D&D 3E/3.5 3.5 is Anime! Wait, what?

[mach1.9pants]

That is not a sword, that is an oversized, metallic cricket bat!

 

[DandD]

That is not a sword, that is an oversized, metallic cricket bat!

Yes, Puck points out that the Dragonslayer isn't really a sword, but more like a huge metal club that Guts swings so powerful that the enemies just sort of "explode in a bloody mess" when he "cuts" them with it.

Guts is just that badass. He rules over everybody.

 

[Oni]

I personally like the some anime mixed in my DnD. I like the visual aesthetic from Lodoss/Slayers (I'd also like to point out oversized swords are not the rule of the day in those). Berserk is cool too (though usually i'm not a fan of the big sword thing myself). I think most of the over the top fantasy design people complain about isn't coming so much from anime/manga but rather J-RPGs. I don't really like the look and feel of FFVII or any of its spawn myself but it's all about personal taste. Of course I'm not impartial in all of this, my own artwork speaks to my artistic taste I suppose.

Though elves with weird handlebar ears bother me (or worse yet droopy ones) how do they wear freakin' hoods????

 

[HeinorNY]

I'm also a great fan of Lodoss War, but I like it because it is D&D and not because it's anime. Being anime is the only flaw form that perfect cartoon.

 

[Incenjucar]

This is like people spazzing because Garfield is depicted with over-sized eyes and long feet.

 

[TwinBahamut]

I prefer a brick to the head over any of Nomura's styles. Failing that, Yoshitaka Amano or Akihiko Yoshida will do.

He isn't that bad if he sticks to what he is good at. The World Ends With You looks to have a great style, for example. Other than that, though, I do agree that he can be pretty bad.

Amano is great, but I think Yoshida is a mixed bag... A lot of his work on FFT and Vagrant story is good, but I don't like the character designs from FFXII. They seem like a mutant child of Nomura's works.

As a whole, I prefer the character designs in Suikoden 2, 3, and 5 and the Fire Emblem series to any post-Amano FF game. Also, he gets a lot of unfair flack, but Akira Toriyama can make some really good characters.

Anyways, I am glad someone posted an image of Guts in this thread, even if it is one that doesn't quite preserve the gritty feel to the manga's art. Berserk is a great fantasy series.

 

[Terramotus]

Warhammer has been extremely successful for FLGS by virtue of generating regular sales of a high priced product from the average player. WotC is trying to muscle in on that market and is willing to emulate some of their schticks.

I dunno, I think that's changing with the advent of eBay. I've only occasionally played any GW games, so take that for what it's worth.

A lot of the players around here buy their stuff on the cheap off of the internet. In fact, one of the local game stores has banned Warhammer play in the play area because all they ever did was take up space in the store and never buy anything. When required to buy product to play they just buy a pot of paint or a paintbrush.

In fact, I've been told that two of the failed game stores around here went down because they focused on the large Warhammer player base, only to find out that they never bought anything retail. I've also never known a game store owner that didn't have bad things to say about doing business with GW.

I'd never be so shallow as to reject a game just because I didn't like the art, but I can't stand this picture. I don't understand what it is that drives certain people to actually like pictures of characters with unrealistically large swords. Why is that cool? Where's the appeal? Since when does that evoke "high fantasy?"

How about Elric? He's often drawn with an enormous Stormbringer. It also makes sense in the fiction.

 

[hong]

What they really need to do is to completely bypass "anime" and "typical fantasy" and go for a wide variety of art styles.

Bring on the 4E Cave Paintings and 4E Cubism.

Okay, maybe not Cubism, but I really wish they would embrace the VARIETY, and not just stick to pleasing specific existing fan groups.

Insert firecube comment.

 

[Zamkaizer]

He isn't that bad if he sticks to what he is good at. The World Ends With You looks to have a great style, for example. Other than that, though, I do agree that he can be pretty bad.

I especially dislike Nomura's style in The World Ends With You and the Kingdom Hearts games.

I agree, though, that Akihiko Yoshida's (and Wayne Reynolds', and William O'Connor's, and Steve Prescott's, etc., for that matter) artwork can, at times, be as ridiculous as Nomura's (look at, for instance, Ashley Riot's lighting-bolt hair and assless chaps). The eccentricities of his designs, however, seem to arise from some unknown quarter, whereas Nomura's seem firmly grounded in popular Japanese fashion, which I find silly, and not necessarily appropriate to the milieu of your given Final Fantasy game. Also, when Nomura has to think outside of the box, hilarity inevitably ensues--like the kabuto-wearing, neon garter hose-sporting grunts in FFXIII.

I do like his design for Auron though. I'm a sucker for older characters.

 

[Lurks-no-More]

You want Anime? Open up the Pathfinder preview PDF and browse the races section for the art. Doesn't get much more anime than this.

Yes, that one was very amusing. I like the pic, mind you; but I wonder how many of the anti-anime / anti-4e people reconcile that with their interest in Pathfinder.