Greetings

[usamimi]

Yeah, I remember someone telling me in the dub they tried to make Maria sound Russian, Iris sound French, ect. I never saw it, I loved the original WAY too much, heh. I love Mayumi Tanaka, too! Kanna's one of my faves; but I also love Sakura, and Maria's pretty cool, too. (Really almost all of the girls are likeable!) Other than the main/original girls, I also love the Kazegumi (they're so cute!). From the other "divisions", I think Erica is pretty cute, but I LOVE Lobelia (I sort of adore Kikuko Inoue, and hearing her play something other than Belldandy or Kasumi was really awesome to me. Plus I just really like her character design and backstory.) I think Mel and Ci are also adorable. XD

I still have my Dreamcast, though I haven't played it in a while. I always wanted to get one of those Pink Sakura Taisen ones, though, they looked so cute!

[Path]

I agree, all the girls are just the best. I was sad when Sumire retired, but at least she returned for the stage shows eventually. If you've never seen them, there are tons of clips on Youtube. Its hilarious seeing Iris' 50-some year old seiyuu in costume. Lobelia is a fascinating character, one of the most interesting roles Inoue has done. Gotta feel bad for Ogami, being surrounded by so many crazy women.

I love the odd America of game five, it reminds me of the Saturn game Tengai Makyou (same creator) where simliar insanity ensued.

I was staring really hard at a cheap Dreamcast when I was in Japan, but I had no luggage space for it. The boyfriend bought something like six One Piece Portrait of Pirates and they took up more then half our spare space. Maybe next time.

[danth]

Wow, I want to ask like every new person here: Are you me? I love everything you love. And that goes for a lot of folks here.

Why is there such a huge anime/RPG fan overlap? I guess a lot of RPGs have the anime look, but I got hooked on Dragon Warrior when I was a kid and I had no idea it was made in Japan. It definitely did not have any anime stylings.

[greg]

I wish I could have bought Sakura Taisen V for the PS2 because it was in English with the Japanese voices, but I only have a Japanese PS2. Eventually I'll get the J version, I guess. My favorite was Sakura, second best was Kohran, with Sumire being my #3. I have posters of the first game on the Saturn, Hanagumi Columns 2 for the DC, and the Sakura Taisen TV show.

I remember when the OAV first came out, the comic book store I rented it from only had the English dub. The accents were phony, but whatever... I just wanted to buy the subtitled version anyways. Then I bought the subbed version, and I saw how the online text that ADV had switched with the original footage was both in the dubbed AND the subitled version, and I was like, "Craaaaaaaaaaaaap." ADV really liked to screw around with the animation and remove any trace that the shows came from Japan.

The TV show was a bit of a disappointment. They tried to make it "darker and edgier." Sumire was a total bitch, and Iris was a mute shut-in. Fans in Japan dubbed it "Sakurangelion" because it tried too hard to mimic the "none of us can get along with each other blah blah blah and that equals drama" crap from Evangelion.

So anyhow, I never met the voice actresses (I think the Ohgami guy was there, too). They were just on the stage. Chisa Yokoyama is such a charming lady. My favorite, Michie Tomizawa, had retired by then, so she wasn't there. The presentation was for the new Sakura Taisen 4 game.

A similar---make that a VERY similar game series is the Galaxy Angel games for the PS2. The first game was released on the first Xbox in Japan, and I own that one. The premise is very similar, and it's basically Sakura Taisen in space. Instead of steampunk mecha, they fly starfighters. The Galaxy Angel anime is great fun, but it is only vaguely like the video games. The Galaxy Angel manga, released by Broccoli Books in English, follows the story of the video games. I've only played it a bit, but you play the role of Takuto, who is also in the manga, and your relationship with the five girls depends on how you interact with them through the game.

(If I take too long to type something, I get a timeout error. Is anyone else getting this? I am copying my messages before submitting because I end up having to attempt a second time at submitting it.)

[Heero]

I've still never really played the Sakura Taisen games, but I've been a fan of the designs because I'm a big fan of Kosuke Fujishima. I should have gone to the Sakura Taisen cafe way back when, but didn't, although I got a friend of mine to get me some gear from the cafe before it closed. (yay) Being a Texan, I think I will always love Gemini Sunrise. I'm not a big figures person, but I HAD to buy the Gemini Sunrise figure and at one point had it on my desk at work. (now it's on display at home)

I also had fun with Tales of Destiny (the only "Tales" game I ever played). It had an interesting control scheme, and I loved that the fight sequences left the Japanese voices intact.

Also, re: Kikuko Inoue, I was once told that she only has two voice settings: "sweet" and "b!tch" She apparently plays Yamato Nadeshiko characters like Kasumi & Belldandy and Dominatrixes (not sure which ones fit this category, haven't gone looking for them). (She's also a voice in Tales of Destiny and is one of only two voice actresses that I really care about)

[Path]

Why is there such a huge anime/RPG fan overlap? I guess a lot of RPGs have the anime look, but I got hooked on Dragon Warrior when I was a kid and I had no idea it was made in Japan. It definitely did not have any anime stylings.

I think it has to do with the fact that alot of anime gets made into games, and alot of games get made into (usually terrible) anime. You eventually stumble into the other looking for more and get interested in more.

Dragon Warrior I was actually my first ever RPG. I think I got it with my Nintendo Power subscription? I played the heck out of that game, even if it was 95% grinding. I don't remember the anime on tv at all.

And in repsonse to Heero: I've heard the same thing about Inoue. Lust from FMA is probably a good example of what your trying to think of. I also hear she's going to be voicing Princess Celestia in the My Little Pony dub, it seems to be a perfect role for her.

[greg]

I would be happy if more anime would be made that resembles an RPG: fantasy, swords, dragons, etc (modern Final Fantasy games do NOT count!). Lodoss Wars resembles an RPG, so does Dunbine and Escaflowne. Instead of anime based off of RPGs, I would like to see anime that is like an RPG, but is a unique story. Most video games seem to have a more compelling storyline than most modern anime, anyways.

[usamimi]

I think that RPGs tend to appeal to anime fans, and vice-versa, because of the rich stories and character development many of them have...and like you said, it also helps that some of them have anime-style character designs (or outright have anime or games based on them, whichever the case may be). So it's natural that there's some overlapping.

Japanese RPGs seem to have declined in the Western fandom over the years, though I remember when almost every game coming out was a translated RPG with anime-style character designs.

I agree that I miss stuff like Lodoss and Escaflowne. There really isn't a lot of straight-up Fantasy titles being made anymore, and even when they are, they're usually like sci-fi/fantasy or more "modern" takes on it.

[Heero]

Lodoss Wars resembles an RPG

I know they've made a Lodoss RPG, and I HEARD (unconfirmed to me) that the original Lodoss anime is actually based on the creator's D&D campaign(s). As for sword&sorcery anime, I LOVE Dragon Half, and I really need to track down a copy of Bastard! (even though it is OOP).

[usamimi]

Oh man, I love Dragon Half. I wish they'd made more of it. I keep wondering if someone will ever pick up the manga someday, but since it's considered "old" now, maybe not. :/

Bastard's still relatively easy to find...I think it's less than $15 on Amazon. I found it in a bargain bin at someone's booth at A-kon last year for $8, so keep your eyes peeled.