Quick question to people who are well-versed in fantasy anime and manga: Why do they have magic users with that C shaped staff head? and why do armors usually have huge and sharp pauldrons?

idk it's prob from chrono trigger or something

>>280062003 (OP)
90s pauldron kino

90s pauldrons are peak fantasy aesthetics

You got me deep researching the ties between Tolkienian influence and anime. So basically in the 1980s there were a bunch of obscure dungeons and dragons based computer games, culminating with Dragon Quest and Legend of Zelda and that basically inspired all the Tolkienian stuff in anime.

>>280062003 (OP)
Exaggerated pauldrons are just an aspect of character/costume design to develop unique silhouettes. It's pretty common outside anime too.

>>280062429
Also record of Lodoss war

>>280062003 (OP)
The staff thing is just so you can either have a crystal or orb floating in the middle to make it look extra magical or so that you can have spells form in the empty space.
The pauldrons, idk. Big pauldrons crops up in the west too (Warhammer, Warcraft, etc.), so I think some people just think it's cool. I suppose it projects a more overt fantastical aesthetic than mundane, regular size pauldrons.

>>280062003 (OP)
Just want to add that Ruin Explores is criminally under rated and deserved a whole season.

>>280062003 (OP)
>C shaped staff
wtf

>>280062429
Dragon Quest began as a translated Wizardry with art by Toriyama.

>>280062003 (OP)
It's part of Saturn worship. It's slightly modified Saturn scythe symbol on longer stick.
It's also sometimes called a moon staff. How deep you want to dig?

>>280062003 (OP)
I love these kinds of classic fantasy anime designs

>>280067530
Check wizardry variant daphne

>>280065538
Let's go deeper. Have any reading recommendations?

>>280067839
Gods of eden by bramley

>>280062003 (OP)
>Why do they have magic users with that C shaped staff head?
It's because they are followers of Allah, for there is no magic but the miracles of Allah.

>>280069079
Allah is just name for a moon god

Probably a style derived from the limited tech at the time. Like why Mario had a hat and gloves. Also it just looks cool.
Looking back it's mind boggling how much soul a throw away anime like Ruin Explores has over the fucking slop made today.

>>280062429
>>280065385
In the case of those, I think some of the wizard aesthetic was influenced by bishops or monks, and those staffs were inspired by the shepherd's crook, given that by following Christ they were also evoking the image of te good Shepherd. Which I think may go full circle with how bishop-like are clerics. Pic almost related.

>>280062003 (OP)
>usually have huge and sharp pauldrons?
Because it was rad as fuck

>>280069967
I want to grope her ears

>>280063168
Fuck yeah it is. Great OVA. I'd have loved to see more adventures with this guys.

>and why do armors usually have huge and sharp pauldrons?

It's not complicated. Broader shoulders generally create a more striking and heroic image. And characters were meant to represent classic images of heroism.

>>280070003
I liked everyone in this OVA adventure. Really wanted more...

>>280062072
Chrono Trigger doesn't have a single staff user.

>>280062003 (OP)
Warcraft has some pretty ridiculous pauldrons, it's just a game thing

>>280070119
This guy has one of my favorite art styles

>>280062003 (OP)
Bros, im gonna be real with you all...but i miss this art style so badly

>>280069326
It’s abrahamic god you retard

>>280070215
This is not a controversial statement

>>280062003 (OP)
F.am my maifu.
I need RuinExplorers in BluRay, I demand it.
Thats all.

I hate how we have dozens of fantasy isekai slop shows every year but almost all of them have completely mundane character designs. fantasy should have bikini armor or else it's pointless.

>>280070672
Im happy to have a DVD copy. My cheap VHS tape corroded years ago.

>>280069642
Actually Mario...

>>280062429
>deep researching
>its the most surface level info literally everyone knows

>>280070672
You and me both, friend.
>>280070863
My VHS copes still hold up and I have both this and the remaster DVD which looks nice enough but I want glorious crisp BD.

>>280062003 (OP)
In many ancient cultures, staffs and rods symbolized authority, leadership, and spiritual power. For example, kings and priests often carried scepters or staffs to signify their status. When applied to mages, the staff became a visual cue of their mastery over mystical forces.

Practical Tool for Focus and Channeling:
A staff or wand serves as a physical conduit to focus magical energy. Historically, it was believed that these implements could help channel, amplify, or direct a mage’s power more effectively than unaided will alone.

Historical and Cultural Influence:
Throughout history, many cultures used staffs or wands in rituals, ceremonies, and healing practices. For instance:
The caduceus (a staff with intertwined serpents) associated with Hermes, symbolizing negotiation and communication.
The sacred staffs in Egyptian, Greek, and Roman traditions often represented divine authority or connection to the gods.

Literary and Artistic Traditions:
Medieval and Renaissance alchemical texts, fairy tales, and mythological stories often depicted wizards and sorcerers with staffs or wands, reinforcing this imagery in popular culture. These representations became standardized, influencing modern fantasy portrayals.

Practical in Rituals and Performances:
In historical magical practices, staffs were used in ritual gestures, ceremonies, and performances, reinforcing their association with magic and mysticism.

In summary:
The use of rods and staffs by mages stems from a blend of symbolic meaning—signifying authority, wisdom, and spiritual power—and practical considerations for focusing and channeling magical energy. Over centuries, this imagery was reinforced through cultural, religious, and literary traditions, cementing the staff's place as a quintessential tool of the mage in both historical and fictional contexts.

Possible Inspirations and Symbolism

C-shaped or Crescent Symbols:
The crescent shape is a powerful symbol across many cultures—representing the moon, femininity, cycles, or divine power. Staffs or scepters with crescent shapes could symbolize lunar power or spiritual insight.

Cranes and Birds in Mythology:
Cranes are often symbols of longevity, wisdom, and spiritual elevation in East Asian cultures. A staff or ceremonial object shaped like a crane might symbolize these qualities.

Jewels and Sacred Stones:
The space for a jewel suggests a focus on a sacred or magical stone—possibly a gem that channels or amplifies power, or a symbolic "eye" or "heart" of the staff.

Historical or Artistic Artifacts:
Scepters or staffs with embedded jewels have been used in royal and religious contexts, often with intricate shapes and symbols.
Some magical or ceremonial objects in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, or India incorporated animal motifs and embedded stones as sources of divine or mystical power.

In Fantasy and Modern Interpretations

In fantasy art or storytelling, such an object could symbolize a crescent moon staff or scepter with a jewel representing a source of mystical energy, perhaps used by a mage or priestess connected to lunar or celestial forces.
Summary

While there isn't a direct, well-known historical artifact exactly matching a "C-shaped staff or crane with a space for a jewel," the concept combines:

The symbolic crescent shape (moon, femininity, cycles)
The crane or bird motif (wisdom, longevity)
An embedded jewel (power, focus, sacred energy)

>>280070863
>>280071172

That was one of the first animu DVDs I bought. Remember watching a trailer on another ADV DVD and that was it.
Now I find really fun those "INTERACTIVE MENUS" as a selling point in the description.

Also own the Maiden Japan DVD, which supposedly has better video quality, but I still havent watched it. Downloaded the JAPR2DVD rip and thats it.
I just hope someday Discotek upscales it and releases it. The designs, colors, animation and art is top stuff, even on DVD quality.

Check out the mand as well, not long, but offers more RuinEx goodness. I remember it being way different that the anime, but more F.am is all I need.

>>280070215
Can never remember if this guy did also Xenogears or Saga designs.
But Im sure he also worked on Solatorobo's.

>>280070067
Was there a dog? I don't remember a Lodoss dog.

>>280065385
It did? I thought it was started when Yuji Hori contacted Enix about making a game and they got him with Koichi Sugiyama because he liked vidya music and was a fan of Enix.

>>280071141
I didn't know that Legend Of Zelda came out in 1986

>>280071366
He did Xenosaga and some Ys stuff

>>280069837
I think a mage/witch design likely intends to be more of an occultist or 'witch' (whether from lore, Wiccan, etc.) and the rod representing nature. In contrast to the 'priest'. Yet there may be an-historical, overlap where occultists draw from sacred traditions. Both being spiritual traditions. For example, occultists drawing from the Qabbalah but that formerly being a sacred tradition. Or the idea of a ritual existing in both. These concepts showing up in SMT.

