Break!! is a tabletop RPG with a stark emphasis on meaningful player interaction, creative expression, and all-out weebyness. The 470 page core rulebook is a worldbuilder's fever dream of familiar anime tropes, dusted over deep and malleable lore. Oozing with inspiration from top anime titles – I've noted mirrors to Delicious in Dungeon, Fullmetal Alchemist, One Piece, and some of the more action-oriented Studio Ghibli movies, to name a few – Break!! throws players into a world of intrigue, heroism and companionship. It presents a rich setting full of anime-style whimsy with a masterful yet humble flick of the wrist. Is it one of the best tabletop RPGs? If you're an anime stan or someone that grew up admiring SNES-era JRPGs, absolutely.
This is a game that makes no assumptions about moral alignment based on a character's physiology or choice of magic, and it presents itself with TTRPG newbies in mind. Break!! lends itself to a cinematic tabletop RPG experience as a result, and although the roll-under mechanic blunts that a little, it's a fantastic modern adaptation of old-school pen and paper RP – one that'll see players monologuing and fanservice-fumbling their way through epic journeys built around connection, heroism, and the power of friendship.
