Line #114 VideoGame/NamuAmidaButsuUtena


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/namuami_utenacom670bg_mainsp.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:250:Oh my Buddhas.]]
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4	->''All that lives and breathes suffers from birth, age, disease and death.\
5	There is but one way to salvation… enlightenment.''
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7	The modern world as we know it seems normal and filled with people going about their lives, but deep in the dark recesses of the Sixth Heaven, the evil demon lord [[BigBad Māra]] gathers an army of materialized destructive emotions (''bonnō'' 煩悩, "kleśas") to wreck havoc on mankind and drag them down into endless torment as part of his revenge plot after his defeat against Shaka Nyorai/Shakyamuni. With humanity on the brink of disaster unseen to the mortal eye, it is up to Buddhas to work their divine power in battle to stop them and save mankind… with ''you'' as their commander. Oh wait, [[VideoGame/KanColle where have]] [[VideoGame/ToukenRanbu we heard]] [[VideoGame/BungoToAlchemist this before]]…
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9	''Namu Amida Butsu! -UTENA-'' was the 2019 reboot by DMM Games of a little-known defunct 2016 online game entitled ''Namu Amida Butsu!'' developed by Visualworks, in which the player assumed the role of the ''[[NonEntityGeneral dōmori]]'' (堂守, roughly "guardian") of fictitious Bonnō Temple (梵納寺) who summoned, trained and sent [[CastFullOfPrettyBoys good-looking]] Buddhas into battle against ''kleśas'' and unlocked stories as the game progressed. Not related to ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena''.
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11	The game has received an anime adaptation produced by DMM pictures and Creator/AsahiProduction and aired on April 2019, making it part of the Spring 2019 anime season. ''-UTENA-''[='=]s service was [[DefunctOnlineVideoGames terminated]] on August 31, 2020.
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13	Compare ''VisualNovel/KamigamiNoAsobi'' (a human PlayerCharacter with a religious background is left in charge of an ensemble of {{Physical God}}s in order to protect the world). For the anime adaptation, compare ''Anime/ToukenRanbuHanamaru''.
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15	[[AC:Tropes listed here are about the ''-UTENA-'' game by default, and tropes related to the 2016 game should be noted as such.]]
16	----
17	!!The game(s) and its adaptations provide examples of:
18	* AdaptationAmalgamation: Despite the official status of the anime as an adaptation of ''-UTENA-'', in reality it incorporates aspects from the earlier game, namely the no-dōmori and no-later-generation-characters (aside from Taishakuten, Bonten, Ashura and Māra).
19	* AdaptedOut: Due to the large cast, most ''-UTENA-''-only characters are not adapted in the anime. In addition, unlike anime of predecessor games where the existence of the NonEntityGeneral is confirmed despite their not actually appearing, the ''dōmori'' is excluded from adaptation period; you can almost tell if someone introduced into the fandom in the ''-UTENA-'' era is an anime-only fan by whether they know who the ''dōmori'' is.
20	* AlternateUniverse: While the liberties taken in the anime in adapting its source material aren't enough to qualify as InNameOnly, the anime can be considered this to the game based on these fundamental changes:
21	** [[AdaptedOut There is no dōmori]].
22	** The anime includes things like an anti-{{glamour}} used to mask Buddhas' divine aura to the human eye and the need to create a barrier dimension of sorts before ''kleśa'' purification can take place. None of this is present in the game.
23	** While off-duty, all Buddhas wear color-coded uniform jerseys. In the game, each Buddha has their unique casual (internal affairs) outfit.
24	* TheAnimeOfTheGame: One in 2019.
25	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Golds (5-stars), being the highest rarity, are extremely hard to summon, plus the fact that most golds are [[TemporaryOnlineContent limited]], but the game allows selection of one of the Thirteen Buddhas, all gold, as a starter.
26	** Limited Buddha gacha are in 10 steps, and getting the Buddha in question is ''guaranteed'' on step 10 regardless of whether you already got them in previous steps, provided you have that many gems to progress that far in the first place.
