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

[Ranger REG]

Funny, no one mentioned Lodoss War here. :\

 

[thedungeondelver]

Funny, no one mentioned Lodoss War here. :\

I've seen RECORD OF LODOSS WAR and I understand that it was based on the creators (Moldvay Basic!) D&D campaign. I just didn't care for it all that much. It started off good; I was all about seeing a Japanese treatment of western fantasy but it sort of...I dunno, lost something.

 

[Alzrius]

I love anime a lot, but I don't think it influences my game at all, whether I DM or play a PC.

Simply put, anime is most correctly defined as animation produced by the Japanese people for (primarily) domestic consumption. Given that there's no other commonality, I'm not too sure what a generic "anime influence" would be.

And don't even get me started on all the people who seem to think they're avant-garde for hating anime.

 

[Sejs]

And don't even get me started on all the people who seem to think they're avant-garde for hating anime.

It's one of those basic truths. If there's something popular, somebody will get the bright idea in their head that they can appear cool by being distainful of it.

 

[Ranger REG]

I've seen RECORD OF LODOSS WAR and I understand that it was based on the creators (Moldvay Basic!) D&D campaign. I just didn't care for it all that much. It started off good; I was all about seeing a Japanese treatment of western fantasy but it sort of...I dunno, lost something.

IIRC, there are two versions of Lodoss War.

 

[deClench]

To the OP, I'm with you. I love anime. Absolutely, I don't like it all just like I don't like all RPGs or all comic books or all American movies or all whatever. However, nothing has inspired me more over the past year than anime.

What does it do for my game? Mostly a fresh perspective. Different ways to look at things. Interesting new bits--whether mecha or magic. Crazy concepts. Ideas on interaction.

There is most certainly room for "anime" in D&D if one has the desire for it. BTW, Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop are two of my favorites too.

Cheers.

 

[Sejs]

IIRC, there are two versions of Lodoss War.

There are? I had no idea.

I knew there're two (possibly more) series related to it - the original Record of Lodoss War and Chronicles of the Heroic Knight - but the Chronicles came later, had a different storyline, and wern't as good. Sort of the Lodoss version of Phantom Menace, but without being a prequel.

 

[zerotkatama]

I can't believe Vision of Escaflowne hasn't been mentioned yet. This series has a little bit of everything for everyone, is blended well, and has great music and dialogue. The plot's interesting too.

 

[Soel]

Not the biggest anime fan either, but...

The Robotech series (american combination/remix of 3 japanese series) had a big infuence on me since childhood as far as character development and storytelling.

More recently, the series Now and Then, Here and There was really good for displaying the effects of war on a person caught up in it.

FLCL is great for its odd-ness.

A more direct fantasy-themed one that might be of interest is Weathering Continent.
Kinda Wilderlands-ish to me. (warning, though, it plays like there should be subsequent parts, but there weren't.)

I'm also enjoying the manga Blame! and its relatives. (the earth is now a massive dungeon filled with silicate adversaries.)

 

[Psion]

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

I really think your stereotyping is no better than Ranes'. Anime has instances as far apart in quality as Lord of the Rings and Trancers and as far apart in tone as... Lord of the Rings and Ella Enchanted.

I have found the likes of Record of Lodoss War (obviously), Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle to be outstanding inspirations for D&D and find no need to resort to other systems.