There are so many good manga out there without an anime adaptation. Maybe it’s because manga has a lot more room for artistic freedom than anime. Maybe the sheer quantity of it makes it difficult for anime producers to find lesser-known gems. Whatever the case may be, most people have at least one manga they hope to see adapted into anime. In this post, you’ll find the 10 adaptations I would like to see the most in no particular order. So, let’s begin!
1. Shōnen Note
This is a story heavily based on two major topics: emotions and music. Both are seen through the eyes of young teenagers growing up and learning how painful that can sometimes be. These two topics are often intertwined, so it’d be pretty interesting to see the anime’s take on that. And I’m pretty sure I would cry at least once while watching it, just like I did while reading the manga…oops? Boasting a cast of believable characters, Shōnen Note would also give a bit of much-needed realism to current anime seasons.
2. Clover
This manga by CLAMP technically has an anime adaptation, but it’s nothing more than a brief music video. And what I’m talking about when I say it needs an anime is more of an OVA collection sort of thing, at the very least. The plot, although told in a disjointed and quite vanguardist way, is extremely interesting and accessible. The sci-fi/fantasy atmosphere would benefit from having color and movement added to it as well. And yes, there’s music that plays an important part in this manga as well!
3. Akaku Saku Koe
Yuki Midorikawa has a distinct style, and many of the themes she developed in Natsume Yuujinchou are present in Akaku Saku Koe as well. But where Natsume Yuujinchou focuses on the power of the written word in the form of yōkai names from the Book of Friends, this manga takes a different approach. Namely, the protagonist has the power to influence other people’s actions via his voice. This resource seems cool enough in the pages of a manga, but I can’t help but wonder how interesting it’d be to see it animated and voiced.
4. Neon Genesis Evangelion: Gakuen Datenroku
And now, for the impossible dream…okay, I’m not entirely sure how possible it’d be to see this animated someday, but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be easy. There’d be lots of copyright and ego problems on the horizon. But that aside, this manga takes the original story of Evangelion and plays with it in interesting ways, exploring potentialities that weren’t touched in the original source material. Be it relationships between characters that didn’t talk that much in the anime or new ways of interpreting Angels (as parasites that can inhabit human bodies, no less), this manga brings new perspectives to the table that deserve to be animated.
5. Oyasumi Punpun
I haven’t met a single person who read this manga and wasn’t fascinated by its weirdness. The fact that its themes resound with so many different people would make it worthy of getting an anime in my eyes, but there’s also how experimental said anime would be. I’m always up for anime creators doing new things that explore the full potential of the medium, so I’d be delighted to see a manga like this one adapted into anime.
6. Perfect World
You know, many times I hear things like “anime can’t be diverse because Japan is a backward society!” and that’s just…not true? Manga has a lot of diversity in it, and sometimes (although admittedly not always) it treats it with more sensibility and tact than Western media. The problem seems to be animating that sort of diverse manga, and I personally want to see that sort of thing changing in the nearby future. A love story between a disabled person and somebody who is an outsider to that sort of problematic seems a good starting point, especially if it’s as good as this one.
7. Majo no Biyaku
I’ve never understood exactly why josei is so underrepresented in comparison to other manga demographics when it comes to anime adaptations. Whatever the case may be, adapting more types of manga into the small screen helps to diversify the medium, and this is a particularly good choice. The use of magic and other supernatural elements could help the audience feel the familiarity necessary for sparking interest, while the relationships between the characters can attract viewers on their own.
8. Otoyomegatari
If I told you about a manga with numerous awards that hasn’t been turned into an anime, what would you say? What if that manga was set in the Silk Road during the 19th Century? I still don’t know what to say about these facts. Still, this manga has an amazing and very original story. It would undoubtedly be a cool thing to watch, and with the manga being painfully difficult to find, the story would make itself known through a much well-known medium. In return, maybe the manga would also become easier to find, so it’d really be a win/win situation.
9. Ludwig Kakumei
Fairytale retellings are always a good thing in my book, and with this author’s touch, the manga is honestly too short to enjoy properly. Not only would an anime be a good adaptation; it could also expand on the themes provided in the source material. This could be one of those animes where “filler” episodes aren’t really a problem, as long as they are entrusted to a writing team that understands the ideas behind the manga’s storyline.
10. Le Theatre de A / Le Theatre de B
Remember that thing I said about experimental anime? What’s more experimental than adapting surreal comics from a fashion magazine into anime? These short stories are fairly simple (“I am a Piano” is literally about a piano in the form of a girl, for example), but their potential for a visual festival of lace and ruffles is too good to let it pass. Anime isn’t only storytelling. It’s also a neverending string of visual potential, something that’s usually wasted on endless headshots and frames of characters walking. Maybe it’s time to change that.
Bonus: Purple Haze Feedback
Not a manga, but definitely something related to the medium that needs an anime adaptation. This Light Novel narrates the post-Golden Wind misfortunes of Pannacotta Fugo, a character from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Without spoiling too much, I would like to mention that this novel features a new cast of characters that works perfectly well in the JoJo universe, creepy antagonists and a brief appearance of the infamous Stone Mask first seen in Phantom Blood.
So please, DavePro, when you finally finish those Rohan OVAs, take a moment and give us what we need and deserve.
