- It could just mean that he is a hacker. Largo also uses fsck as a swear.
- This is all but canon. They have gotten as far as her code name starting with Mysterio... As in, Mysterious Thief Saint Tail.
- Also supported by the commentary to strip 56 in the print version:Piro: Of course, once they were developed, the entire Sonoda family turned out rather interesting.Dom: Evidence of Piro's obsession with Saint Tail.
If this troper remembers correctly, Dom and Ed were talking about how they chased off the nintendo Rep a long time ago in some of the earlier comics, and just recently we saw Junko's dad pointing a Wii-mote at Ed, shouting "STAY AWAY, YOU BASTARD!"
Compound this with the fact that he deals with raging alcoholism (possibly due to the loss of his job) AND he somehow knows who Ed is and what his intentions are. Despite never meeting either him or Dom before.
- Considering that he has been seen waving a Wiimote threateningly recently, this guess may have some substance behind it.
- That and his screen name is apparently "Marios_Paw".
- Of course, in Ed's case, it's kinda hard to mistake the intention of someone dual-wielding shotguns.
- That and his screen name is apparently "Marios_Paw".
- Specifically, in the earlier comic in question, Dom mentioned a Nintendo representative that he and Ed "chunked" when Sega was promoting the Dreamcast and about how Nintendo hadn't been able to find anyone to replace him. Flash forward about 400 strips to Junko's father mentioning "that position I haven't been able to fill... for years". Add in Junko's father's rather disparaging words about Ping (a Sony product) and the fact that he's scouting Miho like Dom has been scouting Erika and Kimiko, and, well...
- also, the things he says about Ping basically amounts to "interfaces should bring people together, not separate them." Nintendo's latest system, the Wii, is all about personal interaction while games on Sony and Microsoft systems have the potential to alienate people (take a shot whenever somone insults you in Modern Warfare 2 online. Soon you won't be able to hear them properly).
- And now, in his latest appearance, he has seem using two Wiimotes as weapons (to summon a huge L block).
- Such as the possibility of Yuki's pet chibi/zombified 'zilla eating it (as he/it is wont to do with pretty much any technological device) and transforming into a chibi/mecha 'zilla (my own Wild Guess, perhaps not in the Mass category, but still...).
- I thought it controlled the ph33rb0t5?
- The Cool Thing is currently making Largo at least half, if not fully, indestructible. Remember the power line incident?
- Alternatively, Largo is a (Grimm) Genius.
- Grimm? I'd say his personal style fits Staunen more. Although he's more likely to be a Spark, given that he seems to have very little Jabir and his tech doesn't seem to have Havoc problems.
- Related to the above, if/when Piro finally
gives in to Largo-visionbecomes Inspired, he will do so as a Klagen.
- The zombies are manes!
- There also seems to be the implication that she was a real person at one point, since Junko's father brings up how no one knows what her original story was, just how powerful, endearing, and enduring it turned out to be. Miho also hints at this while she was complaining about Kimiko's attachment to the Kotone character, and during her rant at Yuki. This changed after people stopped caring about her and more about the emotions she invoked in them. Her MG status could be either a representation of the archetype she Analogues, or she could have been one originally. And now she seems to be worried about people "reconstructing" her...
Whle I'm here, I'm Wild Mass Guessing that Grand Theft Colo and unMod are alternate server games that the players enter to unwind in their free time, and Circuity was an Omake for the mOh/Girl Phase combined story (not unlike the more serious one that the .hack universe had) released as two special events.
- Think about it. In Tokyo they have girlfriends, a job and probably better living options that they have home. If they ever return to the states would be more to pick up their stuff there to move back and to be able to adjust their legal situation.
- Adding to that, I've thought in the past that perhaps Piro might choose to stay while Largo returns to America with Erika. The reasoning has to do with a few things. First, Erika can speak English while Largo can't speak Japanese, so if they get together permanently it could be easier for him to function in an English speaking society without any language disadvantages for Erika. Erika probably doesn't have as much focus in America as she does in Japan as well, which would make it easier for her to live a less stressful life. Piro would choose to stay in Japan with Kimiko as she, like Largo, is monolingual and doesn't speak English. He also seems to be much more at home in Japan than he seems to have ever been in America anyway.
- Alternatively, Largo and Erika stay so that Largo can be head of TPCD, showing them how to really handle disasters and monsters.
- Strip 549
- Adding to that, I've thought in the past that perhaps Piro might choose to stay while Largo returns to America with Erika. The reasoning has to do with a few things. First, Erika can speak English while Largo can't speak Japanese, so if they get together permanently it could be easier for him to function in an English speaking society without any language disadvantages for Erika. Erika probably doesn't have as much focus in America as she does in Japan as well, which would make it easier for her to live a less stressful life. Piro would choose to stay in Japan with Kimiko as she, like Largo, is monolingual and doesn't speak English. He also seems to be much more at home in Japan than he seems to have ever been in America anyway.
