Anime and Manga PODs

ramones1986

ramones1986

Yesterday I was reading a Lost Media Wiki article about the planned animated adaptation of Norman (ノーマン), which was made in 1968. What if a major television network (most probably the principal Japanese commercial networks, although NHK could possibly be the wild card in bidding) had picked up the pilot episode and became a series?
 
Last edited:
Neoteros

Neoteros

Something I once wondered about in the weeaboo thread: what if KyoAni didn't troll the Haruhi fandom with the Endless Eight, since the events detailed in those episodes were a single chapter in one of the light novels? I feel like one or two episodes (the first to establish the Groundhog Day loop premise, the second to solve the whole mess) would've been enough.

And, what if Toriyama had actually been allowed to end Dragon Ball when he wanted it to end, or to shift the focus of the series from Goku to Gohan?
 

Dannyboy

Some voice actor what-ifs; Johnny Yong Borsch voices Naruto or Sasuke, both roles which he auditioned for.

Likewise he also auditioned for the roles of Uryu and Kon in Bleach alongside that for Ichigo.
 

Arkenfolm

An interesting AHC--Swap the popularity and adaptions of Legend of the Galactic Heroes with its writer Yoshiki Tanaka's other series, The Heroic Legend of Arslan. As a fan of both works (well, the anime adaptions) it's an interesting thought.

There's the obvious problem that the LOGH novels finished by 1989 while Heroic Legend of Arslan wasn't finished until 2017. I've only ever watched the two anime adaptions of Heroic Legend of Arslan so I don't know a good "stopping point" for an LOGH style OVA adaption, but maybe a lengthy adaption until the mid-90s and then a sequel (in place of the LOGH Gaiden OVAs) in the late 90s/early 00s. Maybe in TTL Tanaka finished Heroic Legend of Arslan earlier than OTL and it's one of those stories which never sees an adaption of its proper end.

I wonder if the Heroic Legend of Arslan OVAs of TTL would follow the weird psychedelic style of the OTL OVA (which is just straight up weird) or go for something more like Record of Lodoss War or even an aesthetic more like pre-FFVII Final Fantasy considering Yoshitaka Amano did a lot of work for the novels. And I could see that with an earlier ending, maybe there'd be a "remake manga" which would be both faithful to the source and yet "reimagine" it in certain ways, like the more recent LOGH manga (by Ryu Fujisaka) which has a faithful plot but plenty of weird character designs.

As for Legend of the Galactic Heroes, TTL I think we'd have the My Conquest is the Sea of Stars movie (the first LOGH media) changed into a 6 episode OVA (like how the OTL Heroic Legend of Arslan had 6 episodes) which would adapt up to the Battle of Amritsar (so the first 13 episodes). I think it would be cult hit in Japan and the West but would remain rather obscure. I imagine it would more or less be the same in style and presentation to the OTL OVA.

And I also imagine for this scenario that in the mid-2010s, we'd have a new LOGH manga, maybe more or less the OTL second LOGH manga, and like the second Heroic Legend of Arslan manga, this would get a similar adaption where the first show (25 episodes or so) would have the first arc being early Reinhard and Yang Wenli, like in the Gaiden OVAs parts of which were in the second LOGH manga and the second arc being equivalent to the first 13 episodes of the OTL OVA. Or really Die Neue Theses which this manga and adaption would be like, with all new character designs and VAs, and it would have a second season (like Heroic Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance) dealing with the civil wars in the Empire and Free Planets Alliance to complete up to episode 26. I imagine that TTL this show would be far better received than OTL Die Neue Theses since there's nothing to compare it to.

And Heroic Legend of Arslan might have a remake in the late 2010s, maybe based on a manga like OTL. But unlike OTL, this version of Heroic Legend of Arslan (i.e. the TV version from the 2010s) would be poorly received by fans of the original OVA and only adapt the first parts of what the OVA already did.
Kalvan said:
Ishikawa Ken either lives long enough to finish Getter Robo Ahc, or else bequeathes his notes to his mentor Nagai Go, who finishes them in his stead. This then forms the basis for an Anime by Bee Media, becoming an hour long block with Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!
Click to expand...
Maybe it could replace New Getter Robo? I know that was a tribute to Ken Ishikawa since it included characters and settings from his other manga modified for Getter Robo while starting with a very accurate take on the original manga (albeit with the Oni instead of Dinosaur Empire and Musashi/Benkei merged as one character), but maybe instead we get a faithful take on the entirety of the manga? I could see a 26 episode TV adaption of the manga and I imagine if it was faithful and well-done it would be pretty well received in Japan and possibly the West (although sadly Gurren Lagann-tier success is probably ASB) although the ideal is separate OVAs for each arc of the story.

