Animes of 26 or less episodes based of still running mangas.. Good or bad

[Dylonius Funk]

Lets take two examples of popular anime that w ere based of manga that at the time of production and airing in Japan were still running. If they still are now is irrelevant.

1.Fruits Basket What we have here is a show based off a popular shoujo manga. They decide to make it as 26 episode series. But since the manga is still going they don't have an edning. So they make one up. So now the anime has spoiler
Akito holding the curse inside HIMself, Yuki helping Tohru change Kyo back and no Rin or Kureno Ultimately you end up with soemthing that is overall like it's source material until the very end.

2.Mahou Sensei Nagima A series i just finished watching earlier today inf act. And while i have not read the manga i understand it's aboine of contention with manga fans of how different the series is. From what i've read the series is pretty similar up to spoiler again
Kyoto and then it goes into the whole "countdown to Asuna's 'death' story" Again, it's the same thing. The real big bone of contention occurs at the end, because theres no manga ending to work with.

In both fo these cases these were shows that were planed for a limited series, as they were not runaway hits of the Naruto/Bleach/DBZ nature, thus not getting an anime that would run for 100+ episodes. So i guess my question is this. If they know they'll have to make up their own ending, should they even bother. Just from the two examples I've listed it seems like it's something that doesn't work out all that often.

[Kellory]

Personally I dont believe one should ever compare the Manga or Novel or Game to the Anime. Each of them should be considered seperate entities telling different stories that just happen to follow similar lines. Unless of course you get a mega medium property like Hack/Sign which sort of requires you to follow everything.

I mean, its okay if you want to. Its your life and viewing pleasure. But I think you are robbing yourself of some enjoyment if you do so. To expect each thing to be like what it was based on to me defeats the entire purpose. Just because the Manga came out first shouldnt mean it alone is how it is "supposed" to be. So what if the author or creator did things one way? I dont believe that means that someone else cant come along and do something different and achieve at least the same level of effect if not more.

Not to mention, each medium is different and conveys information differently. You can do things in Manga you cant do in a game or Anime or novel. And there are things you can do in Anime you cant do in a Manga and so on and so forth. Each style has its own strengths and weaknesses. To simply believe one is inherently better than another simply because of some arbitrary reason like it was first robs one of some of the enjoyment of the show.

Of course, a person will prefer one over the other in the end. That is normal. But to prejudge simply because one is first or one was by the original author/writer/director isnt something I would advise people to do.

People seem to have a desire to categorize and/or rate a show/book/game/manga. I really do not believe this is a good thing. It is natural, but I think it tends to rob people of some of the natural enjoyment. I see people rating shows based on the audio or video encode and not liking it because the audio is slightly off or the video has some rainbowing and isnt "perfect". Or because a certain VA did not do a good job or it was miscast. Or because it didnt follow another storyline precisely. Or because it was "filler" and didnt have any real purpose.

To me, Anime is entertainment. It shouldnt have a goal other than to entertain. Everything else is gravy. Yes, I love shows like Koi Kaze and Planets that give us back something more. But I also love shows that exist simply for themselves and the enjoyment they give from the viewing. Like Girls Bravo or UltraManiac. These are not deep shows, but they are very fun and enjoyable to me simply because they are fun and enjoyable. I could care less if the Manga or novel or game followed a different path. If I read/played it I'm sure I'd find it equally enjoyable because it was fun. Not because I expected/hoped it would be something else.

Take Chrono Crusade. That was a good series. It was pretty tight, and it's plotline really worked. It had a good and I'd hazard to say excellent ending. Yet there was a fair bit of debate about how the Manga was "better" because it was different and explained things better. To which I say, who cares? To apply the Manga to the Anime ignores what the Anime had to show. The show itself was excellent and it did what it set out to do and it gave a great ending. The fact that the Manga was different is irrelevent to me.

We do not compare kids to their parents really. Or at least we shouldnt I think. Yet its so easy to say Bob is a bad child because his parents are or vice versa. But we shouldnt be doing that because we should be judging people on their own individual merits regardless of parentage. The same I think holds true to Anime. Just because it is based on something doesnt mean it cant be something great in and of itself. And if it doesnt reach the same heights, so what? It is all arbitrary anyway.

