A serious Megaman Anime Production. Would you like it?

[megaman24681012]

Might as well instill some discussion of Megaman among us, seeing that things have been quiet over our favourite Blue Bomber.

A high profile Mega Man Anime series.

we've seen a good anime of Rockman.EXE, a decent one based on Ryuusei no Rockman. and have probably seen the OVA Megaman Upon A Star (oh, and the OVA: Day of Sigma).

But what was bugging me was the possibility of Megaman getting a dedicated anime series; any of the megaman series, from Classic to Zero. And when I say "dedicated", I mean one that has a serious, strong storyline; good animation; great voice acting; and being respected as a good anime series on its own, not just "good for a video game anime adaptation".

What are your thoughts on this hypothetical? This possibility? Negative? Positive? Controversial?   

[Phi]

I loved The Day of Σ. So it would be awesome to have a full-fledged Mega Man X anime series.

I wouldn't count on it actually happening though. And it probably wouldn't be that high-production unless it's another OVA.

[Gaia]

An X anime would be fine and dandy if they explained how they are able to get full-bodied reploids into cyberspace AND how the individual reploid BECOMES a maverick (instead of going "gah, I've been infected so I can do whatever the hell I want!" and going berserk instantly).

Plus it would be nice to get some side stories to already developed Mavericks such as Magma Dragoon and Chill Penguin, and expand on the idea of X's limitless potential. I mean, whenever there's a new X game there almost has to be someone to ursurp the titluar character (Save for Command Mission). I dun get it.  

[The Great Gonzo]

I, personally, would hope for a continuation of RS-MM that didn't dispose of its weirder elements or try to force it to be exactly like the games. But the cartoon's 17 years old and Japan only ever got the first episode.

If they went the Classic MM route--as long as it wasn't like Upon a Star and didn't turn anyone into moeblob eye candy, I'd give it a chance. (I'd also prefer that they make it 15 years ago or so, when they still used ink and paint, but I'm an old coot)

[Flame]

Damn skippy I would like it.

@ Gonz Really? I thought the upon a star style was perfect. it was good for what it was. better than RS style anyway, as the characters actually looked halfway like they were supposed to.

I would personally like an X series anime.

[The Great Gonzo]

Really? I thought the upon a star style was perfect. it was good for what it was. better than RS style anyway, as the characters actually looked halfway like they were supposed to.

From what I understand, the edutainment bits of Upon a Star take up more time than the actual Megaman stuff. Not a good sign.

And RS-MM's designs weren't THAT far off (for the most part). At least they weren't "early US/EU box art" caliber.

[Psycho Yuffie]

Granted, Ruby Spears wasn't horrible. It could have been much worse (Captain N). It was a pretty good show for what it was and what little source material the people had to go on at the time; however, we don't live in the early 90's anymore.  What they produced is understandable once you put it in the context of the era it was produced in, but such a thing won't fly anymore. We know what the source material is now.

[Blackhook]

I was quite surprised by the quality of The Day of Σ so if they made a full anime in that vein I surely wouldn't be dissapointed.
Also Megaman Zero would make a great anime. (Or atleast a manga series by Ariga...)

[Archer]

How about they make a Legends 3 anime.

I'm sure that would totally happen.

[Zan]

I would love to see a MegaMix anime adaption.

[Align]

MMX or Z seem like the most interesting candidates to me. I'm not so sure I'd trust Capcom near anime after the ZX anime trailer was the most clichéd thing I've ever seen, though.

[Flame]

From what I understand, the edutainment bits of Upon a Star take up more time than the actual Megaman stuff. Not a good sign.

And RS-MM's designs weren't THAT far off (for the most part). At least they weren't "early US/EU box art" caliber.

they werent bad, no, but between RS style and UAS style, I would chose the one closer to the games.

On the edutainment thing, I dont really recall. I remember enjoying it. but then again, this is also the anime that has Megaman and co entering the real world from the videogame. theres also the awesome opening, which shows action clips of the games. bosses, protoman, etc.

if you havnt seen it, I suggest you do. Its not that bad.

[Blackhook]

And Wily's a Ninja. But that educational stuff gets kinda in the way.

[Sky Child]

i don't know if any of the megaman series would work as an animated series, to be honest with you

none of the games really have any character development at all. same heroes, same fights, different enemies. it's always been primarily gameplay and the storytelling has come second in every single case.

unless LOADS of creative license was taken it would just be really awkward and dumb. day of sigma worked because it was a very small story that explained a bunch and pretty much dropped the entire X series into a nutshell.

