I could see them use Wasp as an interesting pairing with the Lion given their very tumultuous (and brief) history. Indeed, it would make a lot of sense to have two clans in conflict be the focus of a book on war, combat, and dojos

First, I am praying for an Isawa Eju card before he's inevitably replaced by Uona. We need more male air and water shugenja and more female fire and earth shugenja.
Second, they could always be shifting ages again and Tomo could be much younger. Whether he'd still be Kaede and Tadaka's sibling (assuming their relation is still canon) is completely up in the air.

On signature abilities there's no argument. One is direct work with the Force (Prophesy), and the other is all about Force powers (Unmatched Destiny). That is clearly on the side of the Mystic. Though out of the powers you mentioned that grant power with the force, only two of those are not Dark Side related (induce auto conflict), and of those only one actually helps the character's Force rolls without automatically opening them up to Conflict (natural mystic). Unlike Empty Soul and One with the Universe which go contrary to the Consular modus operendi of buffing others and only help the character.
The design has been very solid, and removing any kind of fluff descriptors I think its very well balanced. I just think (and this is just me here) mystic isn't necessarily my go-to spec anymore for a Force heavy character or one who's dedicated to Force-based mechanics. Sure once I've mustered enough experience for Unmatched Destiny, maybe, but before that Sage/Ascetic reads way better than Seer/Prophet unless I'm specifically going down the path of corruption, then yeah, nothing beats Seer/Magus.

So, I'm probably not the first one to say this but...
After Unlimited Power, does it feel like the Mystic and Consular have switched flavor?
I mean between Advisor and Prophet being social-focused and the Makashi duelist being Presence-based it makes the Mystic decidedly "Face" heavy.
Meanwhile, Consular has Sage (a more int based Seer) that gives +2 Force Rating and One With the Universe; Ascetic, that gives Empty Soul; and the Nimen Disciple that is about blending the Force with your dueling style.
Now, force-use does not a mystic make, but still, even the flavor of the abilities in the Consular specs tends to focus on self-knowledge, connection to a greater power, and enlightenment way more than the mystic specializations.
I suppose Magus makes an argument against that, but it's also inherently linked with a very possible "dark path." I'm not sure what my overall point is, but I just thought I'd bring it up.

I already hit "like" on this post, but that really doesn't feel like enough, so I give it another thumbs-up here.

I cannot believe I have just read a post in which someone is in all seriousness attempting to argue that if a character is not acting in a (stereotypically) (to that person's biased point of view) "feminine" manner, then that character must actually really be male despite what we've been told and shown.
This is already getting old.

Personal reflections after a couple days to absorb the rules, create characters, and do a few simple roleplaying test-runs with friends online....
 
The Good
-The dice mechanics are actually really straight forward in practice. And it does feel that the system is balanced for beginning characters. That there are really only four symbols is good, though explosions, while traditional, do add to complexity. Still, when you're rolling you're just tallying rather than cancelling out (i.e. like in SWRPG). Also, I like controlling my choices and weighing my options with the dice. There have been times I took a suboptimal dice pool to keep just so I could avoid additional strife. It definitely is a wonderful reversal of the raise system. Instead of shooting for the moon with the chance of missing, now you hit and choose how much you're willing to suffer for the result you want. Very thematic.
-Clan/Family/School base mechanics. What I mean by this are those trait and skill options that form the core of the character. I know there's been some debate by people who don't like family giving preset skills. I personally like it as a representation of just generic knowledge that any member of that Clan/Family should know just by virtue of that culture. Like a more concrete version of the clan knowledge sidebars. These give a very definite feel to the Clans/Families, and then schools end up being more flexible (which they always have been since most had 1-3 skills you chose anyway).
-Preset school abilities. I like the feel of the preset abilities for Rank 1 and Rank 6 characters. They are thematic and give a good flavor to the school, and tend to manipulate the way techniques are utilized by the school, which is an interesting metasystem.
-Technique mechanics. Thus far I really love the mechanics that the techniques employ and their types. I love the concept of rough equivalents of bushi techniques (kata), courtier techniques (shuiji), monk techniques (kiho), shugenja techniques (invocations), and generic (spiritual) techniques (rituals). They do what I want them to do, but simultaneously don't feel like they overshadow any other. The shugenja can do some amazing things, but they also have to make checks in order to do them and may suffer backlash. Meanwhile monks can do very similar things, but only have 1 thing active at a time. Bushi are definitely the stars of combat. Even with offensive kiho and invocations, kata really manipulate the combat system and if clan specific kata like those shown are any indication of clan-specific kata we're not seeing, then bushi are going to be wonderful masters of martial arts.
-Speaking of which, combat. While there is some worry about the TN 2 to hit anyone, reading through the techniques has me believing that stagnant TNs to Hit will not be a concern. True, some schools start off better than others in that respect, but the openness of technique purchase seems to provide players with options to mitigate damage, avoid being hit, and apply tactics to deny your opponent attack options. And that's outside of the basic stances which themselves are small, but potent benefits that I believe are quite balanced amongst themselves.
 
