Super Network Wars
Super Network Wars Omega: Suikoden Pilipinas (also known as just Super Network Wars) is an ongoing Mega Crossover Fanfic written by Moonlight Bomber, with some of the earlier chapters written by an acquaintance of his. It's written bilingually -- in English and Filipino, in the style of an RPG.
Matthew Luke Laonglaan and Hyacinth Monterola are just typical Childhood Friends -- until they realize that they are being sucked into an adventure that will determine the fate of the Philippines, which has just recovered from a devastating war against an Eldritch Abomination who disguised as a human.
The bulk of the adventure rests in the two forming the 108 Stars of Destiny, consisting of several personae from different places and dimensions -- and from it, an army (named the Nueva Liga Filipina) which will stop the Eldritch Abomination from wreaking havoc to the Philippines once more.
And their adventure began from just a simple ratings game involving two major Philippine TV networks, ABS-CBN and GMA, which turned into a full-fledged literal war (hence the title).
Think equal parts Suikoden, Final Fantasy, and Super Robot Wars -- with Loads and Loads of Characters from different works and Real Life, as well as some Original Generation characters, thrown in for good measure.
The story starts in an Alternate History version of the Philippines, in the year 2006.
Currently has 51 chapters (known as "episodes") and five "sidequests". The fic can be read here.
A work-in-progress character sheet can be found here.
- Actor Allusion: Several voice actor jokes spring up in this story -- Katie taking up Shana's power, and Kyon transforming into Kamen Rider Strike in a radio commercial.
- Air Vent Passageway: Some members of the Nueva Liga Filipina have to crawl through this in order to stop the poisons from being administered into the food of the VIPs at the 12th ASEAN Summit, in Episode 27.
- Another Dimension: There are several dimensions brought up in this story -- the Advent Void, where Kris Aquino was sent to after her second defeat; a Dream World where the Blessed Beings and other Spirit Advisors actually communicate with Matthew Luke and Hyacinth; and a dimension where Jeremy was sent to after he was beaten up by Wendy.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The Brutalizer, which was summoned by a third party (in the form of a possession spell at first) to mess up the ABS-CBN vs. GMA mecha showdown.
- Battle Couple: Matthew Luke and Hyacinth, which reinforces their Childhood Friends status.
- Beach Episode: Episode 46.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Done a few times throughout the story.
- Bullet Hell: Used as a Humongous Mecha Combination Attack to finish off The Brutalizer and end the ABS-CBN vs. GMA mecha showdown without either party (and even innocent bystanders) getting hurt entirely (save from a Heroic Suicide Attack from Gozon and Abrera, who didn't want their spirits to be abused after they have realized the error of their ways).
- By the Power of Grayskull: So far, we have...
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Matthew Luke: Protagonist Change! |
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- Combination Attack: Characters who are related mostly from the series they hail from (though there are other types of relations) have "cooperative attacks".
- Combining Mecha: There are several combined Humongous Mecha, like the Synaesthesia Megazord (the Ren'ai Rangers' first mech), the Tempest Sarimanok (a combination of the Destiny Gundam, Voltes V, Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh, and an orbital attack satellite), and the Rainbow Serpent (a combination of the GMA transmission tower, several nuclear missiles, and the souls of Gozon and Abrera).
- Defeat Means Friendship: Happens twice.
- Before Setsumi joins the Nueva Liga Filipina, she has to prove Matthew Luke and Hyacinth's worth in battle.
- And Nene Tamayo has to defeat Forte Stollen in a duel before she can join the Angel Brigade.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The opening episode of the third Story Arc, episode 31, features a plastic surgery operation that sounds like you-know-what. It's also a Shout-Out to the first Ar tonelico game.
- Duel Boss: Some chapters have these.
- Everything's Worse with Bears: Nene Tamayo encounters one in her debut episode, and a boss in episode 36 is an evil polar bear.
- Finish Him!: Some duels end with this, executed in the style of Mortal Kombat.
- Fusion Dance: What Matthew Luke and Hyacinth's Blessed Beings all boil down to.
- In a villainous version, DJ Mo and his three subordinates fused to form the Inquisitor Orphnoch.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language Title: Besides English and Filipino, the episode titles are written in several other languages.
