Ask John: Why are Anime Features Different from their Series?

Question:
Anime movies that are based on a series tend to have little to do with the series. Many times they have a totally different tone altogether, like Urusei Yatsura’s movies. And sometimes the series they are based on is vastly superior to the movie, as in Dragonball Z and Slayers, and have little to do with the series’ plot development. And yet some anime movies based on series are used as extremely important plot devices, or even as an end to the series, like Tenchi Muyo. Can you explain?

Answer:
The difference in style and intent with anime OAVs and movies varies tremendously based largely on the circumstances surrounding the individual production. In some cases, theatrical films are created for an audience that may not be familiar with the TV series. In other cases, the movies were perhaps created by a different staff. Still in other cases, the movie was created almost as an afterthought or spin-off. Allow me to provide some specific examples.

Slayers is a good example of a movie and OAV series that’s unlike or unrelated to its TV series version. The first TV series and first movie were released simultaneously in Japan, and therefore went in two different directions so as not to overlap the same story. Furthermore, while the Slayers TV series was based on the Slayers manga and novels, the OAVs and movies were based on the entirely different series of Slayers Special novels. In other similar instances such as the Rurouni Kenshin movie, the Dragonball movies and the first Card Captor Sakura movie, the films maintain enough relation to the television series to be interesting to fans and regular TV series viewers, but are still different enough to be accessible to viewers that may not have seen the TV series or may not be familiar with all the back story and detail behind the film.

In the case of the Lupin III films, for example, the style of the movies varies wildly from extreme slapstick comedy to extremely hard boiled action because virtually every one of the dozen plus Lupin films was directed by and created by a different animation staff. The good natured Castle Cagliostro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki, is very different from the generally bizarre Golden Legend of Babylon directed by Mamoru Oshii, which is in turn equally different from the violent and square-jawed Dead or Alive directed by Monkey Punch. The change in medium, from television to OAV or to movie allows for greater creative flexibility and stylistic alteration, as shown by the massive stylistic difference between the Patlabor OAVs and TV series and the two Patlabor movies, and the comedic Violinist of Hameln movie when compared to its dark and somber TV series adaptation.

Urusei Yatsura follows suit, with each movie being different from the others, and the movies themselves being quite different from the TV series. While the TV series was based on adaptations of the short manga episodes, the longer theatrical films had to use original stories to full the feature-length running time, allowing the animation staff to imbue the films with a distinct style different than Rumiko Takahashi’s. It’s only natural that, with passing time or in the case of extremely long series, the animation staff may choose to do something different and out of the ordinary, both to surprise the audience, and to break up the production routine. Good examples of this can be seen in the Shin Kimagure Orange Road movie, produced years after the conclusion of the original animation series, the Tenchi Muyo in Love 2 movie (AKA: Tenchi Forever) created as the series popularity was waning, and in the Zenki OAV and Rurouni Kenshin OAV series, which present a decidedly darker vision of the characters than the usually light-hearted TV series.

In some rare instances, such as Slayers and El Hazard, the animation staff has plans in advance for both TV and movie/OAV productions, so plans for the similarity or difference between the two can be planned in advance. Much more often, though, movies are created as a result of unanticipated TV series success and are used as either stand alone films or continuations of the TV series story based on their target audience. Films like the Nadesico and Initial D movies, the second Card Captor Sakura movie, the Maison Ikkoku, Akihabara Cyber Team, and Utena movies, the Evangelion movies, and the Cowboy Bebop and Escaflowne movies were all created as a response to massive TV series popularity. Some of these films, including the Nadesico, Utena, Akihabara Cyber Team, Shin KOR, third Tenchi Muyo, Gundam Wing, second Card Captor Sakura, GoShogun and Maison Ikkoku movies were tailored specifically toward fans of the TV series and presented continuations and conclusions to the stories. Films like Cowboy Bebop, Rurouni Kenshin, the One Piece movies, You’re Under Arrest, and the Slayers and Dragonball Z movies were intended for audiences that may not have been familiar with the TV series, and may be been created as unintended spin-offs in response to public demand. These films are different from their TV series origins partially to appeal to new viewers, but also possibly because the carefully scripted TV series stories simply didn’t offer openings for movie tie-ins. For that reason, films like Escaflowne, Fist of the North Star, Dragonball movies 3 & 4, the first three Gundam movies, and the first Yamato movie are merely summaries or alternate retellings of the TV series story intended to appeal to both fans of the original series and new viewers that haven’t seen the original series.