this reaally bugs me.
i found out, about a year ago, that there is a character in soul calibur by the name talim. since i'm not really a game player (for shame!) i was totally unaware of this. so i went and googled this and i just couldn't believe what i saw.
the character (which is female by the way) has NOTHING to do with pinoy culture.
with the exception of the name and the "signature" moves she has, the character is devoid of ANYTHING remotely reflecting filipino culture. all NAMCO did was co opted the word WITHOUT any research what so ever. from the costume to her weapon, NOTHING looks like it came from 'pinas.
what's worse about this is that it reinforces the fallacy of the Philippines
not having an identity. i understand about the design part of it, but for goodness sake, at least use EXISTING historical designs as a template rather than making things up or at worse, ignoring it all together. i wouldn't have minded them using the name if they had respect for the source material but as it is it just bugs me to no end.
hence forth, just to differentiate my talim from theirs, the official title now will
be DATU TALIM. the prefix datu means a chief, which in datu talim's case would fit
because he will become just that as the story unfolds. datu talim bantugan will have more relevance in reflecting pinoy culture more than an empty shell that NAMCO'S character has become. His full name is Talim Bantugan

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durian is the uncle of Datu Talim. as Datu Talim is a master of the kalis, durian is a master linguist, able to speak several
languages, which helps him in his travels as a merchant. he has an uncanny ability in business. it is through his contacts
that Datu Talim was able to travel extensively throughout asia. unfortunately, uncle durian has a weakness in games of chance
which puts him and his nephew into some precarious situations. pictured with him is tuk tuk, durian's pet binterong, an animal
native to palawan, an island in silangan.

jamila is her name. she is possibly the best swords woman ever, bar none! one of talim's allies in silangan, she
is a member of a royal tribe. i like strong women in this type of stories, so i thought of having a sort of counter
balance to Datu Talim. a leader in every sense, jamila never the less, has not lost any of her feminine qualities.

final Datu Talim Bantugan version. here's our boy in full color. the main man of this story. as it unfolds, we'll learn more about him
and his past. and why does the story open at the edge of the gobi desert . i mean, what on earth is an island boy
doing in this god fosaken place?

here's our boy with some shaolin action goin on. i figure this in one of the places he will touch base with as the story progresses. i love the fact that the era datu talim will wander through has some of the coolest warriors that ever existed. i want the storyline to reflect that our hero can hang with the best the world has ever developed. moreover, i want to take a shot at making a comic that shows the movements of each of these systems as accurately as possible and still make them exciting. that's the goal.

here's a shot of datu talim with his samurai buddies. one of my favorite characters is shintaro katsu's zato ichi. ever since i saw the tv reruns as a kid, i've wanted to do a story in japan. that exotic locale has always been facinating to me. so naturally i would have our boy visit the land of the rising sun, as a mercenary. his japanese adventure would happen before his sojourn to the fabled silk road. talim would have a lot of local (meaning south east asia) stories that would show his abilities not only as a martial artist but also as a man who can adapt ot any culture he encounters. kind of handy considering where i'm taking him.

more fun stuff. as i mentioned a few post ago i'd like to have datu talim interact with different cultures. this production sketch has him fighting a ronin.

as a world traveller, he will meet many, many warriors. some will be friends, others will be foe. but one thing i'd like to strive for is authenticity, in as far as character designs are concern. talim's world may be fictional, but i'd like to have it grounded in reality.