Takefu, by Eric Duan

[Don Boyer]

Eric's been offering sneak peeks at a new project for 2013.  First came a deck back with no name on 31 Dec, then a joker yesterday, which he announced was part of "Takefu", coming soon.

Just out of curiosity, I asked what's going on with his White Tiger and Green Dragon decks, to complete that four-deck set he was working on.  I'll post in the appropriate topics when he gets back to me.

So, thoughts so far?

Judging from the Joker, I'd say "Takefu" is the name of some warrior of Chinese folklore or mythology.  I tried looking up the meaning on Google Translate, which asked me if I meant "塔客服".  Of course I had no clue, so I clicked yes.  Well, that translates into "Tower Customer Service", so unless he's taking commission work from some company called "Tower <something-or-other>", Google Translate is a little addled by Chinese...

It also happens to be the name of a city in Fukui Prefecture in Japan which today no longer exists - it was merged on 1 Oct 2005 with the town of Imadate to create the city of Echizen.  Maybe it's inspired by Japanese feudal culture and characters?

[shz]

Like the back design, especially the fade. Let's see what this deck has got to offer.

[MrMollusk]

Well, maybe it's referring to the Takefu Knife Village cutlery company. 
As a side note, this looks AWESOME.

[xela]

One-way back = instant no-buy for me.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

Is there a rise of Asian Themed decks?
Its not a bad thing I'm just loving it all!! I'm such a patriotic asian person.

Takefu is a Japanese word because I speak chinese and there is no "takefu" word in Chinese unless its a dialect.

The joker is a warrior with a Naginata as a weapon. So in all probability its a Japanese inspired deck. The dragon design is hard to say. Because it looks like the dragon in Dragon Ball. but then again this kind of dragon is both Chinese and Japanese.

in the middle of the dragon in th back design I see 2 Kanji or chinese characters but I can't make the calligraphy out.

I can read the "生" which means Student or  Birth in Chinese. But in Japanese this character means Raw, Crude, Pure,
The first Character I can't quite make out because the ink is all over the place but if I'm not mistaken it might be this charater "武" which is the Chinese for Fierce, or martial (as in martial arts) this is also the first character for WUSHU a Chinese martial arts.

Then again the first character might also be "龙" which is the character for Dragon.

so 龙生 together might be the best choice "birth of the dragon" or "dragon's purity" There is no real translation to it.


**sigh** my Chinese is really rusty.

[Curt]

Very curious to see how it turns out when it is finally printed. Not a huge fan, but definitely not the worst deck design out there. I agree with Lara about the asian styled decks out there, seems to be a lot. Since I am somewhat of a picky buyer, these oriental types of decks I tend to pit against each other and choose from there... so they have to be pretty spectacular for me to purchase them at the moment.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

Very curious to see how it turns out when it is finally printed. Not a huge fan, but definitely not the worst deck design out there. I agree with Lara about the asian styled decks out there, seems to be a lot. Since I am somewhat of a picky buyer, these oriental types of decks I tend to pit against each other and choose from there... so they have to be pretty spectacular for me to purchase them at the moment.

Well the east has always had this mystical and mysterious appeal to the western culture. So there is a lot of material to work with when choosing an Asian themed anything.  you have to admit that Asian dragons are far sexier than the western ones. 

I havn't been disappointed with the Asian-themed decks that have come out so far.

I think the only biggest downside that this deck might have is the one way back. because we all know how majority of our populace prefer two back back designs. For me. I kind of like the one way of this. Since I don't really do magic or anything it doesn't really matter for me.

[Don Boyer]

There are many "never-open-the-box" collectors who wouldn't find a one-way back objectionable as long as the box was pretty! 

Seriously, I don't care that this has a one-way back.  It looks COOL.

I contacted Eric for more info and invited him to stop by.  Apparently there is a "Takefu" in China as well as Japan - he was a little short on details, though, since English is not his strong suit.  Perhaps our fuzzy-eared moderator in Beijing can find out more? 

[Don Boyer]

New images from his deck, straight from FB...  It's definitely taking several pages from Asian mythology.

[MrMollusk]

Aaaalllll riiight.
Those look AWESOME.

[Lara Krystle "Lane"]

Those court cards are AMAZING. it looks like something that came out of Dynasty Warriors Strike Force!
I'm loving the calligraphy ink style there. And the suits as the background for the Court cards is a nice addition as well.

[Don Boyer]

Additional photos taken from Collector's blog - you really should be reading it!
http://playingcardcollector.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/2013-week-8-upcoming-decks/

[digipunk]

I can read the "生" which means Student or  Birth in Chinese. But in Japanese this character means Raw, Crude, Pure,
The first Character I can't quite make out because the ink is all over the place but if I'm not mistaken it might be this charater "武" which is the Chinese for Fierce, or martial (as in martial arts) this is also the first character for WUSHU a Chinese martial arts.

Then again the first character might also be "龙" which is the character for Dragon.

so 龙生 together might be the best choice "birth of the dragon" or "dragon's purity" There is no real translation to it.

