Strange, high concept Tabletop Roleplaying Games are all the rage in Japan...sort of. They aren't necessarily popular with the majority mainstream TRPG hobbyists - that spot goes to Call of Cthulhu - but they absolutely abound in the fan lead doujinshi market.
Doujinshi RPGs are a major producer of tabletop gaming products, with numerous sites dedicated to selling amateur made games, supplements, scenarios, and (perhaps my favorite concept) 'standing picture material'. The latter are full figure character illustrations that can be used as PCs or NPCs, often accompanied by close-up portraits and/or variations in the character showing alternate clothing or different expressions.
Old Man from Togenkyosha's Mob NPC 100, Vol. 1.
There are currently 5 'volumes' each with a total of 100 illustrations
including all variations on a character.
Like other aspects of doujinshi, you can expect to see unofficial games based on known IPs but more and more you come across really creative original works. In some cases you have games being made by the equivalent of a Creative Commons or Open Gaming License type situation, such as the Saikoro Fiction games in this post. Other times you will have someone produce a completely original, indie game that so impresses the big boys that a major publishing company offers to produce it professionally, as with Kadokawa Corporation and Mamono Scramble.
Additionally, many of these games and their supplements are available in stores. As Japan isn't big on PDFs and e-books yet (they're getting there), the doujinshi games are produced in physical books of good-to-high quality and placed on the shelves of stores that sell Manga, Light Novels, and of course dedicated gaming shops and cafes just like their mainstream cousins.
The inclusion of indie and small press 'amateur' TRPGs in the Japanese game market in such a big way really diversifies the options of a Japanese gamer. It is easy (perhaps even easier than in the West) to get people together to play something other than Lovercraftian Horror or an ampersand game. So jealous. lol
On to the main event...
Mamono Scramble
Throughout Human history there have been people who claimed to have seen ghosts, faeries, and other supernatural beings and phenomenon. No definitive evidence that the paranormal even existed was ever documented until...'The Great Stop'.
One day in the Winter of 2019, everyone in the world closed their eyes at the same time and when they opened them, they could see the monsters all around them. These wonderous and terrifying creatures were just as surprised as we were.
Now it's a few years later and a comprise has been reached between Humanity and the bizarre entities that share our world with us. The weird live among us; your dry cleaner is a vampire, the delivery boy is an oni, and that really attractive woman in accounting is very likely a dragon. Unfortunately, not every monster is down with this whole 'living as equals with Humans' thing. In addition, having flaming spectres, giant ogres, and even wilder beasties walking around has its own inherent problems.
That's where you come in. You are a Mamono, a Non-Human Being, and it's up to you and your tribe (an organized group of friends and/or allies) to help out when your neighbors are in trouble, be they mundane or mythic. Is there a lost Yeti child who can't find their parents? Is an out of control sake-guzzling Yokai loose in Shinjuku? What can we get our friend for her birthday since she's a Polynesian Goddess? It's time to get the gang together and solve this! MAMONO SCRAMBLE!
This gives you the basic premise and what the PCs do in the game but it only scratches the surface of the world and how scenarios can be played out. Situations can range from heart-warming and humorous to serious and scary. The role of one's 'tribe' and the city of Tokyo itself are just some of the interesting elements of this RPG.
It also features a few intriguing differences from what one tends to see in modern Japanese TRPG design. For one thing it uses D12s instead of the ubiquitous D6s or less common but still very popular D10s. The clearly defined phases and scenario structure popular in many other games is much looser here, as are the skills or 'Characteristics' of the PCs. Mamono characters possess Magic Powers utilizing Mana or 'Spirit Energy'. While these powers have specific rules for their natures and functions, it seems like any characters can take any power. Your form doesn't define what you can do but rather you figure out what you want to be able to do and then describe your form.
I am going to be talking about this game again very soon. I'm kind of obsessed with it. Hmm. Maybe I'll make up a Player Character like I did for Deadline Heroes.
Weirdness Factor: 8
The idea is fairly Japanese, while the execution is VERY Japanese. To run and play a game like this I feel like you'd have to be familiar with the Anime and Manga that cover similar themes. Sadly, those aren't commonly known to a large number of Western gamers. I could be wrong of course and the idea isn't as weird to most people as I think it is.
Desire to Run It: 8-9
That said, this game is right up my alley. I actually own a physical copy of this one. I love Chainsaw Man and other 'Monsters Among Us' stories as well as 'Slice of Life' Anime/Manga. Combining them sounds charming, possibly creepy, and potentially really exciting.
Past Future Paradox
In this original Time Travel game by TRPG Circle Behavior Judgment Club (just rolls of the tongue don't it?), the players are cast as Time Travelers from one of 6 eras of Earth history who work together to prevent potentially devastating alterations to the Time-Space Continuum. They must be careful however, for as they attempt to maintain the timeline their actions can have detrimental butterfly effects of their own.
Characters can be from Primitive Times, Ancient Times, Medieval Times, Modern Times...
How Time Travel is achieved by the PCs and other characters can differ dramatically and from one scenario to the next. Perhaps an alien 'Time Lord' is taking your group on a journey via a Police Box larger on the inside then it is on the outside. Maybe an eccentric scientist has built a Time Machine into a limited edition, rear engine, two-passenger sports car. There is a legend in the mountains of Northern Japan of people disappearing from a natural hot spring only to reappear moments to days later. It's like every book, TV show, and movie Time Travel gimmick exists together. So many possibilities!
...The Super Information Age, and The Space Age.
Right Top: The Big Bang Goddess
Right Bottom: The Ruler of Time
In addition, the setting has an interesting 'cosmology'. There is a female entity known as 'The Big Bang Goddess' who may or not be the universe itself. It is she who allows Time Travel to occur but also blesses those who travel with positive intentions. She is countered by Chronos, the self-proclaimed 'Ruler of Time', who seeks to twist history to his own purposes.
