Sci-fi & anime go together like pepperoni and cheese. Some of the most legendary anime have been sci-fi or had sci-fi themes, like Astro Boy or Gigantor. Then, as the medium matured, the genre expanded. Mobile Suit Gundam and Robotech made mecha anime a thing. While Cowboy Bebop and Memories rivaled Alien and Blade Runner in storytelling and drama.
Others even surpassed their manga origins. It could be argued that every Ghost in the Shell movie and TV series owes more to the 1995 film’s director Mamoru Oshii than its original creator Shirow Masamune. Others weren’t so lucky. Whether it’s by a few small steps or a big gulf, these sci-fi anime shows fell short of their manga in one way or another.
6 Planetes Fiddled with the Story to Fill 26 Episodes
Makoto Yukimura’s Planetes was a hard sci-fi series in the vein of Arthur C. Clarke’s work. In that, it tried to depict a realistic version of space travel. No warp-speed spaceships or alien monsters. Just a tale about the crew of the DS-12 ‘Toy Box’ cleaning up space debris while dreaming of bigger things. Which usually involved combating an anti-space terrorist organization, environmental issues, and the chance to go on a mission to Jupiter.
This grounded sci-fi manga got an anime adaptation that really clicked with sci-fi fans. The 2003 anime series earned the show the 2005 Seiun Award for Best Sci-Fi Series, three years after its comic predecessor won the same prize. Even so, the anime had to make up its own plot threads, character interactions, and sub-plots to fill in the required episode amount. They weren’t bad, though they weren’t as polished as Yukimura's writing.
5 Space Pirate Captain Harlock Changes Across Mediums
Leiji Matsumoto stands alongside Osamu Tezuka as one of the most influential figures in sci-fi manga. He made his name with Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express 999 with his pretty, bande desinée-inspired artwork. His style was even used for the Daft Punk space musical Interstellar 5555. One of his most famous characters was Captain Harlock, who debuted in his own manga in 1978. Its space western setting paved the way for Cowboy Bebop and Trigun among others.
While Harlock has appeared in many films and series, including other franchises, they’re all quite different from each other. The first anime series doesn’t really follow the manga’s plot, and the 1982 film Arcadia of My Youth doesn’t follow either of its forebears. The 2013 CG film is the closest to an adaptation, but it adapts the anime series, and it cost ¥3 billion to get mixed reviews. So, trying to get Captain Harlock straight can be an ordeal.
4 Trigun Had Too Much Fluff, Not Enough Development
Vash the Stampede’s Wild West-esque antics were a nice treat from creator Yasuhiro Nightow back in 1995. It even got an anime from Madhouse that lit up Adult Swim's schedule in the early 2000s. The show was even commended for being closer to the manga than other adaptations, with the otherwise pacifist Vash fighting off a horde of bounty hunters as he tries to figure out why he has such a high price on his head.
Still, it had to make some changes. The manga expanded on the series’ lore, particularly later in its run when the tone got darker. While the anime stayed lighter and added in its own plots, characters, and superpowers. It also stopped partway through the story, ending before it could finish adapting Trigun Maximum. That said, Orange is planning a new series for Crunchyroll. Come 2023, Vash's adventures might finally be complete.
3 Battle Angel Was Too Short
The Battle Angel OVA adaptations were a lovely slice of sci-fi drama, as cyber-physician Daisuke Ido rebuilds a female cyborg, names her Gally (or Alita, depending on the dub studio), and raises her as his daughter. Except he also lives a double life as a bounty hunter. After Gally shows an innate talent for combat, she decides to become a hunter too. It impressed director James Cameron enough to spend nearly 20 years trying to make a live-action version before it finally got made under Robert Rodriguez to significant acclaim.
But the OVA only lasted for 2 episodes: Rusty Angel and Tears Sign. Even then, they’re condensed versions of the Gunnm manga’s first two volumes. According to creator Yukito Kishura, he was too committed to the manga to concentrate much on the anime. He completed it in 1995 and continued Gally’s story in two sequel strips and a spin-off series. But even 30 years later, there hasn’t been another animated project based on Gally's adventures.
2 GANTZ Just Stopped
Hiroya Oku’s GANTZ is a product of its time. It offered some strong dramatic beats, where even the vilest characters could garner sympathy, and the noble question themselves. The gory, alien-killing action and afterlife issues also pulled in plenty of punters. Still, people could easily write off its nihilistic outlook as 2000s-era edginess. Nonetheless, its tale of two recently deceased high schoolers pulled into an alien-killing bloodsport by the titular GANTZ had its appeal.
Enough for Studio Gonzo to turn it into a 26-episode anime across 2004. It was a fine enough adaptation. Except for its ending. One of the protagonists, Kei, is transported back to the train accident that killed him. Given the choice to re-enact his death or defy it, he faces the train, gives it the finger-gun treatment, and…it fades to white and ends. It’s up to the audience to figure out if Kei lived or not. Or they could just read the manga and get a much more conclusive ending. It might save time compared to catching the anime on Funimation or hoping for a Blu-ray release.
1 Akira Is Compressed and Compromised
Without Akira, ‘anime’ might not even exist as a term for Japanese cartoons. The 1988 film’s cyberpunk tones, mature themes, and outstanding animation quality took the medium to new levels. It let the proverbial genie out of the bottle and led to the West receiving many more cult classics and must-see movies and shows. Still, at the time Katsuhiro Otomo was adapting his own manga to the screen, it was 6 years into its run and still going. It wouldn't end until 2 years later in 1990.
The Akira manga had a whole host of side characters with their own plots, twists, and intrigue. There were cult leaders, world leaders, and psychic assassins. All of whom either got cut from the film or severely reduced in significance. It was a necessary evil, as the final film was already 2 and a half hours long. Yet its condensed plot feels incoherent and cut down compared to the manga. Instead of waiting for the Hollywood version to leave development hell, maybe there should be a TV series to give these extra elements the attention they need.