Arad Senki: Slap-Up Party: Ain't No Party Like a DFO Party, 'Cuz a DFO Party Don't... Stop!

Debuting back in August of 2005 by South Korean developer Neople (a subsidiary of Japanese publisher Nexon), Dungeon & Fighter is a mix of old-school 2D beat 'em up & action RPG for Windows-compatible PCs that focuses primarily on players going online to tackle stages with others via network play, leveling up their respective character classes & unlocking new skills along the way. "DNF", as it's often shortened to in Asia, would then see release in Japan in 2006 under the title Arad Senki/Record of Arad War, before seeing release in China in 2007, and both Taiwan & North America in 2010 (where it'd receive a third title, Dungeon Fighter Online, in the latter region), before finally getting a proper worldwide release in 2015. As of the end of 2021, DNF/DFO (depending on the region) has become one of the most-played & highest-grossing video games (& entertainment media IPs, in general) of all time, with (to quote Wikipedia) "over 850 million players worldwide and over $18 billion in lifetime revenue". While I have never played the game myself, as I'm not really big on online-focused gaming, there's no denying the game's success, and with that success comes other sorts of productions to help promote it.

Therefore, in a blatant attempt to take advantage of any possible momentum from the release of the newest spin-off, Arc System Works' 2.5D fighting game DNF Duel, let's take a look at the anime adaptation of this South Korean/Japanese phenomenon... The first one, at least, as I don't think 2020's Arad Senki: Gyakuten no Gear has an English translation of any sort, astonishingly enough.

At the Hangame 2008 Summer Festival, it was announced that Dungeon & Fighter would be receiving an anime adaptation by Gonzo & its Korean subsidiary GK Entertainment, titled Arad Senki: Slap-Up Party, or Dungeon & Fighter: Slap-Up Party in South Korea. Loosely based on the characters seen in the official webcomic at the time, Arad no Hourou Party/The Wandering Party of Arad, the anime would debut first in Japan on April 3, 2009 & last 26 episodes... right as Gonzo was going through some notorious financial troubles. This culminated in Gonzo's parent company GDH absorbing the studio completely (creating the Gonzo that exists today) & being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange on July 30, 2009, right in the middle of Slap-Up Party's run on TV Tokyo (as well as Saki & Shangri-La's runs on their respective networks). However, unlike its fellow Gonzo anime from 2009, Arad Senki: Slap-Up Party has never been licensed for English release yet, not even streaming, though it did at least eventually get fansubbed back in the day. So did the English anime market miss out on something worth watching at the time, or was Slap-Up Party rightfully overlooked, especially since Dungeon Fighter Online wouldn't even exist until another year after this anime debuted?

(That being said, I'll be using the official English terminology, as defined by the official DFO website, where possible)

On the Arad Continent in the year 981, a party lead by a warrior named Aganzo embarked on a quest to kill the monster Sirocco that was causing a series of demonizations amongst the populace, including that of a dark elf Slayer named Roxy within the party itself. The party succeeded, but only after Roxy allowed herself to turn into a full demon, and the resulting kill wound up spreading the phenomenon, now called "Kazan Syndrome" across all of Arad. It's now 994, and Baron Abel is a Slayer roaming the land in search of a cure for Kazan Syndrome, as his affliction resulted in him being cast away from his own village as a child. Inhabiting the great sword he wields, the same one that killed Sirocco 13 years ago, is the spirit of Roxy herself. Soon enough, Baron creates a party of his own with Capensis, a Gunner who claims to be from the "Heavenly Realm" of Empyrean; Ryunmei Ranka, a female Fighter who primarily wants to continue training & fight stronger foes; Ixia Jun, a young elven Mage who had previously been kicked out of a prior party due to her inexperience; & on occasion Jedah Lucsuppa, a burly warrior of a Priest who has a strong fascination with Baron. Along the way, "The Party" also find themselves going up against the Slayer forces of the human De Los Empire, led by Irbek, a member of Roxy & Aganzo's old party who has his own reasons for figuring out the truth behind Kazan Syndrome, and if it can truly be cured.

Obscusion B-Side: The IF Neverland Reportage: The First Neverland War

On October 26, 1994, an ex-Data East employee named Shingo Kuwana, who had previously worked on the Joe & Mac series as a planner (& was "Game Designer" for early 1994's Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics), started a new company called Idea Factory out of Shibuya, Tokyo. Helping him out was Yoshiteru Sato, who had previously worked at Studio Dub, which assists larger animation studios with both key & in-between animation; Sato himself is credited with key animation on five early episodes of Mobile Police Patlabor TV, for example. At first, Kuwana & Sato started simple, releasing a quartet of games in 1995 that utilized the Photo CD system (i.e. the "Beige Book") to create two visual novels (Dark Chaser & Mars Blade), a mystery adventure title (Steelwood - Private Eye), & a quiz/puzzle game (Inu-Oh Chikyu wo Sukuu/Rescue the Dog King From Earth); because they're Photo CDs, these are technically playable on PC, 3DO, Sega Saturn, & even the CD-i. Idea Factory would start releasing "traditional" video games with Yaku: Yuujou Dangi/Bad Luck: Suspicious Friendship, a "sound novel" for the Sony PlayStation in January of 1996 that was developed by Axes Art Amuse & apparently featured designs by horror mangaka Hideshi Hino (Panorama of Hell, The Town of Pigs). However, it's with IF's third PS1 game (after another sound novel by Axes Art Amuse) that would set into motion the trajectory that would eventually lead Idea Factory to the success it sees today.

It marked the start of a massive franchise that would define Idea Factory for many years (both good & bad), & in 2004 would be given a label to call its own: IF Neverland.

Now one might wonder why I'd bother to do something like cover the IF Neverland franchise like this. Ask some people online, both in Japan & abroad, and you might get a common response that winds up being similar to how some felt about Idea Factory in general, especially during the 00s: They're all (or at least most of them are) "kusoge", i.e. abjectly terrible games. However, aside from the simple curiosity factor (& a feeling that their "crap factor" is likely overblown to varying extents due to online echo chambering, as I've played good & fun Idea Factory games, mainly from pre-2010), there's also just the sheer size & scale of this franchise. From 1996 to 2009, Idea Factory released 35 different games (plus another 10, if you include the various ports to other consoles with altered titles that included some sort of new content!) that took place in the fantasy world of Neverland, creating a massive timeline of events with over 1,000+ years of in-universe lore & an utterly enormous cast of characters, many of which would debut in one game or another, only to become recurring characters in various other games, sometimes as supporting cast & sometimes as major players in the plot. To just cast this franchise away as nothing special & not even try to understand even a basic level of everything that was put into this 13-year stretch of releases (most of which were only ever released in Japan) would be a disservice, I feel. Also, I don't think it'd be an exaggeration to say that, without IF Neverland, the Idea Factory that exists today (IF, IF International, Design Factory, Otomate, Compile Heart, etc.) would likely not even be around, especially since there were a couple of years in which IF released nothing but IF Neverland games.

Obviously, with so many titles to cover here, this won't be a series of traditional "reviews" but rather more of a general overview, though I'll still include my personal feelings on them when possible, & I can't guarantee any sort of consistency as to when all five parts of this series will come out; they'll come out when they're ready, essentially. Still, we might as well start with the easiest place there is: The Beginning.