J.B. Norman's Blog, page 357

Re-Commendation: Slayers

More information here, here, and here.

My original, not-very-good post about the series here.

Slayers: E&G Films and Funimation.

Slayers was, to the best of my recollection, one of the first recommendations I did on this blog. I’ve done a whole bunch since then, and in that time, I’ve had some revelations:

I’m working on it, I swear.

And developed a much better writing style for these recommendations than just “here’s a bunch of words”.

All of which is to say, here’s a re-recommendation — a “re-commendation”, get it? — of one of my favourite animes. And, I’d just like to point out, in light of the whole “I should do more books” thing, that Slayers was originally a series of light novels before it was adapted into anything else. And, as far as my (very) preliminary research leads me to believe, they are available in English. So, technically, this is a book recommendation.

Good job, J.B. Norman.

Aw, shucks. Thanks, J.B. Norman.
I love me, too.

I’d say Slayers is an influence on Realmgard, at least in being a very successful demonstration of how to do a funny Fantasy world. And it’s certainly similar to Realmgard in the general concept of “not-necessarily-a-comedy-but-still-funny” Fantasy stories. It’s maybe not quite as close as something like Rune Soldier, if only because it never leans quite as far into the deliberate goofiness of Rune Soldier. It’s never quite as goofy as Rune Soldier, though it never becomes as self-serious or grim as Lodoss War.

Though, full disclosure, I’m pretty sure I had the idea for Realmgard in its earliest forms before I ever watched Slayers.

So, it’s more of a retroactive influence than anything else, but, like I said, Slayers is a very good example how to balance Funny with Adventure. It’s definitely been an influence in that regard.

Despite what you might imagine from its violent-sounding name Slayers is primarily a comedy and very rarely takes itself too seriously.

Slayers is carried by its cast of characters and the interactions between them. We have Lina, a young sorceress who tends to solve her problems by blowing them up, Gourry, a swordsman with an IQ of approximately -12, Zelgadis, the serious one, and Amelia, a princess whose boundless desires above all to be a great hero of justice is matched only by her general ineptitude.

The characters have such bombastic personalities that the show would still be funny if it were just them standing in front of a brick wall every episode, but the humour of their personalities is magnified by the fact that such over-the-top personalities are constantly interacting with each other.

For the most part, the violence in Slayers only reaches the level of slapstick comedy, with very little of the fight scenes actually causing any meaningful harm to the characters.

There’s a very Looney Tunes-esque quality to much of the recurring humour in the show centring around the characters hurting themselves in novel ways. Lina, for example, leaping after one of the bad guys and face-planting into a tree.

Our heroine, ladies and gentleman.
Slayers: E&G Films and Funimation.

However, the boss fights, so to speak, with the major villains are played pretty seriously. Most of the show’s villains are goofy and ineffectual — though the major, most story-relevant villains, up to an including the world’s god of evil, usually mean business and pose legitimate threats to heroes.

It’s probably at the level of violence and grimness of a Disney movie — overall, it’s light and straightforward, usually funny, but the bad guys mean business, the good guys face hardship and occasionally defeat, characters do get killed off, albeit not with much regularity. Again, it’s more serious than Rune Soldier, but not ever quite as serious as Lodoss War.

And, heck, you’re probably more likely to end up deeply traumutised by Sailor Moon, of all things — which, as you’ll recall, culminated its first season by brutally murdering all the Sailors.

Sorry for reminding you about that. Here’s a nice, relaxing picture.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

So, basically, Slayers is great. It’s very Realmgard-esque in a lot of ways. And, now, I’ve written a much better recommendation for it. A good day all around.

Recommendation: The Tower of Druaga

Information on the overall franchise here.
Information on the anime here and here.

The Tower of Druaga: Bandai Namco, Gonzo, and Funimation.

I’ve previously described the endearingly silly Rune Soldier as probably the closest non-Realmgard thing to Realmgard, and I stand by that. It’s one of the reasons Rune Soldier has won a place as one of my favourite animes.