>>280071386
Not in the OVA proper but the artist really likes that breed of dog so he's always drawing them.

>>280062003 (OP)
A staff with a gem or a crooked top is just the stereotypical magic staff, to make it look more interesting than a straight stick.

>>280070782
Vanadis was good. Sometimes proper fantasy like it or Guin Saga will still get made but it feels like it always gets drowned out and never catches on like it should.

>>280070067
Wait, that dog...

>>280072266
really for a lot of this stuff you often need to just look at the practical answers. It's simply done to make the image more interesting. There's only so many ways you can draw a stick

>>280071306
>That was one of the first animu DVDs I bought. Remember watching a trailer on another ADV DVD and that was it.
>Now I find really fun those "INTERACTIVE MENUS" as a selling point in the description.
are you me?

>>280072454
The early days of DVD were funny like that.

>>280072490
Extras:
HIGHLY INTERACTIVE MENUS
HYPERLINK TO OUR WEBSITE

I still loved the jump to DVD though.
>Chapter Select
No more rewinds, fug yes
>multiple audios
Not that I would ever use dubs, but OK
>multiple angles
Now thats somethiing I haven't read in a while, either BDs dont / can't use these, or they werent a popular feature. It was cool in band concerts DVDs.

>>280072946
>hyperlinks to websites
>implies you should have a DVD reader in your PC
god damn I feel old, and nostalgic
it felt like magic of discovery
which what anime was for animation obsessives

>>280072946
>Not that I would ever use dubs, but OK

I like the dub. This is honestly probably some of ADV's best work. They commit. Rasha and Miguel especially. Also the dog has a Mutley laugh.

>>multiple angles
I don't think I've EVER seen that.

>>280072946
BDs can have multiple angles, it's just an unpopular feature. Personally the only use I know of is some movies that change languages of signs directly in the scenes themself (without subs)

>>280072096
Based

>>280069642
What makes you call Ruin Explorers a "throw away anime"?

>>280071536
Same, I thought it came out in like '88 or '89

Here you go and sayonara.

>>280062003 (OP)
Back in the day people used to eat well and had large shoulders, requiring large pauldrons for proper protection. Now that humanity has onions-i-fied, these look weird to the present human who has been nutritionally challenged since their birth.

>>280073856
Nice knowing you F am

>>280073875
It was a tribute to our one lord and savior, Murphy Brown.

>>280073856
>my delicious perfect F-am
>hairy
>black hairy

ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING.
Thanks for yours service though.

>>280074118
Even her ears are hairy man. But yeah,that colour was a mistake.

>>280072266
maybe the gem gives it magical powah

>>280073856
I'll see you in 3 days

>>280062238
>>280062340
This.

>>280070003
>>280070119
It woulda been nice if Slayers had just stopped at Try and they continued this instead.

>>280073856
your sacrifice will not be in vain

And she did. And he drew it. So I'll share it.
https://files.catbox.moe/7k9965.jpg
https://files.catbox.moe/ld3v5g.jpg
https://files.catbox.moe/tt4me2.jpg
https://files.catbox.moe/0252ov.jpg
https://files.catbox.moe/8v38rr.jpg

>>280073856
What the fuck is wrong with her ribs? AI slop?

>>280078482
I recognize that art... it was a Secret Plot, NeW MaN cannot miss.

>>280070119
Why are warrior women SO STACKED

>>280062003 (OP)
Since it is loosely based on western mysticism it is essentially the crescent moon and star. People attribute that to goat fuckers but it has many roots. of course Japs paid less attention to that and changed it to be so heavily stylized a foreigner would fail to get it right away.

>>280070782
Loved Vanadis, loved Eleonore. It's a shame the author decided to simp for the flat blue gremlin and rewrote the whole series and now it's faded into obscurity.
I don't hate Ludmila but I don't think rewriting the whole series was necessary

>>280080758
She was the most popular girl

>>280080758
The first series ended. Harem. It less a rewrite and more a basically just pulling a Tenchi and trying to milk the brand.

>>280080774
Weird that he'd change her design and personality completely then.

>>280080774
Yeah but the reboot changed literally everything about the original Ludmila. Short hair to long ponytail, translucent skirt to regular skirt, very tsundere to only slight tsundere. Might as well have been a whole new character

>>280062003 (OP)
Is this yuri?

>>280082542
No. Not even implicitly. Fuck off.

>>280065385
You clearly haven't played Wizardry or Dragon Quest.

Pauldron represente ultimate power.
If you don't have pauldron you might as well not exist.

Tomboys

>>280083408
WHO YA CALLING A TOMBOY! I'LL CUT YOUR GODDAMN FACE OFF!!

>>280078482
Nice doujin. She was the only good thing about that series.

>>280083408

>>280083437

>>280083434
Rasha english voice actress also voice Naga in Slayers

>>280062003 (OP)
>sharp pauldrons
It was the 80s-90s, when the worth of a man or woman was determined by the size and pointiness of their shoulders.

>>280082542
Kind of, ignore the other anti retard

>>280082542
even if it was
yuri is hot

>>280083546
Didn't watch the dub but I can imagine that. Though I still prefer Rasha.

>>280062003 (OP)
It resembles the inverted Lamed ל. Probably it has something to do with that. Or maybe is the moon and the star thing. I dunno.

>>280062003 (OP)
>Just watched that yesterday
Feels surreal to see it in the catalog.

>>280070230
Abrahamic god is a god of moon and water.

>>280083408
She is a typical dyke though

>>280083022
movies Lina > tv Lina
Her tv design is just so meh in comparison

>>280062003 (OP)
C-shaped staffs are clearly meant for having a gem in the middle.

>>280069837
>those staffs were inspired by the shepherd's crook,
This. Also, they were used to grab a naughty/fugitive sheep by its neck and bring it back to the herd.

>>280085833
Dykes are still attractive. She did not mind the Prince's compliments on referring Irie as "an amazing woman".

>>280086326
>"Woah Mama! You're a girl?!"

>>280063168
It looks interesting.

>>280085950
novel Lina > movies Lina > tv Lina

>>280082542
Somehow this OVA continues to bait people, it's actually impressive.

It seems unusual to me to that a beastgirl is a mage in the party. Having them be Dex-based fighters or rogues happens more often, I think.

>>280087182
>>280088652
Why is he Mexican?

>>280088652
total catgirl impregnation

Merlin's staff was a walking stick. English walking sticks have curved handles. They even have a martial art based on them. You are all retarded.

>>280073977
That episode at the truck stop explains succinctly what happened to 4chan.

>>280080445
They buy larger breastplates than they need to encourage imagination.

>>280062238
Loved them in Claymore (though it's early '00s)

because shoulder pads are fucking RAD

>>280062003 (OP)
>looks like an elf
>is actually a catgirl

Its crazy how rare elves were in anime until the mid 2000s

>>280088652
Back then, I was actually surprised when she just leaves him at the end because she'd rather keep going on adventures with her partner

>>280086326
>Beware my blade, boy.

>>280062003 (OP)
BECAUSE THEY CAN

>>280063168
Should have had more actual ruin exploring with the catgirl duo instead of bait and switching into generic protag shit. Still good but could have been so much better.

>>280095825
You could say the exploring was ruined.

>>280062003 (OP)
Just watched episode 1 for the first time. Very nice, will finish later. The girls are so cute

>>280070232
>her name is Senpai
That's crazy senpai

>>280093632
Wiccan, sir

Since this is the "fantasy anime history buff" thread, do you know what's funny?

Brown-skinned elves (and totally-not-elves like Fa*m) did not really exist in Fantasy, regardless of Eastern or Western, in large numbers until Lodoss War. You might find extremely fringe, obscure examples of brown elves in some book nobody's read but the idea of brown-skinned elves was ludicrous and unheard of.
Lodoss War was based on Dungeons and Dragons, and Pirotess was supposed to be a Drow/Dark Elf. The illustrator for Lodoss War was unfamiliar with DnD, and mistook the description of black skin for being brown, since we call Africans black when they're really brown. Pirotess and Lodoss War was already popular so they couldn't really change it, and for a while brown elves was almost entirely a Japanese fantasy phenomenon until they started popping up in Western fantasy media in the last few decades.
Chocolate elves is anime's greatest mistake and I wouldn't have it any other way.

>>280098167
Well yeah, in Tolkien's work, dark elves were a bunch of pale forest dwellers. The reason they were called "dark" was because they didn't make the sea voyage to behold the light of the two trees of Valinor. It had nothing to do with their skin tone.

