Zac Oyama Makes Simplicity Interesting (Unsleeping City Spoilers)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 พ.ค. 2024
- Zac Oyama is Dimension 20's resident master of restraint. His playstyle is precise and efficient without sacrificing heart and humour. lets dig into his play style and learn more!
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![Adam and Eve Broach an Open Relationship | Make Some Noise [Full Episode]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WXBHEHrm9v0/mqdefault.jpg)
ricky is the best ''If we’re all admitting secrets… I wasn’t always a firefighter''
"I used to be a child"
he did a year of community college though!
And also, he likes Esther
Absolutely perfect example!
Zac is a master of restraint. The make some noise episode with Brennan as the attorney proves that.
To keep on brand with college humor/dropout
Uhm, actually, that was actually a game changer episode which then inspired the make some noise show 😩
@@benlarson6031 i was HOPING somebody would make that exact comment. You just got Mike TRAPP'D
@@dr.whippersnatch7200 AYYYYY
If Comedians were predator animals Brennan is the big ferocious Bear who pounces on the joke aggressively.
Zac is the cougar who lays in hiding waits for the right moment and then goes for the jugular when he can deliver the best possible joke.
"I killed him, yeah." is what I was finally able to get my wife into CH with.
Can’t forget during Fantasy High when Gorgug’s satyr girlfriend rattle off all her favorite music (rage metal, scream metal, scream-o, etc.) he just says, “those are my favorite too.”
Shout out to that interview with Brennan talking about Ricky Matsui, he talked with Zac alone when all the characters were set because everyone had such deep character backstories and personalities that Ricky seemed too plain in comparison, so Brennan said to him that it worried him that Zac's PC wouldn't shine enough or be boring in comparison, and in response Zac only said, and I'm quoting: "don't worry, I've got this"
Honestly it was nice when not everyone's characters have to be so wacky or self-important (becoming the head of their own religion, being a crazy weirdo, being some ultra important individual hero in the mythology of the world). He's a normal nice guy who happens to be a paladin, not some overwrought or overdesigned fanfiction OC.
@@jazzy4830 yeah ricky has the same charm as Orym in cr3. everyone else is a ticking time bomb but then theres Orym just a dude dealing with lose trying to keep his new found family safe.
He's an incredible improviser. It's easy to get fixated on the Yes-And principle, but he's the perfect example of someone who is listening, finding and playing the game.
I love that he isn't the kind of comedian who seeks to have a joke keep building on itself, he lets the others build it until he's ready to drop the one line that bursts that tension. He's a comedic money-shot.
@@auradmgThat’s a great description of one of my favourite sitcom characters: Bernard Woolley from ‘Yes, Minister’ and ‘Yes, Prime Minister’, played by Derek Fowlds.
He’s perennially caught between the Right Honourable James “Jim” Hacker, the Minister of the Department of Administrative Affairs (and later the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), perfectly performed by Paul Eddington CBE, and the conniving Permanent Secretary of the Department for Administrative Affairs (and later the Cabinet Secretary) Sir Humphrey Appleby, played brilliantly by Sir Nigel Hawthorne CBE.
Which is an unfortunate position for him, but a fortunate one for us, as it gives him some of the best one-liners in both shows! 😁
Ricky’s arc is called a flat arc! Flat arcs are when a character doesn’t necessarily change over the course of the story but either they change those around them, or become a truer/strengthened version of themselves(or something else! These are examples.) another example of a flat arc is Aang from avatar last airbender.
thats so helpful! thank you for finding the exact terminology!
@@Swamp_Hound yw!
Immediately thought of Perrito from Puss and Boots: The Last Wish
@@sev1011 he’s a great example of a flat arc!
