[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9b898db43f36125a4f9c13d7db4c165d.jpg]]

''Rakugaki Showtime'' is a [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] wacky FightingGame by Creator/{{Treasure}}, released for the Platform/PlayStation in 1999. It tells the story of a few doodles drawn to life by the God Hand (not [[Manga/{{Berserk}} those]] [[VideoGame/GodHand ones]]) for the purpose of defeating a group of evil doodles... ''also'' drawn to life by the God Hand, who is merely staging this epic battle for its own amusement. (Sounds vaguely like ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'''s Master Hand, doesn't it?)

The gameplay can be described as ''VideoGame/PowerStone'' meets ''VideoGame/SuperDodgeBall'' - the two-dimensional fighters move around on a 3D plane and can attack each other at will, but will spend most of their time picking up whatever they can and throwing it at their enemies. Gameplay is fast and frantic, the visuals are amusing, and the story is simple enough to be understood with little knowledge of Japanese. See also ''VideoGame/TinyToonAdventuresDefendersOfTheUniverse'', an unreleased game by Treasure for the Platform/PlayStation2 that plays similarly to this one.
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!!This game provides examples of:
* {{Acrofatic}}: Mamu is easily the bulkiest character in the game. Doesn't stop her from running and jumping only slightly worse than most other characters.
* ActionGirl: Sasami, [[VideoGame/MischiefMakers Marina]], Lilo, and Mamu.
* AintTooProudToBeg: A lone, nearly-dead Zako can choose to stop fighting and start begging for mercy.
* ArtInitiatesLife
* ArtShift: Yukiwo is briefly shown in a traditional anime-style in the intro cutscene.
* AmbiguousGender: The God Hand has a child's voice that could easily belong to either gender.
* {{BFS}}: Excalibur wields one of these. His ginormo-sword is so large, he can't even throw items! He makes do with what he's got, though.
* BigBad: Daddy certainly looks, sounds and fights the part. [[spoiler:...except he's just another pawn in God Hand's game.]]
* DefeatMeansFriendship: [[spoiler:The God Hand grants the doodles their freedom after getting thoroughly trashed by them.]]
** A bit earlier than that, [[spoiler:Daddy will send his bravest and least beaten-up Zakos to help you in the battle against the God Hand right after you beat him.]]
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu
* DiscoDan: Ultra Johnny has the mannerisms and the voice to qualify, not to mention the disco lightshow that is his special attack.
* DynamicDifficulty: The game will increase or decrease difficulty based on your performance.
* ExcusePlot: InUniverse, within the context of the game - the doodles fight each other on rather flimsy pretenses [[spoiler:and stop fighting when they no longer have to.]]
* EvilKnockoff: [[spoiler:The God Hand sketches grey-scale fighters to assist him, which can include the player's character, even if they're playing as the (normally unfought) four starter characters.]]
* FightingGame
* FinalExamBoss: [[spoiler:The God Hand can draw grey-scale copies of other fighters in the game. Including the four starting characters that can't be fought otherwise.]]
* FlunkyBoss: [[spoiler: The God Hand.]]
* FragileSpeedster: Pii-tan and Hayate can outrun nearly everyone else, but have lower health.
* TheGoomba: Zakos. You shouldn't be expecting much when their name has just about the same meaning as "small fry" in Japanese.
* GuestFighter: Marina from ''VideoGame/MischiefMakers''.
* TheHandIsGod: [[spoiler:The entire plot happened because a very literal one of these got bored.]]
* HappyFunBall: The Smiley Ball. Do not underestimate its power if you value your lifebar.
* HeliCritter: Ultra Johnny, being a cyborg, can somehow transform his body into a helicopter, with his legs forming the propeller, allowing him to fly around as a head and arms. John MK-2 can do it too, and that makes even ''less'' sense, as John's not even a cyborg.
* HyperDestructiveBouncingBall: John Mk-2's charge Smiley Ball move is to kick said smiley ball so it bounces off walls in random directions, dealing high damage if it hits.
* JokeCharacter: Zako is about as useful as you'd expect TheGoomba to be. What's worse is that John Calibur can do everything he can do better.
** Cannon Zako is more of a gimmick than anything else. Sure, it has projectiles, but they're weak, and it comes at the cost of no melee or throwing, meaning absolutely no LimitBreak (Ex Calibur at least has strong melee). The only other thing it has is an auto-counter. Not to mention that a Zako wearing washing machine armor isn't very intimidating.
* LargeHam: Daddy is massive both in demeanor and in physical size.
* LethalJokeCharacter: Lilo is a little girl who's normally about as powerful as a ''[[{{TheGoomba}} Zako]]''. But if she grabs a charged Smiley Ball, she can change into the terrifying Mamu, as close to a BossInMookClothing as this game gets, for about a minute.
** Ultra Johnny is a weaker version of John Mk-2, similar to how Zako is a weaker version of standard John Calibur. Unlike Zakos, however, Ultra Johnny has something to bring to the table even if John Mk-2 is unlocked: his disco death laser of a charged Smiley Ball attack is potentially the strongest attack in the game.
* LimitBreak: By grabbing a charged Smiley Ball (which is charged as it hits fighters), fighters can execute a strong attack, unique to each character. Notably, two characters (Cannon Zako and Ex Calibur) can't actually perform these due to not being able to grab and throw items.
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:The God Hand stages the entire plot to amuse itself.]]
* MechanicallyUnusualFighter: Nearly every character has some aspect of them that makes them play very differently from the others.
* MightyGlacier: Mamu hits like a truck and is very hard to stun out of attacks, but has below-average speed and is the biggest target in the game.
* {{Mooks}}: The comically inept Zako, and the slightly more imposing Ultra Johnny(s).
* NintendoHard: The game itself is not hard to beat - but to beat the game on hard mode, you not only have to be good enough to get to hard mode, but good enough to stay there. (See DynamicDifficulty above)
* PersonalSpaceInvader: Lilo can cling to an enemy and slowly drain their health until she is shook off. Her heart projectiles, as well as Mamu's kisses, are similar, but they only slow down fighters.
* PowerUpMagnet: Lilo(through sheer force of cute) and Esper Dog(because he's got telekinesis as one of his powers) can manually attract items to themselves.
* PsychicPowers: Esper Dog.
* TheRival: John Calibur, who later upgrades to John Mk-2.
* ShowsDamage: How close a character is to dying can be seen by how red-colored their outline is.
* TimeLimitBoss: For some reason, [[spoiler: the God Hand must be beat in about 270 seconds. A bit surprising, since every other fight had no timer.]]
* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler:After defeating Daddy, the God Hand will call him and his army 'lame' and move to erase him - provoking your character to pick a fight.]]
* VideoGameFlight: Chosuke and Daddy are given mostly unrestricted flight, but can't jump normally.
* ZergRush: The main reason the Zako, Cannon Zako, and Ultra Johnny fights can be tough is that any battle with them includes at least two more fighting at the same time (Zakos/Cannon Zakos) or as backup (Ultra Johnnys).
** In the John Calibur/John Mk-2 fights, there can be up to six enemies on the opposing side. Even for simple enemies, that's a little absurd.
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