>>280098304
We're not talking about Tolkien Elves though. Lord of The Rings was never a direct influence on Japanese fantasy since LOTR didn't really have a following in Japan. Japanese fantasy is directly based on video games inspired by tabletop games which were more in line with D&D and pulp fantasy. Also Japanese tabletop fantasy RPGs like Sword World too.

It's why nearly every fantasy anime going back to the late 80s feels so game-y, either on terms of character motivations, or game mechanics being a part of the world, like an emphasis on dungeons, questing, or treasure hunting.

>>280098714
It's not that Tolkien didn't have ANY influence but a lot of classic DnD takes more cues from Lieber or REH.

>>280098714
>It's why nearly every fantasy anime going back to the late 80s feels so game-y, either on terms of character motivations, or game mechanics being a part of the world, like an emphasis on dungeons, questing, or treasure hunting.
Oh, I'm not doubting that. Adventurers' guilds and similar concepts would never work outside of hyper-game-like settings.

>>280098771
That's why I said Tolkien wasn't a DIRECT influence. It's impossible to find traditional fantasy that isn't influenced by Tolkien, even if the creator of said fantasy has never engaged with Tolkien ever. I'm saying that Lord of the Rings was never directly influential on Japanese fantasy since LOTR was never popular in Japan and Japan only started to give a shit about fantasy with the rise of RPGs in the 80s.

>>280098714
Character motivations were classic story stuff. Games took from them not the other way around. A person wants revenge, someone wants an object or they need to get a thing to a place. All of this is classic adventure story stuff. Ihrie has a curse. Wants to get magical item to remove said curse. Magical items are immensely powerful and can make you rich as hell so other people want them too. That's not game shit.

>>280099137
Adventurers guilds as a concept make my blood boil. There such anathema to actual quest design and what adventuring should be about. I had to explain this to one my DnD buddies but this is the difference between heroes on a epic adventuring and the town rat catchers.

>>280099223
>Japan only started to give a shit about fantasy with the rise of RPGs in the 80s.
Bear in mind also that Teito Monogatari started in 1983.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teito_Monogatari

>>280099328
>There such anathema to actual quest design and what adventuring should be about.
I mean, let's be honest, adventuring barely makes sense in a fantasy setting. Most people would just be peasants raising crops.

>>280099137
Adventurer's Guilds are just "You all meet in a tavern" getting memed to the point of ritual

>>280099407
And many fantasy heroes have such humble origins. But then there's a call to adventure and you find yourself in the thick of it. It's all part of the heroes journey. And even then you can just as easily have your players be knights, soldiers, mercenaries, hunters, mage adepts, clerics in training etc.

>>280099465
Meeting in a tavern is fine. The problem with guilds is that they functionally become a quest board and instead of having a genuine adventure you're running around doing side quests with no purpose.

>>280099398
I think the distinction is between "fantasy" and "supernatural fiction". Japan has always had tons of stories about monsters and superhumans, but they were generally set in the real world as things that had either happened long ago or were being covered up by the government; entirely constructed worlds were more rare.

>>280099536
>The problem with guilds is that they functionally become a quest board and instead of having a genuine adventure you're running around doing side quests with no purpose.
Every time I've been in a campaign with some kind of guild or quest board, it was essentially just a tool for the DM to give the players a couple straightforward sessions for everyone to get their bearings while he gets a feel for the party. If you're not going into the campaign with a grand plan for the story already in mind, it's a fine tool for breaking in the group before you move on to more serious stuff.

>>280099990
It's a matter of framing. You can just as easily get the ball rolling with any number quest sponsors. It adds nothing that can't be achieved by "The local lord" or any number of justifications. Most any campaign is gonna start out with easy encounters before fighting the big stuff. And you should at least have some kind of outline for you quest before you start. That's just lack of preparedness. a good DM adapts but he also prepares.

>>280099407
>adventuring barely makes sense in a fantasy setting
It just means you need to make a setting where a guildful of people selling violence/oddjobs involving possible violence makes sense. Like, if adventuring exist as an occupation, there will be places where adventurers gather to resupply, share news, get hired. A financial service akin to that employed by merchant guilds might spring in response to that. Banking, appraising, researching, mapping. collating knowledge, getting priority buy rights for whatever adventurers dredge up.

>>280099849
Isn't Urban Fantasy a staple in LNs, like Toaru? The protagonist sits at that desk by the window, etc.
>>280099536
It can happen that the quest board sidequest gets derailed by a Bigger Plot that's actually important. Kinda like Tournament Arcs.

>>280100214
Nah, that kind of oddjobbing doesn't even make sense. Odd jobs are handled by anyone who has time to do them - mostly out of necessity. You wouldn't dedicate an entire guild to non-descript labor. That defeats the whole purpose of a guild.

>>280100214
Personally, I only get bothered when it gets overly bureaucratic and one-stop-shop. I'd rather it be something set up by the local government and the nearby shops organically stock stuff to cater to the passing sell swords, rather than the bizarre international organization you sometimes see.

>>280099328
Hey, being a squad of rat catchers (by trade and by coincidence) was one of my most memorable gaming experiences ever! And we were working for a guild!

Granted the Japanese aren't doing this correctly right now, but it's possible if amateur nerds in the West can do it. I think Mr. Henderson is pretty close with his attempt in the LNs, but is still not quite the ideal.

>>280062003 (OP)
Dragon Quest.
If you wonder why a thing is the way it is in Japanese fantasy media, it's either Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy.

>>280070230
I’ve heard some say that Allah was originally the name of a pagan god worshipped by the pre-Islamic Arabs. Arabic converts to Christianity and Judaism supposedly used another name that I’ve forgotten. Not sure how true any of that is, I haven’t really looked into it.

>>280100385
>It can happen that the quest board sidequest gets derailed by a Bigger Plot that's actually important.

You're still missing the point. Any job that can be assigned by a guild is better assigned by something and someone who can give me personality and context into the assignment. Instead of having a guild tell you go rescue the lords daughter, the lord himself seeks you out and then the quest can explode as much from there.
>Kinda like Tournament Arcs.
Oh fuck off.


>>280100214
Any issue that's big enough to need a guild is something that the local government in practice would want to take notice of. More importantly they're also not going to want to have a faction of potentially powerful soldiers acting completely freelance under their noses with no loyalty.

>>280100399
Depends on how strictly we're using the term "guild" here. Half the time it's little more than a tavern with a job board.

>>280100576
Let's be honest, the local lord and the local guildmaster are basically interchangeable in terms of giving a face to the questgiver as far as most players will be concerned. It's an authority figure which your players will either be eager to please or begrudgingly tolerate, depending on their disposition. I think the real underlying argument here is how common and thus how important should adventuring parties be, which has a lot of ripple effects in your worldbuilding either direction you go.

>>280062003 (OP)
>Ruin Explorers
Worth a watch? I've had it sitting on my HDD forever.

>>280100930
Local guildmaster = fantasy nonsense that resembles modernity (easy for playercels and readercels to understand)
Local lord = historyfag autism (probably will use the words "full plate harness" at some point)

>>280101011
Yeah it's worth a watch, if it wasn't it'd be completely forgotten.

>>280100576
>Instead of having a guild tell you go rescue the lords daughter, the lord himself seeks you out and then the quest can explode as much from there.
What if the guild's job is to redirect you to the lord? I mean, why would some lord know you personally?
Anyway. I'm talking about the hero's journey. What if you're doing boring work assigned by the guild like gathering when you find the ruins of an ancient dragon, a conspiracy, a thug planning to kidnap the princess...and suddenly you're on a real Adventure(TM). Isn't that funny. You were just an adventurer but suddenly you find yourself on an adventure. Haha.

like gathering herbs*

>>280100627
Yeah, with jobs pertaining to a common profession.

>>280101028
If we're going full /tg/ local lord autism, then he shouldn't meet directly with the players at all. You're commoners, likely from outside of his demesne. At best you should only meet one of his subordinates and even then your presence should be barely tolerated, being a band of suspiciously well-armed strangers with no legitimate business in the area. The local lord having to resort to mercenary scum like you is humiliation, an act of last resort, and even if you succeed your mission, you'll simply get your coin and then be shooed away from his lands as soon as possible before the shame of your presence brings ruin to his reputation.

