Usually, when a manga gets a certain degree of popularity, it gets adapted into an anime series. Not every popular manga series gets an anime adaptation, however. Sometimes, certain series have an art style or a narrative structure that just doesn’t translate well into the animated medium. That doesn’t mean people haven’t tried, however.
Some have taken on the daunting task of translating these seemingly unadaptable manga to anime to varying levels of success. Others have avoided trying. Sometimes, the creators have not allowed their works to get an adaptation, believing the animated medium would not do their manga justice.
7 Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
Unconventional Art Style and Complex Narration
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Initial Release |
1987 |
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Creator |
Hirohiko Araki |
There are many reasons it took about 25 years for Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure to get a decent anime adaptation. Hirohiko Araki’s art style, inspired by Western comic books, was not very easy to translate into animation in the 80s. Additionally, the complex narrative structure and constant exposition are hard to adapt to a screen.
While the series has had adaptations in the form of OVAs since 1993, it wasn’t until David Production took the reins in 2012 that the series finally got to see its potential as an anime and reached a massive, international audience.
6 I Am A Hero
Psychological Horror with Realistic Art
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Initial Release |
2009 |
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Creator |
Kengo Hanazawa |
Often called the greatest zombie manga of all time, I Am A Hero topped many ‘best manga’ lists when it was still running, and even won many awards. As far as adaptations are concerned, it was made into a live-action film in 2018. So why are there no anime adaptations?
I Am A Hero has a more realistic art style compared to most other manga series, and is more of a psychological journey than a guns-blazing action comic. Adding to the fact that the series has very little dialogue, attempting to translate this manga into an animated show would be difficult, to say the least.
5 Vagabond
Akira Kurosawa Vibes and Realistic Violence
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Initial Release |
1998 |
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Creator |
Takehiko Inoue |
Vagabond is one of the best-selling manga series of all time. Still, unlike Takehiko Inoue’s other masterpiece, Slam Dunk, it was never adapted into an anime and probably never will be. As a samurai-themed period piece, Vagabond is more reminiscent of an Akira Kurosawa film than a samurai anime like Rurouni Kenshin.
Like I Am A Hero, the manga has a more realistic art style complete with graphic violence, making it more suitable for a live-action adaptation than an animated one.
4 Yotsuba&!
Slice-of-Life with Unique Pacing
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Initial Release |
2003 |
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Creator |
Kiyohiko Azuma |
While Kiyohiko Azuma’s Azumanga Daioh received a fairly successful anime adaptation, the same cannot be said for his other well-known series, Yotsuba&!. In fact, Azuma has outright forbidden any sort of animated adaptation of the manga. While it was rumored that it was because he wasn’t pleased with the Azumanga Daioh adaptation, that certainly isn’t the only reason.
Yotsuba&! is a slice-of-life series in its purest form, which means it’s a series with no real conflicts and the characters quite literally go about their day-to-day lives. The pacing of the series is perfect as an Iyashikei manga, but would, admittedly, make for a boring anime.
3 Goodnight Punpun
Trippy Art Style and Cynical Storytelling
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Initial Release |
2007 |
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Creator |
Inio Asano |
While most of Inio Asano’s works are hard to adapt into anime, Goodnight Punpun in particular may not work as anything but a manga. Not only does it have a unique art style, which combines realistic and cartoony characters, but the story slowly goes from a typical slice-of-life comedy to an incredibly cynical coming-of-age series. Both of those are almost impossible to translate into animation or even live-action.
Despite its seemingly niche appeal, Goodnight Punpun has received heaps of critical and commercial acclaim, winning awards and being translated into several languages.
2 Junji Ito Kyoufu Manga Collection
Body Horror Involving Page Turns
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Initial Release |
1987 |
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Creator |
Junji Ito |
People have tried to adapt Junji Ito’s horror works to anime and live-action, but almost every attempt has been met with mixed to negative reviews. It’s gotten to the point where many fans think his works just aren’t going to work in any medium but a graphic novel.
Ito depends on the element of the page turn to jump-scare audiences, which naturally can only happen in a book. In addition, his works are less about the characters and more about the highly detailed body horror. Translating this into animation or even live-action is going to require a massive budget or gaudy CGI, lessening the impact.
1 Berserk
Highly Detailed Sex and Violence
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Initial Release |
1989 |
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Creator |
Kentaro Miura |
There have been many anime adaptations of Berserk, but none have lived up to Kentaro Miura’s original manga. Many have even called the series unadaptable, as its brutal content just isn’t suited to the screen.
Berserk‘s arcs are very long, and they have a ton of explicit scenes of sex and violence. Adapting them to TV is bound to result in heavy censorship, meaning viewers will lose a lot of important context and plot details. Much like other hard-to-adapt manga, it has a highly detailed art style to go along with the graphic content. Even the mostly faithful and well-received 90s anime adaptation had to tone a lot of the material down.
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