IndianaJoe3 Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 There have been claims in another thread that Hero should publish a genre book for anime. I (and others) disagree - anime is an art style, not a genre, and it can be covered in other books (as it was in HSMA). However, I'm curious - what anime material wouldn't be in other books? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
薔薇語 Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? Giant Super Mechs done right! Super Ninja with awesome magics! Tiny little girls with GIANT guns! etc. La Rose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escafarc Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? Cat Girls!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothere Posted March 19, 2011 Report Share Posted March 19, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? Well I don't know about not covered in other books, but shouting what your about to do seems more firmly rooted in anime. For example both martial arts and anime could easily have a charecter with a special kick attack they call lighting kick. But in martial arts movies would the kung fu shout lighting kick every time they used it. But there are a few anime series where the hero would shout LIGHTING KICK every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egyptoid Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? um, Kazei Five Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xavier Onassiss Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? A school girl with a katana who saves the Universe. And a few other things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rentauri Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? There have been claims in another thread that Hero should publish a genre book for anime. I (and others) disagree - anime is an art style' date=' not a genre, and it can be covered in other books (as it was in HSMA). However, I'm curious - what anime material wouldn't be in other books?[/quote'] But are they going to publish an anime section in the other books as was done in HSMA? I've got the Magic and Fantasy Hero books and they have no section denoting anime (not even tips or ideas that I remember) in them so will Star Hero contain a section of the book for anime even as the previous two examples failed to? Does the equipment book contain it? While I don't think it is a genre in itself and I do agree it is more style and art the problem I see is that except for one example an anime section isn't shown attached to any genre book or special effect book in 6th edition except for the Martial Art book. The way is it going, yes I would love to see an anime book that breaks down the powers, skills and abilities by the genre that anime mainly deals with. It could contain common templates (Vampire-anime style, Cat Girl, Robot Maid, Dumb Luck Kid, etc..) and abilities that we see such as Mecha (summon-type, transfroming-type, etc..) and the over the top nature that the style contains. While they could be talked about in books that deal with the genre they tend to exist in, they haven't been. Somethings I think is missing are Complications specific to anime like the Little Sister, the Closest or Grand Pervert. Small little special effects like Bottomless Stomach, God of Cooking, Baka Hammer (I think this exists on the forum could be wrong) and others. Another thing is something like a tips and tricks to running the style. While some anime tend to be more low keyed others don't even try and some ideas on how to tackle a fantasy world inspired by Slayers, or a Sci fi world like Project A-Ko or Techi Muyo! (would love to see Tenchi, Washu and Sasami written up) or a more modern day one such as Urusei Yatsura. I think the real need would be for the more powerful/ridiculous animes out there. This takes me back to one of my favorite characters was from the Big Eyes Small Mouth setting of Uresia:Grave of Heaven. He was a Dreed Sporting Chef travelling the islands looking for ingredients. The character was built to be able to cook food while in combat and given the inclination could drain a pond and eat everything in it leaving a empty mud hole and a neatly stacked pile of fish bones (bottomless stomach) behind. In fact Uresia was one of my favorite game worlds because it tended to blend a lot of themes that are well known with anime (Magical Girls, never and I mean never try to sneak in to Madam Ona's School, to Mecha with the Emerald Knights) in a nice and light fantasy setting. EDIT: Some other templates could be the Hero, the Kid, the Big Guy, the Stud, the Veteran, the Default Girl and the like. Were as normal Templates are more of the your Profession or Culture the Anime Templates I would think would be more were you place in the cast of the show. Of course that could be taken to be anything from comics to movies to books so maybe not but could be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escafarc Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? Well I don't know about not covered in other books, but shouting what your about to do seems more firmly rooted in anime. For example both martial arts and anime could easily have a charecter with a special kick attack they call lighting kick. But in martial arts movies would the kung fu shout lighting kick every time they used it. But there are a few anime series where the hero would shout LIGHTING KICK every time. You could also replace "LIGHTNING KICK!" with "Roadhouse!