>>280101145
>What if the guild's job is to redirect you to the lord? I mean, why would some lord know you personally?

Because you have a reputation. Because youre part of the guard. Because you're a wizard. Because invent a reason. Jesus Christ. See this is the biggest problem. You're not role playing. You're reducing things to the most mechanical level and you're not teaching people how to role play.

>>280098714
What I wonder about is how slimes became almost universally seen as weak fodder in Japanese fantasy. Because in D&D oozes are one of the most obnoxious kinds of monster. Were they low level enemies in the Wizardry games or something?

>>280074118
I always got the impression that Senpai is in fact covered with a fine fuzz but I've never been able to tell if it's just her ears.

>>280101374
>Were they low level enemies in the Wizardry games or something?

>>280101392
Ha, I didn't even think of the word filter while typing that.

>>280098167
Nothing but a fabricated urban legend that pseuds keep parroting in every thread.

It's far more likely that she was made brown because black looks like shit in animation. Also brown elves were not rare so even the basic premise is false.

>>280101348
Lord Lords have stewards for a reason, he can meet them privately somewhere and put them on the job there. That aside, the secrecy of it would really depend on the nature of the work. Like, oh a traveling cleric of some renown and his/her bodyguards for example would be reasonable to call in to a more public venue to do a wider variety of work in the open.

Context matters a lot, and there is infinite complexity possible.

>>280101392
fuzz confirmed

>>280101374
DQ made them cute little buggers for the starting area. Even Japs will write in LNs now "actually slimes are fucking scary btw", so the culture is shifting.

>>280101367
Sounds like you rely a lot on the idea of people hearing about you and seeking you out, rather than you seeking out adventure. Where did you get your reputation? Were you just wandering around until you stumbled across some villagers in need to kickstart your reputation?

>>280101374
>Were they low level enemies in the Wizardry games or something?
Bubbly Slime were fairly low level but there were a bunch of others.
Then Tower of Druaga picked them as the starting enemy and Hydlide copied that and the stereotype.
There are games like FF that take closer to D&D.

>>280101658
>Sounds like you rely a lot on the idea of people hearing about you and seeking you out, rather than you seeking out adventure
Not necessarily no, but heroes do tend to be reactive by nature. In any case that's hardly my point. My point is that adventures, even starting ones, need more context beyond being treated like an MMO marker.

>Where did you get your reputation? Were you just wandering around until you stumbled across some villagers in need to kickstart your reputation?
It's called a backstory champ. Doesn't have to be complex but it does have to be something.

>>280101862
Nah fuck backstory hooks, you start in the dungeon's first floor because you are all a bunch of broke nobodies and have decided you trust this group enough to risk your lives in some abandoned fort/cave/ancient ruins in search of valuable treasure (if you come back empty handed you're gonna starve and die an ignoble death in a ditch). Once you have something of a name for yourselves then use backstory and justify people coming to you.

>>280101579
The main problem is always the players themselves making it hard. Even in the good ol' days, most parties boiled down to a gang of eclectic murderhobos that the GM would have to bend the world to accommodate. Believe me, almost every campaign I've played in I've been wrangled into being the party face, the respectable one, mostly because I was the only one who could talk to authority figures in a civil manner and wasn't playing an overt weirdo. That's why I can sympathize with a GM wanting to make his own life a little easier and just use a guild to force the players to have at least a veneer of legitimacy and responsibility.

>>280102062
>you start in the dungeon's first floor because you are all a bunch of broke nobodies and have decided you trust this group enough to risk your lives in some abandoned fort/cave/ancient ruins in search of valuable treasure

That's a back story. What you just told was a cute little story.

>>280102136
That is NOT what players are thinking when you ask for backstory and you know it.

>>280102085
I have used or been involved in
>knightly orders
>mercenary companies
>guilds (monster hunter, etc.)
>a wizard's minions
>a dark lord's minions' minions
So I can agree that structure works. But the best solution would be players being invested enough to try and even lightly engage with the right tone. In fiction you don't have to worry about that though, so the adventurer's guild is just a worse alternative for a protagonist and his merry crew. Any LN/manga/game would be improved by choosing any other type of organization than a generic "adventurer's guild".

>>280101862
Look, I appreciate not wanting to treat things like MMO quests, but hoping that the players provide workable backstories isn't the most reliable plan. A good DM can work with what they're given, but god damn it's hard sometimes when everyone is a "I'm sitting at the shady corner of the tavern alone" type. It's why I try to be a team player with these sort of things and draw people in when I'm a player myself. Though there's always That Guy whose character has zero reason to be with the party except that he's one of the PCs and thus must stick around.

>>280102062
>>280102136
I fail to see how that's substantially different from "You all ended up going to the Adventurer Guild to seek fame, fortune, etc." What's being described here is a campaign premise, not the characters' actual backstories.

>>280101460
The example you posted was an artist's response to an editorial directive for "black elves with white hair," to which he responded "oh, like Tina Turner." Not that there's anything wrong with that.

>>280101374
We have DQ and Toriyama's adorable mascot design to thank for that.

>>280100385
>Isn't Urban Fantasy a staple in LNs, like Toaru? The protagonist sits at that desk by the window, etc.
IIRC ToAru is considered a "shindenki" story, the same genre as Bakemonogatari, Boogiepop, Higurashi, Fate/stay night, Shakugan no Shana, etc. It involves a small-scale urban setting, a mystery-like structure with a narrator who's unreliable or insane, and supernatural secrets being deeply entwined with mundane ones.

Except most of the defining traits of shindenki tend to get dropped in adapatation, e.g. the original Fate/stay night VN practically defined the genre but all its anime are just considered action series.

>>280102539
ToAru started like this and you see Kamachi's desire to return to this sort of simple setup many times with both Blood Sign and Zashiki Warashi

>>280102578
Nasu also pretty much gave up on shindenki when the first Fate anime sold so well despite being stripped of it.

>>280102422
>I fail to see how that's substantially different from "You all ended up going to the Adventurer Guild to seek fame, fortune, etc."

I know you do. And that's what makes this sad. I don't know how else we can put it or make it simpler.

>>280102353
Yeah, I would agree that fiction should generally strive to give more flavor than the most stock standard Adventurers Guild™. Though if you're deliberately going for a lighthearted high fantasy tone to start with, then I wouldn't say you have to do much besides dressing things up a little.

>>280102714
Slayers is lighthearted high fantasy and doesn't have an adventurer's guild (they do have a Sorcerer Association however). I just don't think it's a good mechanism for delivering a fantasy story, please strive for a bit better!

>>280102692
Like the other anon said before, it's just another flavor of "You all meet in a tavern..." I know you want to bemoan the mere existence of an adventurer guild as trite worldbuilding, but beyond the basic due diligence of internal consistency (an issue for many fantasy settings with or without a guild), it's just a matter of taste. I personally don't like the Japanese style of bureaucratic guilds with ranks and shit either, but there's only so much I'm gonna groan and roll my eyes about it unless they're really harping on it and jamming it down my throat.

>>280102787
I'm not saying it's mandatory for such a setting, just that it's not a brand of death.

>>280101674
>Hydlide
Once again, we disprove the myth that it all comes from DQ. It's in fact Zelda.

>>280103027
this is sorcerer king, however

>>280102949
>Like the other anon said before, it's just another flavor of "You all meet in a tavern..."
It's not though. the tavern isn't the one assigning odd jobs. Look, one of the biggest examples i know "meeting in a tavern" is Dragonlance. And while this is were the adventure kicks off it's not because of the tavern itself. Not outright. It was just a gathering spot for characters to be introduced and discuss what they know. Then the macguffin walks in the door and shit hits the fan fast and they start running. The problem with the guild isn't it being a meeting spot. It's that it becomes the facilitator of the players actions.

>>280103068
As myself and others have said, the adventures with the guild are rarely the whole substance of the story. Usually it's just there to give you some initial direction, maybe a few simple one-and-done quests to get the ball rolling, before you find the real adventure. No one ever grabs a "Go fight the BBEG and save the world" quest from a guild. Well, outside of some litRPG thing that's doing it with full self-awareness.

>>280103261
>As myself and others have said, the adventures with the guild are rarely the whole substance of the story.
And as I and others have said there are better ways to introduce your quest.

