Ask John: Why Don’t Anime Adaptations Remain Faithful To Their Source?

Question:
Why do the animated version of manga have so many edits? I’ve seen things that are so small that I see no reason to change them, such as swapping the two sisters at one point in Bleach, to changes so drastic that I was appalled, for example, the ending of the Gantz anime and the ending of Tenjou Tenge. I understand that some things can be very difficult to animate, but some of these things I just can’t understand the reason for these changes.

Answer:
Oddly, it seems as though many anime fans perceive anime with different expectations than live action. I think that the vast majority of viewers expect and accept that live action film and television adaptations of literature won’t be precisely identical to their source. But a large number of English speaking viewers don’t apply that same perspective to anime. Rather than accept an anime as an adaptation of an earlier work, many viewers seem to demand that anime literally be the original work in an alternate medium. That expectation isn’t logical or fair.

No matter how similar an anime may be to its manga source, anime and manga are not the same thing. Anime features color, motion, and sound that manga does not have. Anime forces its own sense of timing on the viewer while a manga allows a reader to create an individual pace. Furthermore, anime adaptations of manga rarely involve the original manga creator in any extensive capacity. I think that demanding an anime to strictly adhere to every miniscule detail of its manga source compromises the animators’ creativity and the uniqueness of the animation. Take Fullmetal Alchemist for example. The anime is much different from the original manga, but the anime is still exceptional. The fact that the anime is a loose adaptation of its source manga allows it to develop its own compelling story and character, resulting in a completely new work that can satisfy and entertain both receptive fans of the original manga, and viewers who aren’t familiar with the manga. I’d also like to cite Hellsing as an example. Hellsing was Kouta Hirano’s first professional manga, and I think that Hirano’s inexperience is evident in the early manga’s frantic pace. The Hellsing TV series diverges from the original manga and, I think, does a better job of establishing a haunting, gothic atmosphere of foreboding and horror than the original manga does. I don’t want to directly compare the quality of manga and anime, but I do believe that Hellsing is a case of experienced animators creating an original work that fills in some of what the inexperienced original artist overlooked.

Anime also isn’t necessarily intended for the same target audience as the original manga. Viewers may watch an anime without having ever read the original manga source. So anime must be responsible to its audience. As an art form intended for public display, anime has to provide a story that will entertain viewers. Achieving that goal may require an anime to diverge from strict transcription of its source. Anime and manga are not the same thing. Anime and manga are not created by the same artists, nor are they always intended for the same viewers. So I don’t think it’s reasonable for viewers to expect manga and anime to be identical. Manga has its own strengths and weaknesses and should be judged by them. Likewise anime should be criticized by objective standards or in comparison to other anime. Comparison of manga to anime may be enlightening and may provide insight into the unique characteristics of both media, but a refusal to accept anime as an individual, unique work of art is unfair to the anime and the creative effort of its staff, and may prevent a viewer or critic from objectively recognizing the qualities and strengths of the anime adaptation.