**sigh** my Chinese is really rusty.

The deck is called "武生" in Chinese

As you said, "武" means force, weapon, or martial arts. And "生" means a male character (normally the leading role).

[Don Boyer]

I can read the "生" which means Student or  Birth in Chinese. But in Japanese this character means Raw, Crude, Pure,
The first Character I can't quite make out because the ink is all over the place but if I'm not mistaken it might be this charater "武" which is the Chinese for Fierce, or martial (as in martial arts) this is also the first character for WUSHU a Chinese martial arts.

Then again the first character might also be "龙" which is the character for Dragon.

so 龙生 together might be the best choice "birth of the dragon" or "dragon's purity" There is no real translation to it.

**sigh** my Chinese is really rusty.

The deck is called "武生" in Chinese

When plugged into Google Translate in a Japanese-to-English translation, those two characters translate as "takefu", of all things...    It popped out first with an alternate "translation", "takeo".  Neither means a blasted thing in English - Google Translate does a horrible job translating syllabaries and Asian characters.

[digipunk]

When plugged into Google Translate in a Japanese-to-English translation, those two characters translate as "takefu", of all things...    It popped out first with an alternate "translation", "takeo".  Neither means a blasted thing in English - Google Translate does a horrible job translating syllabaries and Asian characters.

I just edited my post and explained the meaning of "武生", they are male characters in beijing opera.
The joker is Guan-Yu, the strongest and most powerful warrior in Chinese history. You might know him from comics or video games (see the attachment)

[Don Boyer]

The deck is called "武生" in Chinese

As you said, "武" means force, weapon, or martial arts. And "生" means a male character (normally the leading role).

So, definitely Chinese-themed, not that it's a surprise - when I first saw the deck's art, I thought the characters were samurai.  I'm big on Japanese martial arts - I practice aikido when I can, and my dojo also hosts a Shaolin instructor trained by one of the monks there; he teaches a few Chinese arts, largely kung fu and tai chi.

[Michael]

Saw this link while sifting through 52cartes and it brought me to eBay. My understanding was that this deck was supposed to be released this year but hasn't been right? So what is this??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251234382466

[Don Boyer]

Saw this link while sifting through 52cartes and it brought me to eBay. My understanding was that this deck was supposed to be released this year but hasn't been right? So what is this??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251234382466

Pokerstud52 is a web-based retailer without his own site - he sells only on eBay (to the public, at least).  If you check out our discount codes, by contacting him through the provided email address you can order at a discount.  Browse through his eBay store, pick what you want, email him your choices, he gives you a price, you pay by PayPal, he sends decks.  Easy peasy.

[Michael]

Saw this link while sifting through 52cartes and it brought me to eBay. My understanding was that this deck was supposed to be released this year but hasn't been right? So what is this??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251234382466

Pokerstud52 is a web-based retailer without his own site - he sells only on eBay (to the public, at least).  If you check out our discount codes, by contacting him through the provided email address you can order at a discount.  Browse through his eBay store, pick what you want, email him your choices, he gives you a price, you pay by PayPal, he sends decks.  Easy peasy.

Yes I understand that. But my confusion was that we didn't hear a word of this deck being released and then it's being sold on eBay. Sorry for not making that clear. I assumed (and maybe that's where my fault is) that a deck release would be more widely publicized and advertised. It is a very nice looking deck though and probably the only one I'll buy that has such an obvious one way back.

[Don Boyer]

It's very possible that Pokerstud52 had the exclusive on them.

I'm interested in getting this one.  VERY interested.

[Michael]

It's very possible that Pokerstud52 had the exclusive on them.

I'm interested in getting this one.  VERY interested.

As am I! I've been looking forward to a more certain release date ever since I saw the design for the deck. Then I realize that it's out and just threw me off cause I used to the whole "this day this time. Prepare your wallets" type of thing.

[Nurul]

Man, the shipping is almost as much as the deck sucks living in th UK .. How does one pronounce this deck? Is it TAKE-FU, TAK-A-FU, TAK-E-FU or is th FU pronounced as FEW? Or is it pronounced some other way?


EDIT: shipping is MORE than the deck 

[Don Boyer]

It's very possible that Pokerstud52 had the exclusive on them.

I'm interested in getting this one.  VERY interested.

As am I! I've been looking forward to a more certain release date ever since I saw the design for the deck. Then I realize that it's out and just threw me off cause I used to the whole "this day this time. Prepare your wallets" type of thing.

Eric's been doing that lately - just dropping the grenade down the rabbit hole and walking away... 

Man, the shipping is almost as much as the deck sucks living in th UK .. How does one pronounce this deck? Is it TAKE-FU, TAK-A-FU, TAK-E-FU or is th FU pronounced as FEW? Or is it pronounced some other way?


EDIT: shipping is MORE than the deck 

In Japanese, syllables end in either "N" or a vowel sound.  Takefu would be (tah-keh-foo).  Not sure about the emphasis - probably second syllable.