>>280103324
Depends on what you're trying to do with the story, setting, characters. You know, I would probably agree with you in most actual cases, but speaking in general terms, I wouldn't flatly say that guild == bad.

>>280103261
Which is why it's so funny. The Adventuring Guild that certifies you as an adventurer...is a shoddy preamble before you get into the real adventure. Haha.

>>280073596
its nothing but throwing spaghetti at the wall trying to find a franchise that would stick. Not that it was bad, I would actually like to see more, its got good styling and design, just needs a real plot.

>>280103653
Sort of why I've never been a fan of formally calling it The Adventurer Guild™. I'd rather call them freelancers or some such.

>>280103747
It had real plot. And plenty of it. A lot of classic sword and sorcery adventures always used to focus on things at that scale. Interestingly enough the OVA actually edited things together a bit more than the manga did and connected the treasures under the same story.

i wish the author wasn't such a hack and actually worked on the series.

>>280062003 (OP)
>huge and sharp pauldrons?
I was just noticing that Gourry has the hugest and most rediculous pauldrons

>>280105239
>A lot of classic sword and sorcery adventures always used to focus on things at that scale.

Yeah I get that, and it failed to hook a large audience hence why there is so little media of it. Look I wish your obsession was more popular but its not.

>>280107638
italiano?

>>280073875
Is he natty?

>>280099407
Liberal democratic approach to myth-making, slave morality manifest.

>>280107838
No, is it an Italian favorite?

>>280108038
You do realize how difficult traveling is in a setting like that, right? Even in an idealized fantasy setting, you're probably not gonna find a church and inn for rest in every town you visit. And that's if there aren't a bunch of small-scale wars going on and you're allowed to travel at all.

>>280062003 (OP)
All fantasy anime, manga, and video games were based off Dragon Quest. Dragon Quest made a massive impact on Japan to the point where Japan's government had to put laws on the series because people were skipping work and school just to play the games. Dragon Quest was practically crack.

>>280108332
>You do realize how difficult
Stopped reading there.

>>280070782
For a genre so focused on fanservice, it's shocking just how non-existent bikini armour is. Even secondary haremettes don't wear them.

>>280072282
The latest "proper" fantasy I remember was King's Raid, and watched or cared about it. /a/ are hypocrites pretending to hate isekai.

>>280080758
>original story had a harem end
>make Mila route
>also give it a harem end

What was the fucking point?

>>280108840
Harems.

>>280107593
Oh sweet child

>>280108813
I remember it. And Seisen Cerberus.

>>280108813
>The latest "proper" fantasy I remember was King's Raid, and (no one) watched or cared about it.
It was an anime based on a Korean gacha game, of course no one cared about it.

And because I want you all to be as mad as I am

>>280109329
2016 was a different time, isekai wasn't as ubiquitous.
>>280109371
Still was a fantasy with 26 episodes. To be Hero is chinese and it's getting a lot more attention here.

I just want to bring it up. Because I like it.

>>280109863
I keep meaning to watch this thanks for reminding me anon

>>280109903
glad to

>>280107593
>>280109290
I do wonder which character is the longest in pure wingspan.

>>280109464
Genuinely awful

>>280110465
The worst part is I've seen retards go "I like the new one better." or try to defend it by being optional (even though the sprites and game still look like ass)

The only thing that Satoshi Urashihara should focus on is making Another Lady Innocent 2, with more lesbian sex.
Nobody cares about shitty mobages like langrisser.

>>280110708
That's not how you spell "A complete adaptation of Legend of Lemnear."

>>280110774
lemnear doesn't have enough lesbian sex. heck, it doesn't even have hetero sex.
another lady innocent has both, and a sequel should have even more lesbian sex.

>>280110708
>>280110887
Another Lady Innocent was so disappointing to me because it teased hot milfs but every single sex scene was with samebody hebes

>>280109863
Thanks put it on my watchlist

>>280082542
Not yuri, but a Kei and Yuri-alike.

>>280110887
it seemed like the second episode was actually going to have old man rape so maybe we dodged a bullet by never getting it

>>280112566
Oh yeah the next episode was not going to be a happy time for anyone

I'm glad no one remembers Lost Universe.

>>280062003 (OP)
You mean native isekai?

>>280113513
Does it suck?

>>280113805
Lets just saw they gave up halfway during production.

>>280113839
>saw
say*

>>280113805
I thought it was alright but there were production problems in that...
>>280113839
the studio caught fire

>>280108483
>All fantasy anime, manga, and video games were based off Dragon Quest.
No?? There was Zelda and plenty other things. >>280103027

Man all this talk about old fantasy anime and pauldrons made me remember the h game Brave Soul. Remember that? Had Mogudan on art work. That would have adapted nicely to an anime. With or without sex (though preferably with.) Scrapped Princess was alright.

>>280115108
Many loads for the cat girl

>>280062003 (OP)
This has bugged me for a while. Despite all my research (using google *and* AI), there's no historical c-shape staff. Allegedly it could be Wiccans. It is clearly an stylization of scepters/staffs/sticks being curved and magical symbols like moon or jewels and the mediums helping stylization.

>>280115244
I have a thing for haughty sorceresses

>>280115355

>>280115108
>your housepet turns into a hot girl
>you can fuck it
what are the ethical implications of this?

>>280083155
>TL note the rather common usage of "party"
>don't TL note the rather uncommon usage of "dungeon"
Sasuga

>>280115278
It's just a bishop's staff reimagined by foreigners who only had a vague idea of what bishop was.

>>280115805
Wait, that's it. But what about the jewel.

>>280069837
?

>>280115108
No but seeing this art reminds me of Dragon Pink

>>280115990
I forgot about this completely until I scrolled by it several times and it clicked.
Why isn't she a huge chested nun, get it together vatican

>>280115990
I hope we get more official Luce material

>>280062003 (OP)
Sharp pauldrons are to shoulder check someone if your hands are busy.
Circle shaped staff might be to help focus spells at the center.

>>280116185
'And lead us not into temptation..' homie.
A nun with huge boobs would send the wrong message.

>>280117065
I now remember Chrono Crusade

>>280115108
Back when mogudan's art still was good.

>>280117065
Why is Frieren in this pic?

>>280118426
Just an observer

You allow science fantasy too?

>>280109464
I will never understand. Why pay money to make something worse than the original? Also I wonder what the newer artist thought when asked to remake art made by a literal god of illustration like Urushihara. It's not like it was some rando. He had to know what he was being asked.

>>280119850
>Why pay money to make something worse than the original?
Because companies have calculated that making something again even if it's shittier than predates it, will make them money, sadly.

>>280113991
>the studio caught fire
That is grim... in so many ways

>>280113805
It's Slayers but not as good. If you like Slayers you'll like it but not as much.

Also it doesn't look very good. At all. One episode (>pic related) is legendarily cheap looking.

>>280120994
Oh yeah... that's the stuff...

>>280120994
Oh yeah, inject that 90's budget saving into my veins

>>280115108
>Scrapped Princess
it was the first thing that came to my mind when seeing those designs

>>280062429
>You got me deep researching the ties between Tolkienian influence and anime
>in the 1980s there were a bunch of obscure dungeons and dragons based computer games, culminating with Dragon Quest
stfu, you watched a Did You Know Gaming video and used very basic common sense

>>280119352
scifi is just advanced magic, you know

>>280119352
magical science

>>280063168
I think i still have the VHS somewhere in my paretns house.

>>280072946
It may be childhood nostalgia, but I can't watch it in anything but english. Same with Gunsmith Cats. I'm a sucker for old ADV.

>>280120994
It's supposed to be tied into the Slayers multiverse somehow.

>>280068835
>thought it was gonna be a cool historical book analyzing obscure cultural religious practices and symbols
>its just ameritard media brainrot over "MUH ALIENS"

>>280124838
sex with irie

>>280119352
That art style remind me of "oh my godness"

>>280062003 (OP)
These curved staffs are primarily inspired by lunar symbolism and moon worship, which have been prevalent across cultures for thousands of years. The crescent moon shape specifically symbolizes transformation, intuition, and the cyclical nature of magic. Meanwhile, the widespread use of oversized, sharp pauldrons in fantasy anime and manga draws from various cultural and aesthetic influences, with Japanese samurai armor playing a particularly significant role.

>>280070003
>>280063168
it really is. I watched it recently and it blew me away. I was expecting at most Rune Soldier Louie quality but it was way better

>>280070067
what if we made it... just pauldrons?

