Ask John: Why Are Most Video Game Based Anime Terrible?

Question:
Why are most videogame-based anime terrible? And why isn’t there much of it since there are usually fans who want a particular videogame title made into anime?

Answer:
I think that only someone involved in anime production, someone with critical judgment skills and an ability to comprehend multiple factors and their influence upon each other, can fully explain the deficiencies in many anime adaptations of video games. Video games are often cited as not having enough story to support extended anime narratives, but I disagree with that theory. I think that there are other, more practical factors that influence the creation and quality of video game adaptations.

Before going into specifics, it’s necessary to distinguish a distinction between video games based on PC games and those based on console games. Generally anime based on PC adventure games seem to fare better than those based on console games. Even relatively poor anime based on PC adventure games, like the Tsukihime and Green Green anime series, are better than anime shows like Wild Arms, Art of Fighting, and F-Zero, which are based on console games. Visual novel games may lend themselves to anime adaptation more easily than console games because visual novel games have more linear story. A console fighting or action game has characters with personal histories, a setting, and sometimes a climax, but not a formally constructed narrative body. Visual novel games are a fully written story with no narrative gaps.

Fighting, adventure, action, and role playing games have stories, albeit ones with specific paths of development that the individual player manipulates through the act of playing. I believe that a skillful, informed screenwriter can construct an interesting and exciting screenplay based on the skeleton story provided by an original game, but doing so requires an intimate familiarity with the original game, and motivation to construct a faithful story. A writer fleshing out a video game story has to know not only the game’s story, but also the original game’s tone and the personalities of its characters. I’ve watched many anime adaptations of games which gave me the impression that the screenwriter was given only a superficial summary of the original game and wasn’t personally familiar with the atmosphere and details of the original game.

Anime based on video games are normally targeted at fans of the original game. In order to satisfy fans of the original game, anime adaptations often try to include as many characters from the original game as possible. Unfortunately, short anime series can’t feature a large cast and still have time to develop a cohesive, meaningful story. Anime like Toshinden & Tekken are especially guilty of compromising story and character development by including an excessive number of game characters. The Samurai Spirits TV special featured many characters from the game (along with poor animation quality) and turned out terrible. The short Samurai Spirits II OAV series strictly limited its cast and focused on telling just one character’s story. As a result, it was significantly better than the earlier anime. Furthermore, anime based on video games often try to tell new stories. Final Fantasy: Unlimited was an entirely original story. The Sakura Wars anime largely fills in the gaps between the games. Anime based on manga are often faithful, direct adaptations, but anime based on video games are not treated the same way. In summation, anime based on video games often seem to be preoccupied with their reception among fans instead of concentrating foremost upon making quality anime. Including lots of characters and references to the original game, and giving fans a new perspective on established characters may seem like admirable goals, but at least among American fans, I think that viewers would prefer to see anime that’s more faithful to the story and atmosphere of the original game.

Finally, I suspect that since many anime based on console games are created to be marketed to the audience for the original game, and interest is expected to be largely isolated to fans of the original game, there’s little incentive to put a lot of effort into video game adaptations. Many video game based anime seem to be quick and cheaply made productions created to cash in on a game’s popularity. Since these productions aren’t aimed at a large audience, there’s little reason to invest a lot of effort into them. That’s regrettable, but part of the nature of business.