Here we have the Ranger job class. As goes archery, I'm sure that the Hume pose is more natural. However, it's just not that cool compared to the Elvaan. Holding the bow sideways indicates that even with the unstable nature of this action, he can put an arrow where ever he darn well pleases. You can easily imagine the play style here... Legolas anyone?

A ranger aiming a firearm. Cool points are distributed on a very strict system. This system incorporates sofisticated rules and laws that have been tried and tested from hundreds of years. I will give the Hume 5/10 CP's because his stance is solid and his aim is true. I will give the Elvaan 9/10 CP's because 10/10 is perfect and only God himself is perfect. And God is not an Elvaan.

This is the Red Mage job class. With a sword and shield equipped for battle, we see the differing readiness of either race. The Hume is ready and seemingly expectant of his next swing. The Elvaan is also expectant, but wants to give the illusion of being "open" to attack. This way, it brings him more satisfaction when he carves his signature "E" in his opponents cheek, adpated from decades of passed down fencing from the well known hero, Zorro.

Even when drawing the weapon from the hip, it seems the Hume is almost in a defensive state. Like he's thinking: "Wait! Are you sure you want to fight? Are you ready? Am I ready? Ok then... I guess so." The Elvaan is more: "I can't believe I have to waist my time with this scum! Let's finish this so I can return to my duties. I've got a photo shoot in 10 minutes."

This is the Ninja job. Duel wielders rock! And even though both races (all races) can duel wield, the Elvaan only has to wield one katana. In this particular pose, we see that holding a katana in this fashion begs one to consider: "Did he just cut me and I don't know it?" The Hume there in the back is thinking the obvious: "Holy $#%! He just cut him and he doesn't even know it!"

Two fantastic poses! I would consider this a draw. Both exhibit wonderful positions of assination from differing perspectives. Touche' mister Hume. Touche'.

Okay, here we have poses of the Dark Knight. The Hume excersing a pose just ending a standard attack, and the Elvaan simply standing with his weapon drawn. I'm being as fair as I can, picking the best poses from the Hume as I could. It's just that... well... dang. In a competition as one sided as this, I chose to deviate from side-by-side comparison as it relates to the "same pose" as previous. This way, we can see the Hume is some really cool poses. Let's give him some credit shall we?

Here we have starting attacks. Like I said, one sided... but the Hume is trying. Really, he is.

Here we have them using a Great Sword versus the Scythe. It doesn't matter though does it? Even though the Hume is striking some serious vogue, it just doesn't seem to pull away with a win. Even so, we come to some images that just might be a challenge and another possible tie?!

This is Darksteel Armor... sweet. Both races pull out impressive poses... intimidating isn't it? A tie? I dont think so. The Elvaan is still much more elegant even in the darkness of that armor. The Hume reminds me of a Knight in a museum. Pretty cool. But the Elvaan is like: "I'll smack you."

Oh Ho Ho! Now we get into some serious competition! Now, understand that these again are different poses, but in the same action. This is an attack made with a sword... the Elvaan is posed after the attack is made... the Hume is in mid-attack. I chose to show the Hume in this pose because his end attack pose is just the same as his start attack pose, which is actually in the picture above. Both races are pretty freakin' cool here, a tie? I don't think so.

This is the last image outfitted with Darksteel. Here we see both races at the same pose in mid-flight using the weaponskill "Savage Blade". I will have to give a tie here. I like both poses for different reasons. The Elvaan still holding strong in grace and pride. The Hume however pulls out a rare state of bad-ass before he plunges his sword into the skull of whatever-the-crap is stupid enough to be the target of either of these stylish poses.

Continuing with the effort of supporting the Hume in the best possible poses I could find, we come to my absolute favorite job in FFXI, the Samurai! This job has one of the best armor fashion states over most jobs in the game. Here we have the ready stance. The Elvaan seems to have a more authentic and traditional stance while the Hume not so much. Both are great poses, but I feel the Elvaan takes it.

Okay everyone. Listen. I'm trying here. Really. This is the ending pose of the same attack. Even though the pose is amazing, the actual animation is just that much more amazing. The Elvaan still takes the win... nice try though Hume.