I think they'd probably change the cast from the original 70s TV version since most of the Getter Robo characters had their VAs changed for Getter Robo Armageddon and Shin Getter Robo

Between that and Shin Mazinger (plus other Mazinger-related stuff like Mazinkaiser and Mazinkaiser SKL) I wonder how much more 70s mecha could get remakes/reimaginings in that time period (in the vein of the Jeeg remake at the very least). Two properties in particular I imagine might be very successful due to the overseas market--a Grendizer remake (huge in Italy and the Middle East) and a Voltes V remake (huge in the Philippines). Although a series of successful Getter Robo OVAs is probably not the POD needed to save the OVA market sadly.
Kalvan said:
How will this change things like Super Robot Wars?
Click to expand...
Getter Robo isn't near-entirely ignored in some SRW entries and in newer ones isn't almost always represented by Getter Robo Armageddon. Considering the timeframe, it means that Getter Robo TV (the 70s version seen in almost every SRW game) is probably never seen again (including the common take on Shin Getter Robo which showed up in the Alpha games for instance) and for the Super Robot Wars Z games we have them adapting the Getter Robo TV/OVA (whatever they go with), arc by arc. Basically like how SRW Alpha 2 had only the first half of GaoGaiGar (if it's a TV anime and not OVA).

Speaking of Getter Robo Armageddon, its first director Yasuhiro Imagawa (Giant Robo, G Gundam, Shin Mazinger) left after the first three episodes due to disagreements with the staff which resulted in a huge change in tone and style. Not entirely bad I think considering the show still ends up glorious, but I wonder what the effect on the Getter Robo franchise and the reputation of the show would be had he stayed, considering Imagawa's work has a huge cult following (although apparently his Shin Mazinger was disliked by some purists even though IMO it's a brilliant adaption).
 

Nivek

Neoteros said:
Something I once wondered about in the weeaboo thread: what if KyoAni didn't troll the Haruhi fandom with the Endless Eight, since the events detailed in those episodes were a single chapter in one of the light novels? I feel like one or two episodes (the first to establish the Groundhog Day loop premise, the second to solve the whole mess) would've been enough.
Click to expand...
I think the issue was moving Novel 4(the disappearance) from the main series bulk to a movie, that killed both at the same time, if EE is just two chapter as anyone worth his salt thought would be, Dissapareance is the other 6 chapters.

We would have got season 3 by now and Kyoani fire might have never happened
 
GrahamB

GrahamB

Disclaimer: I had so much fun making the Gundam Meteor post I've done another one. Apologies in advance.
---
Turn A Gundam (1999 Japanese broadcast, 2003 North American broadcast) marked the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise's 20th anniversary with a startling change of direction. Tomino pitched the concept as 'the end-point of Gundam', beyond simply the continuation of the Universal Century timeline. The series would be used as a start, as well as an end, introducing the idea of multiple Gundam universes beyond the UC continuity, freeing Sunrise (and Tomino) from having to maintain series canon and branching out into other projects under the Gundam banner.

To do this the world of Turn A [1] would feature a post-apocalyptic society, but one so far past the apocalypse itself the inhabitants of Earth had forgotten it had even happened and had achieved a return to societal and technological norms comparable to the early 20th Century. Into this new society is introduced the return of colonists from the Moon who still retain a pre-apocalyptic society but are severely constrained by the limits of the Moon's resources and so wish to emigrate to Earth. Relations between the two human civilizations would begin cordial and diplomatic, but the severe disparities between them and compounding misunderstandings would ultimately lead to war. While the Lunar humans initially have an overwhelming advantage thanks to their technology, the Earth humans would redress the balance of power with the recovery of buried caches of pre-apocalyptic weapons and vehicles, most notably some of the Gundam franchise's most recognizable Mobile Suits.

In order to maximize the novelty of the new 'Correct Century' setting, Tomino enlisted the aid of American futurist illustrator Syd Mead, whose sleek future-industrial aesthetic would be the hallmark of Lunar vehicle designs, including the titular Turn A Gundam. Tomino had broached the idea of a female protagonist in previous Gundam entries (female Mobile Suit pilots had always been well-represented, starting from the original Gundam with characters Sayla Mass and Lala Sun), but Sunrise had always demurred. The unexpected success of Gundam Meteor with female demographics [2] would convince Sunrise to take the chance with Laura Cechak, a Lunar colonist attempting to forge peace through her friends and contacts on both sides. In a running gag through the series, Laura would be regularly mistaken for a boy, not helped by her habit of wearing men's work clothes and using boyish pronouns in the Japanese dub. This would extend to the viewership: promotional art for the series most often featured Laura in either her pilot suit or overalls, neither of which made her gender apparent, leading to quite the surprise when Laura's gender was explicitly made clear when bathing in a river nude (edited in the North American release with the addition of a swim suit) [3].

