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Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) is an anime-inspired generic roleplaying game. Its apparent goal is to explore the whole spectrum of anime genres and not just the giant robot variety. The game mechanics and character creation are therefore geared toward the freewheeling and not-stuck-on-realism style of anime.

BESM uses three statistics: Body, Mind, and Soul. Each are ranked from 0 to 12 and are combined in various ways to derive a character's physical and mental combat abilities. Players can also choose various attributes, each ranked from one to five, for their characters. Attributes are aspects like increased strength, having magical or psionic powers, having an entourage of flunkies, or even owning a giant robot. Many of the attribute descriptions are intentionally loose and interpretive, expecting the GM and players to fill in the details for their specific campaign. There are also character defects which are essentially negative attributes. And that's it. You do not find exhaustive lists of skills and powers, since players are expected to simply state what their characters can or cannot do within the context of their statistics and attributes. When a character attempts something the player rolls 2d6 (plus or minus difficulty modifiers) under the character's most appropriate statistic. The game assumes that the GM and players will establish reasonable limits on what their characters skills actually are. This approach with regard to skills runs counter the majority of roleplaying games on the market, but similar approaches can be found in such applauded games as Over the Edge and Everway. A note of caution: this style is definitely not for everyone.

Since this is a generic roleplaying game, one would not expect specific background material to be included, but I would have preferred to see more examples than what BESM provides, to help GMs get a campaign off the ground. A list of weapons is provided, with descriptions of the Japanese historical weapons. The rules give two options how to integrate armor with the mechanics, but provide no sample armor list. Several pages are dedicated to giving descriptions and plot ideas for different campaign settings, from ancient history to far future. The tips to GMs and players is useful, though this is probably the only roleplaying game which encourages, "Create an archetypical(sic) or stereotypical character rather than one that is well rounded." The author stresses that combat should not be the focus of a campaign and should be used sparingly to enhance the dramatic impact. While this is certainly good advice, the rules which spend most of the time describing combat while non-combat skills are left to loose interpretation.

The art is above average for roleplaying games, though typical of anime-inspired games and fan art. The rules are relatively easy to read and understand. I caught a few Canadian-isms and instances of "see section XX" syndrome, but the overall editing and layout looks good, and I liked the digest-sized format. The book also contains a glossary, bibliography of anime titles, and a comprehensive index. Many established game companies can learn from this publication.

As a GM, the question for me was, "Does BESM make it easier to set up an anime-inspired campaign than converting a pre-existing system like MektonZeta or Teenagers From Outer Space, or perhaps even Hero or Feng Shui?" While BESM does have some good ideas for character attributes and keeping the game free and loose, and it is a good game overall, there is not enough substance for me to recommend it over another system.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

Big Eyes, Small Mouth
Author: Mark C. MacKinnon Category: game Company/Publisher: Guardians of Order Cost: $13.95 Page count: 90 Digest Sized ISBN: 0-9682431-0-X Capsule Review by Patrick Riley on 10/30/97. Genre tags: none	Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM) is an anime-inspired generic roleplaying game. Its apparent goal is to explore the whole spectrum of anime genres and not just the giant robot variety. The game mechanics and character creation are therefore geared toward the freewheeling and not-stuck-on-realism style of anime. BESM uses three statistics: Body, Mind, and Soul. Each are ranked from 0 to 12 and are combined in various ways to derive a character's physical and mental combat abilities. Players can also choose various attributes, each ranked from one to five, for their characters. Attributes are aspects like increased strength, having magical or psionic powers, having an entourage of flunkies, or even owning a giant robot. Many of the attribute descriptions are intentionally loose and interpretive, expecting the GM and players to fill in the details for their specific campaign. There are also character defects which are essentially negative attributes. And that's it. You do not find exhaustive lists of skills and powers, since players are expected to simply state what their characters can or cannot do within the context of their statistics and attributes. When a character attempts something the player rolls 2d6 (plus or minus difficulty modifiers) under the character's most appropriate statistic. The game assumes that the GM and players will establish reasonable limits on what their characters skills actually are. This approach with regard to skills runs counter the majority of roleplaying games on the market, but similar approaches can be found in such applauded games as Over the Edge and Everway. A note of caution: this style is definitely not for everyone. Since this is a generic roleplaying game, one would not expect specific background material to be included, but I would have preferred to see more examples than what BESM provides, to help GMs get a campaign off the ground. A list of weapons is provided, with descriptions of the Japanese historical weapons. The rules give two options how to integrate armor with the mechanics, but provide no sample armor list. Several pages are dedicated to giving descriptions and plot ideas for different campaign settings, from ancient history to far future. The tips to GMs and players is useful, though this is probably the only roleplaying game which encourages, "Create an archetypical(sic) or stereotypical character rather than one that is well rounded." The author stresses that combat should not be the focus of a campaign and should be used sparingly to enhance the dramatic impact. While this is certainly good advice, the rules which spend most of the time describing combat while non-combat skills are left to loose interpretation. The art is above average for roleplaying games, though typical of anime-inspired games and fan art. The rules are relatively easy to read and understand. I caught a few Canadian-isms and instances of "see section XX" syndrome, but the overall editing and layout looks good, and I liked the digest-sized format. The book also contains a glossary, bibliography of anime titles, and a comprehensive index. Many established game companies can learn from this publication. As a GM, the question for me was, "Does BESM make it easier to set up an anime-inspired campaign than converting a pre-existing system like MektonZeta or Teenagers From Outer Space, or perhaps even Hero or Feng Shui?" While BESM does have some good ideas for character attributes and keeping the game free and loose, and it is a good game overall, there is not enough substance for me to recommend it over another system. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)