Find the Anime Challenge

[IanB]

If you can't see the similarities in the head shape, head size, eye depiction, shoulder plates, knees, gauntlets and posture, then I guess continuing with this argument is moot.

But... the posture is different in every warforged picture you posted! I really don't see the connection here. If anything they're both just modeled on a regular old suit of armor. Of course they'll be similar.

 

[Nifft]

If you can't see the similarities in the head shape, head size, eye depiction, shoulder plates, knees, gauntlets and posture, then I guess continuing with this argument is moot.

I'm with IanB.

They all look similar... to any suit of armor.

You mention the knees. The top picture has ball-joint knees, with the ball interior to the leg segments, while all the others have simple hinge knees and a plate covering that extends over the hinge. They really couldn't be much more different!

The neck and chest on the top picture are totally different from the faux-muscle plates on the Warforged.

The heads... have glowing red eyes?

Cheers, -- N

 

[TwinBahamut]

Alphonse's armor is bulky, with many large , squarish plates that are bent at sharp angles and have large, sweeping curves. Many pieces of the armor are solid pieces of metal, and there is little riveting visible. The armor has a loincloth, and is held together by leather straps. The armor does not match the proportions of a normal human at all (very apparent if you watch the anime).

Warforged tend to have minimal armor, which mostly consist of many small, gently curved plates, each of which is individually and visibly bolted onto the core body of the warforged. The majority of a warforged's body is made of wood, and they distinctly lack any leather straps or loincloths. For the most part, the armor and wood of a warforged are pretty close to the shape of a very muscular human.

Overall, I can see a strong similarity between the warforged and previous art for golems in 3E D&D. The warforged strongly resemble Iron Golems and Shield Guardians from the 3E Monster Manual. Since the 3E Monster Manual predates Fulmetal Alchemist by a few years, I don't see any reason to claim Alphonse had any influence on the Warforged.

I don't see how I am "just being contrary" by making this argument...

 

[Scribble]

But... the posture is different in every warforged picture you posted! I really don't see the connection here. If anything they're both just modeled on a regular old suit of armor. Of course they'll be similar.

I understand what he's saying. (I think at least.)

Both are modeled on sets of armor- true. Both are also modeled on some sort of "sentience" in the armor itself.

These aren't just guys in armor. They are metalic life forms. How does one make that come across in a picture?

Thats a tricky thing for an artist to do. You can see the difference (provided you're not just ignoring it) between say the first Warforged pic, and the first one posted in Wizardru's post.


The Warforged definitely feels more organic. It's definitely not just a guy wearing armor, it IS a creature made of metal. The same is true for the FMA character.

If you look at the first piece in Wizardru's post you can see a set of armor.

But if you look at either the FMA pic, or the Warforged, even if you knew nothing about either thing, you can still tell the idea is that the armor itself is alive.

I'd say the techniques used by both the FMA artists and Franz Vohwinkle to accomplish that organicness are similar.

Is that saying he set out to draw the FMA guy?

I doubt it, but I'd be willing to bet his "teachers" contain a few manga artists.

 

[Raven Crowking]

There's only three votes.

Is that a really slow board or something? (What board is the "EN World" of anime?)

Cheers, -- N

No idea. I just googled "anime messageboard"

RC

 

[Raven Crowking]

In any case, enlisting anime fans from an anime board doesn't seem to ME to be the best way to get neutral judges, anymore than enlisting comic book fans from a comic book board would be a neutral choice. I mean, if we're trying to be all scientific about it now.

Why not?

Do we expect them to have a vested interest in whether or not anime influences exist in D&D?

Do we expect them to have a vested interest in Hussar's sig?

Do we expect them to NOT be knowledgeable about anime?

RC

 

[Klaus]

But... the posture is different in every warforged picture you posted! I really don't see the connection here. If anything they're both just modeled on a regular old suit of armor. Of course they'll be similar.

Posture, not pose.

Alphonse and all the other warforged, are squattish, with a very similar ratio between torso, arms, shoulders and legs. No human being could wear the armor that is Alphonse's body and still have human-like proportions. The proportions are quite similar in the warforged, who are also portrayed as squattish. Specially when the 'forged in question has Adamantine Body.

It's been asked "how could they be different". In more ways than they could be similar. From the Cylons to C3PO, from Battle Chaser's Calibretto to Iron Kingdom's war golems, there are litterally countless ways that a "sentient suit of armor" could be made different from the 'forged or Alphonse.

Just to reinterate: I'm not saying that the 'forged are a copy of Alphonse, or that the 'forged are "anime". What I am saying is that the designs are so close to each other that the notion of one serving as the other's inspiration isn't unlikely.

With that cleared, back to the Anime Challenge.

 

[Nifft]

It's been asked "how could they be different". In more ways than they could be similar. From the Cylons to C3PO, from Battle Chaser's Calibretto to Iron Kingdom's war golems, there are litterally countless ways that a "sentient suit of armor" could be made different from the 'forged or Alphonse.

In that sentence, "they" referred to the knees, which you had made a point of being specifically similar.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Disclaimer: I love Eberron, and I like anime. Hell, there's even a Rurouni Kenshin picture on my website, and I used to watch InuYasha daily with my wife before my son was born.

Anyone who can't see the similarities between the FMA character and the warforged race is just trying to be contrary. I had never heard of FMA before seeing the image here in EN World, and I was surprised by the similarities.

It doesn't matter if he's a suit of armor animated by a soul, while the warforged are bodies of metal, stone and wood animated by possibly a soul. I'm talking about appearances. The jaw is the LEAST similar part.

Say what, now? The latter four images are obviously part of an internally consistent design plan, while the first one looks about as different from the other four as you can get, considering the restriction that it has to look like a suit of armour. It's actually quite remarkable that they managed to make warforged look as differentiated from animated armour or iron golems as they did, while still maintaining the "armoured humanoid thing" image.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

If you can't see the similarities in the head shape, head size, eye depiction, shoulder plates, knees, gauntlets and posture, then I guess continuing with this argument is moot.

I can see that they have heads, eyes, shoulders, knees, gauntlets, and posture, but similarity? Maybe if I put them on the other side of the room and squinted my eyes a bit...