27	* ArtificialStupidity: Auto-playing battles in this game is ''extremely'' inefficient – there are two AI modes, the first completely ignores spells and will just have the Buddhas spam basic attacks, which can cause players to fail the objective of passing the map for the first time without exceeding a certain number of turns (spell-casting does not count as a move), and the second completely expends any and all spells as soon as they're available without saving them for strategic use, and neither of them allow enemy prioritizing which can be useful for taking out those with lower HP or those with their own spells first.
28	* ArtisticLicenseReligion: For starters, Buddhist deities aren't depicted in real life as dashingly good-looking men with over-the-top personalities who engage in SliceOfLife hijinks.
29	* BackForTheFinale: The final summoning event running for the last month before ''-UTENA-'''s closure features ''every'' single Buddha and spell released up to that point.
30	* BizarreTasteInFood: The tathāgatas according to the anime, and this makes Shaka a LethalChef.
31	* BlandNameProduct: All over the place on street signs in the anime when the Buddhas visit the city. ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daiso Diaso]]'', ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTT_Docomo jocomo]]'' and ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoftBank_Group Hard Bank]]'', really?
32	* ByThePowerOfGrayskull: In true ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' fashion as part of default 4-star and above spell casting special dialogue; upon activation, the Buddha will say a short command ("roar", "sink", "sprout", etc) before [[CallingYourAttacks calling the attack]].
33	* CallingYourAttacks: Matching a default 4-star and up spell with its corresponding Buddha will lead to this as a special spell casting dialogue.
34	* CanonForeigner: All appearing characters who are not the Thirteen Buddhas [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Karuraten]], which include Taishakuten and Bonten who receive enough story appearance and billing to be prominent, are exclusive to ''-UTENA-''. That includes the ''dōmori''.
35	* {{Cap}}: Buddha level depends on the character.
36	* CardBattleGame
37	* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: All of the Buddhas (except Ashuku who is [[TheSmurfettePrinciple a girl]]) and even the devils are very pleasing to the eye.
38	* CastHerd: The cast is primarily organized into factions they belong to in actual mythology, but other than that, they can also be classified by rarity, by type, by element and by relationship.
39	* CombinationAttack: During normal attack, Buddhas can randomly perform double or even ''triple'' attacks for massive damage. Buddhas with close relationships have special combined attack dialogue.
40	* ComicBookAdaptation: Both the original game and ''-UTENA-'' have manga adaptations published by Ichijinsha, the former running in ''Gene'' and the latter in ''ZERO-SUM''.
41	* ComMons: Oddly enough, the 3-star rarity, since there are only 2 Buddhas belonging to the lower 2-star rarity.
42	* ContinuityReboot: Knowledge of the 2016 game is not needed to enjoy ''-UTENA-''; the latter takes the bare-bones premise of ''kleśas'' purification and builds a totally different plot from the ground up, featuring characters not existing in the previous game.
43	* {{Cooldown}}: After casting a spell, a certain number of turns must pass before it can be cast again.
44	* CostumePorn: All characters are given exceedingly elaborately-designed battle wear.
45	* CrossoverCosmology: While the good forces are overwhelmingly Buddhist with bits of UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}}, the bad guys are clearly demonic figures from various pantheons teaming up, with Buddhist (Māra), Mesopotamian (Pazuzu), chiefly Christian (Satan) and Islam (Iblis).
46	* CultureChopSuey: The game is set in Japan, the characters are imported figures from an Indian religion, Indian cuisine like ''soma'' makes an appearance, the characters celebrate Japanese holidays, many weapons and outfit designs are vaguely ''Chinese''.
47	* DeadCharacterWalking: The captain can be knocked out of the sortie and still literally play voice clips at appropriate nodes, even though they're ''out of the battle and can't fight anymore''.
48	* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Considering this game lacks the permanent damage/character loss mechanic of its predecessors, all you get for letting a Buddha's HP reach zero is their being unable to perform for the rest of the sortie, after which they get their full HP back. Hell, this game plays this trope so hard the party can still proceed even if the ''captain'' is knocked out, and said greyed-out captain can still play resource node/boss node voice clips even when they can't perform. The only true penalty for this comes by letting the ''entire party'' die in battle, which will fail the sortie.
49	* DenserAndWackier: Obviously heavier on the humor than its predecessor games with its characters having sillier quirks, an official yonkoma and official one-panel comic shown during loading, plus the Great Hall feature and two attendant mechanic to milk out even more comedic interactions.
