make your analysis thorough, yet chill and relaxed. Feel like im just shooting the shit with a bro about something we like and i love that about this channel 🫶

[@Sohelanthropus]

Another great video my guy, I'm a sucker for your content as you touch on not-so-big or very specific topics about these games; really brings me back to OG lore guys and reminds me why they're so good Personally I think DS2 did the East right out of all games, it's there but it actually feels like it belongs in the mystical, fantasy land of Drangleic, unlike ER where the Reeds armors are just waaay too japanese that they look off in the cletic fantasy atmosphere of the game, a real killer for me in that aspect Cheers bru, can't wait for your next video 🐐

[@xBlyssx]

The eastern land, a place where we know so much and little at the same time

[@mrslasher1064]

Honestly i'd like to see a video on all the countries of the north Kaiden,Zamor,Forossa,Mirrah,Millwood,maybe even the great swamp Countries known for their fierce warriors and knights and for people that are more than their fair share of insane...

[@mrpuggerson]

Congratulations on breaking 20k subs!!!!

[@JoaoVictor-rg5ix]

My headcanon is that maybe these easten lands actually are in a different universe, or dimension. Maybe the sekiro universe.

[@tobiaslundqvist3209]

Maybe the giants have had contact with the east. The murakumo is used by the giant skeletons in the the Tomb of Giants and even the lesser skeletons use scimitars which the wanderer class from the far east also use. Also bleed is an amazing way to deal with giants and if the inhabitants where fighting them such equipment would be great. Also the oni greatbow in DS 3 is for slaying giant "oni" but these giants are described as having horns. I don't know, could connect to the skull in ash lake directly beneath Tomb of the Giants. Just some ideas.

[@SilasSeiler]

I'll always be a bit sad. We never got another version of the Dark Woodgrain Ring, but I know it's for the best. PVP could have some balance issues getting it to not be broken

[@Inuzumi]

The samurai is one of the best starting classes in my opinion. You start with a pretty good armor, a bow and the fucking Uchigatana lol. I always wondered why Alva uses the Murakumo. It's like a pretty weird mix, sure he IS a traveler so makes sense he has things from all over the world. But still, it always stuck with me for some reason. I also always wanted to see the these "horned demons from the east" DS2 and DS3 talks about. Kind of a wasted oportunity not letting us see them on Sekiro.

[@TheHonoredMadman]

Oh yeah the giant winged oni thats mentioned in the greatbow. Same here. I saw some old speculation that, the nameless kings storm drake could be one butni never bought into it. I think theyd look much more eastern in design. And yeah i totally agree i honestly thought for sure we would see them or something like them in sekiro

[@alyseleem2692]

I, too, think of some shared timeline for the games. Though it lies strictly in the space of headcanon, I've nonetheless put plenty of thought into it. That said, this is not the place to discuss such a thing. You may find me awfully pessimistic when it comes to Alonne's fate; I believe we killed him. In the same way we are the ones who killed the Giant Lord and obtained the Giant's Kinship, we are the ones responsible for Alonne's death. Not the Iron King; not anyone else. The story about him leaving is the same as Artorias' tale of beating Manus; a lie to protect his honor, especially since it's possible you canonically made him commit seppuku out of sheer shame. The importance of this idea, to me, is that it places a timeline for the Iron King's descent into madness; a random Undead, with no visible method of entry, nonetheless managed to slice their way through his guard and kill his most trusted friend. That said, I don't think Alonne's story is so..cut and dry, if you will. After you kill Alonne, you find that he was guarding a Smelter Wedge. His Blade, the Bewitched Blade, is described as a " yuto" in Japanese; a bloodthirsty blade with it's own will. This applies to most of the other blades in the other games, compelling those who qant them to commit heinous deeds to obtain them and shed blood, but Alonne's case is unique for two reasons: 1. He could apparently control the blade's bloodlust, or rather, control himself and resist it. 2. He could cast Dark Greatsword using it. The latter,along with the Smelter Wedge, is what made me suspicious. Why did Alonne choose to serve the one who would become the Iron King? And why is he guarding the one way to defeat Nadalia, of all people? Simple; look at Alonne's armour again. It shows something like a snake; a viper. Why a viper? What does the wearer intend to convey with this adornment? A poisonous hatred for something or someone. A powerful, consuming desire for revenge. a younger, more foolish Alonne made a deal with a certain someone to imbue his blade with the power to achieve his revenge... In exchange for serving and protecting that certain someone's beloved. Nadalia sent Alonne to protect and serve the Iron King. He wasn't even the only one; look at Dance Of Fire,made by Eygil. What do you see, if not Nadalia's flames? How did he produce them? Who taught him her secrets, if not her? Whilst Nadalia couldn't yet reach her beloved,what she could do was guide him from afar. .... But Alonne is guarding a Smelter Wedge. He knows what Dark would do to his king; he has grown more loyal to him; the Iron King. He will protect him, even at the cost of himself. Even at the cost of his revenge. If you take the Wedge, Alonne cannot protect his king. He thinks you are here for it; that you, like he once was, were sent by Nadalia. He will stop you at any cost.

