Transmedia and Adaptation in the East
When telling a story, the storyteller will usually change the story at least in some regard. They may add or take away certain aspects or they may change the story entirely. Two media that are well versed with these changes are manga and anime. A manga is like a Japanese comic book while anime is a Japanese cartoon; most anime are adaptions of different manga (with some notable exceptions such as Tengen Toppa Gurren Laggan and Cowboy Bebop). Of all anime adaptations, there are three that stand out for how they handle/have handled their original manga source. One that took years to adapt because of the original writer’s art style, one that has added a large amount of filler content because the anime caught up to the manga’s story too fast on several occasions, and one that caught up to its original source so fast, it had to adopt an entirely different story.
Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure was originally started in 1986 and is still being written to this day. Split in eight different parts, each following a different protagonist, Jojo’s only recently got an anime adaptation of parts one and two in 2012 when the animation could accurately portray the author, Hirohiko Araki’s, drawing style. There were short series of parts one and three in the mid 90’s but many fans criticized them for their lack of accuracy to the series and poor animation. The anime currently is running through part four but the animation team has acknowledged what happens in the future of the series. Since part one, the anime opening themes have referenced the futures of several characters from current and future parts and the story as a whole foreshadowing key plot points and certain characters’ abilities and deaths. The anime was also able to not only retain continuity from the source manga but also retain continuity where the original author did not (certain characters were supposed to have a birthmark but it was never introduced or drawn in the manga until part three). The only changes that were made to the anime were minor and were done to set the pace of the episode. Little was added and little was removed.
Naruto was a manga that started in 1999 and later got an anime adaptation in 2002. About three years later, the anime got dangerously close to the source manga and the anime rectified this by making original filler content for approximately two years. Since then, the anime has been producing filler content on-and-off between different arcs of the main story. This filler content does not impact the story at all, and most characters in these filler arcs are quickly forgotten and never mentioned again. The problem is that the viewers do not forget these characters or worse, they remember these characters exist but nothing that they have done. While the filler serves a purpose of providing content and putting space between the manga’s story and the anime’s story, it will cause people to stop watching the anime out of frustration wanting to return to the main plot. It gets incredibly frustrating when the manga story is complete but the anime is still knee-deep in filler. However, as much filler as Naruto has, it still stays true to the story.
Full Metal Alchemist is a special case of manga and anime. The manga began circulation in 2001 at an incredibly slow pace. When the anime began in 2003, it caught up to the manga’s story very quickly. It was so quick in fact, that the anime was forced to create an entirely different plot before the halfway point, the antagonists of the series were given a different backstory and goal, and several key elements were never introduced. While the manga continued long after the anime ended, fans complained comparing the anime’s story to that of the manga. Eventually, Full Metal Alchemist got a second anime that followed the manga more closely (known as Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood in America). As expected, most fans prefer the second anime to the first citing the story as the main reason. Regardless of ratings, the first anime’s original story is still an official adaptation of the manga’s story and is arguably as canon as the manga’s canon story, just a different canon.
There are two ways to recite a story: as it was originally written or in an entirely different direction. Depending on how much is changed, it becomes a question of “What actually happened?” In Jojo’s case, the adaption is told better than the original source and may be more accurate than the original story it was based on. In Naruto’s case, the adaptation stays faithful to its source for the most part but adds in some bits and pieces where there was originally nothing. In FMA’s case, the adaptation was so far off base, it got a second adaptation that followed the original story more closely. Which method is the best? It all depends on what the audience wants, more of the same story, more story, or a completely different story.