50	* DoItYourselfThemeTune: The opening is sung by Masaaki Mizunaka, Taishakuten's CV.
51	* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: In addition to having a noticeably different art style (and possibly illustrators) in the 2016 game, characters who were in that game had some wildly different designs from their ''-UTENA-'' counterparts: for one, Dainichi dressed [[AdaptationalModesty more revealingly]], Kannon and Seishi dressed ''[[AdaptationalSkimpiness less]]'' revealingly, Yakushi's outfit had a hood, Ashuku wore a short skirt with a longer sheer garment underneath rather than one tapered frilled skirt, plus she wore high-heels instead of ''geta'', Miroku wore a mere buttoned shirt instead of a ''tángzhuāng'', Karura didn't have a human form, and no one had internal affairs clothing because internal affairs wasn't a thing back then.
52	* ElementalPowers: In ''-UTENA-'', there are Fire, Wind, Earth, Water and Void. In the 2016 game, it was Flower, Star, Moon and Nothingness. ''-UTENA-'' assigns fixed elements to characters, meaning each character is always associated with one element no matter what skill they equip, while in the 2016 game it's the ''cards'' that were assigned elements, meaning each character's element changed depending on the card.
53	* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Certain elements hit certain elements harder: Wind beats Earth, Earth beats Water, Water beats Fire, Fire beats Wind, Void is a neutral element.
54	* ExcusePlot: The premise of "fighting ''kleśas'' to save humanity" is more or less an excuse to collect and send attractive men into battle.
55	* FlowerMotifs: Being a game about UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}}, the lotus shows up a lot.
56	* FriendshipSong: The opening theme ''Sora Uta''.
57	* FunWithHomophones: [[PungeonMaster Amida Nyorai]]'s [[IncrediblyLamePun annoying sense of humor]] aside, the developers engage in this too – official sources do not refer to characters using the normal word ''jinbutsu'' 人物, instead using a homophone that reads 神仏, meaning "gods and Buddhas".
58	* {{Glamour}}: Used by the Buddhas in the anime to disguise themselves to humans. They take the forms of whichever human they desire when traveling outside, and a different glamour in the temple cause them to be seen by temple visitors as monks.
59	* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Void is a neutral element, which is exactly the key to its effectiveness. There are no elements it's strong against, but there are no elements it's ''weak'' against either, meaning there is no need for worrying about weakened attacks, while those having this element is relatively tankier than other ones as they take all hits from all elements equally. This trope applies to ''all'' elemental attributes in the 2016 game, as they are all relatively wackier-sounding than most examples of ElementalPowers (''Flower, Star, Moon'' and ''Nothingness'', really?).
60	* HotterAndSexier: Noticeably more fanservicey than predecessor games with frequent use of revealing clothing designs and flat-out WalkingShirtlessScene of well-built men.
61	* HyperactiveSprite: A key difference that sets this game apart from its predecessors – the default sprites are constantly and smoothly animated, ''even in the Buddha index''. Battle and internal affairs sprites are still however.
62	* IAmNotWeasel: The zookeeper Tadokoro in the anime is annoyed when the birds he works with are called ducks. They're ''geese''.
63	* InterchangeableAsianCultures: The Buddhas are divine figures originating in an Indian religion passing through several countries before reaching Japan, but are written as if they're full-fledged Japanese people. Not only that, a lot of their designs draw from ''Chinese'' elements, with many Buddhas dressing in what are obviously ''hànfú'' and ''tángzhuāng'' and wielding Chinese weapons.
64	* InvisibleToNormals: Neither Buddhas nor ''kleśas'' are visible or audible to normal humans and only people with ''dōmori'' powers can see and interact with them. Averted in the anime where it is stated that walking about in the human world without a {{Glamour}} will cause the Buddhas' divine auras to attract humans to them in droves.
65	* KilledOffForReal: Notably '''averted''' in this game compared to its predecessors – this game does not have a permanent damage/repair mechanic and Buddhas cannot be killed, even if their HP is brought down to zero, and they will be instantly healed to full after each sortie.
