Japanese Superhero-ish help wanted!

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tenbones

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Okay - so I've decided to take my Marvel game to Japan. I'm looking for stones left unturned in terms of what Asian pop-culture stuff I can convert to FASERIP for the purposes of doing Cool Shit(tm) with my players.

Rules: There are no rules

- I don't care much about canon per se. I'm going to contextualize them to my Marvel/DC hybrid universe anyhow. But I want them to have their home-court flava. But if you post anything, feel free to toss in your context as you want. Try to give a Marvel-ish spin to it. If you wanna make it mystical - perfectly fine. If you wanna make it technical or part of the government - just as fine. Anything under the headings I have that you LIKE and want to toss in, *PLEASE DO*, because the more fodder I have to consider the better.

So things I'm considering:

Kamen Rider - I'm thinking these guys are like the equivalent of fraternities of metahumans (I have my reasons why they're appearing but feel free to adlib your own) that create their own rules to deal with evil metahuman/spiritual incursions. Some Kamen Riders

Shogun Warriors - Possibly government project to deal with Kaiju? Think Sentinel Program but Japanese style and each one is unique. Feel free to toss in anything specific you think would be cool.

G-Force - Gatchaman project. I'm pretty strong on this one already. It's part of one my Players plans potentially to start up as a Government team.

Streetfighter/MK/Tekken - I have a player that is very much a Batmanesque Martial Arts guy. So you know I'm going to be digging on this.

Kaiju - Naturally. I have a few ideas on Kaiju mythos I'm going to run with. There is some extradimenional Law/Chaos stuff going on, plus I'm going to use classical notions of Godzilla being a force of nature type thing. But any particular things you all might dig on - toss it up. Monster Island is likely going to be a thing. (Can toss in Fing Fang Foom in here as well).

Evangelion - Government project?

General Superheroes - Tiger and Bunny, Sunfire, Tekkaman, Big Hero 6, Silver Samurai, etc. Give me all the deep cuts from Manga/Anime that you can think of!

Dragon Ball - Hmmm...

Speed Racer - Why not? Racer-X and the Kamen Riders team up with G-Force and my PCs to deal with The Hand and horde of Demon Oni...

Ultraman - Helllss to the yes. Beta Capsules are incoming. I may make these a little more approachable rather than Kaiju-sized supers. But they'll still fight Kaiju of course. Think Space Knights or baby Captain Universe but still Ultraman in theme and possibly premise.

Super Sentai - Power Rangers. I'm not sure what to do with these guys yet. I know literally nothing about them. School me.

Astro Boy - Yeah I may use him.

Mega-Man - why not?

Guyver - Without doubt. Guyver is a must.


What else?
 
The Sailor Moon-esque group of magical girls could be recruited and trained by a Themyscrian renegade living in Man's World, with each member getting their powers from different Marvel entities.

"In the name of Queen Hippolyta and the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, I will punish you!"

They wouldn't be very well known to the general public, as most of their battles take place in the shadows, so to speak, against extradimensional invaders hiding in our midst and other World Of Darkness style threats.
 
If you have access to Disnet+, I strongly reccommend the first episode of the documentary series Marvel 616 which tells the story of the Japanese Spider-Man TV show. It may or may not help you current project, but it's really a joy to watch.
 
If you have access to Disnet+, I strongly reccommend the first episode of the documentary series Marvel 616 which tells the story of the Japanese Spider-Man TV show. It may or may not help you current project, but it's really a joy to watch.

Yeah, Japanese Spiderman basially created the Super Sentai genre. Power Rangers are like his grandchildren
 
Also, consider that someone with inborn powers will be seen as Kami, and/or Yokai
You may also want to consider the pocket monster genre, with kids who can commune with spirit animals of strange forms that can evolve (Digimon, Pokemon) which is a whole different class of supers, sort of like magical cousin/descendant of Tarzan.
 
If you have access to Disnet+, I strongly reccommend the first episode of the documentary series Marvel 616 which tells the story of the Japanese Spider-Man TV show. It may or may not help you current project, but it's really a joy to watch.
I actually grew up with that show. I'm super familiar with it. Alas I already have Spiderman in-continuity... but there is no reason I can't repurpose him into something else. Spider-themed and part of the Kamen Riders.
 
Also, consider that someone with inborn powers will be seen as Kami, and/or Yokai
You may also want to consider the pocket monster genre, with kids who can commune with spirit animals of strange forms that can evolve (Digimon, Pokemon) which is a whole different class of supers, sort of like magical cousin/descendant of Tarzan.
DUDE!

