Miserable Manga-to-Anime Adaptations

[TitanAura]

You know what I'm talking about. Those animes you see and find so incredibly boring but then it's the final episode and it closes with so many loose ends you'd think you were in a shoe factory. You write it off as a generic anime with no feeling or defining character and move right along.... but then you happen to come across the manga by chance and you decide to take a peek again and you are totally blown away by the genius you almost missed out on.

There are plenty of examples to choose from but the one that really sticks out in my mind is Claymore. That was an anime I watched when I was first becoming an otaku and was bored out of my skull even during the finale when Clair releases her awakened form all the way and defeated Priscilla but then couldn't kill her because Isley stops the battle just before she can deal the final blow etc etc blah blah blah blah and I wonder if that spoiler tag was even necessary for how damn predictable it was. Totally open-ended and horribly generic final episode, dull/useless characters despite their attempts to humanize them, zero explanations other than "it just is", and just plain boring. The only complement I can really give it is for the Claymores themselves. No, not the girls, the blades. Those were some badass swords but in the anime they served no purpose other than to slice and dice enemies into fine slices of premium beef patties.

But then I read the manga well over a year after I saw the anime.... and wow. I loved it. It wasn't that the story was the most amazing thing ever since it was still the same basic idea, however it was more structured such as how the battles had pre-deteremined outcomes rather than the usual formula of main character goes god-mode/berserk, everything within a one mile radius dies, battle end; which is also known as the Kurosaki Ichigo: Battles for Dummies methodology of combat. Not only was the story better, but the characters had more depth to them rather than simply the shallow stocks than the motivated one, the useless one, the smart one, the impatient one, the quiet one, etc etc. They actually felt more humanized than the humans in the story *although they ARE just background/secondary characters* despite the idea that every Claymore is supposed to have a heart of stone. Not only that, but the main human character, Raki, who I hated in the anime isn't even that important in the manga other than to hang around for a while and bring out Clair's emotional side.... so really he's just there to help add depth to the main character before disappearing and only making short appearances here and there throughout. Plus he's not nearly as frustratingly annoying and useless in the manga, still a bit of a waste for someone who's supposed to be a main character, but not as bad as it could have been. Finally, and here's one of my favorite parts, is that there are several main villains who are all fighting one another to destory or control the others, and our heroes are simply 3rd party participants caught in the middle of it all.

It's a great manga and I would recommend it to anyone but the anime is just a complete waste of time. If you have any other series that you've had a similar experience with, or the reverse order of reading the manga and then being disappointed by the anime, by all means mention them.

[XxEnslavedNekoxX]

Would these include Manga's turned Anime that were never finished in anime form? Such as Dragon half, and Arslan Senki?

[TitanAura]

Would these include Manga's turned Anime that were never finished in anime form? Such as Dragon half, and Arslan Senki?

So long as the animes were terrible representations of the original mangas.

Anime to manga translations don't count so stuff Neon Genesis Evangelion and Code Geass aren't applicable.

[XxEnslavedNekoxX]

So long as the animes were terrible representations of the original mangas.

Anime to manga translations don't count so stuff like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Code Geass don't count.

Never finished the first one and never watched the second so I think I'm okay. Lol. Though I may have to think about those. **Goes off to think**

[yamiangie]

4 kids aside I didn't care for the Yugioh anime as much after a while. The drawing syle got really sharp and angular looking after a while and the angles of the camra shots just started to bug the hell out of me.

[XxEnslavedNekoxX]

I think I thought of one! Petshop Of Horrors. The manga's had excellent stories and were really good. The anime was 4 episodes long and just picked out certian stories. It's the only one I've read that was better than the anime. Mostly cause I don't read Manga too much.

[TitanAura]

4 kids aside I didn't care for the Yugioh anime as much after a while. The drawing syle got really sharp and angular looking after a while and the angles of the camra shots just started to bug the hell out of me.
Your spelling errors fill me with rage but I shall abstain my wrath. The animation slowly declined near the final season and onward and it's a shame really because the final arc is really where some of the best story is imo. I think it's a bit much to base your liking of a series on the art alone. For instance, I'm actually a fan of Kaiji, which is like watching people made out of cubes and triangles gamble their lives away in a battle of wits led by the main character who looks like anime Bert.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2d/Kaiji.jpg

[DannyLilithborne]

I thought the Claymore anime was okay. The manga goes into way more detail but the anime did a good enough job of keeping me interested.

