Anime-inspired roleplaying will get a nostalgic whiff of the past when Big Eyes, Small Mouth Retro Second Edition comes out this August. Dyskami Publishing Company is reprinting this anime and manga tabletop gaming classic after the book’s 20-year absence from store shelves. It’s a slice of anime-adjacent history. Let’s take a look.
A Pinch of Manga Spice
Seminal. That’s an interesting word. Look it up when you’re done here. For now, “seminal” is a fitting adjective for Big Eyes, Small Mouth, the groundbreaking anime and manga tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG). The game, first published in 1997, sliced out a niche in a hobby space dominated by sword and sorcery titles like Dungeons & Dragons. While BESM wasn’t the only anime-inspired roleplaying game out (Bubblegum Crisis by R. Talsorian Games came out in 1996), it became the go-to game for running any flavor of anime-inspired campaign.
BESM continues to win fans over and is now in its fourth edition (2020). With a 4.6 out of 5-star rating on the online RPG store DriveThruRPG, it’s clearly sticking around. There’s a free BESM 4th edition primer, so you can try it before you buy it.
For fans of old-school rules, the digital version of Big Eyes, Small Mouth Retro Second Edition is currently available on DriveThruRPG for $39.99. It includes (according to the site’s sales blurb) “expanded and updated content, including new character options, templates, rules, monsters, examples, and artwork.” Confusingly, the print book is set to retail for $39.95, 4¢ less than the digital edition.
Related: R. Talsorian Games reveals Edgerunners TTRPG, featuring Hiroyuki Imaishi art.
Ghost in the Shell 2, Again
Speaking of 20-year-old anime properties returning from the dead, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence will return to the big screen in June. American audiences can enjoy the 4k restoration of Mamoru Oshii’s haunting masterpiece from the 23rd of June until the 26th of the same month. The movie was produced by Production I.G. and is currently licensed by GKIDS Films. Not that we care. Just show us Motoko Kusanagi in her stealth suit already!
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