A Station Eight Fan Web Site

Gargoyles

The Phoenix Gate

Ask Greg Archives

Ishimura Clan

Archive Index


: « First : « 25 : Displaying #31 - #48 of 48 records. : Last » :


Posts Per Page: 1 : 10 : 25 : All :


Bookmark Link

Adam Carlson writes...

How many gargoyle clans were there when the show was ended?
Do any of the other Avalon gargoyles join Angelia in the real world?

Greg responds...

1. In 1996, the following clans were extant (although some were far from healthy in numbers):

Avalon
Ishimura
Labyrinth
Loch Ness
London
Manhattan
Mayan
New Olympian
Pukhan
Xanadu

2. Eventually, others would visit. But I don't immediately see anyone else taking up permanent residence outside Avalon.

Response recorded on April 22, 2003

Bookmark Link

Gipdac writes...

I read a Japanese legend about the Tengu - winged, gnomelike creatures, that studied martial arts.
Was this one of the legends that inspired the Ishimura Clan?

Greg responds...

Yes.

Response recorded on August 12, 2002

Bookmark Link

matt writes...

i didn't notice it til recently, but in your Gargoyles 2198 proposal you wrote, "2. The Ishimura Clan. Ishimura, Japan. These gargoyles have lived in peace (and until recently, in secrecy) with their human neighbors for centuries."

1. how recently was the Ishimura Clan revealed to the world?

2. did the other gargoyle clans even know about their exictence (not including the Manhatten Clan)?

3. were they the last gargoyle clan to be revealed to the world?

4. did their remaining a secret have anything to do with the events of "Bushido"?

Greg responds...

1. Haven't decided.

2. Haven't worked out those details.

3. Not necessarily.

4. See above.

Response recorded on July 22, 2002

Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

Care to explain why the gargoyles in the British isles are so different since in London we have animal headed ways, in Loch Ness aquatic gargoyles and in wyvern the generic ishimura/guatemala kind?

Greg responds...

'Generic ishimura/guatemala kind', huh? Don't agree with that.

But no, I don't currently care to explain it.

Response recorded on September 11, 2001

Bookmark Link

matt writes...

1. as gargoyles in Japan have been living with humans for centuries, have they been using names throughout most their history, or all of it?

2. was there ever a time that the Ishimuran clan didn't use names? if so, when?

3. did Katana have her name when Brooklyn first meets her?

Greg responds...

1. "Most of their history" would be a hell of a long time. But some of it.

2. Yes. Long ago.

3. Not saying.

Response recorded on September 01, 2001

Bookmark Link

Jim R. writes...

Do the other clans existing throughout the world all speak English so well? Are they fluent in a more native tongue? I didn't expect Golaith, etc. to be able to communicate so easily with foreign clans or did this just have to do with the simple fact that the TV show was being watched by a majority of Americans? (Basically the same as asking why all the aliens in Star Trek English fluently)

Greg responds...

I would have liked to have done more with foreign languages during the world tour, but that was actually vetoed by our bosses.

We'll assume for now, just for now, that Zafiro, Kai and the others had reason to learn English.

Response recorded on August 08, 2001

Bookmark Link

matt writes...

you said that Yama is blackmailed into joining The Redemption Squad cuz the Director knows the secret of Ishimura. now obviously Yama at least partially still wants to "come out" to the human world about gargs, you've even said that in a way Yama is right about that, but is the Director as un-trustworthy as Taro was? would the Director really reveal the secret? or does Yama want to be revealed to the world, but wants to get back in the good with Sora and his clan?

Greg responds...

Yama is done making decisions FOR his clan. At least in his own mind. He's more interested in protecting them, in restoring his honor, etc.

Response recorded on July 17, 2001

Bookmark Link

Ambrosia writes...

Ding, dong, the contest is dead! I have MANY 2198 questions, but in a genuine effort not to annoy you, I'm going to post them one at a time and very spread out.

Does the Order of the Guardian in Ishimura have anything to do with the Guardian Tom?

Greg responds...

Yes.

Response recorded on July 03, 2001

Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

What is the Order of the Guardian? Who started it?

Greg responds...

Clan Ishimura, with some help from various individuals including Tom.

Response recorded on July 02, 2001

Bookmark Link

SEM writes...

I know generally TGC is avoided in this forum, but since you wrote "The Journey":

Was there any significance to why Vinny was sent to Japan? Did you envision showing him and the Japanese Gargoyles at some future point?

Greg responds...

Yes.

And "The Journey" is absolutely within the purvue of this forum. My last episode.

Response recorded on June 30, 2001

Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

You said that Yama is blackmailed into joining the Squad. What does the Director hold that is able to force Yama to join the Squad?

Greg responds...

The secret of Ishimura.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

Bookmark Link

WereFox writes...

Hi Greg

I wonder how Goliath would have reacted to some of the other
tennets of Bushido. We saw how the code teaches redemption of honor through acceptance of personal responsibilty for your actions. However, this is pretty much a universal creed.

There were other aspects of the Bushido code, practiced by the Samaraii, that were very alien to western ideals. For instance, an unredeemable failure is seen as such an affront to the Bushido code, that ritual suicide or Seppaku, was often the only way to restore ones honor. The samarai disembowels himself with a curved knife. Then his "second" decapitates him.

