Ask John: Does Most Anime Begin as Manga?

Question:
I was watching 3×3 Eyes today and started wondering, does most anime begin as manga? I’d never thought about it before, but most of the anime I’ve seen seems to have first been serialized in some weekly magazine. Is most anime translated from manga, or is there an even mix of original anime?

Answer:
Because manga accounts for such a massive portion of the printed material published in Japan, it’s only natural that manga would be the basis for a lot of animation. Japanese animators and studios put a lot of effort into making anime a legitimate artistic endeavour, but in the end, anime still has to be profitable, and the best way to do that is to make anime that already has an established audience of manga fans. Contrary to what some people would have you believe, though, the originality and creativity of anime is no waning and seems to be in no jeopardy of disappearing. Creators such as Tenchi Muyo writer Masaki Kajishima often refer to the lack of original anime in recent years, and while it is true that a lot of anime is based on pre-existing source material, a lot of anime isn’t. To illustrate my point, allow me to use the anime that’s on television now, or which just ended within the past week, as an example. Recent and current TV anime Inuyasha, Hunter X Hunter, One Piece, Angelic Layer, Super GALS! Kotobuki Ran and Project Arms are all based on popular manga. Run=Dim, Comic Party, Star Ocean EX, Devil Children, Tales of Eternia and Zone of the Enders are all based on video games. G-Dangaioh, the new You’re Under Arrest, Grappler Baki, Steel Angel Kurumi 2 and Comet-San are all based on older anime/live-action series. And Earth Defense Family, Earth Girl Arjuna, Hakaima Sadamitsu, Soul Taker, Hanaukyo Maid Tai, Web Diver, Gene Shaft, Snow White Legend Pretia, Trizenon, Gear Fighter Dendoh, Argent Soma, Sci-Fi Harry, Beiblade, Hiou-Senki, and Sorcerer Fighter Rui are all totally original productions.

Based on just this brief overview, the origins of current anime seem to be spread around quite evenly. I think that the reason behind the common belief that anime based on pre-existing source material outnumbers original productions is because so many original productions simply never get the same exposure that series with multimedia and established name recognition receive.