>>280125754
That was honestly a great design dick joke aside

Escaflowne had impressive pauldron.

>>280126268
I agree

>>280062072
it most likely is

>>280125724
Rune Soldier was good fun on it's own too

>>280115805
Anyway. The shepherd's staff is what I was looking for and didn't know the name. It's always that design. It's always a mage character using it tho, not the priest character, so a shaman probably got a stick and made the same thing and put a rock on it. Neat.

>>280062003 (OP)
It's meant to look like a lot of staffs traditionally seen in depictions of saints, prophets, etc. while also trying not to be overtly Christian, Islamic, etc. It's a pretty straightforward parallel - magic users are the clergy/saints/missionaries/prophets of the magic fantasy realm.

They've got curved staves. CURVED. STAVES.

>>280115758
That reminds me, Orphan recently released an OVA called Usagi-chan de Cue which is a philosophical exploration of the issue.

>>280131252
That's an old one. A cat is very fine.

>>280125451
Same artist

>>280119352
Sword and planet is one of the corner stones of the genre

>>280123161
there's hard sci-fi, which is all nuts and bolts, ceramic plates, durasteel and motor oil.
and then there's sci-fi which is basically just fantasy with a tech sheen.
it seems like early sci-fi there was more of the former, not so anymore, now it's almost all the latter.

Hmm. As you can see, the curved stave dates back to Ancient Egypt...

>>280131839
sometimes a staff in ancient art is actually a snake

>>280131892
Shut up, Moses.

>>280088004
I wonder how the artist achieve such a beautiful red color like that, if it was a mix of watercolor, markers and colored pencils.

>>280062003 (OP)
what is this aesthetic called? i need more designs like this. Im disappointed that white ring is just a series of garage kits with no actual story attached

>>280132109
physical colors add a lot of depth. Half the problem with a lot of early digital animation was that it off had a very FILL BUCKET look.

>>280131205
Is this an actual game? Or just some mock-up/mod?

>>280132295
regrettably it's just a mock up

At least insofar as I know

>>280131798
Early pulp sci-fi was mostly fantastical stuff as well, and there wasn't really a strong distinction between it and fantasy. Around the '50s there was a push for a more grounded, rational approach to sci-fi which helped solidify it as a separate genre.
Despite the efforts of hard sci-fi writers, the earlier and more muddled approach of the "weird" pulp magazines has remained popular. I find that speculative fiction, or SF works better as a catchall most of the time.

>>280134387
A lot of old sci fi was just "Throw more rockets on it." Genre defining stuff like Triplanetary is adorably quaint. Still entertaining but looking back to a 1930s novel with modern scientific knowledge really colors things differently.

>>280062003 (OP)
C-staves or gnarled staves conduct mana better. every rookie mage always falls for the straight "professional-looking" staff and then wonder why no one wants them in their party.

>>280133595
Nobody can ever answer why the male lead has a Mexican name. Too afraid?

>>280136206
Japanese people think that European names are exotic and perfect for fantasy stories. See Tina in Final Fantasy VI.

>>280136403
Then Michael would make sense, Miguel is taco tier.

>>280136496
You do know that Spain is in Europe too right?

>>280136206
>afraid
Of what? The worldbuilding seems quirky. I think they based it on the age of explorers?

>>280064763
It's fucking everywhere. Basically starting rods are sticks with crystals on the end, and peak mage has some floaty ass crystal or orb in a cane with a C at the top. Rain in A rank has one too.

>>280136583
>>280136758
There's no legitimate difference between Spain and Mexico

>>280078482
Fuck yeah, best girl.

>>280062238
>>280062340
Why did they stop? Was Satoru Akahori holding up the entire aesthetic?

>>280136206
The author read Don Quijote. Source: I asked him

>>280137109
Everyone should read Don Quixote. It's a good book.

>>280137539
books are gay, don quixote sucks cock

>>280134464
It seems like when sci-fi has been outdated for long enough it is eventually reborn as some sort of "-punk" fantasy. Steampunk, and later dieselpunk and atompunk are at their core looking back at old sci-fi stories that people still enjoy but don't make sense as sci-fi anymore.

>>280137109
>>280137539
I read it and I still remember the scene where Sancho Panda stealthily took a big fat shit off the side of his mount while talking to a group of people. Why? What did he mean by that? Did they really not notice him taking a shit right in front of them?

>>280099465
>>280138216
Adventurer's Guilds are tavernpunk, change my mind

slow question

Because pauldrons are cool, even if there's only one.

>>280138570
PUNK does not mean "genre."

>>280136847
Dimwits dont know that difference because of Trump being a retard with ICE. If ICE will go after someone with a colonial name, what other european colony race is safe? Italy, France, Germany, Greece?

>>280125754

pauldrons fuck yeah

This is how I DnD.

>>280141362

>>280141362

>>280141734
Minku is perfect. A friendly reminder that the Dragon Half TTRPG books got a translation.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1QA94Ve1vfw6ZLQxhjona2X1wYDVTlmNb

Rem is outrageous

You know you got to feel bad for the (most likely) few Japanese fans of fantasy who DON'T like Dragon Quest. There's got to be at least a few ya figure, right? So what mind numbing hell must it feel like to want to have some kind of sword and sorcery adventure and everyone's shoving slimes and Demon Lords in your ear.

>>280142177
It's sad, but we got what we got. At least Sword World still seems to have a presence. Also, Elin has been doing pretty good in sales for such a niche game.

>>280062003 (OP)
This is one of those things like wizards and witches with pointy hats that you just accept as a norm of the genre.

>>280142177
you'd just have to learn eigo

Check out Villgust.

>>280062003 (OP)
I was more amazed they gave the warrior chick proper armor with no nudity.... until she casted anyway.

>>280142177
There are hundreds of jrpgs that aren't Dragon Quest. You're retarded.

>>280131839
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crook_and_flail

>>280142324
This was more of a problem in the 80s and 90s where everything that wasn't a "Dragon Quest clone" in gameplay was at least aesthetically inspired by it and carried a LOT of the same plot and gameplay tropes. The DQ vibe is in a lot of anime from that era and still persists to this day. While "Demon Lord" dates to old ass religion and obviously Tolkien, damn near anything and everything with a Demon Lord (that takes it seriously) in anime and JRPGs from that specific era feels like a Zoma ripoff. But I don't think this has been a "problem" for more than 2 decades.

>>280136971
WoW overdid it is my guess.

>>280142459
Sword and sorcery fantasy has been a thing since the dawn of mankind, but for the life of me, I can't find the reference for that C shaped wizard staff

>>280142508
Uh, around where I live we have a superstition of trees, roots and branches that have grown into strange shapes holding special spiritual power. Staffs being made of wood is pretty universal, probably that belief too. And the custom of manufacturing them with human interference

>>280142554
Staffs are made of wood and that's ancient, we're specifically trying to find the first artistic depiction of a wizard carrying a C-shaped staff like in the OP and I honestly am not familiar with enough pre-90s media to venture a guess. I'm looking at old fantasy book covers and JRPG characters, but I can't even find shit older than what's being mentioned ITT

>>280142459
Evil wizards were an absolute staple of fantasy and that's literally what 魔王 meant.
Mordain in Ultima, Werdna in Wizardry, Thulsa Doom in the Conan movie (and originally Krull) just to name a few.

>>280142508
It's a stick okay. It's a fucking stick. It's drawn that way so it doesn't just look like a fucking stick. This isn't a thing. This isn't a deep history or mythology cut. It's a stick. Quit being autistic about something petty and stupid. Jesus Christ.

>>280083022
Sonetines they give you power

>>280142672

>>280142686
KO Beast was neat

>>280083022
The spikier the betterer I say.

>>280142275
There's tons of fantasy of various forms produced. I don't see why anybody would complain aside from completely ignoring the actual situation and dreaming up strawmen.

>>280142508
A character from .hack had one. This is relevant info.

>>280120994
90s slideshow SOVL replaced by 60fps outsourced SLOP

>>280143068
Wife

>>280141362
Dragon half deserve its own serie. MC love interest even has the best name I have ever read.

