HamstaPowah
Tenla: This is so embarrassing...
Mialo: I don't see the problem. This is the most I've ever seen you wear.
Y-you ain't Gus! Gus ain't got boobs!
HamstaPowah is a manga-based anthropomorphic fantasy webcomic. It follows the (mis)adventures of a small group of rodents attempting to overcome an evil force known as Ekana. It used to update every Monday with a full-color page (although this wasn't always the case), but has now ceased updates for an indeterminate amount of time.
The overarching plot is actually much larger then the comic itself would initially suggest, as there are multiple subplots and interweaving parallel storylines. So far the only obvious indication of this is the ominious hominid who revealed that the very existence of the main characters was the result of an experiment gone wrong. There is also an entire backstory to the whole comic that remains largely unexplained (The entire childhood of the protagonists and their failed attempts to stop Jenya).
The comic switches between various forms of humor, from Slapstick to sarcasm and everything in between. As the comic progressed, a more serious undertone was attached to some of the main plot points, and the recent pages focus more on moving the plot forward and blowing things up (to the delight of many fans) then making silly jokes.
Because of its manga influences, the comic virtually requires newcomers to go on an Archive Binge if they're going to have the faintest clue as to what's going on. A recently completed Retcon of the earliest pages have corrected some of the earlier mishaps and made significant improvements to the artwork.
Main Characters:
The Good Guys:
- Sam Boyd - A hamster who, while the lead protagonist and the author's avatar, doesn't actually have very good fighting skills, although he still manages to kick ass when he needs to. No-so-secretly in love with Hiaté Noumou, thanks to zenith's timely interruption.
- J'Aime Beck - Sam's adopted sister after their entire town was destroyed and their parents killed. She keeps trying to pair Sam with Hiaté, often with amusing results.
- Hiaté Noumou - The mouse who is supposedly destined to save the universe from annihilation. A native of Tomed, she is the designated Rodbearer for the Rod of Ulzis and a summoner. She is also able to manipulate the elements to cause wanton chaos. Despite often amusing culture differences, she is attracted to Sam.
- Mialo - A rabbit who talks to Hiaté through the Rod of Ulzis. How or why has yet to be explained.
- Tenla Lemen - A thief who stole the rod of Ulzis from Hiaté only to realize that she needs to give it back.
- Hickory Nutchel - A squirrel whose entire purpose is to serve as comic relief.
- Zenith Argyle - A older hamster who has a long history with Sam. He is a total jerk and a serious badass who appears to hate almost everyone, but has a good heart... way, way, way down there; somewhere.
- Lia Kiris - A mouse with electric nunchucks. Yeah.
- Diestat Noumou - Hiaté's grandfather, whose sole purpose was to teach her how to harnass her powers and then get taken hostage by his own grandson.
- Darin - A mouse, and escaped experiment who seems either incapable or unwilling to talk until he gets seriously pissed off, at which point he'll do things like blow up an entire floating fortress.
The Bad Guys:
- Ekana - The big bad mother-of-all evil whose been causing untold evil and destruction for thousands of years.
- Jamal - A urakait who continually tries to kill the main characters, without success.
- Jenya - An evil mouse girl who freed the shadow's master and has become a urakait as a reward.
- Haren Noumou - Hiaté's evil brother, who appears to have been possessed by one of the urakait.
Summons:
- Mopoko - The ridiculously cute Summon of Hiaté, who functions as her Created, a summon unique to her individual personality. It is an air elemental and can grow to hilarious proportions by inhaling.
- Aquablazen - Hiaté's grandfather's Created that she inherited. It is a water elemental (obviously).
- Action Girl - Just about everyone. Badassery is gender-equal in this comic.
- Art Evolution - To an absolute extreme.
- The art style has made several lateral shifts as well as improvements over the course of the comic, usually due to a neverending stream of technical difficulties on the artist's end.
- Art Shift - Often used to highlight certain situations
- Asskicking Pose - EVERYONE
- Badass Adorable - Practically EVERYONE, since we're talking about Talking Animals here. Except maybe for the bad guys.
- Badass Normal - Half the cast with no magical powers, probably most significantly Lia.
- Berserk Button - Darin.
- The Big Guy - GRAAAAAARRRRR!!!!
- Coming of Age - Largely focused on Sam, but also includes Hiaté.
- Darker and Edgier - Set like a hundred years after the comic to avoid worrying if it's canon or not, an RP on the site's forums is more teen-rated in contrast to the generally PG action of main series.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best - Almost all of the heroes fall under this.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu? - In one of the comic's first action sequences, Sam defeats a seemingly untouchable malevolent spirit. Single-handedly. With a stick.
- Dream Sequence -
- Eldritch Abomination - Though yet to be seen, Ekana is pretty much one of these.
- Elemental Powers - Hiaté!
- Although skilled in various arts, Hiaté is particularly potent at using fire.
- Word of God has it J'Aime is water-aligned.
- Jenya seems to have a thing for lightning.
- Everything's Better with Sparkles - J'Aime is a drama queen.
- Exclusively Evil - The Urakait.
- Fantastic Racism - Mice and Hamsters really don't like each other. Subverted by the protagonists as part of an anti-racial effort.
- Fetish Fuel - Snowy
- Flash Back - Lots of them.
- Freudian Trio - J'Aime as the id, Hiaté as the super-ego and Sam as the ego.
- Furry Confusion - Anthropomorphic mice riding on a cat. Justified since only certain species display sentience, and do so consistently.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom - Sam's eyes are actually on fire at one point.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck - You will never guess what "poofers" actually stands for.
- Heroic Bystander - Practically all the protagonists do this in the Darin incident.
- Hot Potato - Reversed with Haité's Sword.
- Incredibly Lame Pun - Pico and Rico, and lampshaded by another Visual Pun
- Interspecies Romance - Sam and Hiaté.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold - Possibly Zenith.
- Jerkass - Zenith
- Leave No Survivors - Jenya loves this
- The Medic - J'Aime, once she gets Mialo's Pendant. She's a little out of practice.
- Missing Mom and Disappeared Dad - Pretty much everyone, although some names are at least mentioned in the guide.
- Ms Exposition - A few cases, sometimes leading to Flash Back sequences, but probably the best example so far is this.
- Ms. Fanservice - Tenla mainly, but also J'Aime for a couple of reasons.
- Noodle Incident
- Oh Crap - These are all over the place.
- Pungeon Master - Pico and Rico
- Puppy Dog Eyes - J'Aime.
- Shapeshifter Hammerspace - Used for some of the gag jokes in earlier strips
- Shock and Awe - Darin, again.
- Talking Animal - Everyone!
- Team Pet - Mopoko
- Team Shot - At least one.
- This Cannot Be! - Ominious Hominid person about to get owned by Darin.
- Transformation Is a Free Action - Almost subverted after Sam hangs a lampshade on it.
- Transformation Sequence - begins here.
- The Unpronounceable - You weren't pronouning Hiaté Noumou correctly this entire article. I guarantee it.
- Unstoppable Rage - Darin.
- Visual Pun - Pico and Rico do it twice in one panel, and one of the visual puns is actually lampshading a previous Incredibly Lame Pun.
- Wide Eyes and Shrunken Irises - Standard used for showing fear
- You Killed My Father - Haité doesn't like Jamal for this reason.