Anime First: Difference between revisions

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
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Anime is usually based on manga, light novels, visual novels or video games. Occasionally there are exceptions.
Anime is usually based on manga, light novels, visual novels or video games. Occasionally there are exceptions.


Anime is always more risky than manga. Pretty much everyone has a manga specifically geared to their interest somewhere, and the largely black and white format of manga makes it cheaper to produce than even the average western comic book. Producing a show is much more expensive.<ref>Even a cheaply-done 12 episode anime can literally cost $US 1 Million to produce when all is said and done, and that's the cheap stuff. Mind you, the expensive shows such as ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' cost $US 1 Million per episode.</ref> And while a lot of manga is made to be accessible and disposable, the demographics of TV watchers is different. This is the major reason anime is mostly populated by shounen and shoujo, as kids simply have more time. Meanwhile, [[Josei]] manga rarely ever gets made into anime, if reaching television at all.
Anime is always more risky than manga. Pretty much everyone has a manga specifically geared to their interest somewhere, and the largely black and white format of manga makes it cheaper to produce than even the average western comic book. Producing a show is much more expensive.<ref>Even a cheaply-done 12 episode anime can literally cost $US 1 Million to produce when all is said and done, and that's the cheap stuff. Mind you, the expensive shows such as ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' cost $US 1 Million per episode. The really high end stuff, like ''[[The Tale of the Princess Kaguya]]'', needs around ten million dollars for 20 minutes of animation.</ref> And while a lot of manga is made to be accessible and disposable, the demographics of TV watchers is different. This is the major reason anime is mostly populated by shounen and shoujo, as kids simply have more time. Meanwhile, [[Josei]] manga rarely ever gets made into anime, if reaching television at all.


Anime also requires voice actors and a hopefully decent animation budget. On the other hand, it's much easier to make a show based on a known money-generating property. Making a show suddenly becomes lucrative once you figure in things like new merchandise (character [[Image Song]] and soundtracks, most noticeably) which pays for the show. This is the main reason [[Bleached Underpants|H-games made into anime]] are the most successful financially and on the other extreme, why most '''Anime First''' shows for youngsters are explicitly [[Merchandise-Driven]]. [[Magical Girl]] and Mecha series in particular have a high chance of being '''Anime First'''.
Anime also requires voice actors and a hopefully decent animation budget. On the other hand, it's much easier to make a show based on a known money-generating property. Making a show suddenly becomes lucrative once you figure in things like new merchandise (character [[Image Song]] and soundtracks, most noticeably) which pays for the show. This is the main reason [[Bleached Underpants|H-games made into anime]] are the most successful financially and on the other extreme, why most '''Anime First''' shows for youngsters are explicitly [[Merchandise-Driven]]. [[Magical Girl]] and Mecha series in particular have a high chance of being '''Anime First'''.


Occasionally manga comes out ''after'' such an anime, but only as a limited run. Some manga run ''concurrently'' to a show, so divergences are common and accepted. You don't want them to be ''exactly'' alike or the audience will wonder why you're [[Overtook the Manga|messing with the story]]. You also rarely get a sort of [[Double Subversion]] where the manga comes out first, but the original project was conceived as an anime; the manga was primarily intended as advertisement. (Two well-known examples are ''[[Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind]]'' and ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''.)
Occasionally manga comes out ''after'' such an anime, but only as a limited run. Some manga run ''concurrently'' to a show, so divergences are common and accepted. You don't want them to be ''exactly'' alike or the audience will wonder why you're [[Overtook the Manga|messing with the story]]. You also rarely get a sort of [[Double Subversion]] where the manga comes out first, but the original project was conceived as an anime; the manga was primarily intended as advertisement. (Two well-known examples are ''[[Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (anime)|Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]'' and ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''.)


Not to be confused with the common gripe that all of the anime examples on a trope page come first. (Seriously, guys, it's ''alphabetical''. Either add in some examples from advertising, or let it go.)
Not to be confused with the common gripe that all of the anime examples on a trope page come first. (Seriously, guys, it's ''alphabetical''. Either add in some examples from advertising, or let it go.)


