Live-action and anime each have their virtues. Whereas live-action movies are more fluid and realistic, anime can more easily depict the magical, futuristic, and otherwise unreal. There are brilliant examples of storytelling in every genre across both mediums, but for some things anime is simply better.Newcomers to anime can take a while to appreciate the unique strengths of this artistic form, but longtime fans can point to plenty of movies and series that just wouldn't have been possible if shot on real sets and played by flesh and blood actors. Here are a few of the genres in which anime triumphs over life-action.
8 Harem
Harem and reverse harem anime focus on a protagonist surrounded by suitors and forced to balance (and choose between) their competing affections. Tending to be even blends of comedy, romance, and fanservice, harem anime like Ouran High School Host Club and High School DxD feel fun and flirty, whereas live-action harem series struggle to capture the same vibe.
With all the creativity of talented art and creative teams at its disposal, harem anime can also boast a truly stunning variety of love interests, from class presidents and soccer stars to fairies and aliens. The best of them are unforgettable.
7 Music
While this may be a contentious claim, and there is no shortage of great live-action films about music, many would claim that anime has proved itself an even better medium to explore the subject of songs and those that sing them.
Even non-musical anime have intro songs that fans all over the world know word-for-word, but it's music anime themselves that show the medium's true ability to capture auditory wonders. From the blackened death metal of Detroit Metal City to the J-pop of K-On! to the jazz riffs of Kids on the Slope, anime has at one time or another explored almost every genre of music, proving its knack for the subject again and again.
6 Demon
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When it comes to live-action cinema, demons usually only feature in horror movies, often B movies. Demon anime expands the bounds of these hellish denizens, giving them spaces in action-packed adventures and star-crossed romances as well as gruesome horror. Devilman Crybaby, The Devil Is A Part-Timer! and Demon Slayer are just a few demon anime to demonstrate the genre's enormous potential.
For whatever reason, demon anime tends to be particularly creative- such as fusing the demon and martial arts genres in Demon Slayer- rather than sticking to the same predictable version of what a story about demons looks like.
5 Post-Apocalyptic
Depicting the end of the world in a live-action film demands either extensive CGI or meticulously selected and prepared sets. In anime, things are easier: any ruined city, crumbling empire, or decaying space station can be depicted as long as the artists are up to the task.
Post-apocalyptic stories have flourished in anime, in part because of the relative ease of depicting their worlds. In Akira, Casshern Sins, and Girls' Last Tour, the end of the world means the start of something else, even if it's just one last wild right before the lights go out for good. Furthermore, there are so many fantastic post-apocalyptic anime to choose from that fans of the genre will find something to meet their needs, whatever their specific tastes might be.
4 Cyberpunk
From the earliest days that classic novels like Neuromancer and Snow Crash hit bookstore shelves, cyberpunk has captured the imagination through its bleak, yet riveting depiction of a world dominated by technology, virtual reality, and corporations run amok. A few iconic live-action films like Blade Runner have added to the canon, but for the most part, it was left to anime to pick up in images where novels had left off in words.
Ghost in the Shell may be the most popular example, but countless cyberpunk anime exist. Often emotional roller coasters, with animation standing in for CGI and practical effects, these series can depict terrifying cybernetic weapons, soulless androids, and the crowded megalopolises these wayward technologies call home.
3 Magical Girl
Maybe magical girl stories flourish in anime because the bright, vivid worlds of anime suit them better than the often drab real world. Maybe magical girls flourish in anime because the eccentric characters, transformation sequences, powers, familiars, and other genre signatures are more easily given life with lines and ink. Maybe someone just wished on a star.
Whatever the reason, the magical girl genre excels in anime more than live-action film, manga, or any other medium. Sailor Moon and her cohort of wand-wielding, world-saving, fluffy-cat-loving heroines remain the pinnacle of the genre, and with every monster defeated in a hail of stardust and glitter, it only seems more certain that things will stay that way.
2 Sentai
When an elite team of warriors must assemble to defeat evil, the sentai genre is where they go. Whether they are samurai, space police, or modern-day spies, the heroes of sentai form an expert task force to put the bad guys in their place. Though one of the most beloved sentai series of all time, Power Rangers, is live-action, anime is home to most other prominent examples.
Like isekai anime, the sentai genre can feature rapid changes of costume, transitions from world to world, and splashy explosions and other powers, all of which are well-suited to anime. From Ronin Warriors to Tokyo Mew Mew, anime is home to sentai fans' most beloved squads.
1 Mecha
For many fans, Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim is one of the few live-action films that offers the chance to see monster-stomping, skyscraper-bashing robots in a live-action film. In comparison, Gundam, Big O, and innumerable other anime offer top-notch mecha action. Live-action mecha films can be amazing, but they're prohibitively expensive to make, which often cramps the work's creativity.
Anime face no such hurdle: if they want a hundred-story-tall metal super soldier to punch a tentacled eldritch god through the moon, that's what's going to happen. Mecha anime can be political, funny, shallow, action-oriented, or dramatic--whatever fits the needs of the creators. Giant robots never looked this good.