It’s the perfect combination of silliness and legitimate Fantasy adventure, which is what I’ve always been aiming for with Realmgard.

Another of my favourite animes because of its ability to balance funny and adventure is The Tower of Druaga, based on a fairly obscure and infamously obtuse and difficult video game. That somehow managed to get three sequels.

Our hero, in a rare moment of competence.
The Tower of Druaga: Bandai Namco, Gonzo, and Funimation.

The world of Tower of Druaga has a heavy Mesopotamian mythological influence — the main character is called Jil (as in Gilgamesh, but with a J), the monsters in the tower are the weakest during a time called the Summer of Anu, and various other places and minor characters have Mesopotamian names.

The technology level is fairly inconsistent (and I mean that in the nicest way possible), characters use swords and shields and heavy medieval-style armour, but there’s also crossbows and magic guns, and arcade machines. It’s a mix of traditional Fantasy elements and novel, occasionally goffy touches in terms of the magic and technology.

The uniqueness of the world and the memorably silly tone of the plot help to make Tower of Druaga stand out in well-established Fantasy anime genre.

Now, you’d probably expect an anime about adventurers trying to climb a magical tower full of monsters to kill the evil god who lives at the top to be pretty grim and serious.

That’s exactly what Tower of Druaga isn’t.

For example, the opening credits of the second season are a baseball game.

The Tower of Druaga, an epic Fantasy adventure. Picture is unrelated.
The Tower of Druaga: Bandai Namco, Gonzo, and Funimation.

There’s an episode where the heroes have to navigate a maze full of ludicrous booby traps, including one that turns them all into 2D, original video game-esque versions of themselves.

There’s another episode where one of the characters builds a ski resort in the tower. There’s another other episode where the characters have to beat an in-universe version of the original video game to advance up the tower.

A little girl goes around jabbing people with a spoon.

Basically, it’s the story of a Girl and her Spoon.
The Tower of Druaga: Bandai Namco, Gonzo, and Funimation.

The first episode is easily one of my favourite first episodes of anything I’ve watched. The protagonist gets knocked out, making him hallucinate an episode-long Fantasy sequence that manages to both be an over-the-top parody of Fantasy adventure animes, yet also foreshadow the events of the series with a shocking level of accuracy, something that doesn’t really become apparent without the benefit of hindsight.

The first episode is the goofiest by a country mile, but the series remains primarily a comedy. There are a few deep and dark episodes and several other episodes where major characters get killed off, and the last couple episodes create a Darkest Hour for our heroes that’s sufficiently dark to be legitimately upsetting. Pretty much, all is lost until it isn’t, and then everything works out for our heroes.

Encyclopedia Realmgardica: (Sir) Tancred von Ivanhoe-Hauteberg

That’s not him, but that is exactly the thing of thing he’s into.
Photo by Berendey_Ivanov / Andrey_Kobysnyn on Pexels.com

“Splendid. Allow me to introduce myself. I have the great, grand, privileged honour of being: Tancred Gildas Mallory Astolfo Ambrosius Winnifred Perceval Galahad Cervantes Orlando von Ivanhoe-Hauteburg.“

Age: 19

Occupation: knight, unwilling student of history

Likes: nobility, upright conduct, the legacy of his family (when he doesn’t have to constantly hear about it from his grandfather)

Dislikes: his grandfather’s “help” in learning his family’s history, his mother’s “help” in shopping for clothes, that one bust of Cousin Eleutherius in the hallway.

Only son and heir of the current Margrave and Margravine von Ivanhoe-Hauteberg, Tancred comes from a long line of noble and accomplished ancestors. Whether it be dropping rocks on their enemies during the Great Siege of Northgate, serving as trusted advisors to the Princes of Porthaven, or gallivanting around Realmgard as knights-errant or famous adventurers, generations of von Ivanhoe-Hautebergs have accomplished many great things and written themselves into the annals of Realmgard in spectacular fashion.

