4 THINGS WE NEED TO SEE IN ANIME

Starting off with a basic SCREENRANT-esque anime list, we'll be going through events that would be great to see in anime before Father Time blows the final whistle on our lives (assuming we're still watching this stuff decades later).

*Just so you lovely readers know, this article does contain spoilers (big and small) for certain series. Said spoilers will be in red so, when you see red, skip it all until the red is gone.

1. SPIN-OFF SHOWS FOR RE:CREATORS CHARACTERS

Saying the season of Spring 2017 was a highly anticipated season for anime is honestly an understatement. With the phenomenon that is Attack on Titan returning with its long awaited season 2, My Hero Academia continuing its transition from Shounen Jump golden child to anime sensation with it's own season 2 and the premiere of Boruto: Next Generations taking the torch on from its global mega-hit parent series Naruto, it would honestly take more than a miracle for any original studio production to stand out. However, that's a miracle that Re:Creators managed to achieve.

One read of the series' synopsis and you'd be forgiven for thinking that this is an anime that couldn't possibly be dull and, to be honest, you'd be right - Various characters from fictional worlds within the series have been brought to life and have to work together to save the very world and people that created them. Whatever you think of the execution of Re:Creators' premise, the one thing that cannot be denied is that this series was a fairly enjoyable roller-coaster and that's in large part down to the "creations".

Each "creation" was unique (even the ones that came from the same world) and all played critical roles in the plot of the show which is honestly an achievement in itself. To fully utilize a fairly large cast of characters is not easy and its a feat that Studio TROYCA achieved. From Mirokuji's cool yet fiery personality and Stand-like abilities that look like they came straight out of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure to Mamika basically being a humanoid Kirby to Magane possibly being one of the greatest trolls in anime history (No, seriously. Who else can alter reality by essentially lying?), every creation was powerful in their own right and were easily fleshed out enough to the point where I felt comfortable that most of them could spearhead their own series. Their abilities and backstories made me genuinely want to see more of the worlds that they came from and, who knows, one of these creations could possibly star in an anime of even greater commercial success than it's parent series.

Studio TROYCA, if you're reading this, we're waiting. Please make it happen.

2. A SEASON 2 OF DEATH PARADE

Yuzuru Tachikawa (who directed Mob Psycho 100 and also worked on various Bleach and Zankyou no Terror episodes) and Madhouse studios linked up to produce a modern, cult classic. Death Parade has a relatively small viewership but it's fanbase is nearly as large it's viewership as most who have watched the show have not had a bad word to say about it... except that it needs more episodes.

The unique concept, as well it's thought-provoking commentary on humanity provided plenty of meat for it's viewers to chew on - Even 3 years on from it's finale. However, it's focus on the trials of the unfortunate souls passing through Quindecim came to the detriment of certain plot points and character arcs. It would have been nice to have some more backstory on the side characters (Dante especially because he looks fun) as well as the history of the bar and possibly it's creation. A plot thread that didn't get a satisfactory conclusion was Nona and Oculus' confrontation seeing more development as well as screen time, but this could be a nit-pick.

*side note: If you haven't watched Death Parade, open a new tab and watch the first episode now.

3. ONE PIECE ANIME FINISHING

Eiichiro Oda started writing the One Piece manga on July 17th, 1997. Yet 21 years, 91 volumes, 925 chapters later and we still can't even sniff the mythical treasure that is One Piece with more players being added to the game and even more questions now than when we started - and that's just the manga.

The anime adaptation premiered 2 years later on October 20th and has been since hampered with filler arcs and, at times, glacial pacing. I remember beginning my One Piece binge in the summer of 2011 with the Marineford arc recently finished. 512 episodes devoured in roughly 4 weeks and I was fully in love with the series. Whilst some of that love has definitely faded, I would still maintain that the day the One Piece anime ends will be one of the sadder days of my life seeing as it's been a part of my weekly routine for nearly a whole decade and counting. Waking up on a Sunday and watching the latest One Piece episode is almost automatic for me at this point so when that ends... I will definitely feel lost for a few subsequent Sundays.

4. A FAITHFUL ADAPTATION OF TOKYO GHOUL

Ahhh... Tokyo Ghoul. **knuckle crack** You'd honestly rather countdown from 1000 to 0 in sevens than try to comprehend the events of the anime (especially its :re adaptation). Some weren't a fan of even season 1 as they felt it omitted some key character interactions from the manga, but all-in-all season 1 was very good and has one of the strongest season finales in recent memory. We also can't forget THAT opening theme song as you'll be thinking long and hard to find find an anime track more universally loved than "Unravel".

However, from there it all starts to take a turn for the worse. The second season, Tokyo Ghoul √A which was lead by director Shuhei Morita, decided to deviate from the manga as author Sui Ishida had not finished writing the Tokyo Ghoul manga by the time production for season 2 had started and therefore requested that it have an original ending. Shuhei wrote on a Reddit AMA that Ishida “specifically wanted us to create something original for the second season, which is why it moves in a different direction.” This left manga readers angry with plot points changing - most notably Kaneki joining Aogiri Tree instead of creating a group to fight them and Hide visibly seen dead instead only being implied dead in the manga. The anime itself was still enjoyed by many anime-only watchers and even some manga readers with season 2 still reaching the same conclusion as the manga. However, with certain plot and character interaction omissions, it meant that an adaptation of the sequel manga (Tokyo Ghoul;re) would be almost impossible from a continuation stand-point. Surprise, surprise Studio Pierrot kept it going... and failed.

We won't go into too much detail about why this third season has been a train wreck but just imagine the mess created when a studio tries to adapt 179 chapters in 24 episodes. The animation was poor and the plot was incoherent which led to a series as emotional and cathartic as Tokyo Ghoul feeling fairly flat and hollow - Even in its more tender moments. We can only hope to be blessed with the Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood-style remake in the future that this series needs and deserves.

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