Ask John: Which Anime Should be Remade?

Question:
I saw this comment, “Too bad they can’t remake Nadia like the Eva movies, with top notch art and updated designs. That would be cool,” and wondered what you thought.

Answer:
I’m of the opinion that remakes and reboots aren’t, or shouldn’t be, obligatory for old titles. I also try to reign in my instinctive negativity toward every announcement about a remake or relaunch. Certain older anime are just fine the way they are. In certain cases, for example Oniisama E… and Serial Experiments Lain, the original productions are so definitive that I can’t imagine any updated version surpassing or even matching the quality and integrity of the original. But a blanket condemnation of all remakes and reboots is narrow minded and outright wrong. Numerous anime remakes and reboots including Dirty Pair Flash, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the Ninja Scroll TV series, Hanaukyo Maid Tai ~La Verite~, the Nuku Nuku TV series, and the Escaflowne movie failed to live up to their predecessors. But remakes including the Hellsing OVA series, Kyoto Animation’s adaptation of Kanon, and Shaft’s version of Negima are, in many respects if not entirely, better than their antecedents.

Khara has done a fine job of rebooting Gainax’s Evangelion, and I can’t deny that Gainax’s Nadia television series has some weaknesses (plus a sequel that’s best left forgotten). But Nadia isn’t a title that I would immediately nominate for a refresher. Nadia may be more commercially viable for a renewal than certain other titles, but I think that there are other titles more deserving of a second wind. I think that the titles most demanding of a revival are ones that never fully fulfilled their potential, either due to inadequate production or too few installments.

Osamu Tezuka’s Jungle Emperor and Astro Boy are both getting new animated incarnations this year. His Dororo manga was adapted into a hit live action film in 2007, but the 1969 TV anime adaptation has never been remade. I like the original anime very much, which is why I’m prone to discussing it. The original anime is so dark and violent that similar contemporary shows like Kurozuka and Shigurui make me anxiously imagine what a modern Dororo anime could be like. The ’69 series did the best it could to evoke frightening atmosphere on a limited budget. A contemporary remake could be highly atmospheric, tense, and exciting.

In 1978 Toei produced a 52 episode TV series based on the American pulp hero Captain Future. While the original anime stands up well as a representation of its time, it might be interesting to see this franchise revived because serious, hard boiled outer space sci-fi has been in short supply in anime lately. In fact, while no Japanese revival is in the works, Invincible Iron Man director David Guivant is now developing a new live action Captain Future project here in America.

The 1985 Dream Hunter Rem OVA series is favorably remembered more for its concept than its execution. A cute, gun-toting detective girl who enters people’s dreams to literally battle their nightmares practically epitomizes the exciting, fanciful persona of Japanese animation. However, the OVAs themselves are merely mediocre, largely due to poor pacing and their not making full use of the potential offered by a setting within dreams. Considering that the franchise was just relaunched in manga form in 2007, new Dream Hunter Rem anime could easily transition into today’s world of moe anime. In fact, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni’s Mion could be called a clone of Rem Ayanokoji, complete with long green hair and a revolver carried in a shoulder holster.

The international success of the Transporter movies proves that stories revolving around an underground courier can be exciting and popular. So it’s high time to bring Riding Bean out of retirement. He got one OVA in 1989, and while I recall tentative plans for a second episode involving Bean trapped underground with a group of fashion models, no additional episodes ever materialized. Bean Bandit is a character with a strong, individual personality, making him easily able to carry a multi-episode series. His profession also allows for a steady flow of diverse but consistently exciting adventures.

Series director Toshihiro Hirano has admitted that the 1994 Magic Knight Rayearth television series was a difficult production because it was his first directing position on a high profile, prime-time TV anime. The TV series did get an OVA reboot in 1997, but the OVA series was also weakened by its attempt to squeeze all of the characters and themes from the 49 episode TV series into just three episodes. However, the crisp, gorgeous art design of the OVA series demonstrated what was possible for the Rayearth franchise. While the original Rayearth anime isn’t bad, it does seem like a series that could be improved by modern production techniques.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it now. In my experience and recollection, no anime is more deserving of a remake than the 1996 Violinst of Hameln TV series. Unlike the earlier satirical Violinst of Hameln movie, the TV series is a somber and tragic fantasy epic. The show’s fluidly animated scenes are breathtaking, but there are too few of them. The 25 episode series is crippled by consistently minimal and limited animation. A version of the Violinst of Hameln TV series with animation commensurate to its complex, nuanced, and epic storyline would be magnificent.

Finally, rather than a singular title, a genre. The 1980s and early 90s were home to a large number of anime that prominently featured motorcycles and Japanese cyclist culture, including Baribari Densetsu, Shonan Bakusozoku, Bobby ni Kubittake, Kaze wo Nuke, Hidari no O’Clock, Samuraider, and Pelican Road Club Culture. The closest anime has come to this sub-genre in the 2000s has been the jetski racing anime Monkey Turn and the transforming motorcycle adventure RideBack. Personally, I’d like to see the motorcycle anime sub-genre make a return.