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy_The_Ruthles Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? If I thought this was a needed book (and I’m undecided on that), here is how I’d do it… I’d include a list of sub genres that specifically feel “anime”: giant mecha, magical animal fights, magical girl anime, harem animes, etc. Then I’d have a bunch of ways to cross over anime with other genres (anime fantasy, anime champions, anime star hero). Add in a bunch of anima based character concepts, tropes, plots etc. You’d want some extra optional rules to model things but I can’t think of any that aren’t “too silly”. I would try and stick with widely popular to keep anime-phobic people from needlessly hating (they will still hate but no reason to give them valid arguments). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kraven Kor Posted March 21, 2011 Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? um' date=' Kazei Five[/quote'] This? Anime is too broad a brush, as there is fantasy anime, martial arts anime, dramatic anime, teen drama anime, mecha anime, horror anime, and... uh, you know, that kind of anime But Kazei Five is fairly faithful to Sci-Fi Anime, from what I have heard. Can't wait to buy it, TBH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NuSoardGraphite Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? If I thought this was a needed book (and I’m undecided on that), here is how I’d do it… I’d include a list of sub genres that specifically feel “anime”: giant mecha, magical animal fights, magical girl anime, harem animes, etc. Then I’d have a bunch of ways to cross over anime with other genres (anime fantasy, anime champions, anime star hero). Add in a bunch of anima based character concepts, tropes, plots etc. You’d want some extra optional rules to model things but I can’t think of any that aren’t “too silly”. I would try and stick with widely popular to keep anime-phobic people from needlessly hating (they will still hate but no reason to give them valid arguments). This is the best way to do an "Anime Genre Book". You would basically create a genre book that covers all genres, but discuss in detail the specific ways in which these genres are presented in an anime style. Then, provide copious amounts of example material. For Anime Fantasy, you would have characters with magical powers who ride in Magically powered mecha. For Anime Supers, you would have an example Sentai Team and a few sample Magical Girls. For anime Sci-fi you would have sample mecha and mega-starships and example aliens to battle against. For anime Cyberpunk, you point the way to Kazei-5. It could be quite a robust book if handled properly. The main thing is the style. Anime is brimming with style. Everything is EPIC. Everything is over-the-top. Master swordsmen don't just slice trees in half, they chop buildings in half. Anime sorcerers cast magic spells that make a nuclear explosion seem tame. Magical Girls save the world every evening before bedtime and Galactic level Supermecha have the power to destroy galaxies (and I'm not even exaggerating about that one. Google Ideon) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BNakagawa Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? In order for this book to work, you're going to have to invest a considerable number of column-inches to insight into why anime is what it is. You're going to need to include mechanical system support for modeling a character's emotional/mental state. (essentially a sanity system) Anime is full of examples of characters who succeed or fail based on the state of their head/heart. Helpfully remind players that while a character that cannot be distracted from excelling at whatever the game is about is incredibly effective, it is also incredibly boring. You're going to want to include mechanical system support for modeling relationship states. (how involved they are, if the relationship is lopsided, if the relationship is public or not and so on) Relationships are often the catalyst for 'game changing' events in anime, both for positive and negative reasons. You're going to want to help people to model and track emotional growth. Many of the most important benchmarks in an anime character's story arc involve things that aren't related to combat effectiveness. You're going to want to help GMs develop relationship graphs. this sort of thing and how to use them to predict and record which sorts of events work well and poorly. Include helpful hints on how to record changes in these graphs which help to illustrate the flow of time and the way people have grown/changed. It'll be helpful to include some cultural details that will help to flesh out characters or make sense of genre conventions that translate poorly. What are the perceived defining characteristics of someone from Tokyo? Osaka? Hiroshima? Okinawa? Hokkaido? (in the future, Sendai) oh, and