Big Eyes, Small Mouth

Big Eyes, Small Mouth is a roleplaying game that was designed to simulate the action of anime and manga. It is frequently referred to by the acronym "BESM". The title is a joking reference to the common anime drawing style of characters with huge, expressive eyes.

BESM uses a variation on the point-based character creation system found in the HERO System and GURPS. Characters are evaluated based on three "Stats", against which all action checks are made. These are supplemented by Attributes, which give the characters unique abilites.

The initial edition, designed by Mark C. MacKinnon, was released by Guardians of Order in 1999. Soon after that RPG writer David L. Pulver began writing supplements for what was essentially a fairly simple game, adding a detailed system for the creation of mecha with his book "Big Robots, Cool Starships". Skills were added with the next supplement, a genre book called "Hot Rods & Gun Bunnies". At the same time MacKinnon and his colleagues were using BESM's system (now referred to as "the Tri-Stat System") as the basis for licensed games based on anime properties such as Sailor Moon, Dominion: Tank Police, Demon City Shinjuku and Tenchi Muyo! All of these innovations were incorporated into a second edition, which was released in 2001 to a very strong reception.

Since then, other anime licenses Guardians of Order has obtained have used the BESM system as their rule core. Instead of publishing complete games as they had done previously, the licensed books were published as "Ultimate Fan Guides". In addition, several genre based supplements have been published for the game, as well as two original settings -- Centauri Knights and Uresia: Grave of Heaven.

A BESM supplement became the source of controversy in 2002 when several retailers refused to stock a book with the title "Cute and Fuzzy Cockfighting Seizure Monsters". The book, a satire on the monster gladiator genre popularized by Pokémon, was repackaged under the title "Cute and Fuzzy Seizure Monsters", but was simultaneously printed with the original title.

A version of BESM adapted to the d20 System was published in 2003. Sales were good but the critical response was mixed.

A third edition of BESM is planned for Summer 2005.