[Blackhook]

i don't know if any of the megaman series would work as an animated series, to be honest with you

none of the games really have any character development at all. same heroes, same fights, different enemies. it's always been primarily gameplay and the storytelling has come second in every single case.

unless LOADS of creative license was taken it would just be really awkward and dumb. day of sigma worked because it was a very small story that explained a bunch and pretty much dropped the entire X series into a nutshell.

Megaman Zero says Hi

[Sky Child]

Megaman Zero says Hi

well yeah, you have a point there. but you have to take into account... every other megaman series.

[Hypershell]

I dunno, I think X and co. have plenty enough character depth to drive an anime.  God knows there's a lot more than TDoS that's been left unsaid in the games.  

I wouldn't say that Classic is lacking, more like it's already been done.  We have RS, we have Upon A Star, we have Archie's comics, and there's tons more out there.

The source story being limited means nothing; if anything it creates an opportunity.  Any decent game adaptation needs to stand on its own rather than remain strictly within the confines of the game story, or else it's just redundant.  As an example, just look at Sonic SatAM.  The games, in terms of storyline, offered jack squat other than the robot theme to the villain.  The show took the games as an inspiration, and from there succeeded by its own merits.

Granted, Ruby Spears wasn't horrible. It could have been much worse (Captain N). It was a pretty good show for what it was and what little source material the people had to go on at the time; however, we don't live in the early 90's anymore.  What they produced is understandable once you put it in the context of the era it was produced in, but such a thing won't fly anymore. We know what the source material is now.

The character design of the show was perfectly fine.  Roll is the only real offender in terms of anyone not bearing a reasonable likeness to the source (by "reasonable", I mean within the same margins that the entirety of the fanbase accepts between Ariga and Rockman Online), and I'm sure getting her a new outfit could be easily arranged.  Yeah, ProtoMan needs to stop working for Wily (that's a result of the show pre-dating Bass, and we all know it), and the general atmosphere could be a little less cheesy, but all of that is a pretty simple batch of adjustments.

Not that I believe anyone would pick up RS, it's just too old.  I'm just saying, if someone did, there's no reason it couldn't work.

[Hiryu]

i don't know if any of the megaman series would work as an animated series, to be honest with you

none of the games really have any character development at all. same heroes, same fights, different enemies. it's always been primarily gameplay and the storytelling has come second in every single case.

unless LOADS of creative license was taken it would just be really awkward and dumb. day of sigma worked because it was a very small story that explained a bunch and pretty much dropped the entire X series into a nutshell.

I agree with this statement. The first game they would do would be fine. The next game might offer a little twist, and even maybe the next one. It would definitely be a bit stale after that though. Same for the X series.

A MMZ cartoon would be better ideally because it's not necessarily set to a predictable model like the Original and X series. Legends would be great too.

But I'm sure another original series or X series cartoon would be fine, they'll just have to get more creative. What did everyone else think about the X manga?

[Flame]

Ariga's Mangas and Iwamoto's mangas did plenty with their source. Not to mention what has already been mentioned, every other adaptation seems to have done just fine.

So anime adaptations work just fine.

Actually, on a related matter, Id direct you to this fan effort at making an X series anime script.
http://megamanx9.com/forum/index.php?/topic/3345-megaman-x-the-anime

[Gaia]

i don't know if any of the megaman series would work as an animated series, to be honest with you

none of the games really have any character development at all. same heroes, same fights, different enemies. it's always been primarily gameplay and the storytelling has come second in every single case.

unless LOADS of creative license was taken it would just be really awkward and dumb. day of sigma worked because it was a very small story that explained a bunch and pretty much dropped the entire X series into a nutshell.

Battle Network and Star Force both had anime, but take it into account they were both more like RPGs. Zero had an audio drama track series even further expanding into ZX. Classic had RS and Upon a Star, but you know how those went.

If we had yet ANOTHER classic anime the premise would be the same (whomp wily) with a little something on the side. So far Day of Sigma is a pretty good OVA pre-X1, but I'd like to know what goes inside the maverick's head before being accused one.

Maybe on the same quality of the Clone Wars II animated series (minus theatrical release to promote series, but I digress), but X's only TV appearance is (again) Ruby Spears. So I see promise here.

[Sky Child]

I agree with this statement. The first game they would do would be fine. The next game might offer a little twist, and even maybe the next one. It would definitely be a bit stale after that though. Same for the X series.

A MMZ cartoon would be better ideally because it's not necessarily set to a predictable model like the Original and X series. Legends would be great too.