The Iffy
- Number of Techniques. These are a mixed blessing, and are where I can see the dreaded parallels to 4e D&D. Unlike the easy talent trees of SWRPG that give us options to choose from to enhance our character, this system is a bit more open-ended. Freedom of choice is good, but I know for some it might be overwhelming. While I like the technique system personally, I can see it being difficult to grasp for new players to the game. The sheer volume of techniques, and each school getting access to 3 different kinds is a little daunting. Now the talents system is really no better in terms of sheer volume of abilities than the techniques system, but there's something about the tree structure that gave it a kind of orderliness. I dunno. I really can't make up my mind about which way I prefer or whether there's really no difference at all in terms of complexity.
 
The Bad
- Rules formatting. What I mean is the really quite convoluted way that the dice and character creation system are set up. Now they're inteligable enough, but the initial dice mechanics make the rolling system seem so complicated when it's not. Also, it does put the cart before the horse, so to speak. It really should be the players describing their approach and then the GM/Player together determining the appropriate Ring/Skill to roll for that approach. Rather than tailoring your approach to the dice pool.
But otherwise, it's just a complicated way of saying "Choose your ring. Choose your skill. Check advantages and disadvantages for modifiers to the pool. Then roll, and tally results." I get that rules lawyers exist, but even this seems excessive. It's, ironically, clarity to the point of confusion.
The same for character creation. As others have pointed out, a simple outline of the steps would be helpful for any new player, with the question and what it provides mechanically (if anything).  And the advancement tables should really be with their school. That way you have all of your school information (aside from technique specifics which really do need to be separated out into their own chapter) in one place.
Otherwise it's fairly straight-forward.

Personal reflections after a couple days to absorb the rules, create characters, and do a few simple roleplaying test-runs with friends online....
 
The Good
-The dice mechanics are actually really straight forward in practice. And it does feel that the system is balanced for beginning characters. That there are really only four symbols is good, though explosions, while traditional, do add to complexity. Still, when you're rolling you're just tallying rather than cancelling out (i.e. like in SWRPG). Also, I like controlling my choices and weighing my options with the dice. There have been times I took a suboptimal dice pool to keep just so I could avoid additional strife. It definitely is a wonderful reversal of the raise system. Instead of shooting for the moon with the chance of missing, now you hit and choose how much you're willing to suffer for the result you want. Very thematic.
-Clan/Family/School base mechanics. What I mean by this are those trait and skill options that form the core of the character. I know there's been some debate by people who don't like family giving preset skills. I personally like it as a representation of just generic knowledge that any member of that Clan/Family should know just by virtue of that culture. Like a more concrete version of the clan knowledge sidebars. These give a very definite feel to the Clans/Families, and then schools end up being more flexible (which they always have been since most had 1-3 skills you chose anyway).
-Preset school abilities. I like the feel of the preset abilities for Rank 1 and Rank 6 characters. They are thematic and give a good flavor to the school, and tend to manipulate the way techniques are utilized by the school, which is an interesting metasystem.
-Technique mechanics. Thus far I really love the mechanics that the techniques employ and their types. I love the concept of rough equivalents of bushi techniques (kata), courtier techniques (shuiji), monk techniques (kiho), shugenja techniques (invocations), and generic (spiritual) techniques (rituals). They do what I want them to do, but simultaneously don't feel like they overshadow any other. The shugenja can do some amazing things, but they also have to make checks in order to do them and may suffer backlash. Meanwhile monks can do very similar things, but only have 1 thing active at a time. Bushi are definitely the stars of combat. Even with offensive kiho and invocations, kata really manipulate the combat system and if clan specific kata like those shown are any indication of clan-specific kata we're not seeing, then bushi are going to be wonderful masters of martial arts.
-Speaking of which, combat. While there is some worry about the TN 2 to hit anyone, reading through the techniques has me believing that stagnant TNs to Hit will not be a concern. True, some schools start off better than others in that respect, but the openness of technique purchase seems to provide players with options to mitigate damage, avoid being hit, and apply tactics to deny your opponent attack options. And that's outside of the basic stances which themselves are small, but potent benefits that I believe are quite balanced amongst themselves.
 