This is a good idea. I never even thought about it. Digimon specifically. Pokemon could be a thing too... but more literal.

My son loved Digimon when he was a kid. I watched it with him and yeah I could see this.

One of the conceits of the setting is a riff I'm taking from a FASERIP Asian Pantheon fan-product where the Japanese gods will create magical weapons and objects that can and will tranform into "technological" gadgets for mortals if that's the paradigm they adhere to.

So it gives me maximum flexibility in explaining all the quasi-magictech stuff that is above and beyond or just batshit squirrely even by Marvel/DC standards.
 
Seems like a good opportunity to bring up my rules for Martial Arts Stunts for Phaserip...

A Martial Arts Master is capable of learning Martial Arts Stunts. Effectively, these are acquired in the same manner as Power Stunts, but instead of variations on Powers, it's specific martial arts Moves that are generated by first choosing or rolling for the Effect:

33724861218_9af41e180b_z.jpg

Then a name is generated for the Move using the following chart:

33720549478_0257ea144e_z.jpg
The Martial Artist can choose to roll a D10 for any combination of Style, Element, Form, Weapon, or Manoeuvre.

Ex: Tang Shi (The Jade Elbow) prefers short and to-the point names and thus rolls only for Element and Manoeuvre, getting a 3 and a 6, "Steel Chop". Lu Tang (The Cosmic Egg) on the other hand, prefers elaborate names for Moves that he proudly announces in combat, so he rolls on all 5 charts getting a 9, 8, 2, 10, and 2, or

"Dancing Storm Crane Fist Punch!"

Of course, an inappropriate name can be discarded, but it's much more fun to take the name as inspiration for what specifically the Move entails, which is the final part of creating an individualized Move. For example, it may involve a simple punch or kick, or perhaps a spinning body missile or "Death from Above" leaping attack.
 
Okay - so I've decided to take my Marvel game to Japan. I'm looking for stones left unturned in terms of what Asian pop-culture stuff I can convert to FASERIP for the purposes of doing Cool Shit(tm) with my players.

Rules: There are no rules

- I don't care much about canon per se. I'm going to contextualize them to my Marvel/DC hybrid universe anyhow. But I want them to have their home-court flava. But if you post anything, feel free to toss in your context as you want. Try to give a Marvel-ish spin to it. If you wanna make it mystical - perfectly fine. If you wanna make it technical or part of the government - just as fine. Anything under the headings I have that you LIKE and want to toss in, *PLEASE DO*, because the more fodder I have to consider the better.

So things I'm considering:

Kamen Rider - I'm thinking these guys are like the equivalent of fraternities of metahumans (I have my reasons why they're appearing but feel free to adlib your own) that create their own rules to deal with evil metahuman/spiritual incursions. Some Kamen Riders

Shogun Warriors - Possibly government project to deal with Kaiju? Think Sentinel Program but Japanese style and each one is unique. Feel free to toss in anything specific you think would be cool.

G-Force - Gatchaman project. I'm pretty strong on this one already. It's part of one my Players plans potentially to start up as a Government team.

Streetfighter/MK/Tekken - I have a player that is very much a Batmanesque Martial Arts guy. So you know I'm going to be digging on this.

Kaiju - Naturally. I have a few ideas on Kaiju mythos I'm going to run with. There is some extradimenional Law/Chaos stuff going on, plus I'm going to use classical notions of Godzilla being a force of nature type thing. But any particular things you all might dig on - toss it up. Monster Island is likely going to be a thing. (Can toss in Fing Fang Foom in here as well).

Evangelion - Government project?

General Superheroes - Tiger and Bunny, Sunfire, Tekkaman, Big Hero 6, Silver Samurai, etc. Give me all the deep cuts from Manga/Anime that you can think of!

Dragon Ball - Hmmm...

Speed Racer - Why not? Racer-X and the Kamen Riders team up with G-Force and my PCs to deal with The Hand and horde of Demon Oni...

Ultraman - Helllss to the yes. Beta Capsules are incoming. I may make these a little more approachable rather than Kaiju-sized supers. But they'll still fight Kaiju of course. Think Space Knights or baby Captain Universe but still Ultraman in theme and possibly premise.

Super Sentai - Power Rangers. I'm not sure what to do with these guys yet. I know literally nothing about them. School me.

Astro Boy - Yeah I may use him.

Mega-Man - why not?

