Does The Anime Industry Have A Nostalgia Bait Problem?

From Cardcaptor Sakura to Urusei Yatsura, anime sequels and reboots benefit the industry—for the most part, anyway.

Hollywood isn’t the only entertainment industry that caught the nostalgia trend. The anime industry has recently produced reboots and sequels of well-known franchises like Trigun with Trigun Stampede and Inuyasha with Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon.

These remakes of classic anime series have received mixed feelings among critics and fans. Some remakes were beneficial for franchises, and others were for profit. Yet, is the nostalgia trend a blunder in the anime industry? Well, for the most part, the nostalgia trend is a worthwhile concept for anime studios.

The Nostalgia Trend's Impact on Hollywood

In Hollywood, there has been a recent uptake of nostalgia shows and films returning with sequels and reboots such as iCarly, Mortal Kombat, and every Disney live-action film. Reboots have received mixed reviews, mostly claiming that the entertainment industry has lost creativity and originality. In some ways, fans are absolutely right to call out the industry for avoiding original content and riding on the coattails of previously popular stories to keep the industry full of options.

However, television and film companies like Disney and Marvel rely on these reboots and sequels of franchises because they already have a strong fanbase, implying that these fans would support their franchises in any new media or merchandise. Studios can rely on these reboots and sequels for monetary gains without having to produce an original film or series for some time. This is to say that reboots and sequels are useful padding for studios while they put work into an original concept and deliver it to the masses.

Reboots and Sequels Are a Golden Opportunity to Give an Honest Adaptation of the Original Manga

Although Hollywood's nostalgia trend is overly hyped, the anime industry has flourished. One main reason is that anime reboots and sequels have an opportunity to tell an authentic manga adaptation. The primary examples of this are Fullmetal Alchemist and Fruits Basket. The original anime shows diverged from their sources because the manga series was still ongoing. As a result, production studios had to create original stories for the characters and delete specific subplots.

The FMA series created an original villain, Dante, who was after the Philosopher's Stone for personal gain, deviating from the original manga plot and reassigning the roles of the Homunculi. For Fruits Basket, the anime director, Akitaro Daichi, and the manga author, Natsuki Takaya, had several creative differences resulting in a completely different storyline. According to Takaya, the 2001 series did not have emotional depth like the manga. The anime plot didn't dive deep into the Sohma family's curse, nor did audiences get to see Kyo Sohma's complexity and struggles.

The Fullmetal Alchemist and Fruits Basket reboots were opportunities to provide fans with authentic adaptations of the manga series. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood introduces characters that didn't appear in the original anime. May Chang and Olivier Mira Armstrong showcase one of the series' strengths (which was missing in the original series): vigorous and masterful female characters.

Fruits Basket (2019) provided emotional depth and melodrama, which was missing in the original series. The anime dramatically illustrated Kyo Sohma's vulnerable moments and the destructive nature of Akito Sohma. These reboots remained loyal to the manga, which many anime and manga fans supported. Usually, when it comes to anime adaptations of manga series, many fans dislike anime that do not remain loyal to the source material.

However, some production companies see reboots and sequels as an opportunity to make a profit. A franchise already has an established fanbase, and any additional series or branding is an opportunity to make monetary gains. Sailor Moon Crystal and Digimon Adventure (2020) are newly remastered series that seem mostly done for profit. Sailor Moon Crystal remained loyal to the manga, eliminating unnecessary side stories from the original series.

However, Sailor Moon Crystal and Digimon Adventure (2020) rarely provided any new content, nor did they develop the original characters from a new perspective for the audiences. Both shows retold the main plot points with minor changes and better animation quality. These reboots allowed the original fans to relive their childhood, but it also was an opportunity to gain new fans.

The Success of a Reboot or Sequel Is Based on Creating New Stories for Our Favorite Characters

For a reboot or sequel to be successful, these series must provide a unique take on the original characters, the themes or ideas, or the world-building. For example, some successful sequels include Bleach, Psycho-Pass: Providence, and Digimon Adventure tri. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is a sequel to the original Bleach series that fans have spent over a decade waiting for. The show focuses on the manga's final arc that wasn’t animated in the original series.

Many fans praised TYBW because it provides an authentic manga adaptation, solely focusing on the main storyline rather than the comedic, slapstick side stories that the original series had. As for Psycho-Pass: Providence and Digimon Adventure tri., these franchises successfully placed their original characters into new situations, developing their personalities and recreating the worlds and settings that these characters live in. Yet, some spin-off series with similar concepts weren't as successful. Boruto, the spin-off anime for Naruto, received mixed reviews from critics and fans.

Boruto continues Naruto's legacy and provides a glimpse into the lives of Naruto and his companions as adults raising children. Arguably, Boruto shows the original characters from a new perspective and builds on the themes and world-building of the franchise. However, fans argue that the spin-off series isn't necessary. Naruto's original ending already provides a wholesome conclusion to his story, and any additional content ruins fans' impression of their favorite character. Spin-off series that don't contribute anything new to the overall story and its characters probably shouldn't exist.

And so, is the nostalgia trend good for the anime industry? Reboots and sequels aren't bad for anime franchises if it has an honest purpose. If the new series can add to the overall storylines of its characters, themes, and world-building, then the series may be worth watching. If not, production studios should start considering just leaving the original anime alone and focusing on merchandise and other venues to make a profit.