Superman is a character that often has a flat arc, and I feel like Zac using that example right up top really telegraphed what he'd be doing (complimentary)
The man is a comedy assassin. Quiet, stays mostly in the background, then strikes with deadly accuracy when you not expecting it.
i also think zac puts a lot into the physicality of his performances. even if he isnt speaking, he is CONSTANTLY reacting with his face, body language, with pantomime, etc. that style of performance is underrated imo, and the show's editing can sometimes make it easy to miss
immediately thought back to the ravening war where all he had to do was look at brennan and he immediately broke character
Yeah, that's an aspect of D20 that, coming to it from CR, I found annoying. I want to see everyone's faces at all times damnit! The editing gets irritating.
@@mayaenglish5424I loved FH sophomore year a lot because live they really had all the camera views avaliable most of the time
So true. In the college humor skit "I Don't See Race" at 1:50 to 1:56 Zac doesn't say anything but his physical performance says a lot.
It feels to me that Zac also plays the straight man to compliment the more bombastic performances of his cast mates such as Emily and Lou.
Zac as a comedian is the exact opposite of Brennan and they work beautifully together
i think Starstruck is a great example of Zac’s gift of perfect restraint. he purposefully picks a character who is a fish out of water but trying to blend in, can barely speak english/common when the campaign starts, and is literally trying to figure out his basic senses, wants, and needs. though there are some great slapstick scenes that come from this, most of what Zac communicates is Skip’s internal process, while his external words and movements are very simple - “right on” “gimme that” “my name is norman takamori” - he says these words almost exclusively through the first half of the campaign, but each time they are said with such intonation and correct timing that it communicates so much about how his character is moving through the world and processing it. kind of like when a child doesn’t have a super wide vocabulary yet but wants to convey complex emotions.
he was really the star of that season for being what I and other fans have named him as: the master of the word economy.
Gimme that is one of the best. 😂
His play style absolutely mirrors his comedic style which I LOVE
Emily gets a lot of love for being an utter chaos engine, but I will never stop cheerleading for Zac Oyama. Dude won me over ever since his Tide Pods sketch.
He's also the often most intelligent guy at the table. He's figuring things out even when he playing a "dumb". When he stepped out as Pib and said "I'm here to play smoke on the water". I was like dude what an idea!
I think Zac's Characters are absolutely amazing. Pib from Neverafter is slowly becoming one of my favorite PCs of him, but also he plays a NASTY ASS Rogue. Skip and Pib are exact examples of how he plays a damn insane rogue.
Watching him imitate a cat was my favorite part of the series.
No surprise there, Zac's timing is the equivalent of a verbal sneak attack
@@BraPirateDuckie it makes me very happy to think about Zac watching his cat exist and taking acting tips
I love the sneak attack comparaison, the words he say might be a 1d4 but you feel the 10d6
Sneak attack, or smite, like in TUC season 2 where ricky isn’t using a weapon but is doing 3d8 damage via smite
zac has always been my favourite with his little quips; he's very sharp and has been rightfully described as a "comedy sniper". it's why i fucking loved Lapin Cadbury in ACOC (RIP). people see his 'minimalist' style and interpret it as a deficit, but i think he's just precise in where he chooses to interject with his magical one liners to make them that much more effective
his "what?" when fig tried to cast message on him murders me always
when he plays Lapin as a near silent footed chocolate bunny who has no idea what personal space is and constantly scaring people "my king" 😂😂
“Where is your bulb now?” Absolutely floored me
@@KangarooKommando”where is your bulb now?” And the role play and dice rolls that preceded it in that scene are hands down my favorite moment in ALL the D20 seasons, which is saying a lot considering the god-tier moments ACOC and other shows had in competition.
“There should be the potential for everyone to have a dream” is the most beautiful thing I’ve heard in my life…
Zac is *so good* with these small, highly emotional moments- looking at this and his other one that hits me… “It’s Gorgug, keep going.” He just packs such an emotional wallop into so few words!
Such humanity in so few words.
one of the best examples of zacs physical roleplaying is with gorgug playing the drums in fantasy high season 1 you can see him listen and change his physicality as brennan continues to speak
Zac is the king of "yes and.... what now?". As a player and as a comedian he builds on what his colleagues are doing. He aikidos the energy that is already there but then takes an opportunity to be funnier or more profound.