Thanks to the long-attested nobility of the family and the deeds of many of its members, it has become customary in the last few generations for the von Ivanhoe-Hautebergs to be granted knighthoods. While this is certainly an honour, these knighthoods have largely been a ceremonial title and have done little to affect the day-to-day life of the von Ivanhoe-Hautebergs.

Tancred, for example, has received some training in fighting, tactics, and riding in his capacity as a knight. In his capacity as a member of the family that may boast the bluest of blood (not literally, of course), he has received much more training in dancing, etiquette, polite conversation, and knowing which fork to use when during a fancy dinner. He has had little chance to emulate either the heroes of the chivalric romances he has spent years reading or his own accomplished ancestors.

Incidentally, as one of the longest-established noble families in Porthaven (and all of Realmgard, for that matter), the von Ivanhoe-Hautebergs are well-acquainted with many of the other patrician families of the city, and Tancred himself has known Amara, the daughter of the Valdus family, most of his life.

Encyclopedia Realmgardica: Pela Strahlend

Pela’s lucky that I’ve already drawn her.
Art of the other Lyte Brigade folks to follow.

It’s hard enough being a Halfling. It’s especially hard when those two halves are Dwarf and Goblin and you live in a world built for tall people. You get stepped on and run over just walking to the library, and then when you try to join a guild, it turns out You Must Be This Tall to Apply.

Age: 18

Occupation: Relentlessly persistent job-seeker, professional short person

Likes: adventure, adventure stories, her parents

Dislikes: being short in a world of tall people, height requirements

The Halfling daughter of a Dwarf chef and a retired Goblin adventurer-turned-author, Pela has been trying to follow in her mother’s footsteps since acquiring her adventuring licence. She has wanted to be an adventurer ever since her mother told her the stories of her own adventures.

So far, she has not been successful, as few of the guilds in Porthaven are willing to make time for a novice adventurer that are likely to trip over.

Though usually an optimistic young woman, constant rejection has beginning to make Pela question her ambitions and wonder if there really is a place for a Half-Goblin in any of the guilds in Porthaven.

Luckily, Pela can rely on the constant support of parents no matter what she ultimately decides to do with her life. Her father, for example, would be thrilled if she decided to follow him in the culinary arts.

Pela isn’t quite ready to give up on her dreams of being an adventurer and is still holding onto the hope that there’s a guild out there somewhere willing to take a chance on short people like her.

RealmgART: With Apologies to Mr. Sakurai

As I promised earlier, I’ve been working on a lot of (mediocre) artwork lately. And I’m finally ready to share art of several of my characters.

In this series, I’m trying to replicate, or at least evoke, the splash screens that every newly announced Smash Bros. character gets.

Basically, going for something like this:

Bear in mind that I’m the Greastest Living Author. I am merely the Most Adequate Living Artist.

Dunstana Darkstone – Captain Kid

The gun shoots corks. One half of the Sisters Darkstone. Ten-year-old pirate. Dauntless in pursuit of fortune and glory. And Princess Moonflower dolls. Co-main character in the first four Realmgard stories.

Kat Darkstone – Deadeye(brows)

The elder Sister Darkstone. Haver of large eyebrows. Fifteen years old. Freelance adventurer, full-time big sister. Where Dunstana goes, she goes. Whether she likes it or not. Co-main character in the first four Realmgard stories.

Annie Darkstone – Half-Elf, All Genius

Kat and Dunstana’s cousin. Ten years old, eight hundred years smart. Jonas’ Half-Elf daughter. Her father’s research assistant and one of Dunstana’s best friends. Has read more books than most other people. Put together. Helps her cousins in The Treasure of Oake Island.

Jonas Darkstone – Doctorate in Avuncularity

Kat and Dunstana’s favourite uncle by virtue of having access to a grappling hook. Annie’s father. Professor of Archaeology at the University of Porthaven. Formerly a champion wrestler. Assists the Sisters Darkstone in The Treasure of Oake Island.