This is the landing pose of the weapon skill "Tachi: Gekko" shown above. The Hume poses in a very cool landing with Great Katana off to the side. The Elvaan treats his landing as if he's participating in the annual "Samurai of the Year" calendar contest. Low to the ground with the katana resting on his shoulders, sexy. I give this a tie.

This is the pose just before the weapon skill "Tachi: Kasha". Again, I like both poses, but this time I think the Elvaan pulls the win. It's the semi-horse stance and overall posture that takes it.

This is the final pose of "Tachi: Kasha" demonstrating the finish cut. The Hume seems to have more of a forward thrust in his cut, while the Elvaan holds true to the starting pose, with his off hand on his scabbard ready to re-insert his katana. Elvaan wins.

As you may have noticed, that I didn't rip into the Hume all that much in the few pics above. I couldn't, I have to give credit where it is due. However , that stops right now. Attacking with a Polearm or "spear" and his life partnership with his Wyvern, the Dragoon is one of the most successful self-sustaining jobs in FFXI! Shown here are common attacks made by both races. Granted, both attacks are different in position, however at this point, you should have a great idea of how the Hume makes his attacks in any job with any weapon. Effective and straightforward. The Elvaan pushes the boundaries of style with this huge extension of the weapon. Does he have to look so cool shoving a pointed stick down the throat of an enemy? Of course not! He does it because he can.

This is the pose as the Dragoon uses his Jump ability, peircing the target with his weapon. We can see the Hume using both hands while the Elvaan uses only one. The Elvaan has a more dramatic approach oppossed to the Hume which uses something that is actually expected. Again, we see the Elvaan being more creative with the use of the Polearm and less ordinary. Ordinary is by no means "bad", cheese is ordinary... and cheese tastes pretty darn good.

This is the landing pose for the Dragoon's Jump ability. Here we can see the Hume successfully absorbing the tremdous impact of landing a Jump. However, success comes difficult for the Hume, as we witness the rigidness of his body, arms, and legs. Landing like this will no doubt create problems in his later years... sexually. The Elvaan, on the other hand, lands with supreme grace, like a master gymnast gently flexing his entire being upon impact, and as an added bonus, seems to inadverantly "bow" to his audience, thanking them for the attention he so deserves, if not in appreciation for them, appreciation for himself.

This is the start pose of casting Black Magic. Both races devote their total concentration about the forces each are about to unleash, and both heads are down to minimize any distractions. Here we see the Hume with a much tighter concentration of force than the Elvaan. The Elvaan agreeably has too much void space to acquire the exact amount of power as the Hume, even though the Elvaan does close the gap later in the act, it's just too late. However, we're only concerned with 'style' at the moment, and as such we can clearly see the foot placement, slightly angled torso, and arm placement. Although the Hume strikes a powerful pose, 2nd place is 1st loser.

This is the end pose of casting Black Magic. The Elvaan, with head looking down, doesn't bother to continue looking at his target... it's destroyed, as it should be. The Hume, on the other hand, continues to gaze at the target, making sure that he casted on the correct target, and is amazed if it is, in fact, the correct target. Although all races must extend their arms as to release the awesome destructive forces that is Black Magic, the Elvaan does so with a grace that seems to contradict the blackness of the art, while the Hume seems to over extend his arms, causing the chest to protrude in such a way as to suggest that he must have rubbery-like bones that when left uncontrolled, or, over exerted, flaunt the body in ways that seem un-natural.

As we can see here using a side-by-side comparison, there is no doubt that the Elvaan Male takes the win over Hume Male in style, if not over all competition. Admitedly, the Elvaan Male exposes his "Achiles Heel" of stlye during only -one- action, and that is running. His longer-than-normal neck (which in any other condition is nil) exposes itself for lack of attention. This does not change the fact of his dominance over all other races in style and grace.

Stay tuned for the next style battle of the female gender in FFXI! Will the ever-so-popular Mithra take the crown? Or the subtle cuteness of the Taru eek out a victory?