×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Rolling The Dice: The Very Best RPG Anime


Goto page 1, 2  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
BodaciousSpacePirate
Subscriber



Joined: 17 Apr 2015
Posts: 3017
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 1:25 pm Reply with quote
I always really enjoyed the LARP-inspired stuff in D-Frag. That whole show is one big love letter to tabletop and video games, and is my go-to recommendation for gamers who are interested in checking out an "afterschool club" series.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Otaku-sempai



Joined: 27 Mar 2017
Posts: 118
Location: Lackawanna, NY
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 1:49 pm Reply with quote
Speaking of spin-offs from Lodoss War, what about Record of Grancrest War? I would have thought it was at least worth a mention.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18135
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 2:16 pm Reply with quote
Otaku-sempai wrote:
Speaking of spin-offs from Lodoss War, what about Record of Grancrest War? I would have thought it was at least worth a mention.

I actually forgot about that one, but it also strikes me as having much more of a computer/console rather than TTRPG feel to it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
Otaku-sempai



Joined: 27 Mar 2017
Posts: 118
Location: Lackawanna, NY
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 2:57 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
I actually forgot about that one, but it also strikes me as having much more of a computer/console rather than TTRPG feel to it.

Fair enough! Cool
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Triltaison



Joined: 03 Jul 2011
Posts: 717
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 3:07 pm Reply with quote
I always really enjoyed the D&D-flavored anime of the '80s and '90s. That episode from Slayers where they're exploring a tomb or whatever and various people keep triggering traps and getting separated was one of my favorite examples of that.

I feel like the El-Hazard franchise had some elements going on like split party mechanics, but there are far better examples listed already for pen and paper RPGs. The only other anime that come to mind right now are Rune Soldier and Tower of Druaga. The latter is definitely based on an old arcade/computer game, but an early one borrowing mechanics from pen and paper RPGs.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
WingKing



Joined: 27 Apr 2015
Posts: 617
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 3:25 pm Reply with quote
Triltaison wrote:
I feel like the El-Hazard franchise had some elements going on like split party mechanics, but there are far better examples listed already for pen and paper RPGs. The only other anime that come to mind right now are Rune Soldier and Tower of Druaga. The latter is definitely based on an old arcade/computer game, but an early one borrowing mechanics from pen and paper RPGs.


I was going to bring up Rune Soldier, which definitely reminded me of gaming sessions I've run or been in where I'd have four or five serious players, and then there'd be that one goofball who just wanted to mess around and have fun doing whatever and would end up driving the rest of the players crazy because he refused to take it seriously.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
michizure



Joined: 28 Jun 2006
Posts: 177
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 6:18 pm Reply with quote
Rune Soldier shares the same author and is supposedly set in the same universe as Record of Lodoss Wars (etc.), so the connection isn't surprising. It always seemed to me that Magic Knight Rayearth (and maybe Visions of Escaflowne) was self-consciously an RPG setting, although in an early enough era that the line between table-top and console RPG was a lot fuzzier. Grimgar seems very much like what you get from wondering what your RPG characters' lives are really like in first person.

In modern settings, Haiyore Nyaruko-chan is at least aware of the Call of Cthulhu RPG -- there are multiple references to SAN points -- and one season features Cthulhu dice from Steve Jackson Games on the eyecatch.

I spend more time on science fiction RPG's than fantasy, though. Titles like Plastic Little, Sol Bianca, Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop, and Planetes are the most game-able, whether they originated there or not. The late Loren Wiseman from Game Designer's Workshop was familiar with Legends of the Galactic Heroes, and told me he thought it was a good match for Traveller.

The all-time cross-over champ, however, is Crest/Banner of the Stars. With the detailed background and mostly realistic physics, it could be played right out of the box. I have sometimes wondered whether Morioka Hiroyuki wasn't influenced by Traveller, especially in the mechanics of his FTL system: it seems like a reasonable attempt to lampshade Traveller's two-dimensional starmaps.

