Terms: "Spellcasting": Magic as it appears in fantasy settings like D&D. Usually learned from spell books or granted by powers to priests "Enchantment/Enchanted": Magic of a non-specific nature (such as a flying carpet or ancient ruins with unknown power) "Mysticism/mystical": Magic-like abilities that derive from gods or other higher powers "Supernatural": Ghosts, undead, demons, psychic phenomenon, the occult, etc...primarily the darker elements "Special powers": Powers that are spellcasting, enchanted, mystical, or supernatural. Amazing fighting ability or technology is not a special power "Mecha": Piloted robots, generally large and bipedal "Irreducible": Not easily replaced with something else that does the same function without changing the story significantly "Alien": Someone who is not from the "home" planet in the show (not necessarily Earth) Start: How would you describe the time setting of the show, based on technology, events, and characters? "Past" (Sakura Wars, Last Exile, Gatekeepers, Slayers, Grave of the Fireflies) Goto TimePast "Present" (Noir, X, Sailor Moon, Ranma, Vampire Princess Miyu, Princess Nine) Goto TimePresent "Future or involving aliens as major characters" (Evangelion, Wild Arms, Tenchi) Goto TimeFuture "People from present sent primarily to a future world" (Dual, Rahxephon) Goto TimeFuture "People from present sent non-future" (Fushigi Yugi, Abenobashi, Miyuki in Wonderland) CATEGORY Present sent to past "Other" ERROR Unknown TimePast: Could the show have actually happened, allowing for secrets being maintained and the enchanted/mystical/supernatural? "Yes" (Gatekeepers, Nadia, Soul Hunter, Grave of the Fireflies, many samurai/ninja shows) CATEGORY Past, General "No" (Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Sakura Wars, Castle in the Sky, Last Exile) Goto PastFake PastFake: Is modern-style technology being recreated as a major plot element via enchanted, supernatural, or low-tech means? "Yes" (Sakura Wars, Castle in the Sky, Last Exile) CATEGORY Past, General "No" (Kiki's Delivery Service, Slayers, Dragon Half) Goto PastLowTech PastLowTech: Are low-tech weapons and magic via enchanted, mystical, or supernatural means the only major fantasy element? "Yes" (Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Soul Hunter) CATEGORY Past, General "No" (Slayers, Y's, Dragon Half, Record of Lodoss War, Orphen) Goto PastFantasy PastFantasy: Is it a fantasy world such as D&D (swords besides historical use, spells)? "Yes" (Slayers, Y's, Dragon Half, Record of Lodoss War, Orphen) CATEGORY Past, Fantasy "No" ERROR Past, General TimePresent: Does the show involve idol stars as a central element, particularly the main characters? "Yes" (Fancy Lala, Idol Project, Chance Pop Session) CATEGORY Present, Idol stars "No" (Sailor Moon, Sugar, Love Hina, Ranma, Noir) Goto PresentNoIdol PresentNoIdol: Does the plot rely heavily on supernatural elements? "Yes" (Witch Hunter Robin, Vampire Princess Miyu, Haunted Junction, Phantom Quest Corporation) CATEGORY Present, Supernatural "No" (Blue Seed, ROD, Boogiepop Phantom, Utena, Magic User's Club, Oh My Goddess, Risky/Safety) Goto PresentNoSupernatural PresentNoSupernatural: Does the show have prominant dark/bloody/gothic/disturbing imagery that would be included in even a brief summary? "Yes" (Boogiepop Phantom, Noir, Kite, X) CATEGORY Present, Dark or fighty "No" (Blue Seed, ROD, Arjuna, Ranma, Risky/Safety) Goto PresentNoDark PresentNoDark: Is combat/capture by a government-sanctioned or for-profit group/organization of primary importance to the plot? "Yes" (Blue Seed, ROD, You're Under Arrest, Gunsmith Cats, 801 TTS