As my review of the Fruits Basket manga series yesterday obviously demonstrates, I’ve finished reading that series (after getting the final 2 volumes not too long ago, and trying to get through the entire series again, including marathoning the last 16 or so volumes over the weekend).
Finishing the manga series reminded me of something that I had thought about for quite a while since reading the manga when it got well beyond where the anime went: what about a 2nd season? I think there is so much good material there that, in a perfect and just world, I think it should definitely get a second season, if not a remake. (I actually think they may be better off doing an FMA style remake where they go ahead and do a 52 episode series from the beginning.)
I won’t necessarily go over all the details about why or why not a second season may or may not occur. AstroNerdBoy already did that way back two and half years ago in his post on the topic. I guess the only thing I could really add is that, the prospects of a sequel, or a remake are even bleaker now than they were then because it’s been something like 8 years since the first season came out, and it’s been 2 years since the last manga volume was published in Japan. There seems little reason to actually make a new series unless someone just suddenly gets the urge to.
However, this also made me wonder about other series that should get a sequel or a remake done of them. So I decided to go through the list of shows that I’ve seen and see which ones I thought were worthy of a remake or sequel, and this is what I came up with:
- Bokura ga Ita: It’s been a while since I’ve seen this series, but from my memory (and reading my review of it), I was furstrated by the fact that it had a wide open ending that drove me crazy. Of course, I’m not sure I particularly liked the show anyway, but I suppose I’ll still include it on my list.
- Cardcaptor Sakura: OK, guilty pleasure for me. The only real reason I’d like to see this remade is to see it with top-of-the-line current animation (though the new HD releases go a long way in satisfying my improved animation wishes). My only fear is that they’d muck up the story and ruin it if they ever redid it.
- His and Her Circumstances: Really? Is there any greater crime than ending a series, mid-story arc? I haven’t read the manga, but I’m sure this is one series where the manga goes far beyond where the anime went, and it could sure use a continuation.
- Kannagi: This series really needs a sequel. I think there were just too many loose ends left and it could really use another season. Really.
- Video Girl Ai: A 6 episode, 17 year old OVA series just doesn’t give a 15 volume manga series justice. I think this would be one of my prime candidates for a remake. I does a sort of sufficient job of telling the story to the point in the manga that it reaches (which, if I recall, wasn’t very far) but there is so much more to tell.
What other shows do people think are badly in need of a sequel due to a an insufficient or left-wide-open ending, or do you think should be remake because it either flat out sucked and could be done better, could use an FMA-style reboot, or is old and could do with some updating? (I intentionally left out series which I might like seeing more of, but it was pretty much concluded in the episodes that aired).
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yes, they’re doing a lot of reboot lately (mazinger, casshern). I’d like to see a 26 ep serie for Video Girl Ai, and more Sakura 2 than a reboot. But it’s already a big serie so…
Forget that Rebuild of Eva stuff. Anno needs to come back to Gainax and redo/finish Kare Kano.
CCS is one of the few pure magical girl series. Rewatching bits with the sis made me realize how much its actually made for kids and aimed at the younger demographic. I’m really afraid of a remake super-moefying everything for the otaku crowd and adding panty-shots and nekkid transformation scenes.
Fruits Basket needs a reboot simply to correct the Akito issue and Tohru’s hat element (which is a major item in the manga). It is a real shame that Takaya-sensei and the animators had their differences, but considering where the manga went, I can understand why she’d not be happy with the liberties the animators took with the series.
# Cardcaptor Sakura: Well, I’m not sure though I understand your desire to have a new series. If there were one, I’d just like one solely based on the manga without the added characters or story elements and without dropping other elements.
# His and Her Circumstances: I would like to see this wrapped up, but the manga gets lost in the back story surrounding Yukino’s and Soichiro’s parent’s backstory. Frankly, an anime that continues the story can compress all that tedious stuff down into a very few episodes.
# Kannagi: “This series really needs a sequel” — I’ll drink to that! Plus, this series was mostly just so darned funny.
# Video Girl Ai: Yeah, I’ll agree here but would the story work as well with a Blu-ray machine over a VHS tape? *lol* Well, I suppose one could still have the story set in the 80’s.
