On Tue, 6 May 1997, Dragoon wrote:

In yet another moment of insanity, this came to me:

What if you set Bubblegum Crisis in the 1900's?
Imagine an alternative world where:
1. Magic works.

Are you going to throw in some Mage: the Ascention?  (that might actually
work you know)

2. In 1867, instead of the samurais revolting overthrowing
the shogun and reinstating the emperor as the true ruler of
Japan leading to the Meiji Restoration, the Genom clan
led by Lord Quincy overthrew the shogun and put in a puppet
emperor, establishing the Genom era.

After the Meiji Restoration the Emperor wasn't the true ruler of Japan.
The warlords who backed him were.  Otherwise very good.

3. Lord Quincy (through the Emperor) soon industrialized 
Japan with the European machines and also brought magic
from mostly some small tricks and illusions to a professional
activity taught in schools and capable of destroying cities.

He brought magic from the Europeans?  The Europeans would use tech-magic
or religious(Christan-based) magic.  China and India would have some of
the more powerful "pure" magic (at least in the direction of distruction).
Japan, Korea, and China would have powerful forms of martial (as in hand
to hand combat) magic.  Projectile magic could be brorought over from
europe and the americas.  

4. Japan soon became the leading country of the world, with
the Genom clan becoming the hidden ruler of nearly everything.

Maybe Genom should stay in the background pulling everyone elses strings.
But it is concevable with the dangerous mix of magic and technology
available to them.

5. This was due to the invention of Boomas, summoned animalistic
spirits implanted in machine bodies. Soon Boomas become
worldwide and important to almost every aspect of life.

Wouldn't this lead to the creation of Boomas more along the lines of
NukuNuku? 

6. Tokyo is now the most magical, industrialized, and populated
city in the world, where Boomas run wild only to be stopped by..
the Knight Sabers!

There's got to be some kind of drawback for mixing magic and technology
otherwise Genom's unstopable.  Maybe it's the mix of magic and
technology that drives the Boomas insane?  

Featuring:
Lord Quincy: Secret ruler of Japan
Mason & Madigan: Ninjas bound to the Genom clan.
Lord Stingray: Lord of the Stingray clan. The Boomas' inventor, killed
in an accident and replaced by a Genom figurehead.
Sylia: Owner of a clothing store in Tokyo, and also head of the
Knight Sabers, a small ninja group armed with hardsuits, suits of
armor magically and mechanically enhanced allowing the user to
easily destroy or dispell Boomas. Child of Lord Stingray.
Mackie: Her perverted younger brother, though a genius mage/tech.
Priss: A blacklisted geisha (joking!) A wild young musician.

There aren't any wild young musicians in the 19th century.  This is the
age of baroque music in the west and Japan is still trying to keep its
culture from being overrun by the western culture.  

Linna: ??? I can't think of an equivalent.

She could be the only child of a ronin Samurai (a Samurai who's master was
killed) she wouldn't be ble to teach the martial arts in 19th century
Japan, but she could train women to defend themselves (this was allowed in
19th century Japan) and she could train men in strength and speed building
exercises as the sole heir to her father's style of martial arts (as her
father's only child she would be trained in his style so that she could
teach her husband.)  I think this is how it would work but I'm not sure.

Nene: Apprentice sorcerer/tech at the newly formed Tokyo Anti-Booma
Guards.
Leon: A samurai.

Think "steampunk" (cyberpunk-like attitudes set during the 
Industrial Revolution, but where the Babbage(?) machine (a primitive
computer) actually worked) with magic added. 

I really like this idea, but as my knowledge of Japanese history &
culture isn't enough to do this without seriously messing up, I'll
have to pass for now. I know the names would have to be somewhat 
changed to reflect the 19th century. 

What do others think of this idea? 
Would this be better set in feudal Japan (around 16th century,
I guess)?

No 19th century works just fine.

If I've got something wrong please correct me.

Thanx for listening to me rant and rave.

AJ