Also, thank you for choosing Ricky as the example. He is one of my favourite characters in media full stop.
Ricky is awesome! So much heart, and has some of the best jokes in the series!
i think another testament to the simplicity of zac’s characters comes in USC2, where ricky facing his first-ever personal challenge doesn’t totally change his character, but almost makes him a truer version of himself
Zac’s comedy gels so well with his role play, being able to insert the perfect line on a whim. Ricky’s “I wasn’t always a fighter.” To Gorgug’s “You’re not my dad, you’re definitely not my dad.” Even to Lapin sneaking up on Amethar are things that I can see Zac doing in CH sketches
I honestly loved how Chancellor Lapin Cadbury let Zac shine and break typecast. “Where’s your bulb now?” lives rent free in my head for a reason.
I think part of what Zac does really well with making Ricky seem extremely grounded and realistic, despite him being the almost unrealistic definition of pure-hearted, is how exactly he goes about his character. Its exemplified well in the opening scene - he doesn't just help a little girl out of the fire, he comforts her in a time of intense strife. He makes sure she feels safe and calm, and when he was to do something slightly against the rules in order to save her, he has no hesitation - he simply tells her to turn around in the easiest way he can. He isn't just a pure hearted person, he's a realistic depiction of what that means - he doesn't just save people on a grand scale, he helps them in an individual sense as well. And the most unrealistic, wacky feats of his are highlighted as jokes, and that's the only time he'll use the "I'm just doing what anyone else would do," as a part of the comedy of "that's something literally only you would do."
He doesn't just say "My characters a good person, so he won't accept the villain's offer." He knows what his character values and believes, and knows that Ricky would never take up that offer or any like that.
Because Ricky values the community, and the people around him as individuals. And every individual deserve to have a chance to achieve their dream.
I agree, and I think the scene where he makes a really sincere effort to understand the arcane academic stuff Esther is trying to explain to him in season 1 is a great example. Himbo-Superman character types often make the mistake of either having no real limitations or weaknesses, or else being blissfully unaware of the ones they have because their intellects and interests are so narrow. (Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy might be an example of that.) The latter especially is an enjoyable bit, but it's often over the top and doesn't make the character feel grounded in their simplicity like Ricky. Ricky is very aware that he's out of his depth in that scene with Esther, and his fundamental sincerity and care for others really shines in how he handles that fact. He never gets defensive, he never gets frustrated and gives up, he just listens really hard and tries to engage as best he can. (I probably love that scene so much because I'm a teacher, lol.) And it shines again later in how he talks about Esther to The Johns at the fire station, re: their differences and whether he can meet her where she is or not. He does actually think and reflect on things--without ever deviating from his fundamental character design--and that includes his own strengths and weaknesses.
Zac is so good at playing the characters he does that I didn’t notice how attractive Zac Oyama the human man is until he was playing Lapin, then Skip, and becomes a highly lethal, chaotic good, socially bamboozling man
he's underrated in that he often plays characters who aren't intelligent, and even though he plays them to a T, when he played Lapin in ACOC he proved how intelligent and cunning he is as a person. He thinks strategically all the time in improv scenarios and knows exactly what to do in a given situation, but because he's more drawn back and not a monologue-style improviser like Brennan, he often goes unnoticed.
the way that Ricky's whole deal works out so well in season one makes the challenges he faces in season 2 with the questing blade and Cody so much more funny and interesting. just every Ricky Cody interaction was a tasty little sour treat to watch.
i think it’s also worth noting that: not all characters need arcs! it’s not a mandatory part of ttrpgs! you can have a perfectly interesting and engaging character that doesn’t have an arc!!
I had people tell me that Zac’s characters are the most boring and flat out of everyone in dimension 20, and now I can show them this video! He’s such a great improvisor, and not just the one-liners, but the whole essence of his comedy. So good.
