No Ridiculous Anime Characters

[Zak Dymo]

[member="Menoetius"]

"No ridiculous anime characters. You know what I'm talking about."

No, I don't know what you're talking about, because I only portray mind-readers on this board. I'm not actually one in real life, and whether something is "ridiculous" is purely a matter of personal opinion.

What are the bright lines not to be crossed? Who gets to decide where inspiration stops and plagiarism begins?

George Lucas borrowed heavily from Japanese films, particularly the works of Akira Kurosawa, so your Star Wars already has cross-over themes and elements at the start. And that's pretty much how any creative process works. I'm a believer that there is no such thing as an original work of fiction. Something, somewhere, has influenced, contributed, or inspired it.

[member="Zak Dymo"] is basically Haneru from the anime Tribe Cool Crew. He doesn't have an anime avatar. He doesn't speak Japanese, but as I write him that's where a lot of the inspiration for the traits that make up his character have originated. He's not, to my mind, a blatant rip-off but I have to acknowledge that a lot of the ideas invested in him stem from that external source.

[member="Boo Chiyo"]? A mix of Damian Wayne from DC Comics and Jonah from the anime Jormungand.

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]? Kid Loki from Marvel Comics.

We have a Sith writing a character using Kid Buu as a play-by who is doing, in my mind, a fantastic job of writing a Star Wars character. Does that bother you as well? And I'm not talking about just the avatar. Much of that character draws on thematic elements of Buu's amorphous body, but I never find my sense of the Star Wars universe smashed when I read a post by him.

Don't get me wrong, your concerns are valid. I just find that the enforcement of the ban that you're proposing would be entirely subjective. Would you propose character application/biography reviews and approval by RPJs before someone could start to roleplay?

tl;dr: We all draw inspiration from external sources of some variety. So how do you enforce a standard? Who determines when inspiration crosses the line? And where IS that line?

 

[Tree]

I never claimed my signature wasn't provocative, nor was I being hypocritical.

If you read my posts I was just providing a counter-point to the argument. I also said that her avatar didn't personally offend me.

Yeah, sorry. I just thought it was a little funny xD I come from a few anime rp sites so I could understand why people would be annoyed, the fact is that people would probably not be very keen on having realistic looking characters on those sites.

 

[Olan Teff]

...the board is lessened from people who want to create a rendition of One-punch man in the canon.

Maybe I am a bit lax, since I have been a DM for so long, but I have had to run a campaign in FR 4e with the literal copies of Jason Bourne, Wesley Gibson (crossbow bolt bending!), the Wonder Twins and Stephanie Tanner from Full House. I've grown a thick skin to genre bending and I actually find it entertaining now.

I'm all for heavy immersion RP, into the dimmest, darkest reaches of lore, as well as zany and totally planet breaking madness. That boat sailed a long time ago for me. Even though I am in that tiny ocean, I adhere to both sides and its plights.

The one thing that bothers me is those who jump in and try to derail a already established RP. Be it the 'norm' in that world or not.

And super blatant rip off characters. Down to name, picture, height, skill, all of it. I feel if you are going to have a character, make it your own.

Its fine to take stuff from Anime or whatever genre you really are into, into RP. As its all a medium for entertainment.

Sometimes there is friction over it, its best to just talk it out like adults and decide on a course of action which won't harm either party and allow both to continue to enjoy themselves.

Simply put, if you have a problem, take it up with that person. If they are unreceptive to your point of view or negative, just bow out and refrain from dealing with said individual again.

 

[Alndys]

It is also worth pointing out that Tefka has tried to keep SWRP: Chaos as inclusive a community as possible from the word go. It's practically his mission statement - setting out a nice welcome mat for new visitors, encouraging people to jump right into the fun with no approval process or waiting list. Policing new characters (or existing characters) goes against this. Witch-hunting our fellow members is an absolutely flawless way to drive people away and stir a whole heaping pile of negative over the board.

