~Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Anime, manga, and YA literature are my current interests and perhaps they will be so in the long run. I’ve been bouncing back from one of them to the other since 6th grade; it’s crazy.
Anime, manga, and YA literature are my current interests and perhaps they will be so in the long run. I’ve been bouncing back from one of them to the other since 6th grade; it’s crazy.
Anime and manga have quite distinct qualities which make them very amusing as compared to reading YA Novels or even reading books in general. But books do have their own charm as well. It has already been a few months since I was able to somehow balance the three of them – I’ve been reading quite a good amount of books lately, watch a great amount of anime, and at the same time read manga (English licensed manga, I’ve been buying them and kind of avoiding reading OL lately).
ONE random day, my mind kind of went about imagining how would anime be written if they were novelized? I’m quite sure some of you guys have heard or seen the graphic novels of Cassandra Clare’s the Infernal Devices, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl’s Beautiful Creatures, and Ransom Rigg’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children which were published by Yen Press. SO what if it’s the other way around? Here’s a short list of some anime I think can work as a novel (or at least I’ve already imagined as a novel).
PSYCHO-PASS
PSYCHO-PASS written by Urobuchi Gen was an anime series that totally blew me away because of its American TV series-like idea. I don’t watch them but somehow I do know the idea how they are supposed to be just from seeing clips or even CMs. PSYCHO-PASS is perhaps the first one that came to me when the anime-to-novel cross my mind.
A dystopian world where minds can be calculated, people can be arrested if their psychological state raises above normal, and a mysterious government system running this supposedly utopian society. It’s a very dystopian novel series set up. I’d like to read this in a first person and single perspective – Akane’s perspective.
PSYCHO-PASS written by Urobuchi Gen was an anime series that totally blew me away because of its American TV series-like idea. I don’t watch them but somehow I do know the idea how they are supposed to be just from seeing clips or even CMs. PSYCHO-PASS is perhaps the first one that came to me when the anime-to-novel cross my mind.
A dystopian world where minds can be calculated, people can be arrested if their psychological state raises above normal, and a mysterious government system running this supposedly utopian society. It’s a very dystopian novel series set up. I’d like to read this in a first person and single perspective – Akane’s perspective.
BTOOOM!
BTOOOM! is a thriller and psychological survival anime and manga series. Its survival concept and setting are the things that pulled me in this series. AND with all the survival novels going around, I think that BTOOOM! will fit perfectly.
Somehow I can imagine it quite well already. It can be written in a first or third person. It’ll be great depending on how it will be done but I’ll prefer it in third person with multi-perspective – something like Unwind by Neal Shusterman. Story-wise, BTOOOM! doesn’t even need so much editing because it’s good enough, at least from what I’ve seen in the anime. OR maybe you can go edit the story and make it dystopian to give it more sense, that’s quite possible as well.
BTOOOM! is a thriller and psychological survival anime and manga series. Its survival concept and setting are the things that pulled me in this series. AND with all the survival novels going around, I think that BTOOOM! will fit perfectly.
Somehow I can imagine it quite well already. It can be written in a first or third person. It’ll be great depending on how it will be done but I’ll prefer it in third person with multi-perspective – something like Unwind by Neal Shusterman. Story-wise, BTOOOM! doesn’t even need so much editing because it’s good enough, at least from what I’ve seen in the anime. OR maybe you can go edit the story and make it dystopian to give it more sense, that’s quite possible as well.
Bokura ga Ita (We Were There)
I’ve seen the two-part live-action film of Bokura ga Ita and I think that it would work for a contemporary realistic romance novel or series. As compared to other shoujo-romance anime I’ve seen, I think Bokura ga Ita is the most heartbreaking and perhaps realistic although I have to admit that both Nana and Yano make some of the most annoying decisions ever but I blame that to their stubbornness. Stubborn characters are quite popular in anime and manga, it seems.