He packs so much into so little that it can be easy to miss, but for those who notice, he becomes a favourite
Those people are blind. Zac is the one-liner killer, the joke punctuator extraordinaire. Everyone else's bits are just set-ups for Zac's amazing punchlines.
Get Nasty
I will admit, Ricky matsui was the most forgettable character I've ever seen. As was Gorgug.
But Lapin Cadbury was great so I'd say it's a bit of a 50-50.
@@castlecaster Hell one of his funniest moments is in Fantasy High Season 1 in the "You might be your own dad" with just his facial expressions
i think hes SO sickeningly funny. like his delivery alone puts him in truly top comedy tier
It's a testament to Zac's skill that when you started the game changer clip I didn't know which game changer clip you were going to use. His "whoa, dude" in yes or no is brilliant.
Zac has always been one of my favorite people in the collegehumor/dropout world, he always knows just when to interrupt and when to let the joke keep going
He’s truly mastered the art of the perfect line at the perfect time. The comments that he’s made during the ravening war as Collin have been some of the funniest moments in the whole campaign and he didn’t have to say very much. Less is definitely more for him
He's so good at packing so much into so little that you could be fooled into thinking he'd only play "simple" (ie. Dumb) characters if you weren't paying attention. But that same simplicity actually works to make his smart characters seem even smarter to an almost Machiavellian degree. Because so little is said (outside of the descriptions and reasoning of the character's thought processes) it makes those like Pib and Lapin seem all the more cunning and efficient. Less said implies more.
(Also I just think it's a polite playstyle to keep your character's actions tight and allow others to take the spotlight every now and then. It's not reccomended for everyone at all times, but it's good to give it a try now and again to make sure everyone gets their day in the sun, so to say.)
A characters simplicity being challenged by complexity like the choice he made with other dreams. It’s definitely a super emotional complex situation but he stays simple the whole time!
never watched dimension 20, but i teared up at "... but that's just my dream right?"
Skip the Adult Baby is not only my favorite Zac Oyama character but also possibly my favorite D20 main campaign character ever? (Maybe tied with Lapin, oof.) He took such a delightfully absurd idea and made it into something that had me reflecting on nature versus nurture, on cultural assimilation, on human (slug?) cognitive/emotional growth and development, and more I can’t even get into. I’m so glad people are talking about his play style because it’s so underrated!
I’m new to your channel (this video was recommended to me just today, and I’m now watching your back catalog) and everything is so good. Impeccable take after impeccable take! Looking forward to seeing more of whatever content you have planned!
zac has always been one of my favorites simply because of how funny he was during fantasy high, which was one of the first campaigns I watched from dimension 20, i obviously love all the cast but zac was always one of my favs
A couple other funny moments from Unsleeping City that proves Zac’s timing:
When the Questing Blade speaks for the first time, Zac makes a motion of bringing a phone to his ear and says “I’m getting a call on my axe.”
His insult to Priya’s show is “This building’s not up to code!”
After some story exposition, he says, with no prompt whatsoever, with “Did you burn your house down?” and Emily immediately responds with “Yes, I did,” resulting in the reactions from the other PCs.
“If you don’t play dnd once in a while you’re not going to die.”
My depression, holding me at gunpoint while I frantically try to schedule a game to keep me sane: oh really
If I ever miss a session, the misery goblin will nibble at my brain.
Unsleeping City is my favorite campaign, and a very large part of that is Ricky Matsui. I think it's also worth noting how perfectly suited to the worldbuilding he is as a character, because of COURSE a firefighter would be a paladin.
Wait a min. Theo?! Theo the bear?! Foreshadowing for Theobald gumbar :0
YOOOOO I didn't even notice that
You never know what Ricky is going to say but it will always be wholesome
The embodiment of his humour in general is “less is more” not just his playstyle
I love Zac and his simplicity.
ah yes. zac oyama my beloved.