66	* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: The color of the border of each Buddha's icon depends on their rarity: gold for highest 5-stars, silver for 4-stars and bronze for 3- and 2-stars.
67	* LoadingScreen: Two varieties: the normal variety in which the official one-panel comic is shown to entertain the player while loading proceeds at the bottom of the screen, and the in-battle variety with a rapid "traveling" montage as the team proceeds from one battle to the next.
68	* LowFantasy: There are Buddhas and divine magic, but the game is set in Heisei-Reiwa Japan where human life isn't very different from that in the contemporary real world if at all, divine beings live like humans (they even ''engage in commerce'' and ''use information technology'') and use of magic is almost entirely limited to combat.
69	* MrFanservice: Everyone [[TheSmurfettePrinciple except Ashuku]].
70	* NippleAndDimed: Despite the prevalence of {{Walking Shirtless Scene}}s, no characters are drawn with nipples.
71	* NobodyCanDie: Again, this game ''does not have a permanent damage/death mechanic'' – you can get your Buddhas knocked out in battle as many times as you want.
72	* NonEntityGeneral: The Buddhas are lead by the ''dōmori'', this game's equivalent to the [[VideoGame/KanColle admiral]], [[VideoGame/ToukenRanbu saniwa]] and [[VideoGame/BungoToAlchemist alchemist librarian]].
73	* {{Novelization}}: A light novel adaptation of the 2016 game entitled ''Namu Amida Butsu! Shunkashūtō Shiki Musubi'', written by Nashio Tsukimoto, published by KADOKAWA in ''B's-LOG Bunko Alice''. There has yet to be an ''-UTENA-'' light novel though.
74	* OfficiallyShortenedTitle: ''[=NamuAmi=]'', ''[=NamuAmi=] UTENA'' or ''nmam''. The 2016 game was also called ''hotoke13''.
75	* OlympusMons: Pretty much the entire point.
76	* OrphanedSeries: The Buddha introduction series on [=YouTube=], despite promising an episode on Hōshō Nyorai in its latest episode uploaded in Sep 2018, has never been updated since. It's possible that it will ''never'' be updated, as the game's become defunct.
77	* OverlyLongName: A lot of characters have names reaching five or six characters and whose pronunciations are a mouthful, and this may be the reason the Eight Offering Bodhisattvas are OnlyKnownByTheirNickname.
78	** Skill names are also not exempt from this; many skills at higher rarities have names reaching up to ''eight'' characters, not to mention skill names that are ''full sentences''.
79	* PantheonSitcom: What the game essentially is – Buddhist deities having SliceOfLife antics in a modern society inbetween seriously fighting evil.
80	* PhysicalGods: Being ''Buddhas'', the collectible characters are this.
81	* PlaceOfProtection: Bonnō Temple is a safe haven where Māra, his minions and his influence cannot reach.
82	* PowerTrio: Any and all trinities (a central Buddha with two servants, one servant of the left and one of the right).
83	* RandomNumberGod: The game has a gacha mechanic where one summons Buddhas and skills at various rarities. Notably ''averted'' in battle compared to its predecessor games – the player decides the attacking order via team placement, which enemy to prioritize by selecting them, when to attack and can manually cast spells. Combined attacks are still random, however.
84	* RareRandomDrop: Any Buddhas with the highest Gold rarity (5 stars), who rarely show up from summoning. All ''tathāgatas'' and ''vidyārājas'' belong to this rarity, though the game fortunately lets you choose one from thirteen of them as a starter. Ironically, the 2-stars are also this, as there are precisely 2 characters with this rarity (Nittenshi and Gattenshi), making them less likely to show up than the common 3-stars.
85	* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: The Sixth Heaven, the base of Māra and his minions, is very dark, has blood red clouds and equally red ominous patterns in the sky.
86	* TheRuntAtTheEnd: Limited Buddhas are a fancy lineup of golds… and Bonten, who is silver.
87	* SeriesContinuityError: The game's prologue establishes Buddhas as InvisibleToNormals, but in other instances, they're shown to buy human products, go to human restaurants, play with human children, etc., but no explanation is given. The anime rectifies this by introducing an inverse {{glamour}}.