[TitanAura]

I thought the Claymore anime was okay. The manga goes into way more detail but the anime did a good enough job of keeping me interested.
Oh I did forget to mention what it did do well. The first 14 or so episodes are a faithful adaptation but the second half of the show is way off. It's specifically that the characters in the anime seemed less vibrant than in the manga and everything that happens after Raki and Clair split up feels more like a generic checklist of how to end a show without really ending it as if to say "THE END....?" so that they could continue the anime if it turned out to be profitable. Obviously not. The fact is that tons of great characters were introduced before the final battle and in the anime it was hard to miss them when they started dropping like flies when there was only basic character developement.... it was there, but it only scratched the surface. But in the manga, where it spends a great deal of time setting up before the battle even begins, it's extremely tense and emotionally heartbreaking when all of their comrades started getting annihilated with absolutely no chance of survival and the crushing defeat they feel as the battle rages on even after Clair's stunning victory over Rigardo aka the "Silver-Eyed Lion King". The idea that they live on to carry the will of the Claymores who died that day is an extremely awesome motivational backdrop for what they stand for.

So yeah, it's not ALL bad but there are plenty of problems. Most of these problems seem to have been the fact that the people producing the anime were on a limited budget and could only make so many episodes so they had to significantly condence the content in order to meet those requirements.

[Fat1Fared]

I think some Manga to Animie's suffer from same problems Most Books to Movies suffer, in that they don't go into the same detail and so miss out some of different characters, parts and idea's, and this comes down to feeling of Director of what is important and what is not, sometimes get it right, othertimes don't

I also think, those you read like the extra detail (know I do) and really going into world reading about, but watching something, usually means need to make story faster and more action packed, which is why some of detail can be lost, and it normally comes down if director gets his cutting right or not

[TitanAura]

I think some Manga to Animie's suffer from same problems Most Books to Movies suffer, in that they don't go into the same detail and so miss out some of different characters, parts and idea's, and this comes down to feeling of Director of what is important and what is not, sometimes get it right, othertimes don't

I also think, those you read like the extra detail (know I do) and really going into world reading about, but watching something, usually means need to make story faster and more action packed, which is why some of detail can be lost, and it normally comes down if director gets his cutting right or not

This is true. The best example in the popular culture right now is the Harry Potter movies. Now the adaptations aren't that bad.... in fact they're actually pretty accurate, but especially in the later movies I'm going to focus on the big things that they couldn't have missed the point more if they were firing in the wrong direction and the point was in another country all together *ZP reference ya'll*.

Ever notice how seemingly cool and badass Harry is in the movies? That's because Hollywood has killed him and had him replaced with a genetically enhanced clone designed to be awesome and daring and loved by all except for his enemies who hate him for being so much cooler than they are. They've reduced him to a tired, marketable stereotype that is gobbled up by the masses who don't know any better. My problem with what they've done is that Harry Potter is NOT COOL.

He is an extremely unlikable, dorky, socially awkward loser that has a very difficult time interacting with others because he grew up in a fucking cellar without a single friend and was raised by a family who hated his guts for no apparent reason *from his point of view, which he then finds out after he learns of his lineage as a wizard*. He doesn't know how to interact with people and is therefore easily misunderstood by the masses.

Ever wonder why he has such a hard time with Cho on their first/last date? It's because he has the physical attraction without the social experience to understand what he should or should NOT say and he makes several slips that cost him his relationship and even ends it on bad terms because they avoid each other from then on. *I still don't understand how HarryXGinny works. Seriously, I didn't see that relationship lasting too long.* Anyways, the fact is that Hollywood seems to have this fixation on having every male lead be oozing with testosterone and this was no exception.

My second complaint is with the lack of humor in the movies. This is a little more noticable. If you've seen any of the Harry Potter movies, you'll know just how dark they are and how the jokes are few and far between. It's there, but it's so tiny and insignificant that any attempts are quickly forgotten. The books are funny, very funny, and it's meant to be that way because the situation is absurd and humor is a very normal and healthy way of life.

