Shonen Manga That Might Be Difficult To Adapt Into An Anime

Key Takeaways

• Blue Flag’s complex themes may be best enjoyed in manga due to the sensitive issues it tackles.
• Bloody Monday’s complex narrative and sensitive topics make it risky for an anime adaptation.
• Fire Punch’s controversial themes and unique pacing may be more suited for manga than anime.

Shonen manga is perhaps the most likely type of manga to get anime adaptations. It’s hard to deny that certain action-packed series would work better in the animated medium than still, black-and-white drawings. But, of course, as with anything, there are exceptions. Some shonen stories work better within the pages of a manga than on the screen of a television.

Perhaps the series’ art style wouldn’t translate well into animation. Alternatively, sometimes the creators themselves don’t want their creations to be adapted. In some cases, the manga has only received an OVA adaptation, not a complete anime series. Here are a few excellent shonen manga that would face significant challenges in being adapted into anime, and might be best enjoyed in their printed versions.

6 Blue Flag

This Slow Burn High-School Romance Works Best in Manga Form

• Release Date: February 1, 2017
• Creator: Kaito
• No. of Volumes: 8

Blue Flag has received praise for its depiction of complex and sensitive issues, leading many fans to wonder if and when the series will get an anime adaptation. To the disappointment of some fans, it seems unlikely that an animated adaptation will be produced anytime soon. However, this might be a good thing for the series.

Blue Flag deals with issues like love, identity, and sexuality in a nuanced and realistic manner. Any adaptation for the screen would have to handle these themes carefully to avoid misunderstandings. The series is also written in a way where readers can absorb its emotions at their own pace, and that might not translate well into an anime format.

5 Bloody Monday

Complex Plot and Sensitive Topics Make An Anime Adaptation Risky

• Release Date: March 28, 2007
• Creators: Ryumon Ryo
• No. of Volumes: 11

Bloody Monday seems like the perfect candidate for a truly mind-blowing anime, given its intense, thriller-driven plotline. While the manga did receive a two-season live-action TV drama in 2008, an anime adaptation is unlikely to be on any studios’ radar anytime soon.

Unfortunately, techno-thrillers without supernatural elements like Bloody Monday are relatively rare in anime, because of their complicated narrative structure and emphasis on technical details. These elements can make such stories difficult to adapt to the screen in a way that’s faithful to the source material. In addition, the manga also covers sensitive issues like terrorism, which have to be approached with care.

4 Psyren

Faces A Lot of Competition From Similar Series

• Release Date: December 3, 2007
• Creator: Toshiaki Iwashiro
• No. of Volumes: 16

Given Psyren‘s status as a battle shonen, many fans would think it would be right at home within the anime space, alongside series like Bleach and Naruto. But unfortunately, it was serialized alongside those titans of the genre. Compared to its competitors, it simply wasn’t popular enough to warrant an anime.

Psyren‘s cult popularity, rather than mainstream acceptance, would likely make it challenging for creators to secure a strong budget for quality animation. Of course, the series could be revisited at some point, as the trend of adapting older manga like Devilman and Dororo is becoming popular. Hope is not lost for this cult classic to receive its own show.

3 Fire Punch

Controversial Themes and Unique Pacing Are More Suited to Manga

• Release Date: April 18, 2016
• Creator: Tatsuki Fujimoto
• No. of Volumes: 8

Fire Punch, despite being created by the same person behind Chainsaw Man, has yet to receive an anime adaptation. This is likely due to the manga’s dark and extreme themes, like cannibalism. Adapting it to a television or streaming format would require heavy editing to appease the censors, deviating from the source material quite a bit.

Tatsuki Fujimoto’s storytelling style is also surreal and experimental, challenging conventional narrative structures. This doesn’t always work well on TV screens. While Chainsaw Man‘s enormous success across multiple demographics made it viable for an anime adaptation, Fire Punch‘s graphic content and complex narrative would be difficult to convey in an anime.

2 Alice in Borderland

The Psychological Thriller Is More Suitable For a Live-Action Adaptation

• Release Date: November 25, 2010
• Creator: Haro Aso
• No. of Volumes: 18

While Alice in Borderland has received a three-episode OVA adaptation, it has not been adapted into a full-fledged anime. Following the massive surge in popularity of survival dramas like Squid Game, realistic portrayals of high-stakes survival game media like Alice in Borderland have found their stride in live-action rather than anime.

Moreover, anime studios may have avoided adapting this dark and mature series as an anime due to the difficulty in building mainstream appeal. The stakes and emotions portrayed may also be more difficult to convey in an animated series, making it better suited for the realm of live-action.

1 Yotsuba&!

The Simple Slice-of-Life Structure Would Make For a Boring Anime

• Release Date: March 21, 2003
• Creator: Kiyohiko Azuma
• No. of Volumes: Ongoing

Kiyohiko Azuma, the creator of Yotsuba&!, has forbidden anyone from adapting the manga into an anime, and for good reason. Yotsuba&! follows the slice-of-life format in its purest form, meaning there’s no overarching plot. It can be hard to maintain this style in an anime without losing viewer interest.

The series’ slow pace and unique style of comedy is also better suited to a manga format, where readers can pick up and put down the book whenever they want. Its episodic and aimless structure could feel repetitive in an anime series.