Which are better, pirate's or Ninja's?

[AliceShiki]

Also, if Naruto was genderbent then it would technically be a magical girl show.

I'm not sure. You'd need to do a few more changes to the setting, like... Making Kyuubi become the spirit animal that talks to Naruto and lets her reach her magical girl powers and stuff.

If you want to keep changes to the setting minimal, then you should just change the word ninja to either Battlemage or Adventurer. It would be more accurate than the word Ninja, and all characters could remain the exact same.

As for answering the question in the thread's title...

In Reality:

• Pirates: A sailor that resorted to banditry
• Ninjas: A master assassin with extensive training in being a good spy and whatnot
• Possible Results:
  • In a neutral situation where both sides can fight to the best of their strength, Ninjas should win. They're much better at basically everything that isn't related to manning a ship, so they shouldn't have any chance of losing.
  • However, pirates have much bigger numbers, so if you put them on a situation where they severely outnumber the ninjas, they might win by power of numbers.
  • On another way of looking at it, if you put a given group in a disadvantageous situation, then the other group may win. Like... Ninjas VS Pirates in a battle within a shogun's castle should lead to ninja win, but Ninjas VS Pirates in a battle between two ships would probably lead to Pirate Victory.
  • Conclusion: Ninjas have the definitive upper hand, but the difference in numbers paired together with the difference in expertise may lead to a Pirate Victory.

In Fantasy OTOH... Well, it really depends? If your Ninjas are Naruto Ninjas, then they're Ninjas in name only and are essentially super OP mages, so most Pirates wouldn't have a chance... But then you have stuff like One Piece Pirates, which are also pretty OP and stuff, but also tend to have very real limitations, and none of them can beat the OPness of Naruto's Ninjas.

If you're trying to look at a more normal pirate/ninja, which doesn't include stuff from Naruto/One Piece though... Well, I think both would have a reasonable chance? Pirates would probably be people who can control wind/water to some extent, while ninjas would be people who are magically stealthy and whatnot... Both have their pros and cons. Both could have great fighters too, so like... Well, in fantasy it would really vary from setting to setting. Both could be pretty cool if executed right as well~

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Am I the only one who didn't think about strength and awesomeness while answering? Was I wrong?

 

[SirDogeTheFirst]

Being a pirate is sort of a bet. If you survive the cramped, disease-filled ship, and managed to get your hands on a loaded civilian ship, you will get your pay and most likely be good for most of your life. On the other hand, fantasy pirates are just too cool, and I missed playing Sea of Thieves with my friends.

Also, pirates (especially during the golden age of piracy) were armed with flintlock pistols and similar weapons, so my coward ass can shoot others from afar while being a ninja most likely requires some degree of mastery over certain weapons.

 

[AliceShiki]

Am I the only one who didn't think about strength and awesomeness while answering? Was I wrong?

Well, Paul asked for "Better", so I had to compare them in some way... Strength and coolness factor were the easiest ways I could think of when figuring out how to compare them.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Well, Paul asked for "Better", so I had to compare them in some way... Strength and coolness factor were the easiest ways I could think of when figuring out how to compare them.

I want to clarify this. It wasn't a jab at you, Alice. A few others also answered like you did, just less extensively. However, I thought about which one is more interesting(thus better) to write.

 

[AliceShiki]

I want to clarify this. It wasn't a jab at you, Alice. A few others also answered like you did, just less extensively. However, I thought about which one is more interesting(thus better) to write.

Oh, I realized it wasn't a jab at me, no worries~

I was just explaining how I thought about it~

I didn't consider thinking about which one was more interesting to write about though. That's a fair way of comparing them... And I think pirates would be a lot more interesting to write about, tbh~

 

[owotrucked]

pirate because there's already many kunoichi doujin

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Look. Dr. McNinja settled this already.

Read for yourself.

The Adventures of Dr. McNinja » Archive » 1p1

 

[RepresentingCaution]

werewolves

 

[Jemini]

Historically, shinobi were mostly spies and worked in intelligence and counter intelligence. And that was it. There were clans that trained in complicated ninjutsu, but the purpose of shinobi was to blend in, find the information, possibly leave misleading information in places, then blend in again. Nearly all of what we think of as a ninja is fiction and romanticism. Although many of the fantastical elements of ninja can be traced to Kōga Ninpōchō, It is worth noting that fantastical ninja stories have been around for hundreds of years, such as with Katakiuchi Kidan Jiraiya Monogatari.

The problem with pirates is they are often lumped in with privateers. Pirates are simply criminals that worked as a group and had a boat. Privateers were granted amnesty for raiding ships under the pretense of doing it for a country against another country. Both types and themes are melded and explored in what most consider the Father Of Pirate Fiction, Captain Blood by Raphael Sabatini.

