The Top 5 Manga To TV Show Adaptations

As with American comic books and their migration to the silver screen, Japanese and Korean manga has been given the same sort of treatment in Asia. Except instead of movies it is TV shows, and the TV shows are generally pretty corny and amazing and absolutely worth watching. Ever wanted to see super silly shoujo manga acted out by sub par actors wearing bad cosplay? Of course you have! Read on for my list of the top five manga to TV show adaptations.

 

Hana-kimi

If you’ve ever read any of my previous articles about manga, you are probably aware of my unnatural obsession with Hana-Kimi (translated it means: For You in Full Blossom). I’m not quite sure what it is about this particular title that gets me all hot and bothered, but I have been super in love with it for years and have a monthly re-read where I “squee” and roll around on the floor like some sort of lovesick schoolgirl. The art in the manga itself is so frilly and the storyline so ridiculous that I can’t get enough.

The TV show actually comes in two flavors: Japanese and Taiwanese. Admittedly I have only seen the Taiwanese version (which I watched on a seedy website with horrible streaming quality) but have since acquire the Japanese version as well (I just haven’t had time to watch it.)

The plot of Hana-kimi is unbelievable and therefore awesome. It’s the story of a girl who is really obsessed with a famous high school athlete (he’s a pole vaulter). After suffering an injury he quits pole vaulting, and she makes it her personal goal to get him to regain his confidence and be the “beautiful athlete” he once was. However, there’s a catch: he goes to an all boys school. And she’s never met him. So in typical rational stalker behavior, she disguises herself as a boy and registers for his highschool. SURPRISE SURPRISE madness ensues, weird love triangles happen, and there are a lot of adventures in breast binding. And if you’re into that sort of thing, the actors are all super, super attractive.

 

Gantz

Though it seems the most popular manga to TV titles are shoujo (fluffy love stories especially aimed towards a more feminine audience), some really crazy manga like Gantz also get the treatment of live action. Though not TECHNICALLY a TV show and more of a two film special, it was originally aired on TV and I have never thought of them as movies.

Gantz is weird. Really weird. Which is naturally why I like it!

It’s essentially the story of a live action video game – if you are an unlucky person who dies, you are then owned by “Gantz”, a black sphere that orders you around. You are equipped with a special suit that gives you superhuman abilities, given crazy guns, and sent forth out into the “real world” to kill aliens. If you survive a “mission”, you get a certain amount of points and you’re able to live life as you see fit until Gantz summons you again.

An edge of your seat thriller with great post process special effects and riveting acting, Gantz is a fun and edgy sci-fi series to check out.

 

Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed)

A live action series that is BRAND NEW! (it just aired on July 7th), I’m already completely hooked. Though it has had a few other live action series in the past, the most recent one is my favourite (it’s translated as: Shinichi Kudo’s Written Challenge.) I was always a huge fan of the manga and anime, a fun little jaunty children’s tale about a brilliant detective ala Sherlock Holmes who is poisoned and is trapped in a child’s body.

However, the live action series features the main character Jimmy Kudo as a teenager and a prodigy, helping law enforcement solve particularly difficult cases.

 

Densha Otoko

I’m cheating a TINY bit with this one since Densha Otoko was originally a novel, but the manga came out right before the TV show did so I’m still within my manga to TV show rights! Besides, it’s probably one of the best TV series I have ever seen (this goes for any TV, not just Japanese shows) with hilarious dialogue, a unique storyline, and overtly geeky tones that no one can deny.

A story that I’m sure most geeks can relate to, Densha Otoko is about an otaku (someone who is incredibly into anime/geek culture in Japan) who randomly “saves” a girl on the subway who is being harassed with a pervert. He stands up and tells the guy off, and the woman he assists is so moved by his involvement that she requests his address so she can send him a thank you gift. The main character (Densha Otoko – translated into “Train Man”) rushes home, flustered and amazed at what he has just done and logs onto 2channel, an internet forum (which America’s 4chan is based off of). He relays his recent experience with the woman, and the other anonymous posters urge him to pursue her.

Over the course of the series you learn many things about Densha Otoko – such as the fact he has never had a girlfriend, spends most of his time idolizing fictional characters, etc. His interaction with the woman he saved and the other posters on 2channel bring him out of his shell.
It is a quirky love story that is based on a true story (the original 2channel postings were real!) and absolutely worth watching for any geek who enjoys a great plot.

 

Sailor Moon

If you thought I could write this list without putting Sailor Moon in the number one slot, you were sorely mistaken. Hilariously bad to the level of “Power Rangers”, Sailor Moon is a live action homage to one of the most popular anime and manga worldwide. The monsters put older Doctor Who episodes to shame (paper mache and puppets, oh my!) and the story arcs are silly. It is a great escapism show – cute girls in school outfits beating up cheap monsters with magical powers, friendship, love, and occasionally golden rods. There’s not much more I can say about it except: WATCH IT. You’ll like it, even if you make fun of it the entire time.

 

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Molly McIsaac lived in Japan in highschool and therefore probably knows more than is healthy about Japanese pop culture. You can follow her oftentimes off colour thoughts in 140 characters or less on twitter.