{{examples}}
{{examples}}
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' is an unusual example of a single show's popularity lasting over two decades due to careful merchandising which is still regularly released. Various spinoff manga exist, including the [[Schedule Slip|intermittently produced]] one that ran alongside the ''original'' show (see below).
* ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' is an unusual example of a single show's popularity lasting nearly three decades due to careful merchandising which is still regularly released. Various spinoff manga exist, including the [[Schedule Slip|intermittently produced]] one that ran alongside the ''original'' show (see below).
** Even though the manga began publication before the anime began airing, it was made as a tie-in for the anime which was in production at the time. Amusingly, this manga is ''[[Long Runner|still ongoing 16+ years later]]''...because of [[Schedule Slip]].
** Even though the manga began publication before the anime began airing, it was made as a tie-in for the anime which was in production at the time. Amusingly, this manga is ''[[Long Runner|still ongoing 16+ years later]]''...because of [[Schedule Slip]].
* ''[[Serial Experiments Lain]]''
* ''[[Serial Experiments Lain]]''
* ''[[Soukou no Strain]]''
* ''[[Soukou no Strain]]''
* ''[[Please Teacher]]'' and ''[[Onegai Twins]]'': The manga adaptations differ significantly from the anime plot toward the end.
* ''[[Please Teacher!]]'' and ''[[Please Twins!]]'': The manga adaptations differ significantly from the anime plot toward the end.
* ''[[El-Hazard: The Magnificent World]]''
* ''[[El-Hazard: The Magnificent World]]''
* ''[[El Cazador de la Bruja]]'' : Has a Manga side story to it.
* ''[[El Cazador de la Bruja]]'' : Has a Manga side story to it.
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]''{{'}}s (and now ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's]]'''s) manga has the same characters, as well as some new ones, but a totally different plot which bears no resemblance to the original.
* Every ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' manga except the original is this; each the same characters, as well as some new ones, but a totally different plot which bears no resemblance to the original.
* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]''. Two manga series for this show do exist, but they were developed as tie-ins to the anime.
* ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]''. Two manga series for this show do exist, but they were developed as tie-ins to the anime.
** Actually "Shooting Star", which came first, was more of an original [[Alternate Universe]] type story that doesn't really tie in to the anime at all.
** Actually "Shooting Star", which came first, was more of an original [[Alternate Universe]] type story that doesn't really tie in to the anime at all.
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* ''[[Mawaru Penguindrum]]'', similar to Utena (which was also by Ikuhara), has novels being released simultaneously.
* ''[[Mawaru Penguindrum]]'', similar to Utena (which was also by Ikuhara), has novels being released simultaneously.
* ''[[Digimon Xros Wars]]''. While [[Digimon Xros Wars (manga)|the manga]] debuted first by around a fortnight, the anime was announced and presumably in production for months beforehand and the manga specifically adapts it, so it still qualifies for this trope.
* ''[[Digimon Xros Wars]]''. While [[Digimon Xros Wars (manga)|the manga]] debuted first by around a fortnight, the anime was announced and presumably in production for months beforehand and the manga specifically adapts it, so it still qualifies for this trope.
* Very similar to ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Evangelion]]'', above, ''[[Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind]]'' is a weird example wherein the manga was released first, but primarily to help the production of and promote the (anime) film. This example is further atypical in that the manga wound up being a major [[Adaptation Expansion]], starting its run two years before the film ultimately came out... and finishing ''ten years'' after it, a total run of twelve years. (And unlike with ''Evangelion'', this had nothing to do with [[Schedule Slip]].)
* Very similar to ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Evangelion]]'', above, ''[[Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (anime)|Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]'' is a weird example wherein the [[Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga)|manga]] was released first, but primarily to help the production of and promote the anime film. This example is further atypical in that the manga wound up being a major [[Adaptation Expansion]], starting its run two years before the film ultimately came out... and finishing ''ten years'' after it, a total run of twelve years. (And unlike with ''Evangelion'', this had nothing to do with [[Schedule Slip]].)
* ''[[Saint October]]''
* ''[[Saint October]]''
* ''[[The Boy and the Heron (anime)|The Boy and the Heron]]'' is an original story by [[Hayao Miyazaki]]. It does feature a real world novel, ''How Do You Live?'', whose name served as the tentative English title, but the story of the film is all original. It's further distinguished from other anime in that it doesn't have a production committee, meaning all production funds came out of [[Studio Ghibli]]'s pockets. This allows for a level of creative freedom rarely seen in any ''animated'' production, not just anime.


{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

Latest revision as of 20:10, 16 July 2023

Anime is usually based on manga, light novels, visual novels or video games. Occasionally there are exceptions.

Anime is always more risky than manga. Pretty much everyone has a manga specifically geared to their interest somewhere, and the largely black and white format of manga makes it cheaper to produce than even the average western comic book. Producing a show is much more expensive.[1] And while a lot of manga is made to be accessible and disposable, the demographics of TV watchers is different. This is the major reason anime is mostly populated by shounen and shoujo, as kids simply have more time. Meanwhile, Josei manga rarely ever gets made into anime, if reaching television at all.

Anime also requires voice actors and a hopefully decent animation budget. On the other hand, it's much easier to make a show based on a known money-generating property. Making a show suddenly becomes lucrative once you figure in things like new merchandise (character Image Song and soundtracks, most noticeably) which pays for the show. This is the main reason H-games made into anime are the most successful financially and on the other extreme, why most Anime First shows for youngsters are explicitly Merchandise-Driven. Magical Girl and Mecha series in particular have a high chance of being Anime First.

Occasionally manga comes out after such an anime, but only as a limited run. Some manga run concurrently to a show, so divergences are common and accepted. You don't want them to be exactly alike or the audience will wonder why you're messing with the story. You also rarely get a sort of Double Subversion where the manga comes out first, but the original project was conceived as an anime; the manga was primarily intended as advertisement. (Two well-known examples are Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Neon Genesis Evangelion.)

Not to be confused with the common gripe that all of the anime examples on a trope page come first. (Seriously, guys, it's alphabetical. Either add in some examples from advertising, or let it go.)

Examples of Anime First include:
  1. ↑ Even a cheaply-done 12 episode anime can literally cost $US 1 Million to produce when all is said and done, and that's the cheap stuff. Mind you, the expensive shows such as Cowboy Bebop cost $US 1 Million per episode. The really high end stuff, like The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, needs around ten million dollars for 20 minutes of animation.
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