Amara Valda – Elegance of Elocution

Kat’s lifelong best friend. Scion of a very old, very rich family. Fiercely protective of her late mother’s emerald necklace. Does not suffer fools or bullies. One of the main characters of The Bandits of Goldharbour. Bakes a cake in The Valley of Appraisal. The Author’s favourite character.

Scarlet Mendez – Master of Magic(ology)

Friend and mentor of Kat. Licensed adventurer and studying for a degree in Magicology at the University of Porthaven. Bearer of an unfortunate middle name (it’s William). Helps Kat survive the Valley of Appraisal.

Myra Morningstar – Captain of the Wolves

New captain of the Red Wolf Pirates. Trying to break through in a male-dominated profession. Surrounded by idiots. Not here to make friends. Destined to have a small child for a nemesis. Encounters on the Darkstones on Oake Island.

The Checkers-Playing Chicken – Ruler of the Roost

A barnyard bird of unusual intelligence owned by the Guild Authority of Porthaven. Tests the intellect (and patience) of prospective adventurers. Kat’s recurring rival in The Valley of Appraisal.

And, finally, here’s me:

J.B. Norman – Authest Author

Author of Realmgard. Does words good. Total babe. Likes plaid. Buy his books, please. He’d buy your book.

Encylcopedia Realmgardica: Falcata of Theophano

He’s also starting to notice how much more seriously everyone is taking him now that he has a giant warrior woman standing beside him – especially one wearing a bear who looks like she could shot-put an elephant.

Age: 20

Occupation: Wanderer, doer of bold deeds and odd jobs

Likes: Swords, spears, curvy swords, weapons in general, places to sleep inversely proportional to the chance of getting eaten by wolves in said places

Dislikes: wolves, furniture not intended for use by Amazons, learning that most people seem to think Amazons enjoy boiling people alive and using their bones for witchcraft

A young warrior from the Amazon city of Theophano, and the daughter of an Amazon pharmacologist and the hatmaker she fell in love with while travelling to Hornsburg for a conference, Falcata has recently finished her formal training and has now decided to venture out in the world to put that training to the test.

Falcata hopes to return home as a famous and successful adventurer.

After several months of travelling across Realmgard, Falcata has recently arrived in Porthaven. Having spent the last few weeks eking out a living doing whatever odd jobs have come her way, Falcata has begun to long for opportunities more fitting for a woman of her ability.

If only there were a new guild in Porthaven looking for recruits…

Available Now, the Lyte Brigade

Man, this picture would be a lot more
fitting if I had people to celebrate success with…
Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Just got the email informing me that the ebook version of Forward, the Lyte Brigade has gone live on Amazon.

In fact, here it is:

Please consider buying a copy. Or two. Or twelve. Or a million…

In (up to) 72 Hours, the Lyte Brigade

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

I’ve finished submitting the manuscripts of Forward, the Lyte Brigade to Amazon. Nothing left to do but wait for them to go live.

Tomorrow, the Lyte Brigade…

… will be submitted for publication.

Photo by Olya Kobruseva on Pexels.com

The process is pretty much done at this point, but I’ve decided to sleep on it and do the last once-over with fresh eyes tomorrow. The submission will be done tomorrow and it’ll take a couple days until it goes live on Amazon.

Past experience suggests that the ebook will go live first and it’ll be a day(ish) more before the actual book goes live. Both should be available before the end of the week.

Buy them, please. I’d buy your book…

Clearly, the L stands for “Let’s all buy J.B. Norman’s new book.”

Any Day Now, the Lyte Brigade

Photo by Donald Tong on Pexels.com

The process of finalising the manuscript for Forward, the Lyte Brigade is just as tedious as I remember.

On the other hand, it went better than I remember it going before — maybe that’s just the benefit of experience by this point. I still don’t necessarily feel like I know what I’m doing, but I’ve probably at least learned what not to be doing.

It could be ready as soon as today, then go live on Amazon within a few days.

And if you haven’t yet, please check out the preview chapter. And then buy the full version when it’s ready, please.