Many anime (Japanese animations) have been adapted into video games including series like One Piece, Naruto, and Love Live! School Idol Project. With large fan bases that wanted more content from the series, Japanese animators could branch out from TV series to video gaming.
Many of these adaptations fall into similar categories. There are fighting games, often mashing up several anime series to create diverse fighting styles with well-known characters. Rhythm games are another category that is often used for anime that aren’t as plot-driven or are more of a slice-of-life story. Gacha JRPGs (Japanese role-playing games) are also widely utilized, using a loot box system while following an anime’s storyline to entice players.
These adaptations also tend to be a hit or miss, and I think that’s because the content of the game rarely fleshes out beyond the source material. I picked a few anime that I felt could become great video games if ever adapted.
1. Marimashita! Iruma-Kun – Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun
A story about a teenage boy who suddenly finds himself in the underworld attending a school full of human-eating demons, I feel this would be a great story to experience as a game. There are many quirky characters and the world itself is vast. I think the brightly-colored world and characters would make a great template for a video game.
2. No Game No Life
This series follows a brother and sister transported into a world of games where everything from everyday life to world leaders is decided by games. The very concept of the world makes it easier to adapt mini-games and interactions into a video game without breaking a player’s immersion. It seems like it would be an interesting game to play, exploring this fantasy world shaped by the wits of the players.
3. Mahoutsukai no Yome – The Ancient Magus’ Bride
A teenage girl who has always been able to see strange spirits finds herself in the hands of a sorcerer, exploring a hidden world of magic dying off as humans grow and overtake the world. I find the magic system of this world intriguing with so much unexplained and quite enjoy the different myths intertwined in the main story to create a mystical world. This world between the dwindling sorcerers and the rising alchemists seems like an interesting place for players to be dropped into for a journey.
What do you think? Are there any video games adapted from anime you’ve liked or disliked? Share your thoughts in the comments below or in our Boss Rush Discord!
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The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, LeRon, Stephanie, Edward, and their friends from around the internet come together to talk their week in games, entertainment, and more while also bringing topics for conversation, answer listener and community questions, and cover major news and events happening in the video game industry. Watch The Boss Rush Podcast live on Wednesday Nights on Twitch at 8:30PM ET / 5:30PM PT or on Friday mornings at 7AM ET on YouTube and podcast services everywhere. Thanks for listening! You can also get this episode one week early on Patreon.
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