So yeah, to me the Oh My Goddess OVA's was an excellent show even if it didnt follow the Manga. Sure there are bad shows and bad endings, but there are also good ones and shows that perhaps even surpass their parent show/book/manga/game.

[Dragon_Tear]

Lets take two examples of popular anime that w ere based of manga that at the time of production and airing in Japan were still running. If they still are now is irrelevant.

1.Fruits Basket What we have here is a show based off a popular shoujo manga. They decide to make it as 26 episode series. But since the manga is still going they don't have an edning. So they make one up. So now the anime has spoiler
Akito holding the curse inside HIMself, Yuki helping Tohru change Kyo back and no Rin or Kureno Ultimately you end up with soemthing that is overall like it's source material until the very end.

2.Mahou Sensei Nagima A series i just finished watching earlier today inf act. And while i have not read the manga i understand it's aboine of contention with manga fans of how different the series is. From what i've read the series is pretty similar up to spoiler again
Kyoto and then it goes into the whole "countdown to Asuna's 'death' story" Again, it's the same thing. The real big bone of contention occurs at the end, because theres no manga ending to work with.

In both fo these cases these were shows that were planed for a limited series, as they were not runaway hits of the Naruto/Bleach/DBZ nature, thus not getting an anime that would run for 100+ episodes. So i guess my question is this. If they know they'll have to make up their own ending, should they even bother. Just from the two examples I've listed it seems like it's something that doesn't work out all that often.

It happens quite often though, just looking at the licensed anime series, there are plenty of examples of this.

For example:

Guyver
Chevalier
AMG
Air Gear
Evangelion
Cromartie
E'S Otherwise
Elfen Lied
Gantz
King of Bandit Jing
Maburaho

3x3 Eyes
Bastard
Please Save My Earth
Elemental Gelade
Hellsing
Ikkitosen
R.O.D. TV
Shana
Tenjho Tenge
Trigun
Black Lagoon

School Rumble
Tsubasa
XXXholic etc.

It's kind of a necessary thing even if the results aren't always stellar. You have to keep in mind that these series are generally made for fans of the manga and a Japanese audience. They're made to compliment the manga as well that's why we get short OVA series like Video Girl Ai and Please Save My Earth.

Also many anime series are left more open ended, or have semi-endings that close off the story, but, don't have a complete wrap up instead of just making up some kind of random ending just stop at a logical stopping point.

I personally don't mind seeing the anime way before the manga ends, because I don't think I could wait for the series to end before it got animated. Planetes for example was an excellent series in it's own way and if you read the manga together complement eachother very well. So it can definitely work out that you have an anime property that is just as good as the manga.

[Razb]

If the anime is good, then it's good. That's all that matters to me. While there are times I'm familiar with the source material before the anime is made and would like to see certain things animated certain ways, I don't consider it a failing if the anime goes in a different direction as long as it's an enjoyable one. Each variation of a story should attempt to make the best of the medium through which it is presented, and should not rely on anything other than itself to present a compelling narrative. If an anime requires some form of extraneous understanding, then it's simply not a very good anime. (Note that this does not mean it is not pleasurable.)

[Lego]

If the anime is good, then it's good. That's all that matters to me. While there are times I'm familiar with the source material before the anime is made and would like to see certain things animated certain ways, I don't consider it a failing if the anime goes in a different direction as long as it's an enjoyable one. Each variation of a story should attempt to make the best of the medium through which it is presented, and should not rely on anything other than itself to present a compelling narrative. If an anime requires some form of extraneous understanding, then it's simply not a very good anime. (Note that this does not mean it is not pleasurable.)

I agree. To me, it's almost like when a big budget movie is made off of a best selling book. It can either be done right, or it can suck horribly.

[Suwako Moriya]

Honestly speaking because I watch anime more than I read manga, I often don't have the experience with the source material to do the comparison game. Heck there are anime I watch based on games I've never played as well. So that's another angle. In any case as with others my concern is not if the anime version is the best or worst. It's rather my concern is simply if I enjoy the anime version. If I enjoy the anime version then it's done its job.

