Anime is filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of heroes, villains, and strange worlds. Together, they have created a multiverse filled with comedy, horror, fantasy, and Gundams. What it doesn't have a lot of are American superheroes.
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Only a few franchises have been converted into anime; Batman, the X-Men, and Avengers are among them. But there are many more American superheroes who would be a perfect fit.
10 Blue Beetle And Booster Gold Are Ripe For A Fish Out Of Water Anime
Let's say two superheroes exist who are best friends and fish out of water. They want to be among the big guns when it comes to saving the world, but they aren't taken seriously. So, they devise ways to be seen.
This is a perfect description of DC's Blue Beetle and Booster Gold. Though they've been prominent figures in the past, they're mostly ignored now. Their connection and the various ways they try to be recognized would make for an entertaining anime series.
9 Moon Knight Has As Many Rights To Anime As Batman
Batman is big in both manga and anime. He first appeared in a shonen series at the height of his 1960s popularity and has some recent original video animations (OVA) to his name. So why hasn't Marvel's own secretive billionaire Moon Knight been given the same opportunities?
Anime producers can do different things for this character. He started his life as a superhero with multiple identities; he's lost his mind; he gained his powers from the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. These individual aspects could all work well within several anime sub-genres.
8 Justice League Dark Fits Into Anime's Horror Sub-Genre
Horror is huge in anime. Zombies, vampires, and all types of dystopian and apocalyptic scenarios have overtaken too many anime worlds to count. It's why a series based on Justice League Dark doesn't seem out of reach.
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The best thing about an anime featuring this team is it wouldn't need to hold back on the gore or the scares. For many fans of this sub-genre, the darker and bloodier it is, the better. Of course, with Detective Chimp included, there's also room for a bit of humor in between jump scares.
7 Spider-Man Has Had A Taste Of Anime Already
Peter Parker is known to have one of the worst lucky streaks in comic books. However, that's not the case in the Japanese mass media market, where he gained popularity through a 1979 Spider-Man series. While the character had the same iconic costume in this series, his origins were different, and additionally, he called upon a giant robot named Leopardon to battle various villains.
Spider-Man has also gotten an anime treatment, sort of, over the last few years. The style of animation was most obviously apparent in Ultimate Spider-Man, which ran on Disney XD from 2012 to 2017. The character's reactions, inner dialogue, and rapid-fire jokes are staples of anime. Thus, it makes sense for a Japanese production company to pick up the title.
6 Titans Academy Would Make A Perfect Shonen Anime
The sub-genre of shonen anime is aimed at a target demographic of teenage boys. In many cases, the underlying setting is education or training. The various Dragon Ball series and Naruto are two examples of shonen series.
Titans Academy would work quite well with the usual tropes of this sub-genre. Like other programs, it features different individuals paired together for a common reason. Additionally, there's an underlying mystery those at the Academy, including members of the original Titans lineup, need to solve. Here, it's determining who's behind the mask of Red X.
5 Ms. Marvel Works As A Shojo Anime
While shonen is marketed at teenage boys, its counterpart shojo is aimed at teenage girls. Sailor Moon, for example, is one of the most iconic modern shojo series, and a show based on Ms. Marvel ought to follow Sailor Moon's example.
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Kamala Khan's comics have all the elements of the shojo. She's a high school student with a cadre of unique friends, but when called on, she works to defeat villains in her own neighborhood and across the globe with teams like the Avengers and Champions. One critical aspect that'd make it a perfect shojo anime is if she were given an awesome transformation scene to become Ms. Marvel.
4 The Green Lantern Corps Is Ripe For Anime Adventures
Anime is well-known for space-faring shows that explore different planets and species. It's also known for amazing fantasy productions where a certain object gives its user enormous powers. The two items combined make up the Green Lantern Corps.
The reason this group should be given an anime instead of simply Hal Jordan is their diversity. Long-running anime programs are known for their large cast of characters, and the Corps has a seemingly unending amount of these people. Plus, if it comes down to it, producers can make their secret weapons the ability to create mechas from their rings.
3 Werewolf By Night Has An Expansive Backstory Perfect For Anime
Though it only ran from 1972 to 1977, Marvel's Werewolf by Night developed a vast backstory. One that includes vampires, witches, and god-like beings. These are common tropes of many anime series, which is why the character is a perfect fit.
What a Werewolf by Night anime would need to do is stay away from the latter battles with superheroes that the character got involved with toward the end of the series. After all, Moon Knight was introduced in Werewolf by Night #32. The anime has to stick with the horror elements of the character and his tragic history.
2 Legion Of Super-Heroes Can Utilize Its Large Cast
Like the Green Lantern Corps, DC's Legion of Super-Heroes is another group that demands an anime treatment. Plus, it can be made either a shonen or a shojo. Of course, it could also simply be a space opera similar to Voltron or Robotech.
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However, a show based on the Legion has to constantly highlight the team members' powers against the big baddies. Yes, there can be an episode or two of quiet, but for the most part, the LSH has to battle villains like Computo, the Fatal Five, and Time Trapper regularly.
1 The Immortal Hulk Is Straight-Up Horror
Though there are plenty of Hulk incarnations to choose from to be an anime series, the one that would draw the most viewers is The Immortal Hulk. Developed by writer Al Ewing and artist Joe Bennett, this version of the Green Behemoth has gone straight into horror. The numerous deaths of Bruce Banner and gory transformations are perfect for horror anime.
There's not much that needs to be changed because Ewing and Bennett created a universe that mixes scares with a bit of mysticism and spirituality. These are already part of many horror anime that don't deal with apocalyptic scenarios. To put it another way, there's a good deal to think about amid the blood and gore of The Immortal Hulk.
NEXT: 10 Superhero Teams Everyone Forgets About
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About The Author
Richard Keller
(215 Articles Published)
Rich Keller is a 30-year freelance veteran. He began his career as a stringer, covering school board meetings for a local paper. Since then, Rich has written millions of words for both online and print publications. He is the author of "Coffee Cup Tales and Thinking Outside My Box. Rich was also a podcaster, hosting "The Daily Author" for nearly 300 episodes. Rich is an avid comic book fan who once braved the world of San Diego Comic-Con. You can follow Rich on Facebook.
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