Guyver - Without doubt. Guyver is a must.


What else?
So a few points. There's a Manga/Anime I recommend adding to the list, My Hero Academia. it is a Japanese take on American style superheroes, with some uniquely Japan aspects.

Including something I read in one of Green Ronin's books (Which I have misplaced) that makes sense, and Tiger and Bunny, as well as MHA actually uses in a way: Japanese Idol Culture. And that real life Japan does use right now: Superheroes would be very commercialized, they would be the equivalent of music stars and actors. Ultraman for example has been used to hawk some foodstuffs.

Now Tiger and Bunny turns superheroes into a sort of reality show, but it's actually scripted (REAL villains wouldn't wait for commercial breaks before striking) but MHA shows 'professional heroes' doing side things such as Modelling and Product Placement. And given how prevalent it is in Japan right now, I don't see why not in a Superhero world.

Anpanman? *runs*

My point exactly.

In recent years, Marvel (with varying levels of success) has tried the Asian Superhero thing, and apparently, Kaiju ARE a thing in Japan, so it's not much of a stretch for you to add it in your game, Tenbones.

Side Topic, in the Emerald City game I ran, I had my players meet a 'Gatchaman' style team (That had broken up, but to personal outside issues. One left the team who was using it to find a lost loved one, another got badly hurt to the point of being permanently crippled and being 'allergic' to invasive procedures can't be 'fixed' via cybernetics. One had 'family' obligations), they were a private sponsored team, whom I called 'The Ninja Birds'. Yes, very original. And yes, each character was named very closely to the Gatchaman team, Falcon, Hawk, Owl, Sparrow and Robin.
 
My Hero Academia. Yeah that's one I've had recommended to me. I'll check it out!

Yeah I'm already mining the hell out of Mutants and Masterminds - one my player's PC is actually from that universe where it was invaded by Shuma Gorath and wiped out. His mission was to travel to the dimension where Shuma Gorath originated (following the leadership of SHADOW) and stop it from happening - which happens to be my shard of the Marvel Universe. I plan on taking the group to the M&M-verse at some point.
 
Speaking of superhero anime, One Punch Man is easily one of the most enjoyable TV shows I've seen in the last decade


I'd argue that OPM is not useful to Tenbones, because it's meant as a parody. That's not to say it's not fun, but I was under the impression that Tenbones wanted something more... Uh... Societal? More about what's AROUND the superhero and culture of the nation. Am I explaining it right?
 
One Punch Man is often funny, but I wouldn't call it a parody. It doesn't make fun of superheroes, it very much venerates them.

Take this scene with Mumen Rider, when the weakest superhero in existence (he's just a guy with a bike) takes on the biggest threat any hero up until that point in the series has faced...



I'd say this one scene, more than any other in any Marvel or DC film in the last 4 decades, encapsulates what it means to be a superhero.
 
One Punch Man is often funny, but I wouldn't call it a parody. It doesn't make fun of superheroes, it very much venerates them.

Take this scene with Mumen Rider, when the weakest superhero in existence (he's just a guy with a bike) takes on the biggest threat any hero up until that point in the series has faced...



I'd say this one scene, more than any other in any Marvel or DC film in the last 4 decades, encapsulates what it means to be a superhero.

I believe the writer has confirmed that it's a parody and it's all based around ONE joke: Saitama is TOO strong. He wants a challenge, but nothing can, even if he rigs it so that the bad guys have an edge.
 
I stand by my assertion.

The storylines don't revolve around that "one joke" (that isn't even the joke, it's that because he is so powerful no one actually believes that he accomplishes anything he does and so in the Hero registry he is assigned the bottom rank, and he gains a reputation as someone who tries to take credit for the actios of other heroes). In fact, past the first story arc, Saitoma isnt even the main character. He's used sparingly, as a force of nature that shows up at the tail end of the character arcs of other heroes, or the instigation for change in people who are living a lie.

But moreover, as I said, it's a show (and comic) that takes heroism seriously. And does it better than most superhero series. It shows the selfishness and self-sacrifice of characters juxtoposed against those who try to use their powers for personal gain, or who get wrapped up in self-aggrandizing. It shows Saitoma as a genuinelly good person, who is willing to sacrifice his chances for popularity and acclaim to help others. And it focuses on the real heroism of characters like Mumen Rider, willing to fight a losing battle, to risk their own lives, for good.

So while there is comedy, the show itself is not a parody, or a farce. It's an existential exploration of what it means to be a hero, the responsibility that comes with power, and the difference between public image vs actually chosing to be a good person.