I do desire the adaptation to be somewhat faithful to the original source material. After all what's the point of having an anime based on a manga if they figuratively just toss out every aspect of the original? However that does not mean I expect the anime version to be a complete clone of the manga (in this case). As such an ideal can backfire in some ways. Especially since it's often the case the anime has to end while the manga is still going.

Thus what the anime staff should do is create a version of the story that retains the spirit of the original, but is also free enough to allow the staff to make a version of the story that can work within the number of episodes they are given.

[ucdawg12]

I would say good because even a taste of something that may lead you to the whole thing is better than not knowing about it. I wished that all the anime I liked actually got to complete their stories though. Speaking of Fruits Basket does anyone know how funimations 2nd season efforts are coming along?

[Bullfrog]

Generally speaking, a good thing.

Just because the manga didn't follow the anime version (or vice versa) doesn't mean that either is bad, or good.

Manga (and novels) have a number of advantages in telling certain aspects of storyline. Anime has advantages in other areas. Thus, there will be differences, as each person plays to the strength of the medium.

Certainly, Martian Successor Nadesico is vastly different in manga compared to the anime, however I don't think this is bad. I really enjoy the anime. The manga is entertaining as well. They are related (vaguely), but should be seen in there own light, not in comparison to each other.

A bit like the argument about Gundam (original) versus Gundam movies (original). Both are telling the "same" story, but in different ways, and with a different focus. That doesn't mean that one is bad, and the other good, it's just two different takes on the same story.

[fantasydewdrop]

It happens quite often though, just looking at the licensed anime series, there are plenty of examples of this.

For example:
...
Evangelion


Wait, didn't the show come first in that case?

[unclee]

It happens quite often though, just looking at the licensed anime series, there are plenty of examples of this.

For example:
...
Evangelion


Wait, didn't the show come first in that case?

Well according to ANN volume 1 of the manga was released in August of 1995 and the anime began airing in October of 1995. Although it says the manga is an alternate retelling of the show so I'm guessing they're just counted as two separate entities.

As for the original question, I think it varies from show to show. Just look at Gantz for example: I hated the anime ending and wish it would have continued with the manga because I felt the manga got progressively better from there.

On the other hand their is stuff like X the TV series. They had to make an ending for it and it's a great ending (and it actually has me preferring the anime over the manga right now).

So I think it just depends on how well the people creating the anime do.

[something]

Generally it's fine to have a somewhat open ending, if they're serious about making the commitment for follow-up seasons. Or if they have some really good in-house writers who can steer the latter parts of the TV run into a nice ending, manga be damned. I thought FruBa did a good job giving me closure, given that its source material was far from done. Narutaru, however.. not so much. Talk about a lack of closure. If the writers have no intention of doing more seasons and are incapable of concocting a competent ending of their own, then they're wasting our damn time.

..Fine, that's a bit harsh. Narutaru is still a great show. Spiral is still a great show. Kare Kano is still a great show (a top 10 of mine, and there were other circumstances there). Berserk is still a great show (again, outside circumstances restrict the anime). I didn't feel a damn lick of closure with any of them though, and that annoys me. Do I wish I had never seen them? I wouldn't go that far, but I really do hate seeing massive potential diminished or completely wasted because of such things.

But I should note that it's not just shows with unfulfilling endings that make me wish for a second season. Even shows with wonderful endings (Stellvia, Haruhi) have me dying for more, because I know there's so much more story they could tell.

[Mark]

I'd prefer that the anime is made when the manga has gotten far enough to make enough of a story.

I realize that it's not the best example since the series was already half done, but Rurouni Kenshin was a victim of this.

The end of the Enishi arc wasn't finished and there was nothing left to animate, so they started using filler so they could wait out the manga ending. But the ratings slumped and the series was cancelled so all that waiting was for nothing.

I do not want that to happen to any more anime.

[vtr9kvictor]

[quote=Dylonius Funk]Lets take two examples of popular anime that w ere based of manga that at the time of production and airing in Japan were still running. If they still are now is irrelevant.



