Cast...the League of Extraordinary ANIME Gentlemen!

Cafe Society
1

Inspired by this thread…I’m holding a casting call for yet ANOTHER “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.”

An ANIME league. A group of hero-adventurers, taken from the medium of Japanese animation.

Now, to make this reasonable, I’m splitting this into two sub-categories, divided by time periods.

•Category A: Contemporary anime characters
Characters from a time period between about 1960 to 2005.
I know what you’re thinking…“What about characters from a show that was made in the 60s, but that was set in a “1995 A.D.” that had flying cars and robo slaves?” They’re kind of a grey area. They might qualify for this category, or it might be that they have to go in the next one…

•Category B: Characters from 2010 and later.
Y’know, futuristic characters. Cryonics, time-travel, and artistic license can be used to bring together characters from the 21st century, 25th century, 30th century, etc.

I considered adding “Category C: Characters from Ancient or Medieval times,” but I’ll see what y’all think, first.

So…my picks, Category A?

•Lupin III from…you know.
Charmer, master thief. Nice sense of humor, bad hair. Carries a Luger.

•Nancy Makuhari (at left. I think.) from Read or Die.
Not really well known…but she’s good. A “phaser” (not the weapon, the superpower type. Like “Shadowcat” from X-Men), spy, and assassin. Carries an M-93R fully automatic pistol, and knows how to use it.

•Robin Sena from Witch Hunter Robin
Witch/Witch Hunter. Pyrokinetic. Bike rider. Alternative hairstyle enthusiast.

And…I’m tempted to throw in one of the G1 Transformer Autobots in here, under the rationale that they were animated in Japan, and the first season took place in 1985. And the Ani-League needs it’s own vehicle, a la Nemo’s Nautilus. And what’s cooler to drive around in than Optimus Prime?
Anyway, I’m spent. Anyone else feel like taking this one for a spin?

2

Category A -

Ranma, from Ranma 1/2. Excellent martial artist, for handling the hand to hand combat, and his gender-switching curse allows him to have nearly perfect diguse abilities.

Washuu, from Tenchi Muyo - Every team needs a mad scientist. So you might as get the cute red-headed alien one.

Hotaru Tomoe, from Sailor Moon - for an anime based team, you are going to need a magical girl. Might as well have on who can blow up the world.

3

Cat B:

Max and Miria Jenius (Macross)- Two of the greatest pilots who ever lived, and they can hold their own in hand to hand. But who needs hand-to-hand when you have a Valkyrie? (Which would be way cooler than Prime. I’m sorry.)
Edward Wong Hau Pepilu Tivruski IV (Cowboy Bebop) - Hackeroo! And she’d be fun to have around.
Aisha Clan-Clan of the Ctarl-Ctarl (Outlaw Star) - She can fight better than any human in her base form, and when she transforms…forget it. And doing any damage to her would be near impossible. Even a mech might have trouble. And hell, where would we be without a catgirl?
Jet Black (Cowboy Bebop) - the investigative skills he honed as a cop and Cowboy would be useful, as would his skills in a firefight. And the Bebop is a more spacious transport than the Valks. (Unless we assume the Macross comes with the Jeniuses.)
Hmm…ok, just for another two-fer I suppose I should include another from OLS:
Suzuka - An assassin. A very GOOD assassin. A very good, very COOL assassin.

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A Class

[ol]
[li]Astro Boy– He was allegedly constructed in 2002, so he qualifies![/li][li]Fujiko Mine– the essential babe-age. Also master thief, expert shot, woman of 1001 faces, and the best damn motorcycle driver in anime.[/li][li] Hi Opal! She is too anime! She’s got these great big googly eyes…[/li][li]Rally Vincent–Gunsmith Cats bounty hunter. Amazing shot, investigator. Fan service bachup.[/li][li]Minnie May–Also of Gunsmith Cats. Demolitions.[/li][li] Lum Invader– Urusei Yatsura. Flying. Lightning Bolts. Flying Saucer. Tigerstripe bikini.[/li][li] Ataru Monoboshi --Also from Urusei. Comic relief. Damn near indestructable. Anime’s answer to Kennny or Wiley Coyote.[/li][li]Speed Racer – Driver.[/li][li] A-Ko --from Project A-Ko. Superhuman speed, strength & stamina. Rumored to be the offspring of 2 western superheroes.[/li][li] Minmei – Robotech. Essential ingenue. Cutie-pie extraordinaire. Can do the soundtrack. Voice has odd effect on aliens.[/li][/ol]

5

Also 11-12 years old and 4 years from her carreer as an entertainer at the upper edge of this category. (She had JUST turned 16 when she took the Miss Macross crown in 2009.)

Although sort-of valid as she was alive at the time, I’m not sure a 12 year old kid helping in her aunt and uncle’s restaurant would catch the recruiter’s eye.

Lisa/Misa, Roy, Claudia, and Admiral Gloval/Global are the only major (human) Mac/RT characters active in the 1960-2005 era.

6

Oh, and if you want a Robotech singer in the 2010+ group, I’d rather have Lancer on my side than Minmei - he’s at least more generally useful in a fight.

7

Well, assuming you are following the same pattern as LoEG, the characters should be
a) Universally recognized
b) From roughly the same time period
c) Be extraordinary in some way

From Category B:
Spike Speigel - Cowboy Bebop (ass kicking ability)
Major Kusanagi - Ghost in the Shell (cyborg)
Roy Fokre - Robotech (pilot)
D frim Vampire Hunter D (technically it takes place in the future IIRC) (freakish wierdness)
Tetsuo from Akira (mental powers)
and…I don’t know…freakin’ Gigantor or someone to fill in the last slot. (large goon)

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Three more class A’s

Mahoro, from Mahoromatic. Every team needs a combat android. Plus, she can double as a cute maid as well.