>>280143262
Mink is a cute name

>>280062003 (OP)
I gather the staff looks more fantastic than a closed staff since the gem inside the C shape often floats, and the opening also looks good being animated as having a laser coming out of it.
Pauldrons are a mini thing, Warhammer went wild with them because, in small itsy bitsy models, it's nice to have a surfacy pauldron where you can decal your faction's symbol, while also hiding shoulders and thus making arms more poseable since you can bend it in unsightly ways under the convenient pauldron.
>>280070782
>>280072282
>>280080758
Some anon convinced me to read the manga a couple of weeks ago in a battle harem ecchi thread. If you're reading this, thanks, it was a great ride and I'm considering reading the books now. I loved how Eleonora's horse was the most majestic entity in any panel it was featured.

>>280070215
Yeah, anime artstyle went to shit in modern era

>>280065538
I too worship Saturn

>>280143978
Cell animation is dead, no one will pick it up beside maby one project every now and then to remind people how much work and love is required to make it good.

>>280123543
Gunsmith Cats is one of those anime that was essentially made to be viewed in English. another one is Shin Cutie Honey, to the point Nagai personally selected Honey's eng VA (which he didn't do for the JP).

>>280083565
>implying it ever wasn't

>>280093632
fantasy in general wasn't that popular.
there was a series entirely dedicated to elf fetishisation, though

>>280098714
D&D is an unlicensed LOTR tabletop, Gygax was a huge Tolkien fan

>>280144179
Fashion is a revolving door, everything comes back into vogue eventually.

>>280144207
Hunting elves with a tank? What level of kino am I missing out on?

>>280101348
Mercenary was a common profession in the preindustrial era, because standing professional armies as we know them today didn't exist until 18th century Prussia turned themselves into a nation of mercs.
Historically, armies were more private militias conscripted by Lords from his serfs whenever the King decided to go to war, or if the Lord got into a squabble with a rival Lord (sibling rivalry, usually), which might cause the King to call a few other Lords to step in and put the former two in their place.
Lords who had small landholdings and therefore limited amounts of manpower would often lease men from neighbouring Lords with men to spare. So inevitably there would be men who made a career out of going from Lord to Lord offering service in times of war. They were quite respected and revered, because they typically had much greater experience and competence on the battlefield than typical peasant infantry. Knights Templar for example were functionally a mercenary group who basically formed a nation without territory. Prussia was semi-seriously called an army with a nation.

what I'm getting at here is it would not be unusual for a Lord to hire some roaming band of mercs to handle a job he needed doing.

>>280103492
the issue is Japan treats guilds like a modern gig economy thing; like DoorDash or something. You could maybe argue a group of mercenaries built up enough of a reputation that they could form a sort of gentlemen's club between them where they and their associates are able to get jobs on name alone, but it would never reach the level of a major business conglomerate. the preindustrial world simply doesn't have the resources or communications to have branding like that. It's why in the real world the only companies that even came close to the likes of modern Google or Volkswagen were companies with Royal Charters granting them access to public funds and exclusive trade monopolies.

>>280119850
nips have no taste and genuinely hate 'old anime' art.

>>280144224
LOTR being D&D's primary influence is BS, as it was conceived more in the spirit of Howard, Lieber & Vance, not to mention being a spinoff of wargame campaigns Gygax & Arneson ran. Gygax was very tsundere about Tolkien's works, though.

>>280144261
it's isekai. the tank is haunted by the ghost of a dead dog.
the main group get transferred to a fantasy world and their only means of returning is from deciphering the runes that have appeared somewhere on the bodies of a dozen elves around the fantasy country. forcing them to go around forcefully stripping elven girls of their clothing to try and find the ones with the markings. It's as silly as it sounds.

>>280144472
literally every single class in the original edition were directly pulled from LotR. They even had the same names, and only changed them out of fear of a lawsuit from the Tolkien estate.

>>280144472
>LOTR being D&D's primary influence is BS, as it was conceived more in the spirit of Howard, Lieber & Vance, not to mention being a spinoff of wargame campaigns Gygax & Arneson ran.
that's a massive cope

>>280144472
>not to mention being a spinoff of wargame campaigns Gygax & Arneson ran
Chainmail itself was influenced by Tolkien so it doesn't really change much.
D&D took Hobbits, Mithril, Ents, Balrogs and other parts that they later had to rename due to a lawsuit from the Tolkien estate.

>>280144544
Lol, the original game with the three booklets in a box didn't even have thieves or rangers. It was just Fighter, Mage & Cleric.

>>280144614
For you, maybe.

>>280144751
Fighting-Man, as a fighting woman was seen as a novelty at the time.

>>280144783
Yes, I stand corrected.

>>280144751
>It was just Fighter, Mage & Cleric.
Fighting-Man, Magic-User, & Cleric.

>>280144751
>ignoring the elf, dwarf, halfling races

>>280144783
'man' used to be gender-neutral, like in mankind. English used to be a gendered language, once upon a time, with the masculine forms of words being the neutral/standard form. Like German.

>>280144942
>halfling
Hobbits. They renamed them for the 1977 re-release.

>>280145067
MR ADVERTISER GET DOWN

>>280144942
>'man' used to be gender-neutral, like in mankind
How long ago was this?

>>280145178
I first started to notice the switchover sometime in the 90s. policeman became police officer, fireman became fire fighter. mankind became humankind. That sort of stuff.

>>280145067
BOOBA

>>280144091
True. A pity
I guess every art form is born, peaks, stagnate ad then dies, while getting commercialized in the process.

>>280144439
Yeah, that's the problem when they try to make out the guild as some kind of standardized, international organization. You could make some argument about magic communication and such making such things more feasible, but making that kind of stuff common (even for large institutions) is a whole can of worms.

>>280145992
at that point you're reaching a form of magical industrial revolution, which begs the question why not just go that route instead.

>>280143978
Animation peaked with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 88 years ago. It's all been downhill since then.

>>280109464
the artist sure loves massive pauldrons

>>280146052
Well Eberron type setting also suck shit so maybe we are being spared (in a sense).

>>280147144
I'm still waiting for my fantasy western. elves and orcs holding up stagecoaches and rustling cattle with magic Colt Peacemakers.

>>280147215
You too good for Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, or are you specifically looking for something Japanese in that style?

>>280147144
It doesn't suck at all, actually. You suck.

>>280144224
>>280144472
>>280144544
D&D was conceptualized as an unlicensed Conan Tabletop, but Gygax had to include LOTR stuff because it was very popular among his friends and customers.

>>280098167
>>280102475
Drow being super dark really was a late innovation.
You can find covers for D&D books depicting Drow characters with basically Mediterranean skin tones.
The man in the front here, is meant to be a Drow.

>>280149295
>The man in the front here, is meant to be a Drow.

THE Drow, even.

>>280149295
>>280149495
Or perhaps the cover-artist simply couldn't make a charcoal-black-skinned dark elf guy with crimson eyes and ashen hair look good enough on a cover.

>>280101595
nice butt

>>280149532
He's drawn like this to this day

>>280151343
That's what a more lore-accurate drow would look like (and he still looks too purplish anyway).
Their blackness tone should be #000000.
It's difficult to draw that without it looking like shit, though.

>>280101348
>implying my mercenary group isn't made of a noble of bluer blood than they are, a legendary hero they owe their country & princess lives, a rich who could buy out their kingdoms, someone of a fictional race so divine all their apparitions are prophetized, oh and a thief who is actually the rightful heir of this kingdom

>>280144207
Any isekai can be improved with tanks. Prove me wrong.

>>280145178
a thousand years ago where man meant person, wer meant man and wyf meant woman.

>>280098167
>Lodoss War was based on Dungeons and Dragons, and Pirotess was supposed to be a Drow/Dark Elf.
Lodoss was based on BECMI so the correct version would be Shadow Elves. But there's no Shadow Elves in the replay anyway, the black elves were only added to the novels. And the description there is pretty explicit.
>ディードリットらエルフにとって、黒エルフは憎むべき存在だった。その名の通り全身黒色の体は、暗黒神のしもべとなった時に、その証として変えられたものだった。

>>280154303
So you're saying that even a millennium ago, we were all obsessed with our wyfus.

>>280062003 (OP)
Mysticism involving the symbolic purpose of the Shepherd's Staff as a tool to guide, control and protect. Japan probably likened it to the Shakujo/Khakkhara, thus every mage in a western inspired fantasy has it.

>>280064763
The power of the C could not be undone.

>>280157049
C is for cookie.

