Allen Pan, who runs the Sufficiently Advanced channel on YouTube, has published a new video showing how anyone can wield a giant anime sword with the help of an exoskeleton.
In a roughly 13-minute video, Pan discusses how he achieved the ultimate goal: swinging a generic replica of Cloud Strife’s Buster Sword. To do this, he used his stimulus money to recruit a friend to build the sword. But how does one get the Buster Sword, a comically large weapon that looks very heavy? A $ 900 Steadicam exoskeleton is like that.
The sword in Pan’s video, built by his friend in 3.6.9 Design, weighs 50 pounds. It’s not that heavy, but because of the way it is retracted, Pan’s generic Buster Sword actually generates 150 pounds of torque, the same amount of power that a car engine produces. This is where the $ 900 exoskeleton comes in, to help offset the weight of the Buster Sword.
Inspired by Edge of Tomorrow by Doug Liman, Pan modifies a passive camera-stabilizing exoskeleton with additional springs to further compensate for the weight of the sword. He initially wanted to wield the sword as Cloud does, but he was convinced that the suit would not be able to withstand the strength of the sword without assistance. So he chose a different path: attach a ring to the center of the blade and attach it to the exoskeleton as a means of compensating for the weight.
The result was a success. Kind of.
Pan can handle the sword effectively, without problems. It can swing the blade, breaking things like coconuts and TVs, but there is nothing of the grace or brilliance you would expect from an anime protagonist. To compare, Pan enlisted weightlifter Chase Lee to see if he could wield the thing. It turns out that you can wield the Buster Sword with the help of an exoskeleton or many muscles.
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