They are wizards who's idea of a practical joke is to turn someone into a balloon. That's the kind of people you're dealing with and when done from the perspective of someone who didn't grow up surrounded by such a bizarre sense of humor it makes the interation between the atypical *meaning uncommon or abnormal* with someone who IS typical a very comically inclined situation at any given moment.

Could you stay completely stonefaced if someone started explaining to you how he got his friend back for stealing his stash of Every-flavored Beans by putting a hex on him that causes him to fart without end for 24 hours straight? Of course not, it's just too rediculous! The problem is that's precisely what the movies are trying to do! They try to take this story so seriously that they completely forget the chemistry between the characters that drives the story forward. Instead the story moves on it's own and everyone just goes along for the ride.

The root of the problem is that the books are character driven whereas the movies are plot driven. While this is usually the norm for books and movies respectively, changing being one another is extremely difficult and blending them together evenly is even more of a challenge. As a representation of the story, hey, the movies have got it covered, but as a representation of the characters, it fails.

Sorry for this INSANELY long rant about Harry Potter but it's highly relevant even if it isn't manga. It's essentially the same idea concerning the original literary source before and after it's translation to being an anime or movie.

[Fat1Fared]

Well, I will take your word on that, as I am not great Harry Potter fan and have several problems with the books, but they are not needed in this topic so we will forget them, unless I can be bothered to put them in right area

However from what you have said that is good example, but I think the best example is Eragon, whether love or hate the Eragon Books, the movie is a joke, it has hardly any of orginal story in it, the characters are bardly even given names let alone time to grow and the story seems like it is a really bad abridgement of book,

In terms of Manga to Animie, well I haven't read enough Manga's (though I usually prefer them, <facepalm> ) to know best examples, but I have always felt that She: Ulimate Weapon was very badly done and suffered from these problems, making the characters go from poeple you feel for to poeple you cannot wait to die

[Eia]

Bounto Arc.

'nuff said.

[TitanAura]

Bounto Arc.

'nuff said.
*gags*

Though I can't say I'm fond of the manga much anymore either. I'm sick of Arrancar. I want something as good as the Soul Society arc to come around after this. Assuming there's some greater malevolent force controlling Aizen and since the most powerful dues ex machina invention ever in the history of storytelling is in it, everything that has happened could be an illusion.

[Kochiha]

People are probably going to be surprised for me saying this, but a good example of this sort of thing happening was Trigun. That's right, Trigun. The anime's kind of...shoddy. Like they were rushing the whole project. A few character designs changed utterly, the storyline was almost COMPLETELY revamped, and even core elements were reduxed. Good example: The big difference between Knives' and Vash's offensive flow capabilities was eliminated, giving Knives a similar attack form to Vash. Which completely sucked, might I add. (I don't even know why I'm putting spoiler tags on; I'm very certain that most of us have been through Trigun several times.)
However, I will acknowledge that there was a reason for this. When the anime first aired, Nightow-san wasn't even halfway through the manga storyline, and there was no chance of him wrapping up before the anime ran its course, so now we're dealing with two very different stories, even serieses, going at the same time.

The elimination of Livio, Razlo, and the real Chapel didn't sit well with me, either. The Eye of Micheal device was brilliant, and it even increased Wolfwood's longevity. A much better way to die than just getting shot once. Brad dying early, too...that was bogus. And don't even get me started on Legato and Elendira. They even changed how Leonof got his puppets, changed the order in which Vash faced certain Gung-Ho Guns, changed the variety of saxophone Midvalley used, changed the location of the Fifth Moon incident, and even switched around the storyline of what was going on before impact on the planet. Hell, they even bothered to name the damn planet. And what the hell was with what they did with Zazie?! And who the hell is this Cain guy? And then there was Gray. He's not a freakin' robot, he's nine entities with a common drive! There was the elimination of the Ark arc, too. I could have lived without the Super Ultimate Tiger Family, sure, and the addition of the events that took place in the pilot chapter was pretty cool, and I also like how they expanded E.G. Mine's role. But really, they could've done such a better job with working with Nightow-san on this one. At this point, I've just realized that spoiler tags are still on, so I'll just end this rant here.