He’s a good minimalist
Ricky is like my platonic ideal of a "good" Paladin.
Ricky Matsui's got that DAWG in him
This was a great video! I would love to see one on Siobhan, since her characters, especially in Crown of Candy and Unsleeping City are really interesting
One of my favorite Zac moments was in coffin run and people are describing where they’re from or something. Zac just casually says Pangaea.
What really impressed me about the last scene with The American Dream was actually Zac's understanding that Ricky really would consider the offer being made to him. I think a lot of people playing such an obviously Good character would jump to refusing it immediately, since that's the "right" decision in the situation. Zac, on the other hand, didn't let himself jump through that hoop, really thought about it, and came to a conclusion that made sense to Ricky internally, which made the whole scene so much more impactful.
I saw someone describe Zac as a “comedy sniper” and that’s a great way to characterize him.
zac is a comedy genius
He really is. I love your videos btw!
A comment on Ricky Matsui and his dimensions: it feels like some characters are written in 2 dimensions, and forget to draw a third. It feels like RIcky was drawn in 3 dimensions, but deliberately drawn to have very little on one axis. It feels like Ricky's 2 dimension-ness is a direct result of a deliberate action of the writer (in this case Zac) rather than a neglectful/incompetent act
Fantastic video! I might start thinking about playing the face value character again
The way Brennan improv'd and acted "The angel looks at you uncomprehendingly..." 👏👏👏
He has fantastic range in the types of charas he plays, and is so smart in how he plays them. I love him getting the attention he deserves.
You should review every D20 campaign and talk about how they handle each genre and what the player characters bring to the party in the season
Its on my list of ideas!
I completely agree with your opening example of zacs less is more
I feel like Chancellor Lapin Cadbury showed the range that Zac had. The raw intelligence this character had, I would have loved to seen more of. Had anyone else played Chancellor Cadbury I believe they would play too cartoonish. the character would have been rather intimidating to play, but Zac oozed charm, playing the devil for the good guys.
I have watched a few of these videos and they were always good, but this one was excellent. I adore Dimension 20 and Zac and Emily are my favs. Thank you for doing a video on how brilliant a comedian/player he is. I miss playing, so I binge watching DnD.
Lapin Cadbury is one of my favorite characters in ACoC. Zac Oyama is an underappreciated character master.
I love you friend, your intelligent and sincere appreciation of a series I truly love brightens my days.
Ricky was a massive influence on my all time favorite TTRPG character I've ever played: Reyner Crestford. I don't see playing a very upfront character as a bad thing. If anything, I challenged myself to make a character who is exactly who he presents himself to be interesting and fun.
He's a lot like Ricky: good hearted, strong, courageous...and not very smart. But he's had a lot of growth. He's learned to retain a lot of his more positive traits, like his bravery and compassion, while working on his negative ones, like his impulsiveness and naivety. Playing him has been one of the greatest pleasures I've ever had in tabletop, and I'm gonna be sad when his journey comes to an end.
You are fantastic!
Thank you for breaking this down.
This is INVALUABLE to a new DM.
Very impressed.
This is awesome 🎉
You HAAAVVEEE to finish the d20 cast videos and do a shivvone video.
Its in the works!
Siobhan*
My favourite Zac Oyama short is when he and Brennan are zombies deciding where to eat. Zac delivers a great one-word answer that has everyone in stitches
Zac is probably the only player to consistently make Brennan break down laughing with just a few words or one single action. On top of this, he is one of the few players who perfectly acts out critical failures or bad rolls in general
Zac is so funny and has some of my favorite characters. His strong improv background really helps his characters are surprisingly fleshed out given how comedic he is.
I don’t know where it was said, but someone once described zac as a comedy sniper, and that pretty much sums it up for me:
so glad I found your channel! ❤ I recently started watching D20 content and am also a writer, so your analysis of their characters is so fascinating to me! Been playing these while doing WFH - thanks for keeping me company!
