Post Details

There have been plenty of games adapted into anime, and vice versa, but I’d hardly call it cross-pollination. But why is that the case? As games have strived to be more cinematic, it makes sense on a certain level to adapt the stories to the medium of animation.

What Works

I’ll use Valkyria Chronicles as an example of a game to anime adapation being done (mostly) correctly. Instead of trying to capture the essence of the gameplay, the anime series adds new dimensions to the story. The game’s story is presented in an episodic format anyway, so there was already a good base to start on. But the series goes places that the game doesn’t, either because of pacing concerns (the player does have to get ferried from battle to battle after all) or production constraints. The result is something that stands on its own, a unique work that draws from the game but is not a less interactive copy.

What Doesn’t Work

This one has always baffled me: Street Figher II’s anime adaptation. Why? The plot is little more than “a bunch of guys beat the shit out of each other, and there is an evil organization.” It’s rudimentary even for fifth graders. Why make an adaptation of something with almost no story? As a matter of fact, Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie mostly became famous because Chun Li gets naked, and then fights in her underwear. Even the more fully realized story of the Street Fighter Alpha series didn’t translate that well to anime. Then there’s the Tekken anime, which by all accounts is appalling. Why do people keep trying to adapt fighting games into anime (and live action)? It makes no sense. Don’t even get me started on the Fatal Fury and Battle Arena Toshinden movies.

What Might Work

I’m surprised this hasn’t happened already, but why isn’t there a Metal Gear anime? The cinematic presentation of its games and its sophisticated themes would do well as an anime series, plus you wouldn’t have to look very hard for a voice cast. Everything is in place, and Yoji Shinkawa’s art would serve as a great basis for the character and mechanical designs. Of course a Metal Gear adaptation would have to avoid playing it safe, and mess with the audience’s conceptions of the medium in the same way the games did. Across two generations of characters and seven (soon to be eight) canon games, there should be more than enough material to fill a 26 episode series.

Going the other way, there are plenty of shows which would make good candidates for being adapted into video games. One I would like to see is Hellsing, which has a great cast of characters and some action sequences which would translate well to a game. I’m thinking it would pretty much be like Bayonetta except without the game’s clinically insane story. It would be darker, bloodier, and more hardcore while preserving the set piece oriented pacing and dynamic combat system. A Hellsing game could also start the un-sissification of vampires, turning them from emo kids back to what they’re supposed to be: terrifying, dangerous monsters.

Though two of my great passions are anime and gaming, there isn’t a whole lot out there that does a good job combining them. I don’t get it, as certainly Japan is a big mover in both industries. Why aren’t there more anime/game tie-ins that work? I guess I’ll have plenty of time to ponder the answer as I wait in futility for a Metal Gear anime. Normal service will resume after I get a decent night’s sleep.

Tags: miscellaneous