10 Games that Would Be Perfect as an Anime Series

Kingdom Hearts

A Kingdom Hearts animated series was almost a real thing at one point. Back in 2002, Seth Kearsley was slated to be the director and writer for a Kingdom Hearts series but Disney ultimately decided not to move forward with the project. He shared his experience working on the project on DeviantArt and the comments section quickly filled up with fans eager to see the project actually come to life. Although it isn’t clear why Disney decided not to move forward with the series, there’s a chance that the media giant wasn’t sure if the series would be the massive success they wanted it to be. After all, lending their iconic properties to a new series like this could be a huge risk if things don’t come together just right. Giving Kingdom Hearts a sort of “trial run” in the Japanese market through an anime adaptation may be the best way to test the concept’s potential.

While the game is incredibly popular, adapting the project into an anime series is still a daunting task. Fans of the game will still want a series to be tied to the game but simply playing through the stories of the game could come across as a bit mundane to some. There is a serious balancing act between recreating the content from the game and introducing new elements that will still provide an element of surprise. Either way, with the right writing team behind the project, Kingdom Hearts could easily find success as an anime series.

Fire Emblem

Any game from the Fire Emblem franchise is worthy of holding down its own anime series. The number of characters that make appearances in Fire Emblem, the entertaining focus on the variety of friendships and relationships that can exist between them, and the various unique combat styles can all come together to create a fun anime series. Even beyond the incredible potential for great action scenes, Fire Emblem also offers tons of opportunity for drama and romance.

This is a series that is no stranger to a good plot twist and that’s one of the most essential spices behind any great anime. What also gives Fire Emblem a lot of potential to be adapted into a great anime is the fact that the game series offers many different compelling plot points for an anime to pick up from. Fire Emblem Fates offers a stunning roster of colorful characters and forces players to really get a sense of their moral compass. A Fire Emblem Fates anime would likely do the very same thing. Of course, that’s if either of the two feuding families are even given a chance considering the stunning mainstream popularity that Marth has garnered over the years ever since he and Roy were added to the Super Smash Bros. Melee roster.

Yakuza 0

Playing through the Yakuza games already feels very much like an interactive anime experience, so the idea of adapting the games into an actual anime series seems like a no brainer. Yakuza successfully provides drama, comedy, and over-the-top action all in one series. If that isn’t the making of a great anime series, we don’t know what is.

Of course, if the Yakuza series was given its own anime it seems only natural that the series would kick off with the events from Yakuza 0. Another option would be to create a storyline that exists completely separately from the game while still occupying the same world and utilizing the same characters.

NieR: Automata

Some games have an art style that lends itself well to an anime adaptation. Others have incredible stories that would easily carry over as a plot for an entire series and have characters that are just so captivating that just an anime about them eating breakfast everyday just seems like it would still be a great time.

The NieR games, on the other hand, don’t offer just one of these reasons to be adapted into an anime. They have all of them. NieR and NieR: Automata tout the type of overarching narrative, art style, and character development that any anime lover would swoon over. While both games would give any team of writers a lot of great content to work with, it’s NieR: Automata that would likely emerge as the real star of the show. The key plot points that are explored in NieR: Automata really allow the entire story to ramp up quite a bit while further developing its main characters in an impactful way.

I Am Setsuna

There are countless anime series that boldly and beautifully deal with death and tragedy. I Am Setsuna is a game that brilliantly does the very same thing. An anime following the story we see unfold in I Am Setsuna is one that will definitely guarantee waterworks, but that’s all the more reason why this story deserves to be told via an anime adaptation.

I Am Setsuna offers all the pieces necessary for a game to make a successful leap into the world of anime. The story pulls at your heart strings in a way that feels particularly meaningful and the pace at which it does this feels just right. Snowy settings fill the world and provide a ton of opportunity for animators to create some gorgeous landscapes throughout the series. Throw in a cast of incredibly well developed characters and a soundtrack so beautiful that it alone might throw your emotions out of whack, and you have a game that is pretty much begging to have its story told all over again through a new medium.

