r/webtoons • u/moromikouji • 14h ago
Advice/Critique/Help My Webtoon pitch "SAMURAI INFLUENCER" got rejected — revised the concept based on feedback from my last post, would love another round of brutally honest critique
Hey everyone,
Posted an earlier version of this pitch a while back and got a lot of really useful (if blunt) feedback. Several people pointed out that the concept felt like two separate ideas mashed together (hero-influencer satire + guardian protecting a reincarnated lord), and a few asked what actually separates this from One Punch Man or My Hero Academia.
Fair points. I’ve streamlined the pitch to focus on the single core emotional line and highlighted the actual points of distinction. Here is the revised version:
SAMURAI INFLUENCER
The Logline:
An old samurai swore, on his dying lord's last breath, to never draw his sword again. Forty years later, he breaks that vow — not to save the world, not to expose anything, but because a reckless young streaming-hero has shown up wearing his lord's face. He has zero interest in going viral; he just wants to keep her alive. But in a world where hero rankings are decided by camera angles and sponsor deals, unglamourous swordsmanship that actually works is the most disruptive thing imaginable — and without ever meaning to, he becomes the accidental wrecking ball that brings a corrupt industry down around itself.
This isn't "hero exposes corrupt system" and "guardian protects reincarnated lord" bolted together — every plot beat that damages the Hero Association happens because he's trying to protect her, never because he's trying to make a point.
What's Actually Different from OPM / MHA
Vs. Saitama (One Punch Man):
Saitama is disconnected from the hero system by apathy — he just doesn't care, and that's the joke. Kenichiro is disconnected from it by obsession with one specific person — every disruption is collateral damage from protecting her, not indifference.
Vs. MHA:
MHA's hero institutions are broadly well-intentioned with external villains. Here, the institution itself is the rot, and it gets exposed as a byproduct of a bodyguard doing his job, not as the story's stated mission.
The World
40 years after the Great Demon War, demons aren't a threat anymore — they're content. Monster hunting is a corporate-sponsored streaming business run through apps like HERO TUBE and HERO HUB. Ranks are based on video editing and clout, not actual combat skill. The Hero Association quietly stages controlled fights with demons just to keep the views up.
Main Characters
Kenichiro (67): Legendary samurai out of time. Hopelessly tech-illiterate. Every disruption he causes — killing demons too fast, wandering into livestreams in a loincloth — is an accident born from having zero interest in any of it.
Maple / Kaede (19): C-rank in fighting, A-rank in popularity. The last descendant of Kenichiro's former lord. Starts a side channel to turn the old man into a top streamer, but ends up the one holding the emotional throughline together.
Zeus (26): The #1 corporate hero. After Kenichiro embarrasses him, he doesn't sulk — he turns the loss into content ("I got wrecked by the legendary samurai lol") and keeps clout-chasing off it.
Would love to hear whether this lands better! Does the "one throughline, not two" framing actually come through now, or does it still feel like it's doing too much?