That was a myth that started thanks to the existence of the Iga and Koka clans. These were clans that were known for their ninjas, thus got referred to as "ninja clans," but they were nothing like the mythologized ninja villages portrayed in the likes of Naruto and such.

The Iga especially were just members of a village that existed in the Iga mountains during an especially tulmultuous period of Japan's warlord era, exemplified by Oda Nobunaga going on his bloody campaign to unify all of Japan. In order to survive the campaigns of the warlords, the Iga clan began training the suitable members of their village in Ninjutsu, the art of spying, and the rest of their warriors in gurilla warfare. The ninja clan members would gather intelligence on troop movement, and then the rest of the Iga warriors would launch hit-and-away attacks on Nobunaga's army. In this manner, this little village hidden in the foothills of the Iga mountains managed to repel armies far bigger than the total population of their village. It is thought they even would have been completely successful in their campaign if their neighbors, the Koka clan, had not betrayed them and revealed the location of their village to Nobunaga's generals.

This was a rather famous incident that glorified the history of the Ninja in Japan, and thus painted the perception of them and also created rumors the entire village was a village of ninja. But, this was not exactly true of the Iga, or the Koka, or any of the villager clans in Japan. Training ninja, in all these cases, was just a survival mechanism as it was a war asset method for a standing army.

Also, FYI, the related Samurai Vs. Ninja nonsense some people go off on is complete BS. Reason? Most of the actual skilled and trained ninja warriors WERE samurai. The term Ninja refers to "one who practices Ninjutsu," which in turn Ninjutsu = the art of espionage. Thus, anyone who happens to be a spy and has some training in the precautions a spy needs to take meets the definition of a Ninja. The numerical majority were just self-trained common folk. However, the few with professional-grade skills were trained by actual militaries, and that kind of training usually meant they were taken from among the Samurai class.

 

[AnonUnlimited]

Depends.

I’m going to analyze it strictly from a story-writing perspective.

Story wise I think pirate stories are way more fun and entertaining. Easy to relate with hardship and charisma of a crew. Pirates may be outcasts but they’re outcasts that tend to yell at each other a lot, plus they can act however they want and there are no pre-defined rules.

Ninjas - Probably would win in a fight against a pirate and they have stories with a lot of tension about being discovered, but because of the nature of their job there is a strict chain of command and you don’t get much stories of mutiny.

Also Naruto isn’t a Ninja story, it’s basically a magic user story.

Overall Ninjas are cooler in concept, pirates are much better and relateable in story.

 

[gaylolis]

pirates since you can do whatever you want 'cuz pirates is free

you are a pirate

 

[Kenjona]

I am firmly in the Pirate-Ninja camp. Nothing better at your back then a voluptuous Pirate-Ninja waifu, or even better an entire crew of them.
Think about it, an untraceable movable base hidden in the depths of the ocean, manned by Ninja-Waifuss', or Husbandos' if thats your candy; while acquiring the secrets of Nations. Need a Deus ex machina! with OOMPH! Pirate-Ninjas! they swing in and rescue your MC suddenly with cannon fire ripping battlements and throwing deadly shuriken from the shadows.

Who cares you wrote your MC into an inescapable corner that you cannot write your way out. Use Pirate-Ninjas! effective for any and all genres! Got a modern era corporate board meeting and falling asleep trying to write about it? A few chosen cannon shots into the Boardroom table and the shattering of the glass windows as your Pirate-Ninjas! swing in to rescue the poor MC to a better story!

What your story is in a landlocked country? Then upgrade to the Air-Pirate-Ninjas!, whether on Helo-Carriers, Floating ships of the line, they are what any planet bound storyline needs.

What its not a planet bound storyline? Then there is the (Yes you got it) Space-Pirate-Ninjas! or the upgraded edition Dimension-Hopping-Pirate-Ninjas!.

Magic powers are sold seperatly.

 

[Cipiteca396]

Pirate's or Ninja's

Paul please... Pirate's WHAT or Ninja's WHAT? I can't decide if you won't tell me.

(Both are cool, and there's plenty of room for one in a game like DnD, but both are a little overrated in my opinion.)

 

[TheTrinary]

Basically, I want to know whether you think Pirate's or Ninja's are better as both a historical job and as a fantasy job. Video is to help with the decision making.

Also, if Naruto was genderbent then it would technically be a magical girl show.

Wow bringing some coked out nostalgia today Paul.

 

[RavenRunes]

I'm going with ninja thanks to the Tales of the Otori which I'm reading now. Pirates are just stinky thugs in someone else's gold.

 

[owotrucked]

Two arguments for pirates

Spoiler: Blackfang (Lost Ark)

Pirates can dress fancy, while ninjas are stuck with the shitty clothes of their pseudohistorical setting (+ fishnets)

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Wow bringing some coked out nostalgia today Paul.

Absolutely.