Ask John: Could Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Encourage Other Remakes?

Question:
I’m finally starting to watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I was wondering if this series could somehow start a trend with studios animating an incomplete manga series and then reanimating the series once the manga is over, or was this just a special case? There are factors to consider: how long will it be, popularity of the series, and whether you would turn off fans if it was done too often. I was mainly wondering this because both Soul Eater and Claymore are still ongoing mangas that I really enjoyed and wouldn’t mind seeing the original creator’s story.

Answer:
Considering the present awareness of the recent Fullmetal Alchemist remake television series, I’m sure that there are numerous anime fans that wonder if there are other anime titles that could get similar reboots. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood certainly seems like it could be a catlyst for more revivals and remakes that are more faithful to their source material than their first anime adaptations. But that assumption is most effective when assuming that Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is itself an unusual and trend setting remake. Recognition of the show’s true context reveals that it’s not actually the beginning of a new trend but rather the latest entry in an already ongoing but minor trend. That realization seems to diminish reason to anticipate that Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood will usher in a new flood of shows being reworked and remade.

Remakes have been a routine part of anime production since the mid 1970s. Even that long ago TV series including Tensai Bakabon, Doraemon, Lupin III, Kyojin no Hoshi, Cyborg 009, and Mitsubachi Maya no Boken were getting sequels and remakes. But in these early days of the anime explosion, remakes were created for new generations of viewers, not to correct the errors of earlier productions or improve upon earlier incarnations, or to serve as a more accurate adaptation of the original manga source material. Productions with those motivations arose much later but didn’t start with Fullmetal Alchemist. Series including Hanaukyo Maid Tai: La Verite, X, Kanon (2006), Toward the Terra, the Hellsing OVA series, and Dragon Ball Kai all pre-date Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and all exist as more faithful and more comprehensive adaptations of their source material than their previous anime incarnations.So last year’s Fullmetal Alchemist is merely one entry in a contemporary variety of remake that also includes the upcoming new Ai no Kusabi OVA series and Yozakura Quartet OAD series.

Perhaps somewhat unfortunately, this progression of revised remakes isn’t very prominent or extensive. There’s no doubt that there are numerous older anime which fans would like to see remade, possibly in new adaptations more faithful to their origins. American fans would certainly love to see remakes of Berserk, Fruits Basket, and Chrno Crusade that adhere more closely to and continue adapting their manga source material. However, there’s no sign of any of those desired reboots ever actually happening. Fans shouldn’t give up hope. Concerns like market viability, the original creator’s wishes, and production funding will always play a part in determining which anime do and don’t get made, but amid anxiety that anime is slowly expiring, the sheer number of annual anime productions has actually increased in 2010 compared to 2009. With an increasing number of anime shows being made, the chances of popular and successful previous titles getting revived or remade increases simply by virtue of statistics.

Update, September 8, 2010: Removed Negima!? from the list of remakes that are “more faithful and more comprehensive adaptations of their source material than their previous anime incarnations” because the TV series is a remake, but not a more faithful adaptation of the original manga.