catgirls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmjalund Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? Sounds like we need a detailed way to make Psychological Complications grow and shrink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? um' date=' Kazei Five[/quote'] Good point. Let's not overlook what is already available. If I thought this was a needed book (and I’m undecided on that), here is how I’d do it… I’d include a list of sub genres that specifically feel “anime”: giant mecha, magical animal fights, magical girl anime, harem animes, etc. Then I’d have a bunch of ways to cross over anime with other genres (anime fantasy, anime champions, anime star hero). Add in a bunch of anima based character concepts, tropes, plots etc. You’d want some extra optional rules to model things but I can’t think of any that aren’t “too silly”. I would try and stick with widely popular to keep anime-phobic people from needlessly hating (they will still hate but no reason to give them valid arguments). This is also a good summary. Specifically I think I'd try to give a broad overview of anime, then I'd focus down to what parts the book will cover. Tropes that need Hero System builds would get priority. For example, battlesuits, giant robots, space craft, etc. are all things that could be costed out. Same with spells and over the top martial arts maneuvers. Then you need a discussion of themes for campaigns and discussion of role playing. For example, Inu Yasha is a Big Sword vs. Demon Fighting Anime, but it's also got a strong love story combined with a coming of age story and a fair bit of comedy too. Analysis of some of the popular anime like this (what elements make them up?) would be helpful in planning out a campaign. Special rules could be used -- for example, Emotion Points or something that work similar to the Hope Points in Destinations (Post-Apoch Hero). But I'm also not convinced that Anime Hero would be a big seller or anything like that. I'm certainly not planning out an anime game or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Re: Anime Hero - What would be in it? Well I don't know about not covered in other books, but shouting what your about to do seems more firmly rooted in anime. [...] But there are a few anime series where the hero would shout LIGHTING KICK every time. In Bleach they explained that on a side note: Knowing the name (and saying it) makes a difference in the power. You're going to need to include mechanical system support for modeling a character's emotional/mental state. (essentially a sanity system) Anime is full of examples of characters who succeed or fail based on the state of their head/heart. Helpfully remind players that while a character that cannot be distracted from excelling at whatever the game is about is incredibly effective, it is also incredibly boring. You're going to want to include mechanical system support for modeling relationship states. (how involved they are, if the relationship is lopsided, if the relationship is public or not and so on) Relationships are often the catalyst for 'game changing' events in anime, both for positive and negative reasons. You're going to want to help people to model and track emotional growth. Many of the most important benchmarks in an anime character's story arc involve things that aren't related to combat effectiveness. You're going to want to help GMs develop relationship graphs. this sort of thing and how to use them to predict and record which sorts of events work well and poorly. Include helpful hints on how to record changes in these graphs which help to illustrate the flow of time and the way people have grown/changed. Very good points. Especially animes with fighters (Bleach/Dragonball) put way more story in the emotional state of the protagonists, than other anime genres. Some adittional ideas: Bad-Ass Transformation: Allows you to specify a transformation/Power activation visual effect of about 5 Minutes/20 Pages but that actually only takes a half phase in game time. Basically inverted speed viewing. Groupy-power: One fights, the other stand on the line and "comment" the fight (classical Dragonball/early Yu-Gi-Oh element). It is one way to support the fighting one ("We belive in you Yugi/Son Goku/Ichigo/Ryudo..."), basically moving his emotional/mental state towards better results. Smack-Talk: In anime-battles there a often divided between phases of "intense battle" and "talking a lot about who is more powerfull". In classicaly Hero System, 2 Minutes(10 turns) of talking would allow all batling charakters to fully recover. Perhaps it would help to use a "Side effect: Drain with Delayed Retunr Rate" to represent realy energy-intensive attacks (that will conitnue to affact you, no matter how much smack talk there is going to be). Alternative "Anime-Cinematics": Define one smack talk element to have only the in-game lenght of one turn (one time crossing phase-12 segment) or even one phase (so one recovery tops; not more, since both have to "keep their guard up"). Force-Pionts: Some way to boost rolls is a must-have for every anime-style campaign, at least from my piont of view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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