Highlights
- Studio Fortiche’s animated series Arcane exceeded expectations, leading to excitement for its second season release in November 2024.
- Pascal Charrue expressed interest in adapting Vagabond into anime, a challenging feat due to the manga’s intricate artwork and fanbase.
- Studio Fortiche may consider animating Kokou no Hito or Naoki Urasawa’s works like 20th Century Boys, drawing inspiration from successful manga.
When Studio Fortiche announced that it would be releasing an animated television series of Arcane, many people wondered how good it could actually be. The expectations were grounded, but when the first season came out, fans were flabbergasted by its quality. Nobody could believe it would turn out to be so phenomenal.
After an immensely successful first season, fans were eagerly awaiting the release of the second one. With the second confirmed for release in November 2024, it is safe to say that this time expectations will be at an all-time high. In a recent interview, Pascal Charrue, the studio co-founder of Studio Fortiche, revealed which manga he would like to adapt, and the answer was rather interesting.
Adapting One Of The Best Manga
Vagabond Has Sold Over 60 Million Copies
Pascal Charrue said that he would like to adapt Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond into anime. This is, of course, a massive statement considering the manga is on an indefinite hiatus, which has deprived fans of any new content. Vagabond boasts an incredibly massive fanbase that adores the series. In fact, it holds the position of the third highest-rated manga on MyAnimeList, putting it ahead of the likes of Attack on Titan, Bleach, Naruto, Jujutsu Kaisen, etc. While the news about Vagabond getting a possible anime adaptation is exciting, fans have a few concerns about the project.
Takehiko Inoue is one of the best manga artists in the world. His artwork is magnificent, and only a few can match his skill. For an anime adaptation to successfully encapsulate the details of his work is a herculean task. A good example is the Berserk anime adaptation, which employed CGI in hopes of doing justice to the late Kentaro Miura’s work. The CGI helped recreate some of the visuals, but it was more or less a failure. Many fans also pointed out that the 1997 anime adaptation was head and shoulders above it. Fortiche Studio will have to work extra hard to ensure that Vagabond‘s anime adaptation doesn’t turn out to be like Berserk. If the studio manages to pull it off successfully, then the anime could end up dethroning Frieren: A Journey’s End from the top spot on MyAnimeList.
What Is Vagabond About?
A Journey About Growth
Vagabond focuses on the life of Miyamoto Musashi, a legendary samurai who lived hundreds of years ago. Takehiko Inoue used Eiji Yoshikawa’s novel Musashi as inspiration to create Vagabond. As it falls in the seinen genre, Takehiko Inoue had the freedom to experiment with the story as much as he wanted without worrying about the audience. While the manga has a lot of action, two things have made it a classic.
The first is the philosophical nature of the story. Vagabond is not just about Miyamoto Musashi getting stronger, but it focuses on how he grew as a person. He was constantly hungry for combat, as he believed that fighting was the only way he could improve. However, multiple experiences taught him that a person needed to grow physically as well as mentally to become truly strong. Aside from Musashi, there are other characters in the story who offer unique perspectives. The second thing is the artwork, which is phenomenal. The detail in every panel and the way Takehiko Inoue uses them to elevate the story is simply brilliant. Capturing it in an anime will not be easy, as evidenced by the botched Berserk project. If Studio Fortiche does not pick Vagabond, there are still many other fabulous manga titles that deserve an anime adaptation.
What Other Manga Could They Animate
Naoki Urasawa Is A Big Inspiration
For starters, the studio could try its luck with Kokou no Hito. It is a sports manga that follows the story of a man who develops a passion for climbing after a lot of persuasion from his classmates. While the plot seems simple, there are many psychological themes behind it. The manga is amazing, but sometimes it can be tricky for readers to understand certain things. This is where the anime adaptation comes in. Many times, the studio adapting a manga adds some additional scenes that expand on a certain notion, which helps viewers to comprehend them.
Aside from Kokou no Hito, Studio Fortiche could pick up one of Naoki Urasawa’s manga. In his interview with Crunchyroll,Pascal Charrue said Urasawa’s works were a big source of inspiration for them. At the moment, 20th Century Boys is the only manga without an anime adaptation. Like almost all the manga done by Urasawa, 20th Century Boys provides great entertainment. Alternatively, the studio could try to remake Monster, which is considered one of the greatest anime of all time.
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