Supereyepatchwolf puts it better here...

 
I stand by my assertion.

The storylines don't revolve around that "one joke" (that isn't even the joke, it's that because he is so powerful no one actually believes that he accomplishes anything he does and so in the Hero registry he is assigned the bottom rank, and he gains a reputation as someone who tries to take credit for the actios of other heroes). In fact, past the first story arc, Saitoma isnt even the main character. He's used sparingly, as a force of nature that shows up at the tail end of the character arcs of other heroes, or the instigation for change in people who are living a lie.

But moreover, as I said, it's a show (and comic) that takes heroism seriously. And does it better than most superhero series. It shows the selfishness and self-sacrifice of characters juxtoposed against those who try to use their powers for personal gain, or who get wrapped up in self-aggrandizing. It shows Saitoma as a genuinelly good person, who is willing to sacrifice his chances for popularity and acclaim to help others. And it focuses on the real heroism of characters like Mumen Rider, willing to fight a losing battle, to risk their own lives, for good.

So while there is comedy, the show itself is not a parody, or a farce. It's an existential exploration of what it means to be a hero, the responsibility that comes with power, and the difference between public image vs actually chosing to be a good person.

Supereyepatchwolf puts it better here...


And that's why it's a parody, it all goes back to the central joke: Saitama is too strong, to lose, to be believed, to be considered a hero. That's not to say it's not good, or it doesn't have value. Hell, a parody doesn't even have to be funny, if it's well done. But OPM is also something else to this conversation:

Irrelevant. At least from what I understand. Tenbones wants a Superhero Japan, not a character study (Which OPM is, using that central joke as a starting point.) He's already got heroes, they're just going to Japan.

And if he wants to watch OPM? More power to him, but I personally think that Tiger and Bunny as well as My Hero Academia has more to it in terms of Japan as a society with actual superheroes.

Again, I'm not saying that OPM is bad, as it's not, I just don't think it's appropriate for what Tenbones asked for.

I could, of course, be wrong.
 
I can see using Death Note as a starter for an adventure.
 
I take it you're familiar with Marvel's own Red Ronin

To expand on that slightly, I think the idea of a battlesuit as being larger, with a pilot and a support crew to put it into the field is a useful one for a Japanese setting. I particularly like the idea of the support team being in a converting truck/trailer combo with a lab inside. Maybe the suit/mecha transforms into a further (towed?) trailer when not in use.

Spitfire and the Troubleshooters from Marvel's New Universe might also be a good source.

GR

On a completely different point, I always thought "Sarariman" would be a cool name for a superhero:smile:
 
I'd argue that OPM is not useful to Tenbones, because it's meant as a parody. That's not to say it's not fun, but I was under the impression that Tenbones wanted something more... Uh... Societal? More about what's AROUND the superhero and culture of the nation. Am I explaining it right?
yeah I considered OPM, but he'd be an anti-hero mega-problem character at best for the PC's to deal with.

I look at OPM contextually, *at best* like Sentry. He'd be this sociopath that thinks he's a hero, capable of insane destruction with zero self-awareness of why he does what he does due to his intense ennui. I agree with the idea he's really a force of nature - not really different than Godzilla, he just has to be contextualized properly.

Heh but he'd be fun to use as a background threat that may lead into a side-adventure to put him down.
 
yeah I considered OPM, but he'd be an anti-hero mega-problem character at best for the PC's to deal with.

I look at OPM contextually, *at best* like Sentry. He'd be this sociopath that thinks he's a hero, capable of insane destruction with zero self-awareness of why he does what he does due to his intense ennui. I agree with the idea he's really a force of nature - not really different than Godzilla, he just has to be contextualized properly.

Heh but he'd be fun to use as a background threat that may lead into a side-adventure to put him down.

I wouldn't recommend using OPM himself - he'd overshadow the characters too much.

It's the worldbuilding that's worth looking at -

  • the Hero Society - the state registration and control of superhero activities
  • the celebrity status afforded to superheroes that parallels/comments on Japan's popstar industry
  • the relationship of heroes to monsters (modern Japanese social ideals vs traditional folklore beliefs)
  • the ratings of threats
  • the atypically Japanese struggle of society vs nature as represented by the monsters representing different parts of nature (the Sea King, the Air King, the Earth king etc)
  • the politics of superheroes/gatekeeping/"newbie crushing"/cliques within the superhero community
  • the adoption/evolution of the Yakuza to the superhero paradigm
  • etc
 
I wouldn't recommend using OPM himself - he'd overshadow the characters too much.

