adaptations

Recently, the idea came to me of revisiting one of the first posts I wrote. The subject was “original” series, defined as anime that are not based on manga, light novels, games, or other works. While I was somewhat bright eyed and more enthusiastic back then, that excitement has since waned and I’ve become more critical and felt more apathetically toward many of the series being produced.

Looking at the schedule of fall 2009 premieres, the only series that isn’t an adaptation or a sequel appears to be Anyamaru Tantei Kiruminzuu and that disappoints me. It doesn’t surprise me, though, since production has been cut back in recent years and adaptating a known property is a safer bet than trying something new.

The news items that initially sparked this post were the announcements of Kaichou wa Maid-sama! (Maid-Sama! for short), yet another season of Hidamari Sketch, and Black Rock Shooter. I’m less irritated by BRS because the only real source materials are a Vocaloid song, an accompanying music video & illustrations of different characters by an artist called HUKE. I liked what I saw of the first season of Hidamari (3 episodes worth) but not enough to go back to it at the moment, though I’ve considered checking out the manga. (I’m currently not too fond of slice-of-life stories so maybe not right now.) And I managed to read the first volume of Maid-Sama! and thought it was mildly entertaining with material that should be easy to adapt into a series of episodes.

However, with each adaptation announcement I read, I begin to care less and less about each subsequent one because I would rather have something truly new. Sure, the adaption effort will get the overall story out to a broader audience and more likely than not spur sales of the tankobon volumes of an adapted manga. But the basic framework and the characters within are known quantities.

As a viewer, I get excited at not knowing what will come next and occasionally speculating about those unknowns. That feeling is higher for me when watching original series than with adaptations because there’s little chance of seeing complaints of not sticking to the material, excluding certain elements or characters, having unneeded filler, or going too fast or too slow through the story. Of course, there is the potential for bad planning as there is with any production and originals may a little more susceptible to that because there is no base source material to fall back on.

A similar level of excitement might be shared by those unaware that a series is an adaptation or with basic knowledge of the plot/universe and I’ve pretty much done that with the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings films, knowing I may not get around to reading all the original books in the near future but could eventually. Examples of more plausible ignorance of origin on the viewers’ part might be something like Blade Runner, The French Connection, and Jurassic Park.

In my post three years ago, I pointed out opinions shared by Satoshi Kon and Hiromu Arakawa that “manga and anime are different methods of conveying stories to the masses” (my words). Hayao Miyazaki, during his appearance in Berkeley this July, said that manga and animated films have different concepts of time and space and lack of knowledge about that differences will ultimately result in boring and uninteresting products. I would prefer creators of manga and of animation be knowledgeable of the pros and cons of each format and produce material that takes advantage of its artform and amazes its readers/viewers instead of just trying to make a serviceable version of whatever the originating work may be.

I think that last sentence could be more clearly expressed by something Barrett Garese wrote in relation to the future of online content:

Online and traditional content have begun to blur a bit when both are being consumed online. The lines between what constitutes television and what constitutes online content are continuing to get ever closer. This is very dangerous to the long-term health of online content. I’ve often said that the job of a creator is not just to make good content, but to make good content specific to a certain media. Each medium has unique advantages and disadvantages, and the creator must craft an experience that accentuates the advantages and mitigates the disadvantages of the medium in which it lives.

Like I said three years ago, I don’t assume all adaptations are bad – in fact, some improve on their source material – but I’m expressing my increasing dismay and disinterest at the proportion of them. I must disclose that of those anime premiering this fall, I am somewhat interested in Book of Bantorra and Darker Than Black: Comet of Gemini, although the latter will have to wait until I finish the first season of DtB. Consider that my very short fall preview.