Asura’s Wrath

If there was ever a game that pretty much handed over the perfect anime on a platter, it’s Asura’s Wrath. Everything that you see in today’s most popular anime is already wonderfully packed into the Asura’s Wrath storyline. Dead loved one? Check. A disgraced former general? Check. Unspeakable betrayal by family? Check. Epic, fast paced action that you can’t look away from? Check. Mysterious murders and plot twists? Check. Gods mingling with mortals? It’s got that too.

Let’s face it. Asura’s Wrath is basically an interactive anime series and a pretty good one at that. An anime adaptation would also benefit from the fact that the characters seeing Asura’s Wrath already have the depth necessary for them to be complicated, layered parts of an anime series. Asura is a strong protagonist being driven by, well, his wrath. His brother-in-law is forced to explore his own moral compass in a way that causes a huge change of heart. As for Deus and the Seven Deities, they are pretty much versions of one of the most popular tropes for anime antagonists. Asura’s Wrath would easily deliver a quality anime without anyone having to do much work to make sure it fits the new content formula.

Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus walks players through a fantastic other worldly journey with a mysterious protagonist only referred to as Wander at the game’s helm. Wander is shrouded in mystery but also oddly relatable. There is nothing about Wander that makes him innately prepared for the journey he embarks on other than the simple fact that he is being driven by his desire to bring back a lost loved one. This allows Wander to evolve before the player’s eyes all while a darker plot is unraveling right under his nose. Wander’s development, the complex narrative and the beautifully designed Colossi would absolutely shine in their own anime series. This is a story that provides adventure, action, and an incredibly engaging emotional appeal that feels like it belongs in an anime with a unique art style.

No More Heroes

Most successful anime series don’t rely on just action. No matter how epic and exciting the fight scenes may be, they are nothing if the context around them is less than impressive. For this very reason, some series will surround their battles with comedy while others focus on more emotional appeals.

No More Heroes, however, finds a wonderful way to do both. The game’s protagonist, Travis Touchdown, is just as ridiculous as his name suggests. From his personality to the very story behind how he went from being just your average anime-loving and WWE stan to the details behind how he quickly rose in the ranks as a assassin, Travis is a character shrouded in absurdity but in the best way possible. He is meant to entertain and he does. In the midst of all the ridiculousness, however, there are genuine moments that still allow the No More Heroes cast to become more than just a wacky, unorthodox collective.

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Xenoblade Chronicles X is another game that truly shines through its ability to create a unique world that also offers plenty of opportunity for action and adventure. While Xenoblade Chronicles X offers its own plot, it would also give anime creators the option to create their own original storyline and unique protagonist that just so happens to be placed in the same universe as the Xenoblade games. Of course, fans of the game would surely still like to see familiar faces from the game included but this is a unique situation where writers will really be able to craft their own hero or heroin as they see fit. This means a Xenoblade Chronicles X anime series can pay homage to the video game without looking like an exact carbon copy that might bore players who have already seen the extent of its narrative.

Let’s also not forget that this is a game that already pulled much of its art direction from famous faces in the anime industry. Takayuki Yanase, who has also worked on Ghost in the Shell and Mobile Suit Gundam 00, created the allied mecha designs in the game. Even the game’s music came from anime composer Hiroyuki Sawano, who is the man behind some of the original pieces heard in Attack on Titan and Re:CREATORS.

Ever Oasis

There isn’t necessarily some incredibly profound or complex story here that makes Ever Oasis a great candidate for its own anime. The very concept and foundation of Ever Oasis, however, provides a great jumping off point. The characters are whimsical and downright adorable. The world itself provides an interesting concept for an anime to branch off of. The music is so fitting for the game that an anime adaptation could seriously use the exact same soundtrack. The themes and overall tone for a great anime adaptation are already there and while there is a story mode to play through, it’s not a narrative that makes it impossible to carry the journey on through different stories. Perhaps a new threat is approaching the oasis or maybe this anime could go the route of a fantasy, slice-of-life anime.