Vengeance is a highly valued right among the practicers of bushido, as evidence by the classic story of the 47 Ronin. When a feudal lord was killed due to treachery of another, his 47 samaraii were shunned and disgraced as warriors without a master. There sense of honor demanded that the offender and his family be hunted down and killed, so the 47 Ronin dedicated the remainder of their lives to this task. Upon completion, the surviving Ronin committed Seppaku.

Surrender was also not tolerated by the bushido code. The samarai would fight to the last man, and enemies who did surrender were executed on the spot.

Were the Japanese gargloyes more selective in their practice of Bushido. I think it would have been interesting to see how Goliath would have reacted to ideals practiced by Japanese gargoyles which would have been so at odds with his own sense of what honor demanded. Dedicating ones life to vengeance? Summarily killing a helpless enemy? Failures so great that ritual suicide is a reasoned expectation, rather than an expression of anguish? There have certainly been instances where his anger or grief might have driven Goliath to these actions. Yet, Bushido enshrines such behavior as honorable and necessary.

Greg responds...

All good points. All stuff I had hoped to explore in TimeDancer with Brooklyn and Katana.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

Bookmark Link

matt writes...

you said that the cross-generational love between Yama and Sora isn't the norm, but isn't unheard of, so:

1. are there gargoyles (esspecially among the Ishimura clan) that are against relationships between non-rookery siblings?

2. have Yama or Sora ever wondered if perhaps they are biologically closely related, like brother/sister, uncle/niece? are they ever insecure about having a non-traditional relationship?

3. will they still be able to have 3 children if they want to? obviously, Sora being younger should be able to concieve 3 times, but are male gargoyles able to fertilize an egg at any time in their life? if they have 3 eggs, Yama will be a generation older than most the other fathers in the clan...

Greg responds...

1. It's not that much of a taboo. Certainly not when the individuals are only one generation apart.

2. This isn't really an issue. As I've stated before, gargoyles have scent markers that unconsciously discourage them from an unhealthy incestuous relationship.

3. It should work out, depending on how long Yama's away from the clan.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

Why do the Ishimura gargoyles resemble the people of Japan?

Greg responds...

I'm not sure they do, except in styles of hair and clothing.

Again, one could chalk it up to artistic license. Or maybe to the "chameleon mutation gene" I've speculated about.

Response recorded on June 10, 2001

Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

Did gargoyles originate from Asia? Afterall half of the eight clans originated there and in east Asia there is about three clans presently living there meaning that there might have been a large abundance of gargoyles clans living there and also the people in Ishimura don't fear the gargoyles meaning that gargoyles must have lived there quite along time for the humans to get use to them.

Greg responds...

I'm not saying at this time. But in any case, you're logic above doesn't wash.

The survival of three clans in Asia hardly proves anything, as each clan survived for very specific reasons. And every one of the seven old clans have been in place for centuries. And at one point or another, all got along with humans. The Ishimurans managed to maintain the relationship, but it hardly suggests or guarantees a geographic origin in Japan.

After all, two clans also survived in Great Britain -- a much smaller area than all of Asia -- so by your logic, we might assume that Gargoyles originated there.

But I'm not confirming any of it. Asia, Britain or somewhere else? I'm not saying now.

Response recorded on June 10, 2001

Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

If the Ishimura clan was inspired by Tengu then why weren't there many beaked gargoyles?

Greg responds...

I can't answer this. Assumes facts not in evidence.

Response recorded on May 08, 2001

Bookmark Link

matt writes...

you've said that the Guatemalan, Ishimura, and London all had rookeries with eggs when Goliath and co. visited, why didn't you decide to show that any of these clans had eggs on screen? i think it would've been great to see that gargoyles do have a future and their not slowly dying out. was the problem time constraints? how hard is it to show some eggs in the background of certain scenes?

Greg responds...

Harder than you obviously think.

Cause for starters you're limiting my ideas to eggs.

Every episode was (at least in my opinion) bursting with ideas. As many as we could fit in and do justice too. Certain things were explicit. Some were implied. And some were just logical extrapolations of what was explicit or implied.

There was NEVER going to be room for every notion, every facet of everything. We put in what would fit and what we felt we NEEDED.

Response recorded on May 02, 2001

Bookmark Link

matt writes...

oh, and also in the age of characters list you said that Yama is 29 and Sora is 19. their mates, and i thought there were never mates from different generations, Broadway and Angela being the exception. i figured that gargs mated among their rookery siblings because that way they wouldn't find a mate in a close (i.e. brother and sister) biological relative. so is it common for gargs to mate between generations? or are Broadway/Angela and Yama/Sora very different from the norm?

Greg responds...

Broadway and Angela are a very unusual case for OBVIOUS reasons. (He was asleep for 1000 years. She grew up on Avalon. As a result they are nearly the exact same age biologically.)

Yama and Sora are atypical. But their love is not unheard of.

I don't ever recall saying that gargs from separate generations couldn't or wouldn't mate. It's just not particularly common.

Response recorded on May 02, 2001


: « First : « 25 : Displaying #31 - #48 of 48 records. : Last » :