The Devil's Doorknob BBS Capture (1996-2003)/devilsdoorknobbbscapture1996-2003.iso/Dloads/TEXTFILE/MAGE.ZIP/ANIMAGE.TXT

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THE ANIMAGICIANS

   By Stephen Esdale ([e-mail]) (29, Nov 94)


  Introduction

   Mika Shimizu was a production artist for Kadowkawa Publishing Company,
       a Japanese Animation (Japanimation) company that was known, among
       other things, for the animated move Silent Moebius. She'd worked
       for many studios, been an artist for many features including
       Akira, Vampire Hunter D, and Bubblegum Crisis.

       Yet, even this did not satisfy Mika totally. For some stange
       reason, just drawing the futuristic vehicles, the sleek
       mecha-suits, and menacing weaponry was not good enough. Something
       deep inside wished to go beyond the celluloid of film, wanted to
       make her designs real.

       Mika was embarrased by these feelings. She did not have the
       engineering degrees to build such devices, even if building such
       things were possible. She barely had enough education to be a
       technical artist. Anime is the art of the impossible. It would
       unimaginable to create a cycle that could do bootleg turns at
       70mph, or vehicles with an endless supply of interal equipment,
       weaponry, and gadgets. Even the simple job of building a powered
       mecha-suit of human size presented a formidable job for even the
       best technical minds in the world.

       She dismissed her dreams and for two years worked at her job
       faithfully. Worked, that is, until she was laid off. It seems that
       several films produced by the animation house had bombed at the
       box office. The studios involved lost the equivalent of millions
       of American dollars. Thousands were laid off, Mika being one of
       them. The industry itself was in a lull after years of unchecked
       growth. There were no jobs for animators in Japan, even for
       talented ones as Mika.

       She was forced to find work at a small business, producing cheap
       technical drawings for a tiny engineering magazine. The magazine,
       called the Tokyo Paradigm, often discussed theories that totally
       went against normal science. Its editor, Naori Kochiya, was an
       eccentric scientist who still believed that ether existed in some
       form in outer space. Drinking heavily during this time, Mika was
       oblivious to the fact the she'd never seen the Tokyo Paradigm in
       newsstands. Nor did she notice the strange objects, some as big as
       refrigerators, seemed to appear overnight and then as quickly
       disappear or that weird things, and strange noises were going on
       in the basement. Or that Naori was taking an awful interest in her
       technical work.

       One night, she left her workstation, half-drunk. She had been
       glossing over old sketches that were used in many of the films she
       had been a part of. The flying cruiser in Silent Moebius, Kaneda's
       bike from Akira... The memories were too harsh to take, so she
       started into the stash of saki she kept in her desk. By the time
       she reached the streets, all thoughts of the past were hidden in
       an alcholic haze.

       She was so wasted that the whole night was a very unrecognizable
       muddle. It was for that reason that when she stumbled into work
       the next day, she didn't immediately recognize the object before
       her. Standing in the middle of the office was the Akira
       motorcycle, with Naori, the smug little scientist with a sheepish
       grin on his face, standing beside it. When it finally dawned on
       her, she nearly fainted. From the plans on her desk, Naori had
       built the Akira bike in less than six hours!

       "You couldn't have build this on your own... You had help, you
       kept it in the basement, you..." Mika spat out the words.

       "No. No help." Naori's smile broadened. "I made it in about
       fifteen minutes. Including five minutes for coffee."

       "You couldn't have. Its phsyically impossible!"

       "Physical laws are not immutable. My friend, you will soon learn
       the elasticity of physics."

       Naori taught the young Mika the best he could, but the training
       did not go as well as both of them had hoped. Mika was
       uninterested in learning the outmoded physics of the Sons of
       Ether. 19th century gibberish and 20th century techo-mysticism
       were alien and repulsive concepts. How was one to free technology
       from the Technomancer static reality if these ancient, usless
       theories were employed.

       In the end Mika left Naori's tutelage, their relationship strained
       but still intact. Amongst her own Tradtion, she was frowned upon.
       She had had the audacity to question the SoE paradigm! This artist
       with no degrees, no knowledge of the universe was telling them how
       reality was supposed to work! The Sons of Ether worked hard to
       discredit her work, finally forcing her to leave.

       In response, she formed the sub-tradition of the Sons of Ether
       known as the Animagicians. To prevent the SoE from recognizing her
       name she took the pseudonm Yuki Katsumi, using two first names of
       characters from Silent Moebius. She then went on to recruit other
       animators and Anime enthusiasts that had vision.

       From there it spread to North America (and spawned the
       ACMEngineers, a group of Mages using western cartoons as their
       paradigm). Currently it is unknown how many Animagicians there are
       in the World, though with both the Technocracy and the Sons of
       Ether eager to know their whereabouts, they rarely make their
       presence known.