- Hate Plague: Sandara suffers from this at first, and Hero accuses Joseph of administering one to her. As the story progresses further, the Big Bad Eldritch Abomination turns out to be a concentrated version of this, born from all the negative energy generated throughout Philippine history.
- Hollywood Hacking: The new Robot Maid by Kurusugawa Electronics, HMX-14 Chenelyn, was manipulated by a communist hacker and was then used against her predecessors, Multi and Serio (and the company itself).
- Hopeless Boss Fight: Several times in the story. Early examples include Michael V., Genjo Sanzo, and Angel Locsin versus Wilma Galvante; and the Nueva Liga Filipina versus the pirates and, later on, DJ Mo Twister.
- In Memoriam: Episode 36 is dedicated to the author's late grandmother, and episode 45 is dedicated to the author's fellow forum member who succumbed to a brain tumor.
- Knife Fight: The duel in episode 48 is this.
- Loads and Loads of Characters
- Massive Multiplayer Crossover
- Meaningful Funeral: The Downer Ending path of episode 48.
- Media Watchdog: The Movie & Television Review Classification Board (the Philippine equivalent of the FCC). It was manipulated by Gozon and Abrera to ensure that anime with even the tiniest bit of objectionable content will never air on TV.
- Nonstandard Game Over / Downer Ending: If Matthew Luke loses the duel against Kira in episode 48, he will be killed off by Kira. A week after, Hyacinth announces the dissolving of the Nueva Liga Filipina during Matt's burial, and the fate of the Philippines will be fatally uncertain.
- Oh Crap: When Gozon and Abrera realize they're on the receiving end of two Gundams.
- Original Generation: Matthew Luke and Hyacinth, among others.
- Power Creep, Power Seep: Some characters didn't fight in the works they came from -- however, due to being sent to the Philippines as a part of the Nueva Liga Filipina, they suddenly know how to fight.
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: The souls of Gozon and Abrera power the Rainbow Serpent.
- Ranger: The Super Sentai/Power Rangers-inspired team, the Ren'ai Rangers, has a team of these. Notable in that the team's six members are all Visual Novel characters.
- The Rival: There are several duos of rivals in this story. In the preliminary chapters, we have Hero and Henry, Hero and Joseph, and Korina and Mel.
- Screwed by the Network: Episode 3 marks the start of the axing of Maria Watches Over Us on ABS-CBN (which also happened in Real Life). This made the anime's characters (especially Sachiko and Yumi, who are later drafted into the Nueva Liga Filipina) very concerned about their job security at ABS-CBN.
- Shout-Out: Lots and lots.
- Sibling Rivalry: Hero and Henry Angeles. At first, Hero blames his older brother Henry for his missed opportunity to dub Voltes V alongside his love, Sandara Park. This rivalry later turns into a Cain and Abel situation, with Henry taking the Cain role.
- Storming the Castle: Several times. Places include the offices of Magic 89.9, the ABC-5 compound, and Kris Aquino's Shadow Palace (formerly the Metropolitan Theater in Manila).
- Stuff Blowing Up: Most major villains get blown up after their defeat, as a major Homage to Tokusatsu in general.
- Tactical Rock-Paper-Scissors: Like in the Suikoden series, duels use this system.
- Take That: There are innumerable "take that"s directed at several things, like Philippine politics and the All Anime Is Naughty Tentacles stereotype. Basically, if the author feels like doing a "take that", he will do so in any form, even nominating a personality as a villain.
- Transformation Sequence: Some characters can transform Henshin Hero style (early examples include Matthew Luke, Hyacinth, the Ren'ai Rangers, Hero, Sandara, and Joseph), and thus this trope is applied.
- Unusual Chapter Numbers: The very first episode of Super Network Wars is numbered zero. Plus, an insert episode which strives to explain the background behind the sending of some of the characters to the Philippines (which is numbered 1.5) was originally published after episode 37.
- Virtual Training Simulation: Multi and Serio undergo this in their debut episode.
- Wedding Day: Super Network Wars starts with the wedding of Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto, and it involves several characters who were sent to the Philippines via portals.
- Wham! Episode: Episode 47.