A Look At The Crunch Of BESM  Jun 27, 13 A Look At The Crunch Of
BESM  First, I would like to mention that I am describing my
thoughts on the third edition of Big Eyes, Small Mouth. The Tri-
Stat version, not the d20 version.  Big Eyes, Small Mouth, or
BESM for short, is a table-top role-playing game system that
presents a set of mechanics for Gamemasters to use to run
whatever sort of game they like. There is no single narrative or
campaign setting. Typically, this is called a “universal system”
in gaming, where a game will present the crunch and leave all
the fluff to the Gamemaster and the players. However, BESM
differs from other universal games as there is a common trend to
its games; they are all based on Anime. By “anime,” I am
referring to “Japanese anime,” in which there is this
interesting stylistic choice to depict characters with very
large eyes (for the sake of expression) and very, very small
mouths (unless the characters happen to be yelling at the time),
thus “Big Eyes, Small Mouth.  BESM is ba