Everyone RPs what they like, within the (very loose) framework given to us as a Star Wars board. Personally, I don't even like Star Wars, but I like being here and I like Science Fiction, so I tend to write things more in the theatrical tone of other Universes. And that's fine, SWRP remains the place where people like you and I can do that and still be included and still expect to RP with other people. Because we're a frankly HUGE community for a PBP board, and there's always going to be someone into the same nonsense you are. And there's always going to be someone who thinks it's rubbish.

If we went for the Anime characters, we'd have to go for all the possible crossovers. And we lose a lot of good people that way. Old or amazing characters, even some writers who'd find another place to do their thing. This is bad for the board, even if it improves the 'purity' of the Star Wars experience.

Obviously, for really egregious violations - like underage, hyper-sexualized characters doing creepy things - there is a report button. And it should be used. But leave quality control up to the staff. If Tefka and the Admins haven't seen fit to outlaw Anime characters after all this time and all that Anime, there's a reason why. Inclusion.

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Yeah, sorry. I just thought it was a little funny xD I come from a few anime rp sites so I could understand why people would be annoyed, the fact is that people would probably not be very keen on having realistic looking characters on those sites.

No worries! I get where you are coming from.

 

[Menoetius]

[member="Menoetius"]

tl;dr: We all draw inspiration from external sources of some variety. So how do you enforce a standard? Who determines when inspiration crosses the line? And where IS that line?

Well said.

So, in response, I'll say that it comes down to common sense. Nothing is black and white.

I'm sure you can tell when someone or something doesn't fit into this universe in any sense whatsoever. Don't play the victim, your characters are fine.

I, myself, am part of this creative process and have characters that borrow heavily from real world ideals and other fiction. Yet they all, I hope, fit into this universe.

 

[Darth Athora]

This gets all of my yes.

 

[Menoetius]

It is also worth pointing out that Tefka has tried to keep SWRP: Chaos as inclusive a community as possible from the word go. It's practically his mission statement - setting out a nice welcome mat for new visitors, encouraging people to jump right into the fun with no approval process or waiting list. Policing new characters (or existing characters) goes against this. Witch-hunting our fellow members is an absolutely flawless way to drive people away and stir a whole heaping pile of negative over the board.

Everyone RPs what they like, within the (very loose) framework given to us as a Star Wars board. Personally, I don't even like Star Wars, but I like being here and I like Science Fiction, so I tend to write things more in the theatrical tone of other Universes. And that's fine, SWRP remains the place where people like you and I can do that and still be included and still expect to RP with other people. Because we're a frankly HUGE community for a PBP board, and there's always going to be someone into the same nonsense you are. And there's always going to be someone who thinks it's rubbish.

If we went for the Anime characters, we'd have to go for all the possible crossovers. And we lose a lot of good people that way. Old or amazing characters, even some writers who'd find another place to do their thing. This is bad for the board, even if it improves the 'purity' of the Star Wars experience.

Obviously, for really egregious violations - like underage, hyper-sexualized characters doing creepy things - there is a report button. And it should be used. But leave quality control up to the staff. If Tefka and the Admins haven't seen fit to outlaw Anime characters after all this time and all that Anime, there's a reason why. Inclusion.

Inclusion hurts immersion when inclusion is extended to ridiculous characters that have no place here. This is a SWRP board, not a Sci-Fi RP board.

Star Wars and Sci Fi are linked, so there's TONNES of wriggle room when it comes joining the two together. Girls Und Panzer and Star Wars? Not so much.

 

[Menoetius]

It is explicitly calling for a ban.

Guess it's time to change the avatars for my main characters, who are both from anime, and are thus trying to import it into Star Wars. This is especially heinous because Star Wars, as a rule, does not have "power levels" or magic spirit used by training yourself constantly in private enclaves far from the rest of the world. There are absolutely no giant space fights that completely ignore the rules of actual space or hordes of pretty humans and extremely humanoid aliens running around accomplishing 99% of everything that actually happens in the galaxy.

Your characters aren't ridiculous and fit believably into the universe, though.

Just want to say, your response is a gut reaction to someone disliking what you like and isn't really pertaining to the discussion at hand!

 

[Tefka]

Nah.

