Esper

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For other uses, see Espers.

The term and concept esper has existed in the field of parapsychology, and in the mainstream of science fiction, for some time, since at least 1950^{[citation needed]}. Properly used, the term refers to an individual born capable of using telepathy and similar paranormal mental abilities; it apparently derives from extra-sensory perception ("ESP") via the English occupational suffix, thus being literally "ESP-er" with different capitalization.

[edit] Science fiction and espers

The concept of the esper appears often in science fiction, much less often in fantasy, and is actually used by name much less frequently than it is referred to. Especially salient appearances of psychic abilities, although never attended by the usual name for them, are in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, especially Second Foundation, where psychological research turns up a means of direct mental contact between humans which was lost with the development of language;^{[citation needed]} in George Lucas' Star Wars films, where The Force, from a practical standpoint, essentially equates esperism plus telekinesis (Jedi could practically be called a religious order of espers); and in Jean Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear, which although not science fiction in a strict sense does contain the same view of the mental processes as Asimov described in the Foundation novels. In Andre Norton's Moonsinger novels the main characters are all espers. In fact, the idea of esperism is fairly common in all science fiction, almost certainly due to the high reverence in which Isaac Asimov is held by most other science-fiction authors.^{[citation needed][original research?]}

In Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, there is scene featuring a device called an "ESPER" which is used to manipulate photographs. The scene and features of the "ESPER" have influenced many films.

[edit] Esper in games

Esperism has appeared sporadically in science-fiction games from fairly early on, more often given its actual name in these than in most other SF sources. One especially remarkable case is the Avalon Hill board game (later adapted to computer systems) Star Command, in which characters formally called Espers are available as support troops in infantry squads, and have abilities more or less matching the parapsychological theories of what an esper would be capable of.

However, in certain circles, the word Esper is most familiar via the Square Co., Ltd. Super Famicom RPG Final Fantasy VI (released as Final Fantasy III in North America), in which beings called "Espers" are essentially demigods who wield magical abilities, and can be killed to allow these abilities to be transferred to humans. In the original Japanese version of the game, these creatures were known as 幻獣, (げんじゅう, genjū) which translates roughly into English as "phantom beast." The English translator of the game, Ted Woolsey, sought to find a word which he felt conveyed the same meaning with as few letters as possible; the English text files for the game were essentially expanded versions of the Japanese text files, taking up far more memory space than was available. In the end, he chose the word Esper. For more information regarding Espers in Final Fantasy VI, see Summon Magic. Espers also make an appearance in Final Fantasy XII, as titanic beings that can be summoned to temporarily aid playable characters in battle, although the player does not control his or her Esper's particular actions. Each Esper offers a unique range of offensive, defensive, and support abilities, and is capable of unleashing a powerful final attack before being dismissed. There are a total of thirteen Espers appearing in the game: one for each sign of the astrological zodiac, and the thirteenth Serpentarius.

Espers have also been a recurring race in Sega's Phantasy Star series; Part 1, 2 and 4 all featured important, sometimes playable Esper characters; the most notable being the character Lutz.

The Psychic type of the Pokémon franchise is referred to as the "Esper type" in Japanese versions. The psychic form of Eevee is called Espeon, this is also a reference to Esper (Eon is the suffix for all of Eevee's evolutions).

In the Accolade game Star Control 2, there are a few events where crewmen with high esper ratings react in interesting ways.

[edit] Esper in Anime

• Chaozu from Dragon Ball Z.
• Tsukamoto Yakumo from School Rumble.
• Itsuki Koizumi from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. (His abilities are only manifested in distorted areas named "closed spaces", where the common laws of physics do not apply).
• In Witch Hunter Robin, espers are labeled as witches and hunted down by a secret organization.
• Espers also appear in the anime series Mahoromatic.
• Asuna Kagurazaka accuses Negi Springfield of being an esper in Negima, episode 2, when he is, in fact, a mage.
• The Kasuga children from Kimagure Orange Road.
• Tetsuo and the children from Akira.
• Popi-kun in the Akazukin Chacha OVA.