All posts by draggle

Shingeki no Kyojin 10 — Goodbye Angst (I Hope)

Shingeki no Kyojin,

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As in seemingly every anime ever made (particularly of the shounen variety), the characters in Shingeki no Kyojin this week confronted two questions of utmost importance: 1) should Eren ditch his friends and go it alone, and 2) is Armin completely useless. The answers are 1) no and 2) no. Big surprise. Hopefully we’ve worked all this out of our system now and we get back to kicking giant ass with pneumatic grappling hooks next week. Continue reading Shingeki no Kyojin 10 — Goodbye Angst (I Hope) →

Valvrave the Liberator 09 — TRRAANNSS-AAIINNAA

Valvrave the Liberator,

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This week we move onto the traditional themes of accepting the importance of your own happiness, getting mad when other people decide to help you fight, and pink naked space ghosts. All of these are necessary in any mecha anime, so it’s no surprise they’re making an appearance in Valvrave. Continue reading Valvrave the Liberator 09 — TRRAANNSS-AAIINNAA →

Hataraku Maou-sama! 10 — Maou Sadao, Crocodile Tamer

Hataraku Maou-sama,

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Well okay. Pretty epic music and 3D effects for… this. It would be fine if they were building up for some big joke, but they just had Maou tame the crocodiles and proceeded to ignore them completely. All for the sake of convincing Suzuno that Maou isn’t completely evil.

And anyway, I thought we’d been through all these self-doubts over Maou’s wickedness before with Emi. Is there really a need to go through it all again? Continue reading Hataraku Maou-sama! 10 — Maou Sadao, Crocodile Tamer →

The Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine RPG Kickstarter

Discussion

This may be of interest to some of you so I thought I’d pass word along.  One of our readers contacted me regarding a project she is working on: “an anime-influenced tabletop RPG with a strong Utena influence.” She’s currently running a kickstarter to gather funding for it, and the base goal has already been met.

Some more details from Jenna:

The Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine RPG is a guidebook to finding magic and wonder in your everyday life. It’s designed for telling charming little fantasy stories with, heart-lifting and soul-cheering stories, things to leave you with a smile; as well, of course, as a couple of doses of laughter, adventure, and fun.

I’m hoping that this game, in forum and tabletop play, can help gaming groups tell stories like those you see in Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Tutu, Princess Mononoke, and Revolutionary Girl Utena—stories of personal growth and the wondrous qualities both people and the world set against a haunting or eccentric backdrop. (I suspect it’ll also be good for projects you’ve covered like Valvrave, From the New World, and Mawaru Penguindrum but I haven’t fully tested that out even in my head.)

Support the kickstarter if you’re interested! I’m a backer (although I know absolutely nothing about tabletop RPGs).