I hear ya'll and I share the OP's opinion. But I'm not willingly going to force it, not without a Staff vote that I wouldn't start, and not without a community vote that wasn't 2/3 majority - and even then. In a discussion like this, I would consider my right to veto.

I have my own opinions, but I'm not willing to go as far to force them on the community.

So long as you're here to role-play Star Wars and the images you use are PG-13, Staff is not (as of this moment) going to care.

 

[Zak Dymo]

Well said.

So, in response, I'll say that it comes down to common sense. Nothing is black and white.

I'm sure you can tell when someone or something doesn't fit into this universe in any sense whatsoever. Don't play the victim, your characters are fine.

I, myself, am part of this creative process and have characters that borrow heavily from real world ideals and other fiction. Yet they all, I hope, fit into this universe.

Not playing the victim in the least, merely devil's advocate as you've proposed a ban that is unenforceable because the only standard you seem able to give us is "common sense."

The problem with that is, there's no such thing. Case in point, in one of the threads about the new movie, Serena Halcyon and Captain Jordan have a 3 or 4 post debate going back and forth over what the definition of "Star Wars fan" is. Wouldn't common sense say that the name itself is self-evident? Because the answer is apparently not.

Your last line seems to reinforce my point. You "hope" that your characters fit into the universe? Whose universe is it? Who do you give the power to interpret and tell you whether they do or not? A majority of the community? A single individual? An RPJ?

You have proposed a ban. Please tell me how you would propose that ban be enforced.

 

[Menoetius]

[member="Tefka"]

Thing is, some of these people don't come here to RP Star Wars. They come here to roleplay something entirely different.

I don't see how inclusion > immersion when this is a themed roleplaying board.

If people want to RP something that is not, and can never be, Star Wars themed, there are other places on the internet for it.

 

[Menoetius]

[member="Tralik U'rik"]

It should already be enforced by way of the rules outlined.

No plagiarism.

No cross-overs.

 

[Tefka]

[member="Menoetius"]

Taking an outside influence and applying it to Star Wars doesn't mean you're not role-playing Star Wars.

 

[Menoetius]

[member="Tefka"]

Then why do myself and others find it completely immersion breaking? :/

EDIT: Oh well, discussion over now I guess. Cheers for weighing in and giving the official answer.

It's been fun!

 

[Tefka]

[member="Tralik U'rik"]

It should already be enforced by way of the rules outlined.

No plagiarism.

No cross-overs.

The cross-over rule is under "Role-play" and not "General" for a reason. Sarge, a board Admin, uses Master Chief as his avatar. That's totally fine.

Crossing over to the Halo universe would not be.

Furthermore, I think you're confused on what exactly plagiarism is. Using images from other franchises is not plagiarism, because nobody's claiming they own those images.

 

[Oll Draslyyk]

Can't wait to start my char Adolf Hitler, going to rise to power and convince the Coruscant senate to give me marshall control of the government. I guess I'll name it the Reichstag because real life languages are a thing and I might even call the planet Germany.

I mean the Empire takes inspiration from The Third Reich, seems like an obvious next step for the canon.

I sure hope no-one minds, it is in a star wars universe after all and with creative license the integrity of the universe doesn’t matter.

Darth Hitler, I like it.

 

[Olan Teff]

Can't wait to start my char Adolf Hitler, going to rise to power and convince the Coruscant senate to give me marshall control of the government. I guess I'll name it the Reichstag because real life languages are a thing and I might even call the planet Germany.

I mean the Empire takes inspiration from The Third Reich, seems like an obvious next step for the canon.

I sure hope no-one minds, it is in a star wars universe after all and with creative license the integrity of the universe doesn’t matter.

Darth Hitler, I like it.

Alternate-history-fantasy-Scifi.

Sounds like the Man in the High Tower, Star Wars.

Might be entertaining.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

And as always in these proposals...who's deciding what is 'ridiculous' and what is acceptable?

Tefka is right. I'm not a huge fan of anime, but we're not going to take this step - the minuscule 'gains' wouldn't be worth the hassle.

 

[The Upright Man]

nobody's claiming they own those images.

I own Star Wars 1313.