Thanks for watching! Glad you're finding them interesting!
That make some noise clip is one of my fav scenes on earth
Zac is a king
4:09 I just noticed a billboard for Chompsky's in the bottom left corner 🤣
The Bainbridge, Bandlebridge bit was so funny (in Neverafter). Zac was so quick with it and, again, his timing was perfect.
My favorite part of ricky saying no, is that he was one of the most integral parts to defeat him.
I believe he said in a podcast he was greatly inspired by mister bean.
Ricky Matsui is a great character for the same reason Superman is.
I did not expect to cry at 12:20
Five Intrepid Adventurers down, one to gooooo :D
Like with Italian food, simple ingredients worked well can create something truly spectacular.
That game changers clip never gets old
God I love Zac
I've said it a ton and I'll say it again, Zac has mastered less is more
Love zack
My favorite was Ricky's reaction to what Sofia's fire 😂
This reminds me of Overly sarcastic productions’ video(s) on Superman
Wait...
Since when has Zac been underappreciated?
I genuinely thought he was one of the favs....
He’s also a cutie patootie
gorgug is a brilliantly human character, he barely feels like a emo
I have always loved Zac, haven't watched a great deal of dimension 20 but he would definitely come in my top three if I were to rate them (although please dont ask me to, it would be too hard! :P)
Yeah, Zac has prime comedic sense and timing.
I'd be very interested in your take on S2 with the... uh... complication. To avoid spoilers
This guy looks like the loki actor
i think he probably the worst at improv of the main cast, but he is great at staying in character and running with a premise of a scene (especially with brenan) which make his simple/minimal responses so much funnier (see coloin an provalone in ravening war)
What would happen if ricky faced a moral dilemma (two morally grey or dark choices). I'm really interested in storytelling methods for handling such a situation
i think Lapin in Crown of Candy was his masterclass in playing a political deceptive genius dnd character. Truly LOVE watching him in that campaign it's wild how well he manipulates the world and NPCs. He does more talking than anybody could do with a greataxe
No spoilers but he carried parts of the most recent season just put it on his tiny cat shoulders
Oh shit…I just realized I made a character recently like Ricky….oh she isn’t a himbo. She is a bit sheltered, sure but she is, ah how to describe this. So I made her a statue that the fractured souls of the dead brought to life. She became their guardian ever since then. She helps them move on as much as she is able by completing or communicating their wishes, fears, information, what-have-you, that they might be able to articulate to her. She spent an unknown amount of time doing this and she sees nothing wrong or weird about what she does though she does understand to some degree that it isn’t for everyone. She’s living the life she feels is her purpose. Anyway, despite actually being pretty smart and wise, she isn’t all that world wise and I play into that. She literally had to be dragged away by the party from a group of pirates she was chatting with in a friendly manner. And that really shows what she is like in a nutshell. She tries to help as much as she can and help others move on while she herself has a sense of timelessness about her. She is awkward as heck though lol. It was really hilarious to the party when she went over to the dwarf barbarian and pat him on the shoulder in comfort when he figured out the soul of his daughter was among the souls she looks after. However she did point out that the soul has moved on just from him being there (the child only wanted to say goodbye to their dad). Her attempt to comfort kept the moment from being too much of a downer. Anyway! Yeah, my character is pretty simple in terms of things. She isn’t a bimbo type of character, she’s pretty brilliant, especially with the shared knowledge of her swarm of souls but they can’t convey everything to her about how the world is. It’s been interesting to play her so far. (The party was very excited to meet her though, they loved the twist that had them returning to place of tragedy that was the the source of why the dwarf’s daughter was with my character). Anyway, thanks for making me realize this about my character from this analysis! Not sure I ever would have if I hadn’t watched this vid.
And here i thought u were gonna talk about gorguug
I love Zac, they are all great, but while Emily will always be my favourite, Zac comes directly behind her and is really close.