The Iffy
- Number of Techniques. These are a mixed blessing, and are where I can see the dreaded parallels to 4e D&D. Unlike the easy talent trees of SWRPG that give us options to choose from to enhance our character, this system is a bit more open-ended. Freedom of choice is good, but I know for some it might be overwhelming. While I like the technique system personally, I can see it being difficult to grasp for new players to the game. The sheer volume of techniques, and each school getting access to 3 different kinds is a little daunting. Now the talents system is really no better in terms of sheer volume of abilities than the techniques system, but there's something about the tree structure that gave it a kind of orderliness. I dunno. I really can't make up my mind about which way I prefer or whether there's really no difference at all in terms of complexity.
 
The Bad
- Rules formatting. What I mean is the really quite convoluted way that the dice and character creation system are set up. Now they're inteligable enough, but the initial dice mechanics make the rolling system seem so complicated when it's not. Also, it does put the cart before the horse, so to speak. It really should be the players describing their approach and then the GM/Player together determining the appropriate Ring/Skill to roll for that approach. Rather than tailoring your approach to the dice pool.
But otherwise, it's just a complicated way of saying "Choose your ring. Choose your skill. Check advantages and disadvantages for modifiers to the pool. Then roll, and tally results." I get that rules lawyers exist, but even this seems excessive. It's, ironically, clarity to the point of confusion.
The same for character creation. As others have pointed out, a simple outline of the steps would be helpful for any new player, with the question and what it provides mechanically (if anything).  And the advancement tables should really be with their school. That way you have all of your school information (aside from technique specifics which really do need to be separated out into their own chapter) in one place.
Otherwise it's fairly straight-forward.

Read the Kiho section and I think you'll definitely see a strong Wuxia theme going on there. But then Rokugan was always something of a mishmash of East Asian cultures (Mongolia, China, Japan, Korea, and even Thailand). Yes, mostly Japanese, but, I mean, come on....Fu Leng?

Read the Kiho section and I think you'll definitely see a strong Wuxia theme going on there. But then Rokugan was always something of a mishmash of East Asian cultures (Mongolia, China, Japan, Korea, and even Thailand). Yes, mostly Japanese, but, I mean, come on....Fu Leng?

That's amusing and all, but that's only one possible interpretation of those rules. The whole point of the strife system seems to be to make players think about the emotional landscape of their characters. And not every "outburst" (as they're called) is some dramatic display of shirt rending and screaming. They are any way in which a player loses their composure, which in a setting as stoic as Rokugani tries to be, that can be as simple as letting out a sigh of frustration, dabbing at watering eyes, or even walking away to compose yourself at an inappropriate moment.
Yes, some of the narrative is forced on players, but in my opinion (and my opinion only), not in a overwhelming way. Firstly a player can always choose which dice to keep, and it's stated outright that they can choose to fail rather than "lose face." Otherwise, if they do choose to suffer an outburst, then its up to them to come up with a creative and "in-character" way that it happens that feels organic to the scene.

