http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/03/04/national/a103425S84.DTL&tsp=1
Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons passed away today.
At first, this might not look like an event to concern a Japanese
animation discussion group. Yet the influence Gygaxs creation has had on
Japanese - and Western - popular culture has possibly never quite been
appreciated.
Leaving aside the obvious influence on console RPGs such as the Final
Fantasy series, Dungeons and Dragons directly inspired one major anime
series - Record of Lodoss War - and influenced many others; Slayers [1]
immediately springs to mind.
In addition, and more personally, it was Dungeons and Dragons that led
me through various indirect paths to anime and mecha fandom.
For hit points, experience levels, Beholders, Kobolds, Paladins, vorpal
swords, saving throws, +3 Maces, magic missiles, and - above all else -
the gift of imagination, my thanks to the original Dungeon Master.
[1] Though it must be a very generous Dungeon Master indeed who allows
his player characters to employ Dragon Slave on a regular basis... ^_^
--
*"Magic Girl supposed wear cute *justin@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
thing! Not... " * *
* "You wanna look cute or kick ass?"* *
- Yuki and Largo, Megatokyo. * All outta gum. *
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