Find the Anime Challenge

[Klaus]

That's what I thought when I first saw it. However, by pausing the movie it's clear that they are just one-bladed swords. The long hilts and the way they strike makes it seem like a double-sword, or that's my recollection when I looked into it.

Having seen the most excelent action figures for the elf prologue warriors, I can tell you that those aren't two-bladed weapons, but rather one-bladed swords with very long handles. They're actually closer to glaives than swords.

 

[Baby Samurai]

That's what I thought when I first saw it. However, by pausing the movie it's clear that they are just one-bladed swords. The long hilts and the way they strike makes it seem like a double-sword, or that's my recollection when I looked into it.

Right on - thanks.

 

[Nebulous]

While i love Wayne Reynolds action scenes and monster illustrations, i
A few high quality pieces can do so much for setting tone and atmosphere. Having something like this on the cover of one of the core books would rock!

Indeed. I'm disappointed that we wont' see something like this on the cover.

 

[Baby Samurai]

Having seen the most excelent action figures for the elf prologue warriors, I can tell you that those aren't two-bladed weapons, but rather one-bladed swords with very long handles. They're actually closer to glaives than swords.

Cool - thanks.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

I would give the following as some examples in the change of flavor:
* The naming of special non-spell powers

You mean like "flight," "heat vision," and "super-hearing"? Superman is so anime.

* Super-heroic combat effects, such as hitting multiple opponents with the same blow

Sauron is so anime.

* The move away from anthropomorphic characters that have a folklore precedent

Star Wars is so anime.

* The limitation of character death, the inclusion of balanced encounters vs. player estimation of danger

Being fair to the players is so anime.

* The focus on high-level play (and, as such, “superpowers”) over the traditional sweet spot of levels 4-9

Mutants and Masterminds is so anime.

* The rapidity of leveling (akin to an RPG videogame)

I think you read cause and effect in the wrong direction here. Also, at what point do we hit the "no longer 'normal' D&D, now it's a video game" threshold? I'm going to hazard a guess that it's slightly higher than the levelling rate that you happen to favour.

* Character customization moving the focus to the “uniquely stylized dramatic loner,” rather than the archetype

Is "unique dramatic loner" not an archetype? Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is so anime.

On the art, it’s a mixed bag. There are some examples that are, IMO, inarguably, absolutely anime-inspired.

Inarguably? We haven't seen them then. Lots of arguing in this thread.

 

[Hussar]

Ok, I think we have a winner in the Tiefling pic. That one has everyone in agreement of the anime influence. Sweet, we have one.

On the eyes of our Valenor, well, considering he's not human, that pretty much chucks out most of the proportions bits. How tall are Valenor elves though? I have no idea. Standard elf height? I'm going to call that one questionable since there seems to be some disagreement.

Everyone keeps bitching that I'm biased. Maybe so. However, I would point out that this is the second time I've been convinced, although the first was more of a false positive.

I would ask though, unless the image is REALLY obvious, that you state where you see the anime influences when you post a pic. BTW, where is that Valenor elf pic from?

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Don't make me hit your false binary straw man with my +4 bat of graded set membership category theory.

Best sentence in the thread.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

I could potentially counter both of these points by saying that the image depicts a Valenar Elf from Eberron. So, the eyes are explainable by it's race, and the double scimitar is explained by it's nationality.

EDIT: However, I agree that it does resemble anime.

Anyway, I love Vinod Rams' work, but many of his illustrations show clear Japanese influence.

"Tieflings" from Races of Faerun

I was wondering if someone would post this. This is an example of something I would agree is intended to emulate an anime/manga style. When I picked up Races of Faerun, I took a look at this guy's art and thought, MOAR!

But I didn't get moar. This is the high water mark for anime/manga art style in WotC books.

 

[Maggan]

MOAR!

Had to look that word up. Another useless thing to know ...

/M

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

I would ask though, unless the image is REALLY obvious, that you state where you see the anime influences when you post a pic.

But...but then someone on the internet would have to justify beliefs! Blasphemy!