That's amusing and all, but that's only one possible interpretation of those rules. The whole point of the strife system seems to be to make players think about the emotional landscape of their characters. And not every "outburst" (as they're called) is some dramatic display of shirt rending and screaming. They are any way in which a player loses their composure, which in a setting as stoic as Rokugani tries to be, that can be as simple as letting out a sigh of frustration, dabbing at watering eyes, or even walking away to compose yourself at an inappropriate moment.
Yes, some of the narrative is forced on players, but in my opinion (and my opinion only), not in a overwhelming way. Firstly a player can always choose which dice to keep, and it's stated outright that they can choose to fail rather than "lose face." Otherwise, if they do choose to suffer an outburst, then its up to them to come up with a creative and "in-character" way that it happens that feels organic to the scene.

Okay, liking what I'm seeing thus far. Overview article paints a good mix of old and new. We'll see if a hybrid system works. Could be the best of both worlds or be a confused mish-mash. Though already loving the focus on the internal and having emotions be an active aspect of the mechanics that makes players think. Very risk vs. reward setup with a narrative flair.
A tentative optimism blooms.

The better question with modern FFG seems to be whether we'll get an official PDF of the final game. Physical copies seems to be a given.

I agree with much of that, though I would say that overall the Kitsune is only getting a 1exp advantage over the Moshi because the Kitsune had to also spend exp on picking up "Different School" which costs 3 points. Actually my bigger issue is when that happens internally within a clan. Like one, usually non-shugenja, family gets to double up on trait bonuses while the shugenja family does not making it a somewhat more optimized build with no cost. There are obvious setting issues to take into account, and a general lean in l5r away from min-max, but it's an interesting issue.
For Star Wars I'm much more against the way they handled their trait system. Now I understand the notion of player choice and what they choose to spend their exp on and all that, but I have rarely been a fan of those stagnant trait systems where post-chargen there's no movement, which had to be bought using the same pool of points as everything else on my character.
What I mean is that for something as essential and far reaching as traits I feel it balances the game and makes a far less "high-stakes" environment by offering players a resource pool specific to traits that they can then spend as they choose independent of the rest of their character (skills, abilities, advantages, powers, etc.). I'm not saying Star Wars is bad by any means, but it does have the possibility of having a player spend all of their initial experience just on traits, and rewards such builds, while the one who spends very little on traits in favor of a skill or ability heavy character is punished mechanically. And I don't think that's necessarily good. A good character generation should make me feel as though my choice of build is valid rather than required.

I agree with much of that, though I would say that overall the Kitsune is only getting a 1exp advantage over the Moshi because the Kitsune had to also spend exp on picking up "Different School" which costs 3 points. Actually my bigger issue is when that happens internally within a clan. Like one, usually non-shugenja, family gets to double up on trait bonuses while the shugenja family does not making it a somewhat more optimized build with no cost. There are obvious setting issues to take into account, and a general lean in l5r away from min-max, but it's an interesting issue.
For Star Wars I'm much more against the way they handled their trait system. Now I understand the notion of player choice and what they choose to spend their exp on and all that, but I have rarely been a fan of those stagnant trait systems where post-chargen there's no movement, which had to be bought using the same pool of points as everything else on my character.
What I mean is that for something as essential and far reaching as traits I feel it balances the game and makes a far less "high-stakes" environment by offering players a resource pool specific to traits that they can then spend as they choose independent of the rest of their character (skills, abilities, advantages, powers, etc.). I'm not saying Star Wars is bad by any means, but it does have the possibility of having a player spend all of their initial experience just on traits, and rewards such builds, while the one who spends very little on traits in favor of a skill or ability heavy character is punished mechanically. And I don't think that's necessarily good. A good character generation should make me feel as though my choice of build is valid rather than required.

On the subject of katana, I love the idea of them being the "socially acceptable" armament for samurai (as part of the daisho), which is why there is a ubiquity of katana. However, I echo what others have said. They are useful because of that aspect not to the detriment of other martial advances. Those other weapons are merely seen more as tools of war rather than as station.
Mostly I would like to see this reflected in setting and mechanics if only because the notion of the katana being "a civilized weapon of a more civilized time" is so much Western tropism as to be painful to watch. During much of the history of samurai culture was more typified as "the way of horse and bow" (Kyuba no michi). That demarcated the samurai martial training. Now I'm not saying we suddenly need to only have horses and bows, but a shift away from simplifying a culture down to a single ubiquitous weapon could have very positive results.