The game uses the Saikoro Fiction (Dice Fiction) system but like all the RPGs that utilize these mechanics the rules differ slightly to customize things for the premise and setting in question.
Weirdness Factor: 6
Perhaps the least bizarre game in this post. What's crazy is that we in the West didn't think of this game first!
Desire to Run It: 6-7
I love the idea and it sounds super cool but I need to learn more about the rules before I can give it serious thought. Also, I see it as better for a series of one-shots or a short campaign. Time Travel is often tricky to maintain over a long...um, heh...period of time.
The Adventures of Horai Academy!!
The Adventures of Horai Academy! (note the use of only 1 exclamation point!) was a popular play-by-mail game created and written by Kazuma Shinjo and produced by Yuentai in 1990. In 1991 a tabletop RPG was created, with the title being given a second exclamation point to differentiate it from the PBM version.
The Player Characters are high school students attending the titular Horai Academy, an exclusive private learning institution on an island nation just off the coast of Japan. Yes, the island is independent of Japan and the school is considered its own country. It has over 100,000 students and many of its upper classman and faculty handle the politics, military defense, and infrastructure maintenance of the island.
The Island of Utsuhojima (likely a replacement for real life Oshima Island)
The game takes an absurdist view of Japanese high school life and students get involved in everything from typical teenage drama to crazy conspiracies, giant robot battles, fighting off Kaiju attacks, uncovering lost civilizations, and unlocking ancient mystical secrets. This is handled by the school's 100+ Clubs, of which PCs can belong to up to four. You could be in the Fishing Club, the Cooking Club, The Eldritch Book Club, the Mecha Building Club, or practically any other mad thing you want to dream up.
The island and the school have been developed in great detail by the original writers and then further expanded by the fans. The setting is rich but the rules are relatively simple, making for one of my favorite kinds of games - rules light but concept heavy. It's an anything goes Anime/Manga influenced RPG that was accurately described by my friend Ray as 'Crazy Japanese High School, The Roleplaying Game' and really, how can you top that?
Horai High School Life Encyclopedia.
A sourcebook released in 1995 along with
a revised edition of the base game.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention...while the PBM is long gone and the original TRPG out of print, the game has been resurrected by a Doujinshi fan group. Starting in 2020 a group of fans independent of the original publishers updated the game and are now in talks to produce a 3rd Edition! Wild right? SO COOL!
Weirdness Factor: 8
As noted, Horai Academy!! is absurdist in the extreme but its the kind of oddball setting that has its own internal consistency and I just adore that. Like the Wizarding World, Superheroes, and Star Trek it doesn't reflect real world logic but it makes sense to itself and that's the most important thing. I would also contend that's it's the kind of weirdness that one can wrap their head around without too much effort. It's easy (for me at least) to see this world and how to game it.
Desire to Run It: 9
I actually ran this game for much too short a period of time back in 1994. We only had about six sessions spread out over three months or so. It was so fun but the players' schedules and various real life issues got in the way. My next 31 Day Character Challenge entry will feature a character from our Horai Academy!! game.
Damn but I'd love to run this again. It was so nuts, funny, atmospheric, and just over-the-top awesome. Don't be surprised if you see more posts on this game as well in the near future.
Uncle Gap
(Sometimes translated as Gap Uncle or The Uncle Gap)
To explain what this game is about, you first need to understand what an 'Uncle' is in Japanese culture. As a slang term, Ojisan (less formally Ossan) is a middle-aged salaryman with a tired, overworked appearance and attitude.
Additionally, the term has spread to imply that said Uncle is a man with few prospects, someone who isn't going anyway in particular, financially and/or socially. This might be a fellow who is an Otaku (a fan obsessed with a particular hobby), an especially anxious or shy individual, a conspiracy theorist, etc. For lack of a better term, the Uncle is a loser. A loser who's not married, has no kids, maybe not even a girlfriend...they're perfect!
These men are just what the world needs to fight against cultists, monsters beyond Human comprehension, alien invaders, and all sorts of other weirdness. While they may look like under-achievers and washouts to the rest of society, they and they alone know the truth; Uncles are all experts in something. Maybe they're masters of martial arts. Perhaps they're proficient in creating make-shift weapons. It's also possible they know ancient arcane secrets mankind wasn't meant to know. It could happen.
This game is definitely built around a Japanese cultural phenomenon and as such might be difficult to get across to your players. At the same time, we definitely see people like this in our Western society. I'm divorced, no kids, make OK money, and I am an actual uncle. It would be great if I was secretly able to contribute to protecting the Earth from a hidden 'world of darkness'. Sounds neat!
Weirdness Factor: 8
It is really the gimmick of the 'Uncle' concept that makes the game weird. While we're use to playing characters in their teens or their prime, here's a game where the PC protagonists are possibly balding, likely have some lower back pain, and complain about the music kids listen to these days. Why, back when they were in high school...
Desire to Run It: 7
This is definitely a game I'd like to take a stab at. Mechanically it's another Saikoro Fiction game but otherwise I don't know much about its specifics. I would need to do more research before I felt comfortable bringing it to the table. It's also another game that I think would work best as a short series campaign.
Luckily I do have one group that knows the tropes of this idea and I think they could pull it off to great effect.
Anyway, these are just some of the wild and wacky tabletop RPGs Japan has to offer and definitely the ones most interesting to me at the moment. Sure there are Dating Sim RPGs and Baseball RPGs and maybe I'll talk about them in the future but I'll finish here for now.
See you soon,
AD
Barking Alien