  A Few Notes about the Animagicians

          + Animagicians are an extremely diverse group, ranging from
            science ficition "mecha-builders," to surreal Manga
            enthusiasts. Even within that group everyone is an
            individualist, inspiration each coming from a different
            Japanimation feature or a different character. There is no
            clear stereotype of the Animagicians, other than their
            facination with Anime.

          + Many Animagicans, following Yuki Katsumi's (aka Mika Shimizu)
            lead have taken pseudonyms to hide their identities. They
            even go so far as to dress the part, use similar lingo,
            obtain similar equipment. Katsumi herself resembles her anime
            counterpart, dresses in the uniform of the AMPD (the Attacked
            Mystification Police or Abnormal Mystery Police; depending on
            whatever source you talk to).

          + Note that mecha builders rarely make anything larger than
            man-sized mecha. The last person, an American Animagician
            called Roy Fokker (yes, he used Robotech names over the
            original Macross) attempted to construct the Veritech VF-1S
            in Battaloid (humanoid mode). The construction of a 40+ foot
            tall mech generated enough paradox to incinerate the mage
            where he stood. The mecha disappeared a few hours later, just
            before the Men in Black appeared in force. No one exactly
            knows were it went, and the Animagicians are not telling...

          + Finally, Animagicans cannot recreate something in the real
            world without altering it in some way Anime. Guns will have
            strange scopes, sleek barrels, and weird handgrips. Vehicles
            and other objects also tend to have appearently useless
            extraneous parts, and hidden compartments. Finally, some
            objects will be asymmetrical and of strange colouration or
            lustre. The difficulty of making something exactly without
            "improvements" is up to the Storyteller, but a Willpower roll
            may be required.


  Philosophy

   Technology, to be truly dynamic, must unshackle itself from all
       theories and restraints. Whether they be born of the Technomancer
       Pogrom, or the asphyxiating theories of others of our kind.
       Technical achievement can only be achieved from the power of
       imagination. We make the thought take form, make the drawing
       become real. Through the unfettered reality the world of Animation
       has given us, we will reshape the world of sleepers into a world
       of wonders.


  Organization

   Animagicans are less organized than the SoE; most work alone in
       isolated labs at their Chantry or in their own animation studios
       throughout the world. At its best, Animagicians with the same
       Anime source of inspiration group together, each assuming the role
       of a different character. Like the SoE, Animagicians status comes
       from scientific achievement. However, the only accomplishment
       these Mages respect are Anime objects made real (which function in
       our reality as they on celluloid).


  Meetings

   Animagicans do not meet regularly. Occasionally, a meeting will be
       called in the Chantry if some important discovery is uncovered, or
       some discussion is urgently required. Small groups of Animagicans
       who work on similar wavelengths (say American "Robotech"
       Animagicans, and their Japanese "Macross" counterparts) or have
       the same inspirations (say "Gunbuster") will meet regularly to
       compare notes. Otherwise Animagicians work alone or in their
       regular cliques (see organization).


  Initiation

   Normally, Animagicians recruit fellow animators and other artists in
       the Japanese fashion (including American imitators/emulators),
       especially those who seem to wish to go beyond just drawing their
       creations, but actually make them real. This is done by subtle
       hints, followed by using Matter to create small Anime objects
       (like a gun or a piece of jewelry) and place it in some location
       where they alone will find it, like a desk. If they react
       favourably, the Mage will approach them and teach them about the
       Tradition. Others (like Japanimation fans) are also approached,
       but only if they have some talent or ability that benefits the
       Tradition.


  Chantry

   Takara-Jima, an island approximately 175 miles south of Ky shu
       Province of Japan, midway between the main island and Okinawa. The
       island holds a powerful underground Chantry and laboratory complex
       that is currently being kept secret from the other Traditions,
       especially the Sons of Ether, who would die (or perhaps kill) to
       get their hands on this important resource. When referring to the
       island, many members just use the word Macross...


  Acolytes

   Animators, Artists, Japanimation Enthusiasts


  Sphere

   Matter


  Foci

   Because of the vast nature of Animation (and Anime), it would be
       ludicrous to attempt to list foci for them all. Each different
       sub-genre of Anime has a different atmosphere. Those Mages that
       use Japanimation for their inspiration develop their own Foci that
       enforces that Paradigm of reality and allows them to tap the power
       of their avatar. Only the Drawing Utensils (Matter/Life/Prime) are
       used by all Animagicans. Therefore, a player must know his
       character concept and his animation source well enough to
       construct suitable foci for the other six spheres. The following
       is an example, used by Yuki Katsumi and other Mecha-oriented
       traditions.

       Matter/Life/Prime - Drawing Utensils: The most important part of a
       Animagician (and the common foci of the Tradition). This is any
       device used to draw freehand (pen, pencil, crayon, finger-paint).
       Since Drawing is the most important thing in a Japanimators life,
       it is no surprise that it is very important in creating things,
       both animate and inanimate, and keeping it in the real world
       (Prime). The writing utensil is a unique item, the most cherished
       of the Mage's possessions. Drawing can be a quick sketch (+1 to +3
       initiative, depending on size and complexity of object), though in
       non-combat situations an Animagician may spend days drawing.

