D&D 5E Being strong and skilled is a magic of its own or, how I learned to stop worrying and love anime fightin' magic

[Argyle King]

You are lumping way too many things into the same category here.

Anime is no one single thing. It is an incredibly diverse medium, and is not just wuxia fantasies or giant mecha.

Anime can have a variety of elements. Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Armitage iii, Cyber City OEDO, all of them have cyberpunk elements and are more grounded than marvel films (no superheroes at all).

Films like Tekkonkinkreet have more heart and soul than any western film I have seen. The characters and the world are vibrant and alive. They also don't need superpowers, they use their guts and the city itself as their playground.

Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Caastle in the Sky, these are incredible adventures experienced primarily by mundane heroes. Howl is a wizard, but he is cursed and his powers come at the cost of permanently becoming a monster.

Stuff like DBZ is completely off the mark, and using it at the set bar of comparison is wrought with misconceptions about anime and its place in entertainment.

I'm aware. I've watched some of the things you've listed. (Howl's Moving Castle is one which I highly enjoyed.)

That's why I specified "anime wire-fu" and "DBZ" (and the Captain America movies to make the comparison).

To be 100% honest, anime taken as a whole does tend toward a lot of genre conventions which rub me the wrong way. I'm aware that anime is generally defined as an art style, but I don't believe it's totally off the mark to say that certain visual styles tend to accompany certain styles of stories, even in non-anime products.

In either case, I cast two broad nets which my earlier contrast because I'm no so strict in my tastes to not have wiggle room. There's a general ballpark which I would prefer things to fall into. Even so, enough commonalities were understood from those broad nets to get across what I meant -so I would say that shows it's not off the mark to say the comparison worked to give some definition of where the edges of the 'ballpark' are located.

 

[Minigiant]

Greek demigods were generally raised by their mortal parent as a human, this growing into and discovering your heritage is an out right standard demigod story.

Greek gods were also more active and appeared on the material plane more often than D&D gods as they were lustful, wrathful, egotistical jerks.

If a D&D god of war slept with some barmaid or a D&D goddess like some knight knock them up, chances are the child might go all the way to young adulthood not knowing one of their parents were divine. Then the kid kills some dragon and everygod start casting "Greater DNA Test".

Fighter: Why do I feel like someone is scrying me?

 

[Art Waring]

To be 100% honest, anime taken as a whole does tend toward a lot of genre conventions which rub me the wrong way. I'm aware that anime is generally defined as an art style, but I don't believe it's totally off the mark to say that certain visual styles tend to accompany certain styles of stories, even in non-anime products.

I agree, its not for everybody. I just wanted to illustrate that there is more to the genre. Very good points!

 

[Garthanos]

Greek gods were also more active and appeared on the material plane more often than D&D gods as they were lustful, wrathful, egotistical jerks.

There were tons of humans on earth claiming divine heritage... And we cannot claim to have frequent verified gods hanging out here, in a fantasy world with verifiable miracles why no?. Realistically sometimes this is an explanation of ego and "maybe" some competence. Alexander the Great was plying the greek tendency but the entire nobility of some countries are considered to be of some divine heritage or being the descendents of Dragons

If a D&D god of war slept with some barmaid or a D&D goddess like some knight knock them up, chances are the child might go all the way to young adulthood not knowing one of their parents were divine. Then the kid kills some dragon and everygod start casting "Greater DNA Test".

Fighter: Why do I feel like someone is scrying me?

LOL, I am sure some don't start actively doing miraculous things till their 30s.. Others kill them a bar when they were only 3 but few believe the event and its a bursty kind of thing. I figure if you start with a person who might be extraordinary then exaggerate making the story bigger and bigger and eventually they get called Demigod and sometimes the stories remember they didnt start that way, others they do not.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I agree, its not for everybody. I just wanted to illustrate that there is more to the genre. Very good points!

There is a lot of anime I enjoy beside Lodoss War, although much of it is commonly known:

Studio Ghibli:

• Spirited Away
• Princess Mononoke
• The Secret World of Arrietty
• The Wind Rises
• Nausicaa (Valley of the Wind)
• Kiki's Delivery Service
• Howl's Moving Castle
• Castle in the Sky
• Tales from Earthsea

As well as:

• Akira
• Ghost in the Shell
• Tank Girls
• Cowboy Bebop
• Inuyasha
• Escaflowne
• Fist of the North Star
• DB/DBZ
• Street Fighter
• Robotech
• Thunderbirds

and more...

But as much as I like them, most of them don't fit my vision of D&D and I wouldn't want to see most of the exploits in these as part of D&D.

 

[Art Waring]

But as much as I like them, most of them don't fit my vision of D&D and I wouldn't want to see most of the exploits in these as part of D&D.

Yeah many of those probably would feel out if place in your home game I guess.

Well if you like those listed, check out the original Ninja Scroll, Jubei, is a mundane fighter with a single "extraordinary ability" using his sword. Check it out and let me know what you think.

 

[Garthanos]

There is a lot of anime I enjoy beside Lodoss War, although much of it is commonly known:

Ever seen this one?

The Legend of the Lazy Invincible General Unfolds in Alderamin on the Sky

A brilliant military genius tries to make an easy life for himself through unorthodox tactics and slacking off.

www.ungeek.ph

 

[DND_Reborn]

Yeah many of those probably would feel out if place in your home game I guess.

Well if you like those listed, check out the original Ninja Scroll, Jubei, is a mundane fighter with a single "extraordinary ability" using his sword. Check it out and let me know what you think.

I'll add it to my list LOL, but it will probably not be something I get to for quite a while.

Ever seen this one?

The Legend of the Lazy Invincible General Unfolds in Alderamin on the Sky

A brilliant military genius tries to make an easy life for himself through unorthodox tactics and slacking off.

www.ungeek.ph

Nope, but I can add that as well. Thanks!

 

[Garthanos]

One of my faves is the spear using Balsa from the anime Moribito.

 

[Garthanos]

Nope, but I can add that as well. Thanks!

The lead character is basically a LazyLord... and he has a companion who is pretty much a 4e ranger.