For example:

Guyver
Chevalier
AMG
Air Gear
Evangelion
Cromartie
E'S Otherwise
Elfen Lied
Gantz
King of Bandit Jing
Maburaho

3x3 Eyes
Bastard
Please Save My Earth
Elemental Gelade
Hellsing
Ikkitosen
R.O.D. TV
Shana
Tenjho Tenge
Trigun
Black Lagoon

School Rumble
Tsubasa
XXXholic etc.

I dispute your list on the following three technicalities:
Ah My Goddess is more than 26 episodes
School Rubmle is also more than 26 episodes
Guyver has had multiple animated and live action runs.

[Mozart]

Personally I dont believe one should ever compare the Manga or Novel or Game to the Anime. Each of them should be considered seperate entities telling different stories that just happen to follow similar lines.

Ideally, that would be nice. Only I've found that after viewing a long series, I swiftly get bored with the manga it's based on, at least while the stories still overlap (CITY HUNTER, BERSERK); and conversely, if I've read the manga, viewing the series becomes a "been there, done that" sort of thing (MAISON IKKOKU, MARMALADE BOY). It could just be a function of age, as where 20 years ago I could read or watch something over and over and over again, these days once seems to be enough.

None of which stops me from wishing that there would be longer anime adaptations for PLEASE SAVE MY EARTH, VIDEO GIRL AI or SAKURA DIARIES...

[mandisaw]

I think if you take it from the perspective of having access to both the source manga/game and the anime, there's no problem. If the anime just kind of ends at a given spot in the manga (e.g. Basara, Bastard, Angel Sanctuary, PSME, KareKano), then you can continue the story in the manga, just like the producers/publishers want you to. Or if the anime starts with the same premise but runs its own interesting plotline, that can be cool, too (e.g. Fullmetal Alchemist, Trigun).

The problem comes when you can't follow-up or pick up the "alternate" version. Either because only one version was licensed/released, or because one version is out-of-print or otherwise rare, it can be highly frustrating not to be able to get the whole story. Nowadays, this seems to especially happen to adaptations of novel series (12 Kingdoms, Mirage of Blaze, Maria-sama, even Suzumiya).

That said, so long as the "missing" version of the story actually exists and has been published/produced, there is hope that it can be rereleased. From a seller's standpoint, it's a much lower risk to give people a small taste of the content, and then provide the full version if there's interest, than to not expand the franchise because one side is lagging or unavailable. Even from a buyer's perspective, it can be better to have a low-committment intro to a series. But I think the key is to have that follow-up available like a one-two punch. Otherwise the interest lags, and you have a series stuck in limbo... (Capt. Tyler, will we ever see you in print?)

[HitokiriShadow]

R.O.D. TV


It was based on a short manga series (Read or Dream) which was related to a novel series, but the TV series was its own story and wasn't simply animating an existing story. It would be similar to a Star Wars novel that takes place after the movies ended. As such, its a different situation and doesn't really count.

[Lovely]

Concerning Evangelion- Actually the manga and the anime were conceived at the same time for the most part.
Then Anno went off to do his own thing with it (anime), and Sadamato went off to do his interpretation of it (manga.)

[Dragon_Tear]

Even shows with wonderful endings (Stellvia, Haruhi) have me dying for more, because I know there's so much more story they could tell.

Man I was crushed when the director for Stellvia posted awhile back that there wouldn't a 2nd season of Stellvia for whatever reason. It ended great, but, that ending was so begging for another whole season of greatness. :cry:

[Dragon_Tear]

[quote=vtr9kvictorI dispute your list on the following three technicalities:
Ah My Goddess is more than 26 episodes
School Rubmle is also more than 26 episodes
Guyver has had multiple animated and live action runs.

Oh yeah I forgot all about that, I just went down the list.....

Well Guyver has been remade a couple of times, but, the 'new' series covers a lot of the older stuff, I haven't watched it, but, I'm pretty sure that they could easily have made a much longer show out of it.

[Dragon_Tear]

[quote=MozartNone of which stops me from wishing that there would be longer anime adaptations for PLEASE SAVE MY EARTH, VIDEO GIRL AI or SAKURA DIARIES...[/quote]

I'd love to see more of all three of these series as well especially PSME. It's one of my all time favourites and is still one of the best anime in my collection.