Best Anime Based On Western Comics, Ranked

Published Dec 25, 2022, 5:30 PM EST

Sid was born, did some stuff, then decided to become a writer. He finds respite in the sweet embrace of mass media escapism after having risked his life too many times as a journalist covering warzones and depressed areas. Nowadays he mostly risks his bladder as he tries to hold his urine waiting for those precious post-credits scenes at the movies or trying to kill Souls-like bosses. So far it's going well. Probably.

Add Us On

followed

Followed

Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:

Try something different:

This article is part of a directory: Best Anime of All Time || GameRant’s Official Best Anime Ranking

It's not uncommon foranime to be based on western inspirations.Heidi, Girl of the Alpsand evenThe Adventures of Tom Sawyercome to mind, but those are based on novels.Anime based on comic books are quite rare. But when they do exist, they tend to act as bridges for audiences of both mediums of entertainment and literature.

Though, the result is not always for the best. It's often hard to translate cultural norms and nuances into another lens that a certain far-off audience will appreciate without making the source material lose too much of its identity. But these following anime managed, and are now more or less solid bridges for two fandoms.

10 Marvel Future Avengers

Release year:2017
Number of episodes:26

It was only a matter of time beforeMarvel's superheroes invaded the shores of Japan with their landslide appeal. So in 2017, during the height of theAvengersfilms hype,Marvel Future Avengersaired. It finished around January and told a separate story instead of anMCUtie-in.

This time around, a young and relatable self-insert template boy named Makoto gains some superpowers due to an experiment. So the Avengers gathered Makoto and others like him and dubbed them the Future Avengers. Mostly, it's just a good excuse for the protagonist to fight alongside heavyweights such as Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America.

9 Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers

Release year:2014
Number of episodes:51

But even beforeMarvel Future Avengerscame into the picture and reinvented the superheroes for the Japanese audience, there wasMarvel Disk Wars: The Avengersalready. It follows a pretty similar premise; a group of teenagers discovers some disks that contain superheroes and supervillains.

Turns out Loki imprisoned allthe Marvel metahumans on these disks in an attempt to take over the world. So it's up to the teenagers to summonthe Avengers (as though it was a collectible card game) to stop Loki and his evil plans.

8 Iron Man

Release year:2010
Number of episodes:12

Iron Manwas already way ahead of the other Avengers members since he got his anime in 2010 which was also animated by Studio Madhouse nonetheless. And despite the mass appeal of the 2008Iron Manfilm, theIron Mananime doesn't seem to be a tie-in to the MCU films.

Instead, it takes place in a different storyline where Tony Stark visited Japan. But his business trip was cut short after a combat mecha organization named Zodiac started crashing into his parties and ventures. Other than Iron Man, Wolverine also makes a cameo appearance here as a fan-favorite in Japan.

7 Blade

Release year:2011
Number of episodes:12

There's no shortage ofanime about vampires in Japan. So, they might as well bring in one of the most conflicted and popular vampire slayers in fiction, Blade. In his titular anime,Blade, Blade goes to Japan for a mission where he has to track down Deacon Frost.

It's more personal since Frost was responsible for Blade's mother's death. But to get to Frost, Blade has to wade through the muck, namely Frost's own vampire organization and henchmen. Despite the cool animation, a lot of Marvel fans were somewhat disappointed with the reuse of old characters.

6 Ninja Batman

Batman Ninja title image, Batman in the center surroiunded by Robin, Alfred, and other heroes — batman-ninja_1

Release year:2018
Number of episodes:1 (movie)

Of course,DCdidn't want to be late to the party; so it arrived in style with animation, which is arguably its strongest suit outside of comic books. And given that it has to be related to Japan, they animatedNinjaBatman, which is a "what-if"story that explores Batman as a ninja in feudal Japan.

The premise alone is enough of a reason to recommend it to anyone. Sure enough, the Joker also had to be there, and he had a head start of two years. This allowed the Joker to rise to power and eventually become a dominant warlord.

5 Wolverine

Release year:2011
Number of episodes:12

Wolverine in the comic books already had plenty of reasons to go to Japan. A lot of his good stories outside theX-Meninvolve family and girlfriends in Japan. In the 2011Wolverineanime, the titular Marvel hero is out chasing a girlfriend who has disappeared in Tokyo.

And since it's Wolverine, there's a mutant conspiracy and plan involved, along with an old and powerful magnate named Shingen who's obsessed with Logan's immortality. The anime faithfully follows the comic book storyline and canon where Wolverine or Logan is poised to be Shingen's father-in-law.

4 X-Men

Release year:2011
Number of episodes:12

SinceWolverineproved to be quite a decent hit, and he already has a better mass appeal compared to the Avengers, bringing in the rest of theX-Menwas already a promising venture. So soon after theWolverineanime, theX-Menanime of 2011 followed, and it included the most popular characters.

They needed a reason to go to Japan and that came in the form of Charles Xavier calling for an X-Men gathering in order to pursue a kidnapped mutant named Hisako (better known as Armor). They soon got more than they bargained for after discovering that Hisako's kidnapper was a power-hungry cult.

3 Cannon Busters

Release year:2019
Number of episodes:12

Cannon Bustersis one of the latest anime that was adapted from a comic book series. But unlike the other titles here, its prime inspiration is not a mainstream comic book, but rather, an indie series from LeSean Thomas. The anime adaptation is an endearing story about a friendship droid or robot named SAM who goes on an adventure to rescue his friend, an heir to a powerful kingdom.

GR Report: Subscribe and never miss what matters

Level up your gaming knowledge with GameRant, packed with news, reviews, and insights from the gaming world.

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept ourTerms of Use andPrivacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Joining SAM are a discarded maintenance robot and a wild bandit. Their dysfunctional party and ragtag group is all the hope that's left for a kingdom that's under siege. Those looking for something that's generally new will find it here.

2 Batman: Gotham Knight

Release year:2008
Number of episodes:6

Those who could recall Christopher Nolan'sDark Knighttrilogy might notice that there's quite a big Batman activity gap between the films, most notably betweenBatman BeginsandThe Dark Knight. Hence,Batman: Gotham Knightbridges that gap. It's a direct tie-in toThe Dark Knightfilm.

Gotham Knightis a short series of six episodes each detailing what Batman has been up to after saving the city from Ra's Al-Ghul. He went on a tussle with Deadshot, wrestled with his trauma,tried out new technology, and even shook down some crime organizations. He was on his way to winning all of Gotham until the Joker arrived inThe Dark Knight.

1 Witchblade

Release year:2006
Number of episodes:24

Witchbladewas quite a pleasant and underrated surprise that took a significantly different approach compared to its comic book source but came out somewhat intact with the spirit of its source material. It's also about women who come in close contact with the Witchblade, an ancient weapon that turns women into scantily-clad superheroes.

But despite the obvious ecchi fan service,Witchbladehas its hearty drama and motherhood moments as the hero, Masane Amaha, tries to juggle taking care of her daughter with her destructive, newfound powers. There's a good balance of story, action, and character development here, making it not just a well-made comic book adaptation, but also a good anime in general.

More:Best Cyberpunk Anime, Ranked