My own additions:
# School Rumble: The gap between the 2nd series and the final OVA needs to be filled.
# Ai Yori Aoshi: Just wrap it up. Could be done with an OVA or movie.
# Love Hina: A 13-episode series to wrap up things. Since the previous animes don’t closely follow the manga, a new anime could pick up the last stories from the manga and add some additional stuff to fill out 13-episodes including the manga ending. ^_^
# Negima!: This won’t happen with the new OAD strategy, but I would like a complete reboot to strictly follow the manga.
# Fate/stay night: Remake this series with MUCH better animation and 52 episodes to fill in a lot of the games from the visual novel that the first anime dropped for time constraints.
# Full Metal Panic: Need sequels to both Fumoffu and the main story.
Since I’m a sucker for a series that has a little romance, I like to see those relationships either come to fruition or get obliterated. So my list would include series that may have had a not-so-conclusive finish to a pairing that I’d like completes.
My list:
#1 Black Lagoon – Even though this got a second season, it really needs a third (which is supposed to be a series of OVA’s in 2010). The Rock/Revy dynamic was awesome to watch and the second series ended right as you could see her attitude change a little more. Need MOAR.
#2 Beck - The manga goes way beyond the anime and I want to see it animated. I want to see more of the American tour, and the rise of the band as well as more Maho/Koyuki.
#3 Elfen Leid – Ultra violence+nekkidness+”Nyuu”=WIN. This is another one where the anime stopped well short of the manga. I could use some more henchman decapitation on a Monday morning, wouldn’t you?
#4 Ouran HS Host Club - Gotta see this pairing end with more than just a dance. I don’t need full frontal, and the ending was decent, but it was a well done series that could have gone farther.
#5 Moyashimon – come on, who DOESN’T want more Microbe Theater? Plus if we get a leather-yuri-threesome, even better.
I’ll leave it at the short list for now.
Besides some the ones already listed some series that I would like to see continued are;
#1 Gunslinger Girl – 3rd season but back to madhouse as production company
#2 Natsume Yuujinchou – 3rd season
#3 Rurouni Kenshin ova reboot – nothing changed story wise just improved quality
#4 Air Gear – Love the manga and would really love for it to continued being animated
#5 Dogs: Bullets & Carnage – now that the prequel is done the acutall series need to be animated…but different studio I am thinking…Madhouse plz?
#6 Zombie Loan – It stopped so aprubtly and needs moar
thats all I can think of right now
We better let CCS as it is. I like it too much for a remake or a sequel. Maybe Tsubasa reservoir chronicles remake as it would had be done..
Elfen Lied: It does need a remake with better animation and to follow the manga in more detail.
Fate/stay night: Same reason as Elfen lied.
Kannagi: Same reason as someone mention before.
Black Lagoon: S2 “ending” was made like there would be another season. ;)
Higashi no Eden: It would need a few more episode to clear things up, but how know the movies might fill this gap.
Soul Eater: Need a “remake” where they just follow the manga but with the same animation style.
Serial Experiments Lain: Doesn’t need to be change but it would be awesome to have it remade in HD. ;)
Hmm.. Thats all that I can thing of for now at least.
“Fate/stay night: Same reason as Elfen lied.”
As popular as the eroge is with its many sequels (or alternate tellings), one would think that the animation would have been MUCH better than it was.
Berserk: they didn’t finished the serie (the last episode is missing), and it would be nice to have a sequel.
Claymore: I hope they’ll do a sequel, it’s a nice and dark anime (too bad they couldn’t keep the manga’s story to fill the end of the serie)
Full Metal Panic: I agree with AstroNerdBoy.
Soul Eater: the serie was nice, but the last 10 minutes was disappointing, need a sequel.
Akira: would be nice to see a full serie from the manga, not only a movie :)
His and Her Circumstances had the same problem as Fullmetal Alchemist, they started the anime when the manga was nowhere near being done. Plus since it was a Gainax title they had to run out of money and flame out at the end.
I’ll add my voice to the chorus asking for more Kannagi. And I agree that the DOGS OVAs already need a remake. You can’t make an action anime with such piss-poor animation.