I'm sure there are many sites that let us know what mangas are currently slated to become anime series. I'm also sure that some of these suggestions may already have happened, or are happening. 

Some manga I have read recently seems well suited for anime adaptation. I think this way when a story has great visual strength in its narration, has well drawn out characters, and employs unique twists to the stories. This means it could be telling the same kind of story in a new way, or it could be telling a completely new story I have not seen before. Those are rare, but not impossible. More common are the stories that use a new idea to tell an older story.

There are a few stories I am following that I think would make good anime if and only if, the creators resist the urge to run off in new directions that end up ruining the author's original vision. I would also hope that they wait until a story is finished and not overtake the manga, as often happens.
One is a manga called Iris Zero. The Wikipedia page has a good summary of the plot:
[Iris Zero] is a Japanese manga by Hotaru Tanaka and Piroshiki following the daily life of a boy who lives in a society where almost all people his age have supernatural powers in their eyes (called "Iris") and as the sole student of the school who has no Iris at all, he must make use of his intellect to help his friends and tackle those who discriminate him for it.

There have been plenty of manga/anime that have the "Peaceful life is best" motto for the main character, but this main character, Toru Mizushima has good reason to wish for it. He is harassed and discriminated against because he lacks something that most kids posses, and which defines their generation. Their parents by and large do not posses these traits. He does not have it. He wants to be as invisible as possible to minimize getting picked on. The only friend he has understands this. The friends he will be acquiring along the way may force him to handle his uniqueness more creatively.

That is the part of the story that tells an old saw in a new way. The other theme is seen less, but is the more interesting.

His friends who have the Iris abilities see the world according to what their particular feature shows them. They cannot ignore what they see, and respond to their environment in unique ways for this reason. The story does a good job of giving us the different perspectives. Some characters have developed surprising solutions to what would seem terribly sad outlooks according to their gifts.

There is one boy who sees black butterflies surrounding people. The more butterflies that gather, the more likely that person will die soon. You would think this character would be constantly morose and negative about life, and he did have quite a hard time at first, but he develops a unique way of viewing the world that allows him his trait, but lets him live his life in a somewhat positive way. He credits Toru with helping him.

The series also looks at how those abilities narrow one's view so much they can hurt themselves. A character can see whether a person she is talking to is telling the truth or a not by noticing a tail growing on the dishonest person. What seems to be a very useful trait instead so narrows her view of people that she has issues with all but the most honest and forthright people. She doesn't get that some folks lie to her for her own good. Again, the non Iris Zero Toru helps her deal with her surroundings in a better way.

Ironically, many of those with these traits come to envy the one kid who does not have them because he is a more well rounded individual. He has to be to survive in this world that discriminates so heavily against him.

The romance angle can and has driven me away from series. I am not completely turned off by the triangles or harems, but the series needs to deal with the problem (?) in an interesting way. The same is true of main characters who would not inspire us to think of them as worthy of the attention and affection. 

Toru shuns attention from very popular girls. He knows that having cute, popular girlfriends is anathema to his creed of hiding in the shadows. He is, however, a very nice guy and is very analytical in his approach to solutions.  One of the more popular girls sees him through her iris as someone who can help her and that is the start of the whole process. It is done in a plausible way, given the world in which they live. The same is true of the other women who enter his sphere. The story also makes it clear why he continually shies away from potential romantic attention. It is not only built into his character, the narration tells us this is the case several times.

The series is currently in the exposition stage, where the main characters are getting fleshed out, but this is a manga that has potential. If it does get adapted, and I think it might, it could be a very good series.

Posted by: topmaker at 10:29 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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