Sometimes the influence runs the other way, with TTRPG supplements for anime and manga properties. The now-defunct Guardians of Order gaming company produced a line of licensed RPG supplements for shows like Slayers, Tenchi Muyo!/El Hazard/Dual!, Serial Experiments Lain, and even Sailor Moon for their anime-themed Big Eyes Small Mouth RPG. Dreampod 9's Jovian Chronicles was explicitly anime-inspired and -modeled, as was the Teenagers from Outer Space RPG from R. Talsorian Games.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Covnam



Joined: 31 May 2005
Posts: 3627
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 6:55 pm Reply with quote
Great article! Not surprised in the least to see Lodoss lead things off. It's definitely a favorite of mine for many reasons including those mentioned here. Nice to see lot's of series I've enjoyed mentioned along with one or two I'll have to check out now =)

Not an anime, but Dexter's Lab had an entire episode dedicated to a D&D session, quickly making it a top episode for me.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
FireChick
Subscriber



Joined: 26 Mar 2006
Posts: 2385
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 7:59 pm Reply with quote
Personally, one of my favorites is an obscure one called Popolocrois Monogatari from 1998. The anime is technically a sequel to an equally obscure game from 1996, and it has a very chibified style, so needless to say, hardly anyone knew about it. But I watched it on a whim and I just found it so charming and sweet and awesome that I fell in love with it. More anime like it need to be made, and the characters are all amazing in their own ways. Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ninjamitsuki



Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Posts: 589
Location: Anywhere (Thanks, technology)
PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 11:44 pm Reply with quote
I've only ever played a tabletop RPG once in my life, but I can confirm the joke about how you want it to be like Record of Lodoss War but it always ends up like Slayers, every single time.

Screw that, Slayers is being generous. Mine ended up like Dragon Half. Laughing


Last edited by ninjamitsuki on Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:17 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Fred Lougee



Joined: 01 Oct 2018
Posts: 127
PostPosted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 6:09 am Reply with quote
In regards to Goblin Slayer, all the classic table top references, especially the "we can't call it a Beholder or we'll get sued" moment made me smile.

One thing which annoys me in MMO-based animes is a character who has a pop-up screen and health and magic bars. That's now how things work in the real world or in any viable fantasy world so why should it work that way in Whateverland? If the characters are not game-players, a la the principles in SAO or Ainz in Overlord then it shouldn't.

Third point: The feel of Grimgar, all the things you mentioned. They were what made be think that instead of an isekai the anime should be classified as "trapped in a game" along side Log Horizon and the first season of SAO. My guess, rather unpopular, was that it was a VRMMO wherein players started out with their prior memories erased, and that was one of the selling points of the game. It makes for a more realistic session if you don't know it's not real. Also, that little bit about nobody remembering the past is the biggest thing that says it's NOT an isekai because every single isekai ever made is based around the premise of the MC having an advantage over the indigenous types thanks to some item or knowledge he or she brings from this world.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Otaku-sempai



Joined: 27 Mar 2017
Posts: 118
Location: Lackawanna, NY
PostPosted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 9:14 am Reply with quote
Back in the bad old days when most anime in the U.S. was being viewed on third-generation VHS tapes, my gaming buddies and I were referring to Crusher Joe as 'the Traveller movie'. This was before some of the ships and mecha for Crusher Joe began showing up in Battletech and Mech Warrior.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
EngrishFan



Joined: 15 Jul 2006
Posts: 75
Location: Somewhere in chilly Canada
PostPosted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 9:33 am Reply with quote
This *might* be a stretch on my part but I saw some hints TTRPG elements in the two seasons of Thunderbolt Fantasy. Granted, this might be due to a lot of the characters fitting the mold of various character classes from D&D 3rd-5th editions, but if I remember correctly one of the characters in the 2nd season (or rather the "actor" from Gen Urobuchi's star system) was directly influenced by many characters Urobuchi rolled for his tabletop campaigns.

The series was much more based on Wuxia, though, so like I said the connections I'm seeing might be a stretch and any D&D similarities could just be due to common tropes.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
John Thacker



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 1006
PostPosted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 2:21 pm Reply with quote
I would say that Rage of Bahamut has some tabletop RPG elements in it. Though it comes through a card battler computer RPG, the end result has a lot of more Lodoss style elements to it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
kucinglaper



Joined: 25 Jun 2013
Posts: 23
PostPosted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 10:59 pm Reply with quote
EngrishFan wrote:
This *might* be a stretch on my part but I saw some hints TTRPG elements in the two seasons of Thunderbolt Fantasy. Granted, this might be due to a lot of the characters fitting the mold of various character classes from D&D 3rd-5th editions, but if I remember correctly one of the characters in the 2nd season (or rather the "actor" from Gen Urobuchi's star system) was directly influenced by many characters Urobuchi rolled for his tabletop campaigns.

The series was much more based on Wuxia, though, so like I said the connections I'm seeing might be a stretch and any D&D similarities could just be due to common tropes.


There are two actually, the monk and his sword. Those two are from Red Dragon TRPG, which Chaos Dragon is based of. CD changed a lot of things about those two though, The ones from TBF are closer to the Red Dragon version, down to their ending (in a way).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group