It's the worldbuilding that's worth looking at -

  • the Hero Society - the state registration and control of superhero activities
  • the celebrity status afforded to superheroes that parallels/comments on Japan's popstar industry
  • the relationship of heroes to monsters (modern Japanese social ideals vs traditional folklore beliefs)
  • the ratings of threats
  • the atypically Japanese struggle of society vs nature as represented by the monsters representing different parts of nature (the Sea King, the Air King, the Earth king etc)
  • the politics of superheroes/gatekeeping/"newbie crushing"/cliques within the superhero community
  • the adoption/evolution of the Yakuza to the superhero paradigm
  • etc
yeah this is exactly what I'm trying to outline.

Thanks for the gut-check.
 
After diving into Kamen Rider's 50-year history... my mind is reeling...

I have hit the Cosmic Horseshoe of realizations... Kamen Rider Tokusatsu is based off of Lucha Libre in Japan. Literal characters from Mexico are cooked into the Kamen Rider mythos...

then that got me on the Lucha Libre rabbit hole... which means... am I gonna have to start statting Lucha Libre characters with their magical masks?

Oh lord...
 
After diving into Kamen Rider's 50-year history... my mind is reeling...

I have hit the Cosmic Horseshoe of realizations... Kamen Rider Tokusatsu is based off of Lucha Libre in Japan. Literal characters from Mexico are cooked into the Kamen Rider mythos...

then that got me on the Lucha Libre rabbit hole... which means... am I gonna have to start statting Lucha Libre characters with their magical masks?

Oh lord...
Only if your crew goes to Mexico...
 
Only if your crew goes to Mexico...
Plans are being drawn and tucked away...

I already have a couple of Luchador-styled heroes (our game is based in LA). And I've been planning on developing the secret Luchador societies down the road. Now I have added impetus. Plus, the whole meta-shamanic notions that fuel the Luchadore/Tokusatsu milieus are an easy plug-in for the crazy stuff I'm doing.
 
Plans are being drawn and tucked away...

I already have a couple of Luchador-styled heroes (our game is based in LA). And I've been planning on developing the secret Luchador societies down the road. Now I have added impetus. Plus, the whole meta-shamanic notions that fuel the Luchadore/Tokusatsu milieus are an easy plug-in for the crazy stuff I'm doing.
My point is that, although most Tokasatsu DOES have very deep connections to Luchador, it still has a more Japanese take on them. Toka heroes tend to be more... Traditional? Like Kamen Rider was a full on cyborg, while Lucha powers tend to derive from the masks in some way. Sure, it's a tiny thing, but it's also very unique.
 
I started putting together some villainous characters inspired by Japanese heroes. Here are the ones I had done so far:

Ultra Spectre X, a villainous Ultraman type, and Space Raider Zero, who was inspired by Sony Chiba's character Iron Sharp (Space Chief):
q5wMeXlm.jpg
ZLrjugnm.jpg
 
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure is a very long running martial arts superhero manga and has some concepts for villains and abilities that would be quite applicable to this sort of game. There is also an anime, of which the first couple of seasons are up on Netflix.


Also, One Punch Man.
 
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Don't forget the ubiquitous highschool where everyone has superpowers and/or great martial arts skill, and uses them exclusively in a rivalry against another school whose students are equally gifted.
 
Don't forget the ubiquitous highschool where everyone has superpowers and/or great martial arts skill, and uses them exclusively in a rivalry against another school whose students are equally gifted.
There is a manga-styled webcomic where things are sort of like this, and this one kid takes all the bullying, as he has "no" gift, but it gets dark pretty fast, and I can't keep up with it. If I could remember it I'd share. It's got those tropes, but there are some twists.
 
Don't forget the ubiquitous highschool where everyone has superpowers and/or great martial arts skill, and uses them exclusively in a rivalry against another school whose students are equally gifted.


Oh, and also the Battle Royale island, where the government institutes population control by having a high school class picked by lottery periodically fight each other to the death until there's one survivor...

Holy shit, why has no one added superpowers to that premise yet?
 
Oh, and also the Battle Royale island, where the government institutes population control by having a high school class picked by lottery periodically fight each other to the death until there's one survivor...

Holy shit, why has no one added superpowers to that premise yet?
Oh man no kidding! Consider this idea SWWWWWIIIIIPED!
 
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