The series was met with mixed reception, both in Japan and North America. Fans were put off by the radically different mechanical designs from prior Gundam entries and the sometimes meandering pace of the first two acts. That said, the characters, both heroes, recurring incidentals, and antagonists, were well liked for their distinctive designs, styles and personalities, and were regularly cosplayed at conventions [4].

Most importantly to the franchise as a whole was the pivotal "True History Revelation" scene, which unveiled the Correct Century setting as the end-point of multiple Gundam continuities. The scene featured floating displays of 'prior' Gundams, taken from every Gundam series produced until that point, as well as an entire host of Gundams never seen before. To make this scene the Turn A staff had shopped around for other artists (both professional and from the fandom) and animation schools to make still images and short animations of Gundams in their own styles, essentially making the scene a celebration of the Gundam fandom as well as franchise [5]. Many of the barely-glimpsed images would be clarified and expanded on in the Gundam magazine, complete with technical specifications and 'historical summaries' of the Mobile Suits featured. Fans would avidly speculate which of the 'new Gundam universes' was actually a teaser for the next animated series, prompting the magazine to hold an unofficial vote on which potential Gundam fans would like to see [6].

The next series entry into the Gundam franchise would indeed be another alternate continuity, one that divested itself of many of the traditional trappings of the franchise to focus on 'mud and trenches' combat in 2003's Mobile Armor Suit Gundam.

[1] The inverted/turned A itself is a mathematical notation for a universal quantifier, encompassing all values in a given set. 'Turn A Gundam' thus translates to 'any/all values of Gundam'.
[2] Tomino would sometimes lament the missed opportunity to make one of the Meteor protagonists female, but was pleased how well fans took to the other female characters.
[3] Laura's ambiguous ethnicity (darkly tanned, blue eyes, and platinum-blonde hair), gender, and sexuality made the character an icon for the LGBTQ+ community in later years, something Tomino would always claim was unintentional. And yes, this is a reversal of the Loran/Laura gag from OTL.
[4] Famed African-American cosplayer Laura Phillips cites Laura Cechek (as a woman of colour also named Laura) as the inspiration for starting her career in costuming and cosplay.
[5] Laura's obvious confusion at a video filmed in stop-motion as it drifts past her face regularly features on internet lists of 'funniest moments in Gundam'.
[6] While none of the hinted universes would see the light of day as full series, a couple would see animation as OVAs (like Mobile Suit Gundam: SEED, and Gundam Black Cat), and a few others would be developed as comics or novels (like the comedic UC: 0079.5 Nise Gundam).
 

Kalvan

The Lyrical Nanoha franchise was originally a spinoff of a Visual Novel/Eroge titled Triangle Hearts 3: Sweet Songs Forever. How would the Magical Girl genre have fared if sales of the first two Triangle Hearts games did not justify the second sequel, or Seven Arcs went bankrupt during that period for some other reason? The Nanoha series became famous for actionizing the Magical Girl genre even more so than the live-action version of Sailor Moon, influencing not just things like the Pretty Cure franchise, but also deconstructions like Dai Maho Touge, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka.
 
Last edited:

CultBoy

Kalvan said:
4. The Headmasters, Super God Masterforce, and Victory saw broadcast in the U.S., albeit with new scripts and editing to better reflect Hasbro's direction for the Transformers lineup, if that were possible .
Click to expand...

I brought these on DVD out of curiosity years ago with a English dub. I would have watched them to death as a kid and I'm guessing a lot of other transformers fans would have as well.
 

Nivek

metalinvader665 said:
It was OTL hence "Knights of the Zodiac". Saint Seiya would just need to strike a balance between being true to source and not being too offensive for (most) parents.
Click to expand...
It was named Knights of the Zodiac in spanish too(Caballeros del Zodiaco) and was completely uncensored.
 

Kalvan

What if Bandai had bought Toei, Tatsunoko,, Gainax, or Studio Xebec in the Nineties rather than Sunrise? Obviously, this means the Huckebein is still in exile from Super Robot Wars OG continuity, since it and Gundam still aren't part of the same corporate family. It also means the Gundam Vs. games stay with Capcom, It also means the Brave and Eldoran series of Super Robot shows continue, since there is no conflict of interest between Takara-Tomy and Bandai.

Anyone want to posit the possible future Brave shows after The King of Braves GaoGaiGar and whether or not Hasbro, Dreamwave, and IDW will try to find a way to induct the results into the Hasbro Expanded Universe, especially tied to some round of Transformers?
 

Arkenfolm

Kalvan said:
Anyone want to posit the possible future Brave shows after The King of Braves GaoGaiGar and whether or not Hasbro, Dreamwave, and IDW will try to find a way to induct the results into the Hasbro Expanded Universe, especially tied to some round of Transformers?
Click to expand...
Like the OTL Saint of Braves (IIRC) that was turned into Gear Fighter Dendoh? Probably some interesting POD/effects from that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top
Top