My friends and I were talking about this a while back and I thought it was fun. Also, I don't have the animation skill to actually do some kind of made-for-YouTube series or what have you, but I do have the skills to make a post on Liquid Dota, so here we are. The question I pose is this: if Dota were an anime - let's go one step further and say a serious shonen anime, although I suppose if you have a great idea for something else, that's fine too - what would it be like. Hapless/clueless protagonist, recurring minor villains, major villains, season/series arcs, allies who are always dying/getting beaten to a pulp even though they try their best, wise old men/women/tree spirits, etc.
Me, I'm thinking that out of the whole big lineup, the most straightforward protagonist is probably Anti-Mage, although you could make similar cases for Luna and Windranger. Pros are he's already got a kind of traditional shonen anime arc laid out: a weak aspiring monk who sees everyone around him get brutally murdered by a legion of zombies, he runs off with some scrolls or something and slowly trains himself into a killing machine. Plus he's a human-ish male. You'd probably have to dial back the "thou" and "thine," but it's not like game-based anime have to stay 100% true to their source material, right?
The best part is, the actual act of playing Anti-Fun kind of mirrors that same progression, where you start out garbage and become the mighty split-pushing player-slayer everyone knows and some people even love.
Luna can then be the haughty/temperamental female rival, while Windranger is the more playful female foil (which Valve already did in that one comic, so it's canon).
For big bads, I think you probably start with someone like Necrophos, and depending on whether your producers still want to fund the show after that, Outworld Devourer, Shadow Fiend, and then Spectre would be pretty cool as the series-capping final boss. She's super creepy, she's got that whole reality-distortion thing going on, and she's also a hard late-game carry, so the rivalry again fits into what people know from the game. Maybe she gets corrupted by the Dire Ancient and then you have room to entirely recreate the Buu saga in Dota form.
In between, you could have regular appearances from minor bads like Queen of Pain (scary) and Techies (goofy), occasional rivals like Templar Assassin, frequent blunders from Omniknight the expendable do-gooder, and then plenty of one-offs with the rest of the Dota 2 cast (a Bristleback-Tusk episode halfway through season one for sure, with maybe a follow-up in season three as service for your legions of fans).
So what do you guys think? And what does YOUR Dota 2 anime look like?
If dota was an anime, it'd be melee. Also Lina already has an anime.
Jokes aside, I think legion would be a good protagonist too, not just because of the entire growth mechanic, but also because she's kinda badass and am is always a bit weird and his abilities are fairly boring for anime themes. LC also has some of the background-story already written out where she starts as a street rat. Axe could be a side kick and CK the mysterious mentor/threat that pops up from time to time.
I thought about Legion too. Now that you mention it, it occurs to me that the whole duel mechanic could totally become like a standard episode setup (Yu-Gi-Oh flashbacks, anyone?? It's time to d-d-d-d-d-duel!). Axe and Omniknight are both pretty good contenders for that bumbling/overeager sidekick role, although I personally like LD more than CK for the whole mentor role... and then maybe when you need to ramp up to the more powerful season 5 ubermentor, you can tag in Arc Warden or something. Idk CK feels like he might verge on too evil... maybe a redeemed villain/mentor figure? The possibilities are limitless.
I still like AM though. Mana void has the potential to a kind of nifty spirit bomb if you maybe revise how it works a little bit.
There could be dozens of shorter story lines. Get your hands on an old wc3 dota 1 version and read the hero lore in the description. Almost all of the where changed - am and tb where brothers, viper being venomancers pet, naix was a minion/underling of warlock and a lot of other rivalries and relationships i cant remember anymore. Would be a interesting foundation for an anime, i agree. Add some of the new lore and you had stories for years.
On October 17 2017 03:16 RuiBarbO wrote: I thought about Legion too. Now that you mention it, it occurs to me that the whole duel mechanic could totally become like a standard episode setup (Yu-Gi-Oh flashbacks, anyone?? It's time to d-d-d-d-d-duel!). Axe and Omniknight are both pretty good contenders for that bumbling/overeager sidekick role, although I personally like LD more than CK for the whole mentor role... and then maybe when you need to ramp up to the more powerful season 5 ubermentor, you can tag in Arc Warden or something. Idk CK feels like he might verge on too evil... maybe a redeemed villain/mentor figure? The possibilities are limitless.
I still like AM though. Mana void has the potential to a kind of nifty spirit bomb if you maybe revise how it works a little bit.
Meant CK like the mentor in berserk, the guy with mysterious agenda who occasionally appears in key scenes and gives the hero a powerup. Agreed that he's unfit for being a party member outside of evil parties.
Maiden is basically born to be the chick. She also can be smarts in the party. SWM is c3p0 all over again.
