Three Great Mangas With Poor Anime Adaptations
Being introduced to mangas is a game-changer for a lazy reader with a short attention span like me. It makes me enjoy the stories much better. Illustrations helped me imagine the world the artist is trying to build. Once I started reading, I became attached to the series, the characters, and the world-building.
It becomes more exciting when the news came in that there will be an anime adaptation of the mangas you love. But, this excitement immediately dies after its studio is massacred by its story and/or animation.
Here are three must-read mangas with a terrible anime adaptation:
Berserk
Written and illustrated by the legendary Kentaro Miura. Berserk is a dark fantasy action drama about a man’s quest for revenge. The manga has been around since the 1990s and became one of the most influential manga that became an inspiration to many artists in the fields of anime, film, and video games. Miura was able to finish his work before his passing in 2021.
Berserk’s 1997 adaptation was well received by its fans but the 2016 adaptation should be considered a crime. The combination of traditional and CGI animation didn’t blend well. The adaptation was too hard to watch not because of its dark theme but of its unnatural and creepy character movements. 2016 adaptation also skipped parts of the original story which further ruined it.
The Promised Neverland
The story is about kids in an isolated orphanage who found out the disturbing intent they were being raised for. Three gifted kids led their escape plan from the evil caretaker.
The manga has a more comedic tone than the anime with more grounded scenes. Season one of the anime was still wildly received that improved its manga sales. Many fans enjoyed its dark theme and unexpected twists. However, it all changed in its second season. The story is different from the manga that left fans disappointed. CloverWorks studio skipped around 100+ manga chapters and rushed its story. It too many missed important arcs and character developments.
Record of Ragnarok
Better known as Shuumatsu no Walküre: Record of Ragnarok in the manga. It’s about a heavenly battle between gods versus humans. Gods of all religions and beliefs wanted to put an end to humanity during their conference. However, the leader of Valkyries intervened and offered to let notable figures of human history fight them in one-on-one battles to see if they were worthy of existence.
The manga had a masterpiece artwork. It has one of the best fight scenes with great details and fleshed-out human characters. That’s why many fans had high expectations of its adaptation despite being produced by a studio with a poor resume. Season one of the anime had laughable CGI with scenes that looked like a PowerPoint presentation. This Netflix adaptation can still save itself for its following season if they accept the reviews thrown at them.