- Does an astonishingly good job of it, if true. His commentary in the print volumes heavily suggests otherwise, though.
- But why would he need Boo as a conscience? He had/has Hobbes.
For more information, see the relevant theorem at the Penny Arcade WMG page.
Gonna feel really stupid if Fred's already said this, or it's common consideration, but still.
Of all the characters in the strip, Largo shares the most in common with Ed (Dom is close, but a little too intelligent and favoring of other methods), especially in how they react to Japan. Both are hardcore FPS gamers, both have serious hard-ons for flashy, immensely destructive weaponry, both take to the mech-piloting, 'zilla-riding, zombie-blasting, robot-fighting side of (Mega)Tokyo's reality like ducks to water...and both become progressively more "insane" (relatively speaking) as a result. Largo, however, gets his madness tempered somewhat (especially by Erika, but with some significant input from Boo and Junko, as well), and he comes with his own (mildly skewed) sense of honor to begin with. Ed, on the other hand, is given carte blanche by his employers to kill Ping (with the mild caveat to stay away from Erika), given the ability to essentially respawn in RL, and his schemes to carry that mission out get increasingly violent; everything in Ping or Miho's general area has become, in his words, "entertaining collateral damage." There's also hints (well...strong hints) that he was something of a psycho to begin with.
By this point, Largo has managed to reconcile his reality with some semblance of normality. Ed, on the other hand, has submerged in that reality, and with his recent failure to permanently kill Miho, he's finally become totally unhinged.
Basically all the zombies, zilla's and Ninjas exists objectively while Piro lives in Dating-sim fueled delusion.
Fred hinted at this in his rant, basically saying that we readers just assume that what Piro sees is true because its more mundane. He then says that there's something odd about Piro's world. It will be an interesting twist.
- This is assuming that one has to be a delusion for the other to be fully real. If Piro's world isn't real, there'd be no "Kimiko protection organization". If Largo's isn't real, Masamichi is clinically insane.
On several occasions, Largo has described video games as a conduit for the soul, and at one point explicitly told Miho that his training his students in gaming would keep them from falling prey to her. At the time, it just seemed like crazy talk, but with everything else we've seen (and the fact that Largo has proven to be pretty much immune to Miho), it's quite likely it's true.
Conclusion: l33t speaking, loud, crazy Largo isn't Flanderization or even Characterization Marches On—it's his battle mode. Once he concludes Miho is no longer a threat, he'll settle down a bit.
- I like the idea, but here is a counter one: The less-crazy Largo we know from the start of the series is his hiding/vacation mode, when he is trying not to attract attention from various sources. After all, the first trip to Tokyo was just supposed to be a break/vacation/shopping trip. Largo had no need to be his normal crazy/Crazy Is Cool self. However, when he realized that Tokyo is as dangerous as it is, then he got himself back into his "normal" self, and started to be the epic l33t-speaker we know and love.
- Agreed wholeheartedly. I don't think anyone is delusional. They just live in an extremely complicated/messed up world.
This also explains the zombies' actions a bit better. It's clear that the androids are advanced enough to be infected, so they were planning on using the "event" as a stepping stone to actually conquer Tokyo.
- Do we ever see casualties? We see buildings destroyed, but since these events are planned, they could be evacuated beforehand. Then there's all of the Magical Girls and Ninjas running about, protecting civilians. There may in fact be no casualties; there's no way Tokyo could possibly function with such a high death toll.
Think about it: Miho seems to be defined by some "tragic story," and tends to fear relationships (if Piro's account of their relationship is accurate). Could not Yuki be in the beginnings of her own "tragic story?" Now that many people have found out about the "real her," Miho may be forced to end her "tragic character" persona. Reaching closure with Piro could also have the same effect. With Miho thus "retiring," Yuki could take her "character's" place.
- On a more optimistic note (18 months after the above was written), Fred has done amazingly well to keep things going in spite of all the difficulties. Chapter 11 is now all but finished, and so much has been resolved that there may well be only one more chapter to go. The success of the Kickstarter proved that he still has a substantial fanbase. Let's not give up hope just yet.
- It will become orphaned when Fred dies of old age before finishing it. Even with his latest attempt to have more regular updates, things just keep getting more complicated. The VN project has spurred him into action and given him something to live on, but the rate of updates and the pace of the plot imply it will just keep getting complicated. On top of that, he's said he doesn't believe in 'endings' as such, implying he'll just keep going until it turns into slice of domestic life with characters paired off.