On the subject of katana, I love the idea of them being the "socially acceptable" armament for samurai (as part of the daisho), which is why there is a ubiquity of katana. However, I echo what others have said. They are useful because of that aspect not to the detriment of other martial advances. Those other weapons are merely seen more as tools of war rather than as station.
Mostly I would like to see this reflected in setting and mechanics if only because the notion of the katana being "a civilized weapon of a more civilized time" is so much Western tropism as to be painful to watch. During much of the history of samurai culture was more typified as "the way of horse and bow" (Kyuba no michi). That demarcated the samurai martial training. Now I'm not saying we suddenly need to only have horses and bows, but a shift away from simplifying a culture down to a single ubiquitous weapon could have very positive results.

On the subject of katana, I love the idea of them being the "socially acceptable" armament for samurai (as part of the daisho), which is why there is a ubiquity of katana. However, I echo what others have said. They are useful because of that aspect not to the detriment of other martial advances. Those other weapons are merely seen more as tools of war rather than as station.
Mostly I would like to see this reflected in setting and mechanics if only because the notion of the katana being "a civilized weapon of a more civilized time" is so much Western tropism as to be painful to watch. During much of the history of samurai culture was more typified as "the way of horse and bow" (Kyuba no michi). That demarcated the samurai martial training. Now I'm not saying we suddenly need to only have horses and bows, but a shift away from simplifying a culture down to a single ubiquitous weapon could have very positive results.

I'll corroborate. Only setting and game specific elements are covered under intellectual copyright. There are several prominent cases in RPG and gaming history that have outlined those aspects. And panels devoted to explaining it at GenCon every year for hopeful game designers. Theorectically anyone could use roll & keep, but only the rights holder can use it with L5R. The name, the symbols, the setting, the personalities, the story, etc. are all a part of that intellectual property (including school names, technique names, spell names, etc), mechanics are not.
I agree. If there's one thing I really liked about Force and Destiny it's how they handled Force Powers. Now the Force Rating/Die system is an entirely different matter, but on a base character level I like the idea of how Force Powers gave immediate powers that were beyond human ability, but gave a very real reason as to why the lightsaber was more often used than not.
Firstly most force powers couldn't take the place of base weaponry. Secondly if they could they were a heavy investment. I like that. You can go for the more sensory, subtle, and utility powers for cheaper, or only dabble in those powers, or you had to invest heavily to be a truly awe-inspiring Force master. You can have your battle shugenja, but acquiring those powers/spells will require a great deal of resources. Resources other, non-shugenja characters, put into a bunch of other things. Definitely, in my opinion, would go a long way to balancing out the role of the shugenja/priest with other Rokugani archetypes.
It also shows those shugenja who delve most deeply into elemental mysteries are the most powerful but are increasingly detached from worldly concerns (i.e. skills, abilities, etc.). And why a shugenja who can also be a daimyo is an extreme rarity and why they are leaned on as spiritual advisors because to be that you need to devote a great amount of time and energy into that endeavor.

Ever since L5r went to FFG I assumed the rpg would shift to a different dice mechanic, and I always said that if it did, it would be great to have the elemental rings as the symbols. As a base assumption of that, I then liked the idea of element based challenges, where either the player is choosing a type of elemental approach or the situation dictates a kind of elemental approach. 
The basic premise would be then to roll as many of a specific ring with perhaps Void being useable for any element. This might then be modified with abilities, powers, etc. Some might give an extra ring symbol if one is rolled, or there might be rules for splitting your approach between 2 or more rings, or maybe even critical rules centered around rolling all 5 rings.
Just a rough idea but one I wouldn't be terribly upset with. As is if it's even remotely dealing with elemental dice/symbols I'll be intrigued. 

Ever since L5r went to FFG I assumed the rpg would shift to a different dice mechanic, and I always said that if it did, it would be great to have the elemental rings as the symbols. As a base assumption of that, I then liked the idea of element based challenges, where either the player is choosing a type of elemental approach or the situation dictates a kind of elemental approach. 
The basic premise would be then to roll as many of a specific ring with perhaps Void being useable for any element. This might then be modified with abilities, powers, etc. Some might give an extra ring symbol if one is rolled, or there might be rules for splitting your approach between 2 or more rings, or maybe even critical rules centered around rolling all 5 rings.
Just a rough idea but one I wouldn't be terribly upset with. As is if it's even remotely dealing with elemental dice/symbols I'll be intrigued. 