88	* ShoutOut: {{Spiritual Successor}}ship to ''VideoGame/BungoToAlchemist'' aside, the default 4-star and above spell special dialogues seem to have been inspired by ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'''s Shikai and Resurrección.
89	* SignatureMove: Each spell 3-star and up is unique to a Buddha, and though a Buddha can be equipped with and use another's spells, only by equipping their corresponding (4-star and higher) spell can they trigger special dialogues.
90	* SkillScoresAndPerks: The Mandala Board, mechanically the {{Expy}} of ''[=BunAl=]'''s Blossoming. It allows each Buddha a stat boost with each unlocked node, and as one progresses on the board, more resources are needed and some node sets have level prerequisites. The board also comes with nodes that unlock side stories for the character involved. Unlocking the whole board grants a special CG and skill.
91	* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The game is loaded with good-looking men on both sides of good and bad… and Ashuku Nyorai. Averted in the anime where Ashuku is a crossdressing guy.
92	* SpiritualSuccessor: This game is often compared to ''VideoGame/ToukenRanbu'', but it is actually the spiritual successor to ''VideoGame/BungoToAlchemist'', as it shares more similarities to the latter than the former. Seriously, this game has so many things in common with ''[=BunAl=]'' listing them all may need a subpage.
93	** The playable characters are not personifications; they are already sentient figures.
94	** This game's Mandala Board mechanic for strengthening Buddhas resembles ''[=BunAl=]''[='=]s Blossoming instead of ''[=TouRabu=]''[='=]s Refinery, and there are separate material maps to farm for specific types of materials on certain days of the week similar to ''[=BunAl=]'''s Special shelf.
95	** Combat is vertical-scrolling as opposed to ''[=TouRabu=]'''s horizontal-scrolling.
96	** Maps are in the form of straight left-to-right lines with parallel branches, which resemble ''[=BunAl=]'''s Tainted Book maps.
97	** You cannot summon duplicates of already existing characters; duplicates will be instantly scrapped and turned into strengthening for existing ones.
98	** Upgrading spell cards by merging duplicates is similar to ''[=BunAl=]'''s Memoria, down to having changed artwork (for 4-star and rarer cards) when upgraded.
99	** There is a Great Hall feature where one can acquire furnitures to decorate similar to ''[=BunAl=]'''s Librarian's Office.
100	* StatusBuff: In addition to the usual temporary buffs by casting spells, ''permanent'' buffs granted to all team members depend on the ''type'' of the captain.
101	** '''Tathāgatas''' increase the team's ''HP''.
102	** '''Vidyārājas''' increase the team's ''attack''.
103	** '''Bodhisattvas''' increase the team's ''defense''.
104	** '''Devas''' increase the team's ''spell strength''.
105	* SuperDeformed: In the Great Hall, you can see all your acquired Buddhas hanging out and interacting in chibi form. During summoning animation, they can occasionally pop up as well.
106	* SuperMovePortraitAttack: During the casting of spells, the screen will cut to either a special sprite of the character, or the artwork on their spell card for spells at 4-stars and up. Combined attacks are also this.
107	* TamerAndChaster: While ''-UTENA-'' has a token pervert in [[CovertPervert Nanda]], the first game was more blatant in suggestive, {{fanservice}}y and outright sexual depictions, with a ''kleśa'' that caused uncontrollable lust in the ''very first chapter'' and one of Yakushi's cards' depicting his receiving ''bondage'', among other things.
108	* TemporaryOnlineContent: This game is ''especially'' egregious with this, as most 5-star Buddhas are limited event summons and it's easier to count those who ''aren't'' limited than those who are.
109	* UndyingLoyalty: All over the place.
110	** For starters, all Buddhas are loyal to the ''dōmori''.
111	** The two servants in a trinity are loyal to the central Buddha by definition.
112	** Many Buddha factions (i.e. Four Heavenly Kings) are under the command of and loyal to another Buddha.
113	* VideoGameRemake: This game is the 2019 remake of the original 2016 ''Namu Amida Butsu!'', which became defunct in 2018.
114	* WorldOfTechnicolorHair: Hair colors are many and varied among characters, from blond, red and brown to blue, pink and green, as well as multicolored.

Context VideoGame / NamuAmidaButsuUtena