>>280139415
it does now, grandpa

>>280071366
It surprises me that the guy who did the Ruin Explorers manga and the character designs for Popful Mail, Xeno, and Ys 3 also did a really messed-up erotic horror doujinshi trilogy.

>>280158426
Really? I find it more surprising when these people don't have some fucked up side gig.

>>280083565
can we make the shoulder pads larger

>>280145992
>the guild as some kind of standardized, international organization
I'll take what is the hanseatic league for 200

>>280158426
Dunno, doesn't look like his art.
Cool tho

>>280062003 (OP)
>C-shaped staff
I love that shit

>Ruin Explorers thread up for 3 days
I know this is a general fantasy and autism thread but you guys are alright sometimes.

I wish there was a bigger market to sub audio plays

Whose dick I have to suck to get some "retro"-anime high-quality figures?

Would love some Ruin Explorers
Princess Tutu
Gankutsuou
please

>>280147300
I'm aware of it, but I specifically want a Western.

>>280160061
I think one of the biggest tragedies of being an old school anime fan is that toys and merchandise only really got good long after everything we cared about stopped being relevant.

>>280158794
>what is the hanseatic league
Almost more like a guild of merchant guilds across a portion of Europe. I can see where you're coming from in making the comparison. It might be a good model for doing it right, making it more of a loose network of local organizations spread across the land.

>>280160707
Well see that's the rub. There's a huge difference between something like that and the East India Company. You're looking at a league of merchants and traders. If we're looking at a large scale organization meant to safe guard and secure trade routes it's something different entirely. It's a far cry from some quest hub were you get told to go kill 6 goblins and you're back before dinner.

>>280161507
Killing 6 goblins and ensuring there are people who can do that must be a very important task for their land.

>>280161727
If goblins are such a problem then the local governments should wipe out the entire hive if only to ensure a renewable source of tax income. This isn't the same as issuing a hunting license so deer don't over populate it's tantamount to war.

courtesy recent draw thread

>>280142459
There's nowhere to even begin because everything is brainrot.

>>280163537
Thanks for sharing it

>>280070230
No, he had it right the first time. There is NO "abrahamic god"; all three worship a totally different god.

>>280109652
To Be Hero X is an original story. It's not an advertisement for a mobile gatcha game.

>>280062003 (OP)
the sharp pauldrons are usually inspired by edo period clothing worn by people of status. pic related. same thing with the saiyan armor in dbz.

>>280161895
Eh, I don't think it's a strict binary between "not enough of a problem to hire someone to deal with it" or "big enough problem that the Lord will be compelled to deal with it". It really depends on the nature of the threat and what else the local authorities already have on their plate. It's easy to dismiss more subtle, festering threats as peasant paranoia and whining. And even if the threat is confirmed, it may still be better to hire some monster hunter to deal with it instead of diverting your men out into the wilderness.
There's lots of variables is my point.

Tomboy in a pretty dress. No idea who the two in the back are.

>>280163537
>>280163973
same voice

>>280166657
No. Rasha was voiced by Kelly Manison. Who also played Naga in ADVs Slayers dubs and Sylia in Bubblegum Crisis 2040. Ash was played by *googles* Veronica Taylor and then Sarah Natochenny. Not sure where you're pulling this from. Unless it's some foreign country nobody cares about.

>>280166707
Oh and I also checked but they're different people in Japanese too.

>>280161727
>>280161895
If the setting is deep enough into gamefication (as most of the ones with adventurer's guilds seem to be) then defeating monsters is typically its own form of economic production.

>>280167131
Keeping heavy gamification OUT of the setting is the entire point of the discussion.

>>280166707
He may have been confusing Ruin Explorers with Slayers. Taylor's biggest role before Ash was Amelia.

sex with tomboys

>>280168688
>Cheesed to meet you

>>280169174
>https://youtu.be/ANDRDvE9Jc4?si=JIlb05Y6Y4lgDN0y

90s fantasy and Sci-Fi OVAs were literally peak anime.

>>280062003 (OP)
so this show is a better version of rune soldier? i'm currently watching that one and the humor isnt really clicking with me. i like the setup though.

>>280169829
I pacing in this OVA is perfect that I wish there were more.

>>280169829
This is less of a straight comedy. There are jokes and it's more on the lighter side of things but it's more traditional.

>>280098167
Blue-gray or black skin vastly superior.
Brown skin is disgusting.

>>280071536
I was a 90s kid so when i was growing up everything felt new and original. Like my grandmother giving our family a Nintendo with lots of old games when i was young. That convinced me that all of those games were brand new and not old hand me downs she had played to death herself. So i think that happening and me never paying attention to my parents when i was a kid confused me about the timeline of games and gaming. I always thought that real gaming started when i was a kid in the mid 90s other than all that old Atari crap that i think started in the 80s. Everything cool in video games came out when i was old enough to play them or so i thought. I always thought i was the cool kid how was born in the right time to play all of the best games. I never knew until recently that all of the cool games that i loved came out and then grew old before i was even born.

Have any of you guys ever felt the same as me? Being a 90s kid and falling in love with old 80s media thinking its was made in your time and was not already old by the time you got your hands on it.

>>280171118
No, but your grandma sounds rad as fuck.

>>280142508
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepherd%27s_crook
There.

>>280062003 (OP)
Because japs are creatively bankrupt and can only endlessly copy each other.

>>280173119
what are you doing at /a/? did you get lost on the way to /pol/?

This is one of the most moving threads I've seen in a while. God I miss classic fantasy. Not just in anime, either.

>>280168688
Sex with tsundere tomboys who in normal circumstances would die before they admit their attraction to you but are one day so overcome by lust and their attachment to you that they reach out for a secret rendezvous have steamy sweaty sex until she climaxes (you haven't), pushes you off to catch her breath and enjoy the afterglow for all of 20 seconds before quickly getting dressed and leaving without looking you in the eye and then refusing to contact or communicate with you for the better part of a month

pauldrons are kino aesthetic

>>280174363
On the topic of classic non-anime fantasy, I recently read the Greyhawk series where they novelised adventure modules like Temple of Elemental Evil. Gave me a huge nostalgia kick.

>>280166707
>>280166717
>Dub
Rica Matsumoto voiced Rasha and Ash

>>280105239
Sword and sorcery is Conan the Cimmerian. You mean high fantasy.

>>280062003 (OP)
Sex with Senpai

>>280177332
Damn I totally forgot there was a filter on that word even if it's a name
Ahem
Sex with the knife ear

>>280123543
Ruin Explorer names sound funny in English in current year.

>>280134387
You may be thinking of late weird fiction, which is older than scifi, at least in pulps.

>>280144261
It's ecchi you can watch with your gf. Good stuff.

>>280144261
do you like elves?
>>280178556
>buying gf

The catgirl is cute so I am now torrenting this show

>>280182339
The dub is pretty funny in current year.

>>280182364
Every ting gon be irie, senpai

>>280182339

Ruin Explorers carried this thread to auto sage.

>>280182339
>my polycule route cannot possibly be this cute
if only I were a prince...

>>280184160
You guys are alright

>>280163537
I love this, and I love Naga. 90s anime aesthetic is peak millennial tastes.

>>280144261
just don't bother with the dub, it's not good... one time I walked in on the middle of an episode and thought it was a fandub... until the credits rolled

time for pauldronposting

>>280184421
not all 90s dubs can be bangers
Im nostalgic for a lot of them and many are still quite good
Im pro-localization when it matters Anon-kun

>>280184448
Naga being a dommy mommy was the greatest reveal of the OVAs.

>>280184582
I thought I had the balls to dress like that guy on the left for cosplay
but my junk would be in a banana hammock and be awkward

I miss 90s collage promo art

Lyle's Snek waif from the manga

>>280184737
she still very beautiful

can we max out the image count before the thread dies?

Good thread, too bad its over now

>>280185103
there will be another
there is always another
maybe next month or in another 90s nostalgia thread

It's not nostalgia because I wasn't alive then, to this day 90s anime fantasy women are the hottest designs bar none

When is the anime design pendulum going to swing back to leather bikinis and thighboots with capes and pauldrons

>>280185453
it does stand out among the rest today
so it might not be nostalgia but from a time where creators had more say in the designing process

>>280185453
When enough old men running credit card companies die off.

>>280185493

>>280185518

>cloth pauldrons
brilliant

Naga is so fucking cool. She is a real one.

Good thread

Till the next time, stay frosty.