Daijoubu

As we know, a significant amount of anime is based on other sources, from manga and novels to games. An adaptation can go a lot of different ways: it can change a story completely around into something else or follow its source very closely, and there’s a lot of possibilities between these two extremes. So I was thinking about some criteria or guidelines that might be helpful when evaluating an adaptation. I’m thinking mainly of manga (or books) because I’m not so familiar with games, but some of the same stuff applies to any kind of adaptation. Anyway, here are some of my ideas….

Length of the Story & Pacing: Manga often go on for a long time. If an anime like Naruto is going to be long as well, then the lengths and level of detail of the original story can be duplicated. On the other hand, if a long series is condensed into a short OAV or movie, then things are likely to be squeezed together. An interesting example of this is the Clamp series X. This manga was adapted twice, as a movie, then a longer series. If we set aside the fact that in both cases I think there was no ending to the manga, forcing the animators to come up with one, it is interesting to note how much has to be compressed in a movie, often with a detrimental effect on the pacing of a story. The other side of the coin is to expand (or perhaps pad) an anime series beyond its original manga length–this is often called making “fillers.” Naruto is a prime example of this, with large blocks of “major” filler, or original animated stories, keeping the series going. But even beyond that, there are what could be considered “minor” filler as well: short scenes and dialogue that are inserted in the middle of an episode that otherwise is faithfully following its manga source. So even if you avoid watching complete filler eps, you are still getting small doses along the way. You may be able to build up a tolerance to some poisons that way, but it doesn’t work with filler, as the “major filler” is usually rubbish.

The thing the critic or reviewer has to consider is whether or not these plot changes are of advantage to the story or not. Do they add or take away from the effect of the original source. It is also concievable that something new can result that is neither better nor worse, but just a different take on the same story. In my experience I think that movies that try to condense usually turn out badly, while episodic presentations mirror the installment pattern and pacing of most manga much better, as long as filler, particularly major filler, is avoided. Sometimes, expansion of the material can be a good thing, as it can flesh out the characters, their intentions and background, in a helpful way.

Character Designs and Animation Quality: The obvious fact, so obvious that it’s not usually mentioned, is that animated character designs are inevitably simplified from their original. This is usually accepted because it’s inevitable due to budget and the loss of detail is clearly compensated by having the characters be in color all the time, move and speak. Of course, consistency of animation quality is always an issue for any thing, whether adapted or not. But these kinds of evaluations are usually to be separated from reviewing an anime as an adaptation, so long as the basic character designs are acceptable. Going from manga to game adaptations for a moment, the most glaring example of difficulties in this area ever is probably Kanon. Two TV series adapted this story, but while neither exactly resembled the original character designs, no one would argue that the monstrosities of the first series helped to sink it in anyone’s estimation before any other factors could be taken into account.

Things Anime Has that Manga Doesn’t, Like Voices and Music: Obviously, anime adds a lot to its source. Black and white manga are suddenly in color, the characters speak and there’s background music. Sounds crate a very different experience from reading the original manga. When evaluating the selection of voice actors, there are many factors to consider. Do the characters sound like you imagined they would? If they don’t, does this fact disrupt the story or can you adapt to it? If a famous seiyuu is in the anime, are you reminded of that actor’s other roles and does this enhance or detract from your experience? I know that for some people, invoking the name Hirano Aya can be like throwing a grenade into a room; but her casting in Lucky Star is an interesting example of how someone who’s known for another role (Haruhi) can do something completely different (Konata), and yet at the same time take advantage of that link (as in that famous episode where she goes back and forth from her Haruhi to Konata voices). Voices are sooo important, because iconic characters like Lufy or Naruto really get associated with their voice actors.

Music is another biggie. I see in lot of reviews that some bloggers are very interested in evaluating the appropriateness of the BGM and the OP and ED songs. Having great themes is important and the use of blah music or random classical music excerpts can really detract. They can also add to an anime, as anyone knows who recalls the famous scene from Rurouni Kenshin, where Kenshin must leave Kaoru and depart for Kyoto. The use of music from Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana really enhances the sequence. I also love the use of Mahler in the Yamadas movie, ’cause the Japanese love Mahler.

I recall a post by jpmeyer, on his now defunct older blog (the second one, not the first lol), about Nodame Cantabile. This anime/manga involves characters who play classical music. Reading the manga you know there’s music, but in anime you hear it, which completely changes the experience. In this case, one could ask how the manga could ever compare, even if you have a classical music background yourself. I was in Kinokuniya some years ago (before the NC anime came out) and there was a music CD for the manga. Manga can sometimes have “image albums,” but with NC the need to hear the music was obviously huge.

Similar points can be made about the very important OP and ED songs. Game, as opposed to manga, adaptations get even more complicated in this regard. I see that some reviewers are upset that the new show White Album does not some game music. It’s a cute thing, though, that Clannad was able to take Nagisa’s theme and turn it into Dango Daikazoku (Dango reference ftw).

Tone, Mood and Context: The tone or mood of a story can be greatly altered during an adaptation. If you value the original, you will inevitable be put off if the adaptation changes things in the basic “feel” of the work. I don’t think this is usually too much of a problem, and the addition of color, movement and sound usually just adds to the spirit of the original world that’s created. Think of Soul Eater, which has a fast-paced and quirky visual style to match the strange world the manga-ka created. But beyond mood, there’s also other content, or inserted intellectual context, which can alter a work in a fundamental way. Think of Ghost in the Shell. The first movie by Mamoru Oshii followed the original story in many ways, but completely altered the tone, to make it much heavier, and included a lot of philosophical musings that were Oshii’s primary concern. The later TV series were perhaps less faithful, in that they were original stories, but where were perhaps more faithful to manga author Masamune Shirow‘s original concept. Which is better is a complex matter of opinion which the reviewer must carefully consider. I’ll mention one other example here: the first Kenshin OAV, which very impressive in many ways, followed the plot of the manga flashback sequence, but eliminated every bit of lightness and, yes, even some comic relief, that appeared in the original. It was an interesting approach, but in the second OAV they went totally off the deep end, creating a tragic ending in direct contradiction to the manga’s original happy ending.

I’m sure there are other factors to consider, but these are the main one’s I’ve come up with for now…