Personally I’d like to see Bokura ga Ita in a first person narration with either a single or multiple perspective. If single perspective, we’ll be definitely stick with Nana-chan’s perspective, edit a few things to fit the different character arcs. If multiple perspective, we’ll obviously bounce from the four characters (Nana, Yano, Takeuchi, and Yamamoto) but Nana-chan and Yano alone can also work. Perspective-wise, it can be something like Legend by Marie Lu.
I’ve seen the two-part live-action film of Bokura ga Ita and I think that it would work for a contemporary realistic romance novel or series. As compared to other shoujo-romance anime I’ve seen, I think Bokura ga Ita is the most heartbreaking and perhaps realistic although I have to admit that both Nana and Yano make some of the most annoying decisions ever but I blame that to their stubbornness. Stubborn characters are quite popular in anime and manga, it seems.
Personally I’d like to see Bokura ga Ita in a first person narration with either a single or multiple perspective. If single perspective, we’ll be definitely stick with Nana-chan’s perspective, edit a few things to fit the different character arcs. If multiple perspective, we’ll obviously bounce from the four characters (Nana, Yano, Takeuchi, and Yamamoto) but Nana-chan and Yano alone can also work. Perspective-wise, it can be something like Legend by Marie Lu.
Aku no Hana (Flower of Evil)
Aku no Hana will perhaps work as a psychological coming of age contemporary novel. It can work as a standalone novel and cover what the anime had.
Kasuga’s voice is quite subtle but his mixed thoughts about Nakamura and Saeki will make this quite an interesting read. I think this is best written in a first person and only one perspective since generally that’s how the anime presented it. Aside from Kasuga’s thoughts, this will further be an interesting read if the atmosphere is described well. Aku no Hana’s somehow eerie atmosphere is actually a plus for its psychological side. Maybe adding a few quotes by Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal before the start of every chapter would be good :3
Aku no Hana will perhaps work as a psychological coming of age contemporary novel. It can work as a standalone novel and cover what the anime had.
Kasuga’s voice is quite subtle but his mixed thoughts about Nakamura and Saeki will make this quite an interesting read. I think this is best written in a first person and only one perspective since generally that’s how the anime presented it. Aside from Kasuga’s thoughts, this will further be an interesting read if the atmosphere is described well. Aku no Hana’s somehow eerie atmosphere is actually a plus for its psychological side. Maybe adding a few quotes by Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal before the start of every chapter would be good :3
Kokoro Connect
I think why Kokoro Connect came to me is because of how the body swapping kind of reminds me of David Levithan’s Every Day (although I haven’t exactly read it, lol. Just the thought of waking up in another body is kind of interesting). Kokoro Connect is composed of multiple arcs and I think the body swapping arc is kind of a nice idea for a novel.
I kind of like to read Kokoro Connect in a single perspective and (of course) first person particularly in Taichi’s since he’s like the main character of the series. I can actually imagine how the first few chapters will go – hearing the body swap story of Yui and Aoki, and even experiencing it himself. Kokoro Connect’s story can go into a mystery of their swap, romance, and even getting to know each other further. It’ll be great.
I think why Kokoro Connect came to me is because of how the body swapping kind of reminds me of David Levithan’s Every Day (although I haven’t exactly read it, lol. Just the thought of waking up in another body is kind of interesting). Kokoro Connect is composed of multiple arcs and I think the body swapping arc is kind of a nice idea for a novel.
I kind of like to read Kokoro Connect in a single perspective and (of course) first person particularly in Taichi’s since he’s like the main character of the series. I can actually imagine how the first few chapters will go – hearing the body swap story of Yui and Aoki, and even experiencing it himself. Kokoro Connect’s story can go into a mystery of their swap, romance, and even getting to know each other further. It’ll be great.
* * *
How about you guys, what anime or manga series do you think would work nicely as a novel? OR do you have any idea if there’re other novels or book series that would be great as an anime or manga?
* * *
On some quick words, this is my COME BACK POST! I was gone for a good four months here and I think that it was enough to really pull my interests and motivation together. I’ve edited my About page and mentioned the changes I’m pulling for the revival of my blog. If you haven’t drop by my new About page, in some quick words, my blog will be about anime, manga, and books. This will be a blog where AniManga meets YA Literature.