[TitanAura]

People are probably going to be surprised for me saying this, but a good example of this sort of thing happening was Trigun. That's right, Trigun. The anime's kind of...shoddy. Like they were rushing the whole project. A few character designs changed utterly, the storyline was almost COMPLETELY revamped, and even core elements were reduxed

I haven't finished the manga so I can't read the final spoiler but I have to agree. From what I have read there are HUUUUUGE differences between the anime and manga. The anime obviously moves MUCH faster than the manga considering there are over a dozen volumes of Trigun Maximum alone for the second half of the story.

[DarkSunDuelist]

Air Gear.

That is all.

[ClareMidnight]

Gantz. The first two missions were really accurate to the manga, but then comes that filler mission to end the entire series. I didn't finish the anime before I finished getting caught up in the manga and I was so disappointed with the ending. The animators, writers, and directors could have done better with that ending and at least make the anime to be like Berserk: generate a fanbase for the manga and leave you hanging after the Buddhist Temple Mission. That would have been more appealing than what they generated for the last five episodes of the series. As Hbi2k has called them: The Filler Chronicles.

[DarkSunDuelist]

*gags*

Though I can't say I'm fond of the manga much anymore either. I'm sick of Arrancar. I want something as good as the Soul Society arc to come around after this. Assuming there's some greater malevolent force controlling Aizen and since the most powerful dues ex machina invention ever in the history of storytelling is in it, everything that has happened could be an illusion.


The Arrancar Arc just took a turn for the better in the manga. They've started with something that looks like a "Beginning of the End" for the series, or at least Ichigo... Although I agree with you about the Soul Society Arc. Nothing, not even in the movies, can still hold a candle to the Byakuya/Ichigo fight Even though it was a total ripoff of Lee/Gaara's Chuunin match in Naruto

[Kochiha]

I haven't finished the manga so I can't read the final spoiler but I have to agree. From what I have read there are HUUUUUGE differences between the anime and manga. The anime obviously moves MUCH faster than the manga considering there are over a dozen volumes of Trigun Maximum alone for the second half of the story.

Maximum volume 14 will finish it, so Nightow-san promises.

[TitanAura]

Maximum volume 14 will finish it, so Nightow-san promises.
:D HUZZAH!

[maisetofan]

Manga = EPIC Anime version of the manga = :eek: or disappointing in other words

[Computer_Sage]

:D HUZZAH!

Don't be too sure. I know how it ends, and that ending leaves room for a sequel.

[TitanAura]

Don't be too sure. I know how it ends, and that ending leaves room for a sequel.
Any ending leaves room for a sequel. No matter what happens an author can continue the timeline but the decision is whether or not to continue.

[microbat]

Second the Pet Shop of Horrors. The manga's my favorite series (plus by my favorite mangaka), so when I found out there was an anime adaption I was so delighted. Should have been a bit apprehensive considering my experiences with those, but... I figured, as great as the manga was, it'd be impossible to completely mess it up; the story and characters were too strong.

The anime was only four episodes, though. While that would be acceptable, considering it's just an OVA, the quality was so shoddy for even those very few episodes, and... ugh. It completely left out the real developments and plot from the manga, the points that make the work the strongest. Instead, even though absolutely random episodes from all throughout the work were used, it seemed as though the creators of the anime had only read the very first manga, copying down that same expositional style to use in the entire OVA series. Not good...

And as for the Harry Potter movies, Dumbledore just scared me.
The first year he was okay, but after that... O_O"

[TitanAura]

And as for the Harry Potter movies, Dumbledore just scared me.
The first year he was okay, but after that... O_O"

He was like Gandolf, but gay. Very.... VERY gay.

[DarkSunDuelist]

He was like Gandolf, but gay. Very.... VERY gay.

Wait...isn't Dumbledore SUPPOSED to be gay?

[TitanAura]

Wait...isn't Dumbledore SUPPOSED to be gay?
Yes.

[Maruna]

When I first began watching Yozakura Quartet, I confess, I was drawn in simply because of the character designs. I absolutely could not stomach the crap I was reading. Earlier this year, I ended up picked up the manga version entirely because I thought the cover looked rather stylish... and I still liked the character designs.

It's still nothing special, but the manga is not bad. Maybe it was because picking up a binded volume didn't mean I was binded to my chair for a gruesome 23 minutes. I plan to continue buying it- but I still refuse to go and continue the anime.