Airbats, Area 88) CATEGORY Present, Dark or fighty "No" (Lupin, Utena, Jubei-chan, Ranma, Pretear, Sailor Moon, Arjuna, Saint Tail) Goto PresentNoMilitary PresentNoMilitary: Is combat by criminal, immoral, or dark/gothic main characters or for personal ranking of primary importance to the plot? "Yes" (Lupin, Debutante Detective Corps) CATEGORY Present, Dark or fighty "No" (Utena, Jubei-chan, Ranma, Sailor Moon, Arjuna, Saint Tail) Goto PresentNoDark PresentNoDark: Does the main plot revolve around a main character without powers living with one or more individuals who have special powers? "Yes" (Oh My Goddess, Risky/Safety, Sugar, Fruits Basket) CATEGORY Present, Powerful visitors "No" (Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, Kimagure Orange Road, Pretear) Goto PresentNoVisitor PresentNoVisitor: Do any of the main characters have special powers? "Yes" (Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, Kimagure Orange Road, Pretear, Somedays Dreamers, Jubei-chan) CATEGORY Present, Special powers "No" (Ranma, Ai Yori Aoshi, Love Hina, Strawberry Eggs, Otaku no Video, Animation Runner Kuromi) CATEGORY Present, General TimeFuture: Do mecha used by main characters play an irreducible role in the plot and combat? "Yes" (Big O, Gasaraki, Evangelion, Patlabor, Dual, Rahxephon, Gundam, Nadesico, Macross, Geneshaft) Goto FutureMecha "No" (Angelic Layer, Bubblegum Crisis, Moldiver, Cowboy Bebop, Sol Bianca, Tenchi, Project A-ko, eX-Driver) Goto FutureNoMecha FutureMecha: Does a significant portion of the show take place in space? "Yes" (Gundam, Nadesico, Macross, Geneshaft) CATEGORY Future, Mecha in space "No" (Big O, Gasaraki, Evangelion, Patlabor, Dual, Rahxephon) CATEGORY Future, Mecha FutureNoMecha: Does the society of a uniquely online, virtual, or hacker world play the primary role in the plot? "Yes" (.hack, Geobreeders, Lain) CATEGORY Future, Cybertech "No" (Cowboy Bebop, Angelic Layer) Goto FutureNoCyber FutureNoCyber: Does the main plot revolve around aliens coming to a single Earth-like world on a regular basis or to live? "Yes" (Di Gi Charat, Please Save My Earth, Project A-ko, Tenchi, Urusei Yatsura, Mao-Chan, Please Teacher) CATEGORY Future, Alien visitors "No" (Captain Tylor, Battle Athletes, Crest of the Stars, Cowboy Bebop, Sol Bianca, Saber Marionette) Goto FutureNoVisitors FutureNoVisitors: Do battle suits used by main characters play an irreducible role in the plot and combat? "Yes" (Bubblegum Crisis, Moldiver) CATEGORY Future, Battle suits and combat "No" (Sol Bianca, Nuku Nuku) Goto FutureNoSuits FutureNoSuits: Is face-to-face combat or physical competition for personal ranking of primary importance to the plot? "Yes" (Battle Athletes, Angelic Layer) Goto FutureCombat "No" (Wild Arms, Gun Frontier) Goto FutureNoCombat FutureCombat: Is the combat or physical competition carried out by robots or involve them? "Yes" (Angelic Layer) CATEGORY Future, Robots "No" (Battle Athletes) CATEGORY Future, Battle suits and combat FutureNoCombat: Does a significant portion of the show take place in space? "Yes" (Cowboy Bebop, Crest of the Stars, Captain Tylor, Lost Universe, Sol Bianca, They Were 11) CATEGORY Future, Space "No" (Nuku Nuku, Angelic Layer, Saber Marionette, Kurogane Communications, Akira, Wild Arms, Plastic Little) Goto FutureNoSpace FutureNoSpace: Are robots or mobile artificial intelligences irreducible or main characters? "Yes" (Nuku Nuku, Chobits, Future GPX Cyberformula, Mahoromatic, Saber Marionette, Metropolis) CATEGORY Future, Robots "No" (Don't Leave Me Alone Daisy, Hyper Police, Akira, ex-Driver, Wild Arms, Plastic Little, Photon) CATEGORY Future, General