Whether it's a R&K system or not I will say that the hierarchical structure of the game really is a relic of 90s RPGs, and while that's not inherently bad, it does contradict a general free-form philosophy that modern game design espouses and which I think is for the better. Even FFGs own RPGs show this "a la carte" style of character creation and advancement that I think could appeal to new and old players. An ability to focus on aspects of your character's abilities that you want to improve rather than being forced to improve your character in predicable and often times lackluster ways.
For example, in the current 4E, one is diving for Insight so that they can advance in Rank to get either more powerful techniques or spells or kihos or what have you. To do this you must make the most efficient use of your experience. You pick up non-specialty skills up to rank 3 with maybe some focus skills at 4-5 (a specific utility skill or two) and maybe weapon skills or those skills with a rank 7 mastery ability at Rank 7. The same thing with Rings, you may specialize in a Ring to get it up to 4, but after that, to advance quickly you most often get all your other rings to 3. It's formulaic and doesn't allow for characters with sharp deficiencies. I recall back even in 3E where iconic characters like Yasuki Taka or Kakita Yoshi had to be "cheated" into their Rank 5 status because they were meant to be characters with little if any physical prowess. Their Rings were heavily lopsided with physical stats of 2-3 and Mental stats of 5-6 and so their insight calculation was terrible since they had Rings of 2 or maybe 3. The game has trouble upholding its own narrative NPCs, and forces PCs to build completely differently than many iconic characters.
A free-form system would allow this kind of variation by giving players choices. Do I want a balanced character, or do I want to try and be truly great in my chosen field? Do I focus on ability, skill, technique, or spirituality (magic, kiho, etc.)? I think that's a far more interesting choice that doesn't require, for example, my pacifistic Water Shugenja to hit like a truck because they were required to have a Strength of 5 in order to be good at casting spells. Yes you lose out on some of the thematic notions of physical and mental balance as the root of true insight, but I'm willing to lose some of that flavor to have something that's more evocative of the kind of variation we see in the setting.

I don't think there is as much of a sense of outrage here as some seem to believe. In all honestly I think its healthy to scrutinize this sort of situation because it represents engagement with the material and a decided disinterest in seeing L5R continue as anything other than a fun and potentially even empowering game for men and women. And given AEG did not have the best track record for that, it makes these sorts of minor slips worrisome to at least a few (and probably more).
I mean I think we can all remember Chuda Ruri and the whole "taint makes women hot" fiasco. If you were a woman and you got the taint you were automatically hot (save for very rare exceptions). Meanwhile men became grotesque horrors (again save for very rare exceptions). The problem with this whole "pillow fight" thing isn't the idea itself, its the representation. Why would this not be asked for if Hoturi were still Hoturi? Because that's not "hot." Two women in some male-inspired slumber party fantasy, well, that's "hot." It smacks of Steve Argyles Hedonism Emporium all over again.

The strange thing is for other aspects of the setting, especially in the 4E rpg they did switch over to a more translation-based methodology. In 1E the battle maidens were Shiotome, the Dragon Tattooed Monks were Ise Zumi (and yes, Kikage Zumi and Tsurui Zumi at various other points), Ikoma Storytellers/Bards were called omoidasu. In all these cases the terms were more or less interchangable, but when they tried to make the game less arcane to new players they removed many of these terms which may or may not be horridly inaccurate (I have an incredibly rudimentary understanding of Japanese).
My point is that if they were comfortable with that then in all honesty, I'm surprised they didn't just switch over entirely to translated names other than a sense of immersion and authenticity. It sounds better to go to Ryoko Owari Toshi or Nanashi Mura. Although tell me that "The City of Green Walls" or even its traditional name "Journey's End City" isn't just as evocative to an English-speaking group. But "foreign" terms even those made up for an entirely fictitious setting do add a certain ambiance.