Overwatch Genji's Katana Forged by Master Blacksmiths
By Curt Hutson 30 November 2016
The crafty folks at Man at Arms are at it again, this time forging the futuristic katana wielded by Overwatch‘s Genji and using a variety of techniques to do it.
Of all the weapons used by the popular heroes of Overwatch, Genji’s Dragonblade is one to fear. In the hands of a skilled player, this sword can cut down an entire team in a matter of seconds. The infamous weapon recently got the Man at Arms treatment and the results are better than fans could hope for.
According to Man at Arms, Genji’s Dragonblade was the most requested weapon from Overwatch and the skilled smiths behind the group were happy to oblige. For this particular project, they wanted to use a mix of traditional forging techniques and modern fabrication to get the feel of an advanced weapon of the near future.
To do this, the team decided to employ Mantetsu construction, which is an interesting and unusual looking process that originated in 1937. The video begins with Ilya Aleksyev elaborating on the history of the technique, which he refers to as, “the greatest innovation of the Japanese sword.” After the brief history lesson, the forging begins.
Slowly but surely, the katana is formed. The Dragonblade, with its familiar green glow, is proudly displayed next to two custom shuriken created to compliment the piece and round out Genji’s arsenal. But a Man at Arms video can’t end without a little testing. The team doesn’t quite have the finesse of the Overwatch ninja, whose skills are prominently featured in the “Dragons” animated short, but they look like they’re having a good time slicing through cans and fruit. The demonstration comes complete with sound effects from the game and even a little cosplay at the end to cap it off.
It was only a matter of time before Man at Arms took on Overwatch, considering the immense popularity of the franchise that only seems to continue growing. This is likely due to the excellence of the game itself combined with its evolutionary nature. It is constantly changing in many positive ways.
Overwatch has a growing roster of heroes for players to choose from, the most recent addition being the infiltration expert and hacker Sombra. There are also character tweaks in the works that will make welcomed changes to older heroes. Additionally, though Overwatch is less than a year old, the game has already implemented some very fun seasonal events that include new character skins, gaming modes, and other festive goodies. Current players are anxiously awaiting a Christmas event that is presumed to be releasing soon, if a recent datamine of the game’s files is to be believed.
Overwatch is now available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: AWE me – YouTube (via DualShockers)
