My D&D Game would suffer without Anime!!!!

[The_Gunslinger658]

I resently got turned on to anime buy some fellow RPG'ers and all I can say is wow, the writers for Anime have some fantastic imaginations. I also did not realize how rich the Japanese culture was with mystical folklore.

So to sum things up, Anime has saved my D&D game and added alot depth to my thinking up new idea on how to kill player characters off and also challange them of course.

So does anybody else play D&D with an anime influence?

The old one

 

[Crothian]

No, I find that I prefer games built around the anime influences then trying to force it on D&D.

 

[Ranes]

No but if I ever want to imagine a game of D&D that's poorly animated with pubescent rape fantasies, I'll bear anime in mind.

 

[Malhost Zormaeril]

Ranes: I take it you've never seen Cowboy Bebop, then. Or Wings of Honneamise. Or Macross Plus. Granted, none of those are fantasy, but Record of Lodoss War is, and they deal with lots more interesting subjects than merely pubescent rape fantasies. But hey, to each his own.

 

[Mouseferatu]

You know, I've tried watching multiple anime shows, including some of the ones that came really highly recommended. And I've never come across one I like. Not one.

So no, no anime influence for me.

 

[WhatGravitas]

What do you mean with "Anime Influences"? Because that's wide field (compare the over-the-top-stuff [InuYasha & Co.] with very serious stuff [Witch Hunter Robin] and plain weird stuff [Rozen Maiden]).

I dislike the over-the-top Wuxia-like dynamic of some animes, so this part doesn't influence my D&D. On the other hand, the stories, as well as some motivations of villains are very "pluckable".

So, no megasword-anime influences. But some of the ideas of some story arcs/characterizations, certainly.

 

[Aeric]

I've played in games before which had strong anime influences, but never D&D. My last D&D campaign was in a homebrewed world which introduced mecha, but beyond the actual existence of the mecha it didn't really have any anime influences. Of course, I draw my inspiration from multiple sources - books, comics, anime, illustrations - so there is a little bit of anime in all of my games. But nothing so all-pervasive as to earn the title "anime-style."

I haven't picked up Book of Nine Swords yet, but it sounds like something that would work well in an anime-style game.

 

[The_Gunslinger658]

Hi ya-

For me, Inuyasha and Outlaw Star are big influences in my campaign, I plan to handout big swords with nice damage bonuses against demons. I also plan to include a crossbow and Bolts that operate like Jean Starwinds Castergun.

Yup, Cowboy Bebop is classic, a nice traveller campaign can be built around that series I think.


Scott

 

[Ranes]

Ranes: I take it you've never seen...

You're right. I haven't seen those, although Lodoss War is familiar in as much as it's been recommended by someone who I know well enough to take seriously. My experience of anime, however, has left me with nothing but unpleasant recollection, despite apparently having seen some of the best of what the genre has to offer, and I'm in no hurry to see any more.

 

[Tarek]

Anime is a style of film animation, not a genre in and of itself.

Within that style there are dozens of genres, everything from serious science fiction to nonsensical comedies to, well, to extremely violent pornography.

That said, I've never used anything anime in any of my games... yet.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig describe a very interesting "cyberpunk" future that I would actually consider as a setting for a cyberpunk or Dark Champions type campaign.

If I were going for comedic fantasy, I'd pull up Slayers! That anime was based on a manga that appeared in the Japanese editions of Dragon Magazine, just like Record of Lodoss Wars, which was a manga that was based on someone's actual D&D campaign.

But there really aren't many good anime out there. Too many of them are adolescent power fantasies or nihilistic "oh this world is but a dream so I don't have any problem with wiping it out in ways that don't make sense because, you know, it's just easier to become one with death" stories.