Belldandy, from Oh! My Goddess! She is very powerful magically, and is capable of both high level offensive and healing spells. And having a representative from Heavan on your side is a good thing. Either one of her sisters (Skuld, Urd) would be very useful as well.

Excel, from Excel Saga. A bit spastic, but having an effectively unkillable team member would be a big help.

Class B

Ruri, from Nadesico - good for computer hacking and operation, and keeping a level head about things. The Nadesico would be the ultimate vehicle for the team to cruise around in as well.

Komugi, from Soultaker & Nurse Witch Komugi-chan. She has all sorts of diguse abilities, what with all her cosplay outfits. And she is pretty good in combat, with those giant syringes and all. Plus she is just so darn cute.

Shinji Ikari, from Evangelion. Sure, he is a bit of a wimp, but he is a pretty good Eva pilot, and having a nuke proof giant robot(that isn’t actually a robot at all) is a good thing. Hopefully, you could launch Eva01 out of the Nadesico.
Class C - How ancient is ancient? And can we include fantasy type characters? If so

Lina Inverse, from The Slayers. She is incredibly powerful magically, and can hold her own in hand to hand & sword based combat. The food bill for her would be a pain though.

Kenshin, from Rurouni Kenshin. Any team based in this era is going to need a top-notch swordsman, and Kenshin would be hard to beat.

9

I’d classify characters “dated” 2004 who live in a clearly “future” world that has not come to pass (e.g. the Robotech characters), as Category B, making an exception if a younger-age version of the character could be around in this timeline. Sci-Fi or Fantasy characters that could be fit into this age (say, aliens or supernatural beings that show up in modern-day Earth) could stay in A

My Nominations:

Category A:

Concurrences from earlier lists inclide Lupin III or Fujiko, for the reasons given: get anything you want, get away with it (personal pref for Fuji-uji for two very big, er, good reasons). Also Speed Racer and Rally Vincent. Washuu would have to bear caveats - in the original version she’s not just extraordinary, she’s some sort of demideity: make her TV version and we’re talking.

Extra noms:
Yuta, from Mermaid’s Forest/Scar/Mask/Dream – a troubled but noble-hearted immortal who hasn’t lost touch with humanity yet won’t wince when dealing with really, really, really creepy situations.

Black Jack – Gotta have the finest medical care

Tenchi Masaki. An “extraordinary Gentleman”, he has some great powers but it’s not like he can just swat a world like a fly on a whim, and mentally and morally is just a normal good human being.
Category B (1): Earthbound, incremental-technology future:

Syllia Stingray (Bubblegum Crisis) – Excellent at moving under the radar of the political/industrial establishment, in control of some serious technology, and can do her own fighting.

Not as member (due to his day-job) but as advisor:
Chief Aramaki, from Ghost in the Shell – that’s right, NOT Kusanagi. I want to tap the organizational brains and the skill in political intrigue that allow a completely “natural” old human to head the most powerful security unit in a totally-wired culture where even the garbagemen have their brains cyberjacked into the net.
B (2) Majorly divergent non-Earthbound future, but not galactic-scale action:

Agree with Radical Edward as hacker.

Vash, from Trigun – master gunman, can absorb amazing degrees of punishment, will work for donuts. Nice fashion sense, too. He’d serve as the conscience of the team, but a commitment to not killing could mean trouble in a crisis.
B (3) “Galactic scale” action:

Captain Harlock (or Emeraldas.) I’m amazed it wasn’t brought up before. Someone with their own starship, a high sense of class and justice, and no illusions whatsoever about the goodness or altruism of humanity. Bring in that anguished Nietzschean thing.

Toshiro (from the Cap’n Harlock universe) Someone who can secretly build a Starship in an abandoned tunnel is incredibly useful.

If I can’t have those, then Justy U. Tylor (The Irresponsible Captain Tylor), might as well have someone who always carries the day on sheer luck and charm and has never lost a single crewmember to enemy action.

All the above is keeping things pretty much “straight”. Because else we could also argue for Cat A to include Mido Miko (La Blue Girl) in case some tentacle-monsters show up with lewd intentions :smiley:

10

What, nobody mentioned Duke Togo aka Golgo 13? He’s the world’s greatest assassin, a master of unarmed combat, and completely devoid of human sentiment. I guess he’d have to be paid to be part of the league, but otherwise I’d say he is a natural inclusion.

11

Ya missed the most important part. :wink:

Show him a cat, and he becomes an invincible force! Gotta love Cat-Fu

12

I recommend Subaru Sumeragi from X and Tokyo Babylon, for category A. His Onmyouji powers would be useful in nearly any situation.

Not sure who you’d pair him with, though. Most of my favourite characters are sensitive or comic types who’d probably get crushed in their first battle :wink:

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The A$$-kickers

Spike Speigel, Vash the Stampede, Gene Starwind…

Just in case you need something shot 6, 337 times before you blink.

Ryoko (yes, I know she’s technically modern day; hush) and Aisha Clan-Can, for humor value and, when they can be poited in the right direction, more major @$$-kicking.

Lupin the 3rd and Washu (ditto both). Because honestly, the rest of these jokers are going to be doing nothing but eating [donuts], fighting [each other], and getting lost [a lot] unless they’ve got some direction.