Have you watched Blue Eye Samurai? Yeah, I'm talking to you. You HAVEN'T? What are you even doing here?!? Go! Go watch it right now! Once you're finished you can join the rest of us at the Cool Kids table.
Great, now everybody here has seen this series, we can discuss my favorite thing to come out in Pop Culture Media for all of 2023. That is not hyperbole. I'm 100% serious. Marvel, Star Wars, even Season 3 of Star Trek: Lower Decks and some great Anime I saw didn't come close to Blue Eye Samurai in my opinion. We're talking 11 out of 10, 6 Stars out of 5, 3 thumbs up, absolutely S Tier entertainment.
The art, animation, characters, plot, and direction were all top notch. Was it an absolutely perfect work? Perhaps not, it had minor imperfections here and there but overall I haven't seen any other series this past year that gets as close to ideal as this one.
Enough praise, let's dig in...
Yeah, I know I insisted you see the show before proceeding but I'm feeling merciful.
As you know, I am not just an Otaku, I'm also a Nipponophile; I am interested in Japan's history, culture, food, and folklore. I've run Japanese 'Fantasy' RPG campaigns in the past but they are always set in the 'real' world of Shogunate* Japan with the addition of magic, spirits, and other elements of the mythology believed by the people of that period of history. I have no interest in Legend of the Five Rings' 'Rokugan' or D&D's 'Kara-Tur'. Much as I prefer Ars Magica's Mythic Europe to D&D's made-up places, I likewise prefer the Nippon of Bushido and Blue Eye Samurai to a fictitious world inspired by the real place and its people.
With that as our starting point, let's take a look at the setting and themes of BES. They weren't all bright and shiny, sunshine and cherry blossoms. It was a look at a real place during a real time even if it followed a fictional story. Japan's Edo Period was a bloody, racist, sexist, and often terrible age for people who weren't the Shogun. Blue Eye Samurai doesn't shy away from any of this this. It instead embraces it as a key part of the composition of Edo Period Japan as the 'world' wherein this story occurs.
So the question is...is this the same world a Feudal Japan campaign takes place in? I would say a very definitive yes. For other players and GMs the answer might not be so clear or easy. I had some wonderful conversations a few weeks back with friends of mine who I game with regularly about whether they would include some or all of the negative elements mentioned above in their campaigns if they were setting a game in a historical setting.
My buddy Keith noted that one of his favorite periods in world history is The Age of Sail and a favorite game of his to run is Beat to Quarters, an RPG focused on playing members of the British Royal Navy in conflict with the French, Spanish, Pirates, and the intrigue of the court. One thing that was prevalent during this time that does not and will not appear is slavery.
Keith has decided, based on how terrible and disdainful the American and European slave trade was, that it isn't something he wants in his Age of Sail games. No adventure scenario with feature it, it isn't something the PCs will be involved with, and it doesn't even get a mention. Why would it? That isn't what his games are about.
In my view, repulsive as it was and it was repulsive, it did happen. It is part of that time in history. I wouldn't dwell on it but I can't ignore it. Additionally, an RPG with the right GM, players, and tone might be the perfect place to discuss and explore these deeply regrettable and tragic aspects of the ongoing story of Humanity.
My love of Japan doesn't embrace its blemishes as positive things but neither does it pretend they don't exist. I accept the bad with the good and as a storyteller try to shed light on the darkness. This is what Blue Eye Samurai does as well and I would very much like to take cues from how well it handle these elements.
Just some musings as I revisit the idea of running a Feudal Era Japan RPG campaign. Inspirations from BES definitely have me thinking about a rework of my Yokai Hunter Society concept.
More to come...
AD
Barking Alien
Starting the year off right by poking in here ...
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched it but now I just might as I keep hearing Good Things.
As far as historical issues in an RPG campaign I can contribute a bit. In the Deadlands game we just wrapped up one section dealt with a town election in California in the 1870s. As the party attempted to figure out how to ensure fairness the whole topic of who gets to vote in a local election at that time came up. That's a whole tangle of issues that could have gone badly in multiple ways - there are no guidelines on this in the book BTW - but we're all adult friends who just talked through and figured out what we thought made sense. It is a fictional parallel universe so we had more leeway than a strictly historical setting would allow but it was still something where we needed to settle some details in order to run it.
Despite the potential pitfalls that was a great session so these things can be worked through.
In my view, repulsive as it was and it was repulsive, it did happen. It is part of that time in history. I wouldn't dwell on it but I can't ignore it. Additionally, an RPG with the right GM, players, and tone might be the perfect place to discuss and explore these deeply regrettable and tragic aspects of the ongoing story of Humanity.
ReplyDeleteThis paragraph perfectly encapsulates my view. I can get behind the desire to downplay ugly stuff, but not completely ignoring it.