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What non-Japanese literary classic would you like to see as an anime?

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:33 am
by rocklobster
It seems the Japanese are now mining international literary classics for anime plots. We've got Alexander Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo and Herman Melville's Moby Dick on tap already. Here are some ideas I'd like to see:
  • Gulliver's Travels (oh come on, this would make a great cartoon series!)
  • Animal Farm (scary and thought-provoking, just the way anime makers like it!)
  • The Three Musketeers (isn't this a sequel to Counte of Monte Cristo, or at least connected in some way other than being by the same writer?)

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:44 am
by Arnobius
Hmm, the mind boggles at seeing classics as anime. Hmm

Gone With the Wind
Scarlett: Oh Rhett, whatever shall I do, wherever shall I go?
Rhett: Frankly my dear, I don't give a <darn>
Scarlett: Kisamaaaaa! [pulls hammer out of nowhere and hits Rhett on the head with it]

The Three Musketeers
Athos, Porthos and Aramis are cornered battling the cardinal's guard. Things look dark. Suddenly D'artagnan appears piloting a giant mecha and saves the day

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:29 am
by paradigm_shift
It will be interesting to see a few of "anti-utopian" pieces as an anime title, namely Farhenheit 451 (Bradbury), Brave New World (Huxley), and 1984 (Orwell). These would make gripping series if they don't exist in anime\manga yet, although I am not sure if there is a series out there that is already captures this genre of literature.

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:33 am
by chibiphonebooth
you know what movie i would *LOVE* to see them make, even not in an anime?

Feed.

has anyone read that book? its amazing.
its written how a teenager would talk, so its slightly annoyiing in the beginning, but you get used to it. but it is an insanely great book, and i think turning it into an anime would be AMAZING.

there are so many possiblities they could do if they turn it to an anime. *o*

great book though, i believe its fairly new... its sci-fi... amazing.
go read it. i command you ALL.

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:03 am
by rocklobster
paradigm_shift wrote:It will be interesting to see a few of "anti-utopian" pieces as an anime title, namely Farhenheit 451 (Bradbury), Brave New World (Huxley), and 1984 (Orwell). These would make gripping series if they don't exist in anime\manga yet, although I am not sure if there is a series out there that is already captures this genre of literature.

They've already done Brave New World, sort of. Check out my review of Geneshaft. It comes pretty close!

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:07 am
by Arnobius
I was going to say Moby Dick for a joke... but the synopsis of the actual anime sounds funnier than anything I could make up

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:13 am
by Nate
AnimeHeretic wrote:I was going to say Moby Dick for a joke... but the synopsis of the actual anime sounds funnier than anything I could make up

Wait, seriously? What's it called? *goes to look this up*

EDIT: Wow, I found it. Hakugei. This...this deserves the song from Futurama.

"We're whalers on the moon
We carry a harpoon
But there are no whales
So we tell tall tales
And sing our whaling tune."

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 1:58 pm
by Tenshi no Ai
The Outsiders might make an interesting one... probably the BEST book I had to read for class. Movie was kinda .......

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 2:17 pm
by Arnobius
Tenshi no Ai wrote:The Outsiders might make an interesting one... probably the BEST book I had to read for class. Movie was kinda .......

Oh wow... I haven't read that book in 20 years. That was a good one, but I think an anime would be more ........... than the movie was.

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:54 pm
by Kaori
rocklobster wrote:[*]Animal Farm (scary and thought-provoking, just the way anime makers like it!)

paradigm_shift wrote:1984 (Orwell).

As far as Orwell goes, I imagine that 1984 would work better as an anime than Animal Farm; I imagine that some of Orwell's anthropomorphisms would be hard to translate visually. (That's not to say that it couldn't be done, of course.)

Considering that there aren't many good anime in the heroic fantasy tradition (e.g. Record of Lodoss War), the Arthurian legends might make good material for an anime.

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:18 pm
by Mr. SmartyPants
I was thinking starwars.... but then decided "no way"

perhaps Oedipus the King? Or How about the Crucible? Or Death of a Salesman

PostPosted: Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:23 pm
by Arnobius
Mr. SmartyPants wrote:I was thinking starwars.... but then decided "no way"

perhaps Oedipus the King? Or How about the Crucible? Or Death of a Salesman


They already DID Star Wars as a manga... it stunk!

PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 8:55 pm
by Maledicte
I'd like to see one done of Hugo's Les Miserables...not quite sure why. They could keep it in the time it's set in or sci-fi it like they did Gankutsuou, but in the right hands it would be an awesome anime in my opinion. I would like it very muchly much please.

PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:02 pm
by Cap'n Nick
Ooh yeah, I think Les Miz could totally work. In that line, I think War and Peace has a lot of potential, too. I'd make a few changes, though. First of all, I'd get rid of all the beards. I'd probably nix the materialistic postscript, too. What a downer.

PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 12:47 am
by soul alive
Full out, true to the book(s) Adventures of Tarzan. Those books have wild enough plot lines in and of themselves. It rather boggles the mind, thinking about it.

Bradbury's Chronicles of Mars might also be interresting as anime, a very dark sci-fi mini-series perhaps.

Mark Twain's A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. XD That would be interresting.

PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 1:18 am
by Warrior 4 Jesus
1001 Arabian Nights would be awesome!

PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 9:06 am
by Tarnish
Even though I KNOW it will never happen, a Series of Unfortunate Events anime would be really cool...

PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 9:24 am
by Raiden no Kishi
The Chronicles of Narnia would make a cool anime (at least I think so). So would Eragon, for that matter.

.rai//

PostPosted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 11:01 am
by FadedOne
Little Women..

or for more action, The Black/Red/White trilogy by Ted Dekker. not quite a literary classic, but good.

PostPosted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 9:25 pm
by bigsleepj
I would like to see a proper animated adaptation of Les Misérables myself. I once saw a terrible French animated adaptation that made a fatal mistake - it was happy go lucky. If a story is called Les Misérables do you expect it to be happy go lucky? You'd think they French would have more respect for their own literary classics.

PostPosted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 10:16 pm
by chimera189
I would like to see the "Sword of Truth" collection as an anime...

20,000 Leauges Under the Sea or any of Jules Verne writings

PostPosted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 10:31 pm
by meboeck
uri-pea wrote:20,000 Leauges Under the Sea or any of Jules Verne writings


Most Jules Verne novels would probably make awesome animes.

PostPosted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 11:21 pm
by Maledicte
I agree with the Jules Verne vote.

Despite the fact that a film is already (possibly) going to be made, I'd like to see Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel as an anime, simply because it's such a huge story that a movie won't be able to cover it all.

PostPosted: Sun Dec 25, 2005 11:53 pm
by Radical Dreamer
The Three Musketeers (isn't this a sequel to Counte of Monte Cristo, or at least connected in some way other than being by the same writer?)


Nope, it's not. Other than they were both inspired by actual events and written by the same author, nope.

Anyways, I'd like to see The Giver as an anime. Coolness!

PostPosted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:40 am
by Bobtheduck
If only to see how it would be possible, C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy...

PostPosted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 7:38 am
by Galant
Robin Hood.

PostPosted: Mon Dec 26, 2005 8:52 am
by Godly Paladin
Eragon seems to be made for anime. Maybe it would be better that way, since it isn't so great as a book.

Hey!

PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 11:44 am
by JezusBoy
AnimeHeretic wrote:They already DID Star Wars as a manga... it stunk!


Hey! I liked it!

PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 11:50 am
by JezusBoy
Lord of the Rings sounds good to me. And I liked the Narnia suggestion :thumb: .

PostPosted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 7:58 pm
by Gypsy
I liked A New Hope manga - the others I didn't bother with.

FadedOne, there is a Nippon version of Little Women, but it wasn't anything like the book. They basically used the characters and made up stories to happen during a certain point of the girls' childhood.

And Nadia is sort of a ... sequel, I guess, to 20,000 Leagues. Nautilus, Captain Nemo and all.

And I agree that Les Miz would make an awesome anime - so would Robin Hood.

:edit: Also, Jane Austin's Emma would also make a very fun anime, I think.