Panels 1-3: This thingie is a real-life Japanese weapon, previously glimpsed back in vol. 5 during F**king Oyuki-chan’s first appearance.

To quote from that page’s commentary:

"That odd-looking weapon in the kunoichi’s right hand is a curiosity “called either a yari-jutte or karakuri-jutte”, per the fine and informative book Samurai Weapons by Don Cunningham. This tool was, apparently, a weapon used in Jittetouri-ryu, a martial-arts style founded by the father of famed swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Not really a ninja tool as such, but it looks as if it could be, don’t you think?"

Panel 5: An early appearance of a storytelling riff I’ve used occasionally since, in which I show two different close-ups in a single vertical panel, separated by a lone word balloon. This technique is a fun and panel-count-friendly way to get extra narrative value out of a single panel. Yay!

Panel 7: What does Yukiko-chan choose? Find out next week, webcomic readers, as we finish off this scene before timejumping to another chapter entirely.

Today’s Patreon update: Probably another dose of Vintage Con Sketches, from the late-90s/early-2000s era when I was cranking out a ton of ’em.

-Adam Warren