[@Invaders_Unite]

Bro it makes me so happy you like Demon Souls. Best Pvp in my opinion the remake was so awesome I loved being able to invade in Demon Souls again. Using the great sword with a curse weapon again just felt awesome.

[@ThommyofThenn]

maybe the oily black stone poured forth from the darksign 3:43 flamberge is even funnier considering it's based on a real worod design. Not sure how much if at all they were ever used in battle. Seems like a ceremonial type weapon

[@TheHonoredMadman]

I love this comment. The lovecraftian oily black stone of a song of ice and fire right?

[@randomindividual948]

The blade is wavy so parrying is uncomfortable for the dude getting parried.

[@ThommyofThenn]

@@randomindividual948 thanks I didn't know that

[@ThommyofThenn]

@@TheHonoredMadman yeah and apparently one chunk of it landed next to some Essosi bigwig. Soon he had forsaken his other gods in favour of the black stone which be probably began pondering immediately

[@TheHonoredMadman]

Naw i love the wavy design and totally get its use and practicality but its design in ds1 felt so goofy compared to how it looks in ds2 and 3

[@bathhatingcat8626]

Try playing with a shield and using items- treat it like an rpg. It connects demon souls to dark souls 2.

[@ThommyofThenn]

Its Yi Ti bro 3:35 he must have plundered old Valyria on his adventures

[@TheHonoredMadman]

The golden city

[@sebastiansteven9588]

Sekiro and Dark souls don’t take place in the same universe at all, that point about the interior ministry was a bad take

[@ChanchoWins]

Hi! what about Nepheli Loux and Hoarah Loux?

[@topcat59]

Cool vid bro.😺

[@tetzujin]

Japanese guys showing up in a vaguely european fantasy world? Sounds like Miyazaki is a fan of isekais

[@Rags_222]

Yasuke in the opening? I know I recognize those sounds anywhere that's flying lotus

[@Kyng_T]

Sekiro, is that you??

[@e.m.8184]

far away across the sea...

[@Liam-jx4zb]

What was the song at the intro?

[@TheHonoredMadman]

Same old thing from samurai champloo

[@chrisdiokno5600]

Love the Eastern worldbuilding

[@ppete4985]

Don’t think the eastern lands referenced have anything to do with Sekiro since that game is so contained within itself in terms of lore but, god I wish it were confirmed

[@vettedsin]

hiroyuki sanada lol. shogun is a great show!

[@zedchillman2685]

Look at the timing, right on dab 30

[@Coldkill2001]

In the name Gotthard, the H is silent. It's pronounced like Gottard, like Jimmy Neutron's robot dog

[@ThommyofThenn]

11:12 thats very anime isn't? knowing it was time to go and resuming his life as a wanderer

[@Mithra.Kirill]

I am your 1100 like

[@Bearoholic]

Hell yeah

[@joification2]

More like.... Shive the DECEASED!

[@DustDemonTwilight]

should take a look at other connections between the soulsborne that people overlook as just being easter eggs, like the immortal killing blades from sekiro being the exact same as the black flame and destined death flames from elden ring, among many other things.

[@ItchiestBum]

But that's what they are, just easter eggs

[@ThommyofThenn]

Bro, what if the land of Reeds IS the east 😮 and dark souls and elden ring , as in the same "world" but with unknowable eons of time betweem

[@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898]

In every mainline souls game? Are there any souls game that is not mainline?

[@TheHonoredMadman]

Bad wording on my part i just meant dark souls trilogy when i said that

[@RandomGameClips27]

Dark Souls 2, it sucks so much that it never existed

[@shonis_shelf]

i love you

[@beansnrice321]

Lol Avatar. XD

[@killervic7379]

Hi

[@Ming1975]

Sir Alonne armor looks more Chinese because of the waist armor style and that long plump that's usually 2 of them instead of 1. Hey, i didn't get okina to gangk on Radhan 😠

[@thenutella8846]

I always considered that the Eastern armor sets in the souls games are altered by their original owners to incorporate western armor once they reach the places the games are set in. It would explain why they don't look exactly Japanese and use more uncovered iron plates than the real armor of Japan would have. After all, in real life anban armor became a thing in Japan after the Portuguese and other Europeans introduced western culture to them. But yeah, i can see your point about Alonne's armor looking Chinese, but to me, it looks like a fusion of Japanese and European. Off topic but I even head cannoned his name not actually being Alonne but just being the name he adopted or the westerners gave him because his actual name was "too foreign" or hard to properly pronounce.

[@gagemcmahon9485]

Oh fuck yeah

[@ThommyofThenn]

I could do without the swearing but I entirely agree with the sentiment!

[@global-sequence]

Idk if you mean to do this but the way you leave it hanging on a shot of a character idling when you go off on a total tangent is 🤌

[@TheMixedMan]

Honored Madman dropped a video 15mins ago? Is there a better time to hop on KZbin? Thank you for the mind food, my good guy. Another video, well done. Compliments to the chef. 🤣🤌🤌 🫡✌️

[@rambones3378]

What was the song used in the begining?