But I'm sure another original series or X series cartoon would be fine, they'll just have to get more creative. What did everyone else think about the X manga?

the thing with the zero series is that it actually followed an acceptably cohesive plot from game to game, which would make it the best fodder for a megaman cartoon if you're so desperate for one. legends might be doable, yeah. there's a lot to work with since it seems to overall have more put into it as far as world building goes. we can only get so far on "DIS IZ DA FYOOCHUR DER AR ROBITS [parasitic bomb] IS GOAN DOWN", which is what both the classic and X series coasted by on. (in the year 20XX...)

granted i'm not trying to discredit the X and Classic series for what they are. there was quite a lot of effort and thought put into both series but you really can't ignore the simple fact that the games all stuck to a specific format (aside from command mission, but i'd be surprised if someone made a television series based on a half-baked rpg spinoff), and the world around that format changed way too much to keep track of. it's like each game is years apart, and yet the exact same [parasitic bomb] is happening over and over.

The source story being limited means nothing; if anything it creates an opportunity.  Any decent game adaptation needs to stand on its own rather than remain strictly within the confines of the game story, or else it's just redundant.  As an example, just look at Sonic SatAM.  The games, in terms of storyline, offered jack squat other than the robot theme to the villain.  The show took the games as an inspiration, and from there succeeded by its own merits.

this is an excellent point, and something to consider. another thing to consider though, is that fandoms are INCREDIBLY fickle. a lot of people who enjoy the megaman series as a game simply will not accept something new and different. i'm not pointing any fingers though, if someone managed to take these cookie cutter games and turn them into a well scripted story universe with emotionally charged situations i'd be more than excited.

the main problem being that both classic characters and X-series characters are somewhat shallow. they operate on very few character traits (hero, aloof, evil, smart, etc). it doesn't make them completely non-functional as characters, considering we're all still attached to them after so many years. to make it work they would need a hardcore rewrite, which i would welcome with open arms.

[Zan]

if someone managed to take these cookie cutter games and turn them into a well scripted story universe with emotionally charged situations i'd be more than excited.

the main problem being that both classic characters and X-series characters are somewhat shallow. they operate on very few character traits (hero, aloof, evil, smart, etc). it doesn't make them completely non-functional as characters, considering we're all still attached to them after so many years. to make it work they would need a hardcore rewrite, which i would welcome with open arms.

Hitoshi Ariga.

[Flame]

and Yoshihiro Iwamoto.

Cant speak for Ikehara unfortunately.

Also Koji Izu.

[Hypershell]

the main problem being that both classic characters and X-series characters are somewhat shallow. they operate on very few character traits (hero, aloof, evil, smart, etc). it doesn't make them completely non-functional as characters, considering we're all still attached to them after so many years. to make it work they would need a hardcore rewrite, which i would welcome with open arms.

I doubt it would require a rewrite, though it may very well be perceived as one.  See, many times, with games that focus more on action than story, fans tend to read the characters as being even more shallow than they actually are.  Case in point: Samus Aran.

I look at Zero and I see the potential for the same thing.  There's plenty we don't know.  What's he like socially, when he's not on the job?  Loner?  Popular?  Serious?  Laid back?  Then we have what we do know, the obvious ruthless exterior.  Then we have the less obvious but equally canonical insecurities underneath the surface.  Zero has a lot of issues with his past, and with innocent casualties (particularly in X4/X5).  And even he gets sick of fighting (X8, Z1 drama tracks, Z3 drama tracks).  These are issues we usually associate with X, the simple naive hero.  Zero feels them as well, to some degree, but he doesn't let those feelings out the way that X does.  The first anime to explore that, which TDoS did not, could very easily get castrated by the masses for being an alleged betrayal of Zero's character.

[megaman24681012]

To my understanding, what a serious anime adaptation of a story-shallow game series like Mega Man requires an observation of the characters actions within the games (whether player controlled or NPC), and interpret them in a way that is logical; this will allow one to expand on their characters. Also, the storyline must be rigorously reinvented to suit the passive environment of anime; see how Hitoshi Ariga did it, (example: Asteroid Blues) he took the storyline of MM3 and recreated it with the same Robot Masters, but with significantly more vibrant personalities, not cliched, not stereotypical, but interesting and appropriate to the RBs behavior ingame. The simple storyline of MM3 was changed drastically to fit the more somber setting of Ariga's interpretation Mega Man Classic.

And if you haven't figured it out from the paragraph above, I would LOOOOOOOVE to see Hitoshi Ariga create an anime adaptation of Mega Man Classic! Just as long as he learns to slow down his pacing; seriously, his stories move by FAST!