       Spirit/Forces - Heads Up Display: A set of Goggles (or the classic
       Anime monocle-visor). These specifically display all sorts of
       information about Spectroscopic and Spiritscopic information. It
       is not unique.

       Time/Correspondence/Entropy - Calculating Device: Animagicians who
       use these spheres need some device to calculate the intricacies
       involved. It is not exactly known what kind of Mathematics an
       Animagician uses when calculating the space-time relations or
       possibility analysis or a spell, but its definitely unrelated to
       anything the SoE or the Technomancers use). This may be some Anime
       calculator, or a complex body-computer with holographic display
       and voice readout. Animagicans go very wild as in regards to this
       Foci item design. However it is not a unique item (as regards to
       its importance to magick). Adds +2/+3 to spheres used with this
       foci.

       Mind - Communicator: No, not the Star Trek one, but very similar.
       They range from headset microphones, to handheld or wrist mounted
       models. Some have outlandish antennae, while others are barely
       noticeable. Depends on your outlook. It is not unique.


  Concepts

   See Acolytes


  Stereotypes

   Ahl-i-Batin: The Ali-WHO? Are these guys for real?

       Akashic Brotherhood: Yeah, we've used plenty of Martial Arts in
       Anime. This "uniting mind and body" is interesting, but personally
       I like uniting mind and matter better.

       Celestial Chorus: Songs and rituals mean nothing to me. I want
       something more concrete than some metaphysical mumbo-jumbo.

       Cult of Ecstasy: I admire their free spirit, but they are wasted
       talent. They should focus their energies more into art than
       debauchery.

       Dreamspeakers: The future of humanity dwells in the physical not
       in the spiritual. Gaia's plight may be serious as you say, but I
       don't think bouncing around in the Umbra is going to help. A
       Mecha-tank with a converging beam cannon will stop those Amazonian
       plunderers right in their tracks.

       Euthanatos: Entropy? You guys must be very sick, killing people
       because you feel they are "ready to die." The only way to reach
       Ascension is by building things, not tearing them down.

       Hollow Ones: All these guys need are mentors of some kind, someone
       to give them guidance and hope. Just don't expect us to do it.
       These mages are just too depressing to be around.

       Order of Hermes: Hermetic magic is no better than the crap the
       Technocracy is dishing out. Magic must be dynamic and not a jumble
       of formulae, no matter how much magical significance they hold.

       Sons of Ether: Bunch of old fools. You expect us to follow the
       same antiquated path you have followed for decades. Hunt us down
       if you wish; we have a few experiments are dying to show you!

       Verbena: They do with living things, what we do with matter. I bit
       too bloody for my taste though.

       Virtual Adepts: I'd put them in the same category with the Technos
       and the Sons of Anachronism if it wasn't for the Digital Web. WOW!
       We have to meet with these guys...the Web will make a great place
       to test new Mecha designs!


  Rotes of the Animagicans

   Vidcom Communications (Correspondence 2, Forces 2): An unneedfully
       complex rote, but necessary for some groups in the Animagicans
       (for status mostly), this creates a video communication system
       imitating hologram projection. Those seeing the person, view him
       suspended and a oval shape 3D object, glowing with an eery green
       light. This is used most often to call together for those
       infrequent meetings at Macross.

       ...Not your father's [insert car name here] (Correspondence 5,
       Matter 4): Basically the same as Semi-Auto CAD CAM (see Mage
       Rotes, pg. 221) except it combines the best aspects of vehicles
       into one form. Each success allows the mage to exchange one aspect
       of the vehicle (top speed, size, maneuverability, etc). The
       vehicle will resemble both of the old vehicles with a distinctive
       Anime twist (if the Animagician doesn't force himself not to).

       Thought made Form (Matter 2, Mind 3, Prime 2): Allows the Mage to
       create an object envisioned by another. This is normally done by
       Animagicians when they recruit a new Mage, creating their heart's
       desire (normally some Anime device) to show them the power they
       could possess. One success will give a flawed or warped
       translation of the object; three success will create the item
       accurately, and five success or more will give an exact replica of
       the object (right down to the colour and "feel").

       Akira Bootleg (Correspondence 5): Not a rote but a magickal
       effect, the Akira Bootleg allows the person to make stops and
       bootleg turns at any speed. The Mage casts the spell, only braking
       if he is intending to stop the vehicle (the famous Akira 70-0 mph
       skid). The Correspondence power warps space, causing the bike to
       loop back upon itself or increasing the immediate length of the
       road to allow more room to slow down. While not totally imitating
       the Akira manoeuvre, the Animagicians think its a first step into
       understanding the principles required in creating Anime-style
       working technology.


  Animagician Talismans

   [1]Akira Bike (Level 3)

       [2]Omega Battler Mecha Suit Z (Level 5)