Whether it’s due to nostalgia, curiosity, or studios not wanting to risk cash on original properties, remakes are more in vogue than ever. Maybe they never went away, but now they seem to be all over the place.Sailor Moon Crystalrebooted the originalSailor Moonwith modern animation, as does the newUrusei YatsuraandRanma ½anime series.
Kinnikuman: Perfect Originfollows up on the old 80s series,City Huntercame back as a live-action series, and evenFist of the North Staris due to be reanimated by WB Japan. It’s enough to make people wonder which series will be remade next. Whether it’s down to their popularity, or because their first run was rough, these classic shōnen series could do with a remake.
2003 was over 20 years ago now, soZatch Bellcounts as old school. Anyone who remembers watching the show on Toonami back in the day may want to get some stretches in. Still, now would be a good time to bring Zatch and Kiyo back to cast a spell on the audience once more, as its sequel,Konjiki no Gash 2, has been running for over 2 years now. It’s only 25+ chapters into its run, so a return to its prequel could help bring viewers up to speed on how Zatch’s magic works.
Granted, they could just watch the original series, except it has a few flaws. The biggest being that was made while the original manga was running. So, the show’s pacing slowed down to avoid overtaking the strip, before reaching a premature end. Now that it’s complete, a remake could cover the story in full without needing to bog itself down partway through or leave out big story arcs.
6Samurai Deeper Kyo
Can a Second Run Save This Series?
Whether they’re wacky likeGintama, serious likeHouse of Five Leaves, or somehow both at the same time, likeSamurai Champloo, there’s always room fora samurai anime. But while those series still hold up, the anime adaptation ofSamurai Deeper Kyodoesn’t. Its choppy animation, slow pacing, and jumbled plot made it a rougher experience than just reading the manga.
Not that it was perfect, but the tale of Kyoshiro, a medicine man housing the soul of the evil Demon Eyes Kyo, joining the bounty hunter Yuya in search of her brother’s killer could’ve done better if it had a stronger, more structured adaptation. WithJujutsu Kaisenhaving a similar premise, a stronger adaptation could help appeal to its fans as well. Particularly if they like its feudal Japanese setting and sword-swinging samurai.
Wait, isn’t there already aGreat Teacher Onizukaremake? Well, yes and no.GTO Revivalis actually a follow-up to the 1998 live-action TV drama, which became a hit series in Japan in its own right. The story of an ex-biker gang member developing a love for teaching, albeit via unorthodox methods, received more live-action TV adaptations, and even a live-action movie.
But it only had one anime series. Despite offering a beefy 43 episodes, it’s long overdue for a follow-up at the very least. Its manga spin-offs and sequels offer plenty of ground for that too.Bad CompanyandGTO: The Early Yearsoffers Onizuka’s origins as a delinquent,GTO: 14 Days in Shonancovers what he did while he disappeared, andGTO: Paradise Lostsees him dealing with prisoners instead of students.
4Appleseed
The 4th Time Could be the Charm for This Cyberpunk Classic
Few of Shirow Masamune’s works really count as shōnen, as even his fancy-free stripDominion(akaDominion Tank Police) was a little too risqué for kids. However,Appleseed, his story of ESWAT cops Deunan and Briareos, a cyborg, guarding the supposedly utopian city of Olympus, is more shōnen in content, and aniconic piece of cyberpunk media. However, it hasn’t been faithfully adapted to anime.
The 1988 OVA, theAppleseed 13series, and the movies went in different directions with the premise. It worked forGhost in the Shell, except its adaptations still captured what worked about the original manga and developed on it. TheAppleseedadaptations strayed and got more mixed receptions at best. If a new anime took a more faithful approach, it might work out better this time.
3Sakigake!! Otokojuku
The Manliest High School in Japan is Due for a Comeback
Sakigake!! Otokojukumight be a hard one to bring back, as it’s essentiallyCromartie High Schoolplayed straight. Kind of. The story of Momotaro and the students at their all-boys school surviving the harsh regime of its principal, Heihachi Edajima, began as a gag manga where wisdom and kindness won out over pure machismo.
Then it became straighter as it went on, as it became a school-based version ofFist of the North Star, with students taking on rivals in martial arts tournaments. It was really popular in its heyday though, likeKinnikuman, it never really left Japan. If the series were remade, it would be new territory for international audiences who are more familiar with its parodies.
2Bio Booster Armor Guyver
When Biomech Armor Got Bloody
On the other hand, audiences may be more familiar withBio Booster Armor Guyver. If they hadn’t watched its OVAs or 2005 series, they might’ve seen its odd live-action adaptation,The Guyver, where Mark Hamill turns into a weird alien creature. Or they may have seenGuyver: Dark Hero, where David ‘Solid Snake’ Hayter played the titular hero.
UnlikeAppleseed,Guyvermight benefit more from a reboot than a straight remake. The original story, where a school student becomes a biomechanical take on Kamen Rider, is dated with its thin characters and edgy gore. But its influence can still be felt in comics, particularly with DC’s Blue Beetle. With a fresh approach, it could catch on again.
UnlikeGuyver,Ashita no Joeholds up quite well despite being over 50 years old, as Joe’s journey from being a drifter to a professional boxer is still high in drama, telling aRocky-style story years beforeRocky. It received a few anime series in the 1970s and 1980s, alongside a few animated movies, so one would think it was well-covered ground.
However, they’re hard to find online as the original series isn’t on any streaming platform. Its sequel series,Ashita No Joe 2, has a few episodes on Amazon Prime, but that’s it. The closest equivalentisMegalo Box, which is more of a futuristic take onJoe’s premise. For an iconic piece of shōnen media,Ashita no Joecould do with more attention, be it through remastering the old series, or remaking it altogether.