I definitely want an episode where the tidehunter kunka rivalry pops up all the time. Also Timbersaw+Viper are perfect evil funny sidekicks. "Poithon burrrrn. Cut them down, timberthaw" "I cut the trees, cut cut cut. Trees everywhere" If we go the comical route, the grrrrrand magus is the perfect mentor.
@AM idk, he's basically a blink striker. Which either makes him op by default or too dumb to use his skill. I agree that the basic hero growth design is there though and his look fits the role. DK could either be a good hero or rival. Rage mode is inbuilt and he can power up multiple times in a single fight.
On October 17 2017 08:14 intotheheart wrote: I'm writing a Fear fanfic right now and have the plot outline finished for what would probably be an anime. It's awful because I'm the writer.
On October 17 2017 09:58 M.S.Bismarck wrote: You forgot all the turbo weebs that'll start demanding the Japanese language dub...even though they're not Japanese.
rwby did that, but from what i understand it is actually popular in japan because of it
On October 17 2017 09:58 M.S.Bismarck wrote: You forgot all the turbo weebs that'll start demanding the Japanese language dub...even though they're not Japanese.
rwby did that, but from what i understand it is actually popular in japan because of it
On October 17 2017 03:16 RuiBarbO wrote: I thought about Legion too. Now that you mention it, it occurs to me that the whole duel mechanic could totally become like a standard episode setup (Yu-Gi-Oh flashbacks, anyone?? It's time to d-d-d-d-d-duel!). Axe and Omniknight are both pretty good contenders for that bumbling/overeager sidekick role, although I personally like LD more than CK for the whole mentor role... and then maybe when you need to ramp up to the more powerful season 5 ubermentor, you can tag in Arc Warden or something. Idk CK feels like he might verge on too evil... maybe a redeemed villain/mentor figure? The possibilities are limitless.
I still like AM though. Mana void has the potential to a kind of nifty spirit bomb if you maybe revise how it works a little bit.
Meant CK like the mentor in berserk, the guy with mysterious agenda who occasionally appears in key scenes and gives the hero a powerup. Agreed that he's unfit for being a party member outside of evil parties.
Maiden is basically born to be the chick. She also can be smarts in the party. SWM is c3p0 all over again.
I definitely want an episode where the tidehunter kunka rivalry pops up all the time. Also Timbersaw+Viper are perfect evil funny sidekicks. "Poithon burrrrn. Cut them down, timberthaw" "I cut the trees, cut cut cut. Trees everywhere" If we go the comical route, the grrrrrand magus is the perfect mentor.
@AM idk, he's basically a blink striker. Which either makes him op by default or too dumb to use his skill. I agree that the basic hero growth design is there though and his look fits the role. DK could either be a good hero or rival. Rage mode is inbuilt and he can power up multiple times in a single fight.
I'd say DK works for the hero if you make him younger and more insecure and work toward the eventual mature DK that we all know and love. And then when you have the inevitable next-gen spinoff series, DK is the grizzled old mentor and you can bring in your Legion/AM as the main... or else you START with that and then make a spinoff PREQUEL series about the rise of the Dragon Knight.
Definitely love the Viper/Timbersaw as recurring minor villains/sidekicks. Especially Timbersaw. That suit can probably blow up in more ways than the Meowth balloon. And you'd even have room for some sympathetic flashbacks about his tragic past that build up to them inevitably teaming up with the main crew when Terrorblade the uber-villain appears to threaten all of creation. Could do Axe instead of Viper if Viper is too unlovable/sinister?
Maiden vs Lina, Tusk/Bristle, Kunkka/Tide... That's basically half of season one right there.
Now I'm trying to think of a season one arc... But who's the best big bad for a season one? I feel like if you do someone like Shadow Fiend or Outworld, you're potentially ramping too high to ever include villains like Necro or QoP. But then again, maybe those guys are good mini-arcs as you build to the eventual ultimate duel.
NS/Dusa (more serious) or Veno/Pugna (more comical) would work for me as early villains.
If you go for the martial/seinen route you could do stuff like a vengeance story against PA, Clinkz or Drow, although at least the girls could be good unaligned characters too. Warlock could be an early arc boss that ends up summoning a later arc boss like Spectre, TB or SF for a dramatic turn of events.
DK would also be a great mentor because he can make a glorious last stand.
On October 17 2017 09:58 M.S.Bismarck wrote: You forgot all the turbo weebs that'll start demanding the Japanese language dub...even though they're not Japanese.
rwby did that, but from what i understand it is actually popular in japan because of it
Funnily enough, I did read that there are Japanese RWBY fans who prefer the English. Not only because it's available sooner, but also by virtue of being the original dub.
EPT
