What's the Hold Up? Some of Manga's Greatest Series Still Need an Anime Run
When a great manga goes on for a long enough time, it’s typically assumed that an anime will eventually follow. Anime adaptations are the easiest way of tapping into a manga’s popularity, and with how so many mainstream anime are manga adaptations, it’s a practice that only benefits fans and creators alike.
As simple as the process behind manga getting anime adaptations seems on paper, the reality of it all is anything but. Naturally, a manga running for a long time doesn’t automatically mean it will get an anime, especially if it hasn’t been met with success, but beyond that, plenty of manga, both short and long-running, have been met with incredible critical and financial success, yet have surprisingly never gotten anime adaptations. A few manga that have never gotten anime particularly stand out, as each one is so great that it’s hard to justify why they still haven’t been animated.
10 The Bugle Call: Song Of War
Manga By Mozuku Sora & Higoro Toumori; Serialized In Jump Square Since 2022
Mozuku Sora and Higoro Toumori’s The Bugle Call: Song of War stars Luca, the bugler of a mercenary company with the ability to manifest the music he plays into light. One day, the mysterious Pontiff recruits Luca into an army of people with similar abilities to defeat the deadly Garland in exchange for Luca getting a chance to become a real musician, but there ends up being far more to it all than Luca could have imagined.
While the manga has only been running for a little over two years, between its incredible worldbuilding and stunning fight choreography that only gets better with every chapter, The Bugle Call: Song of War is one of the best manga to come out of the Shonen Jump label in recent years. The manga officially releases in English in 2025, and hopefully, an anime will be soon to follow.
9 Rosen Garten Saga
Manga By Fujisakimori & Bakotsu Tonooka; Serialized On Comiplex Since 2020
Fujisakimori and Bakotsu Tonooka's Rosen Garten Saga takes place in a world where all myths are true, although they often have far more sexual bends to them than their real-life counterparts. When the village of the inexplicably ostracized Lynn is attacked by vandals, Lynn is saved after being possessed by the legendary warrior Siegfried, and while she hates the perverted situations he forces her into, she'll go along with it to try and win the heart of the beautiful warrior Brunhilde.
Rosen Garten Saga is an unabashedly depraved manga filled with graphic sexual content, but beneath all that, Rosen Garten Saga, despite its incredible depravity, has some of the best artwork and most creative fight choreography of any modern manga. Anime like Gushing Over Magical Girls and Chained Soldier shows that manga with graphic sexual content can get anime, and hopefully, Rosen Garten Saga will follow suit one day.
8 Goodbye, Eri
Manga By Tatsuki Fujimoto; Serialized In Shonen Jump+ In 2022
Goodbye, Eri is the second short story by Tatsuki Fujimoto of Chainsaw Man and Look Back fame. Aspiring filmmaker Yuta Ito makes a film chronicling the last days of his terminally ill mother, only for the film to be met with confusion and make him the subject of mockery. A girl named Eri loved Yuta’s film, however, and she helps Yuta strengthen his craft to properly sell his talents, all while seemingly hiding secrets of her own.
While Goodbye, Eri might not have the same emotional depth as Look Back, Goodbye, Eri’s writing and visual presentation do a perfect job of bringing a film aesthetic to manga, and it’s the manga that does the best job of capitalizing on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s love of film, by far. The Look Back movie was recently met with rave reviews, and as such, there’s no reason why a Goodbye, Eri anime can’t also happen.
7 Animal Land
Manga By Makoto Raiku; Serialized In Bessatsu Shonen Magazine 2009-2014
Makoto Raiku’s Animal Land takes place in a world populated solely by animals, all of whom are forced to live through the unforgiving reality of survival of the fittest. Amidst all that, a young tanuki named Monoko adopts a mysterious human baby named Taroza, and as Taroza searches for the truth behind his existence, he just might become the key everyone needs to change their cruel reality.
While Animal Land was never as big a success as Makoto Raiku’s signature manga, Zatch Bell!, not only is the artwork just as great, but Animal Land’s incredibly strong character writing and dark storytelling make it one of the most underrated manga of the 2010s. Animal Land’s lack of financial success undoubtedly kept it from getting an anime, but with the increased relevancy of Raiku’s brand thanks to Zatch Bell! 2, it would be great if Animal Land could finally get its due.
6 Pokémon Adventures
Manga By Hidenori Kusaka & Satoshi Yamamoto; Serialized Since 1997
Hidenori Kusaka and Satoshi Yamamoto’s Pokémon Adventuresis a long-running manga adaptation of the iconic Pokémon franchise. Every arc puts a dramatic spin on one of the mainline Pokémon games with deviations and expansions for not only the basic plots, but for the often minimalistic character writing of the games, especially when it comes to the engaging backstories and story arcs for the protagonists based on the player characters.
Pokémon Adventures is the most famous Pokémon manga by far, and sure enough, Pokémon Adventures more than earns its stellar reputation for its great art, mature writing, and its increasingly creative ways of adapting the iconic video game franchise. The tried and true success of the original Pokémon anime probably makes a Pokémon Adventures anime pointless from a financial standpoint, but with how great the manga is, it would be nonetheless wonderful to see it animated one day.
5 Fire Punch
Manga By Tatsuki Fujimoto; Serialized On Shonen Jump+ 2016-2018
Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Fire Punch takes place in a post-apocalyptic world plagued by an eternal winter and people with supernatural abilities called Blessings. One day, a man named Agni is set ablaze by fire that keeps burning until its target is completely destroyed, something that can’t happen with Agni’s regenerative abilities, and with the pain of losing his sister to that same fire as motivation, Agni searches the land to exact revenge on the person responsible, all while slowly becoming the folk hero Fire Punch.
As the debut work of Tatsuki Fujimoto, Fire Punch lacks the polish of Chainsaw Man, but sure enough, Fire Punch’s phenomenally dark storytelling and unique meta-based narrative make it a great story that perfectly set the stage for Tatsuki Fujimoto’s career. The Look Back movie shows that there’s plenty of interest in adapting Fujimoto’s works beyond Chainsaw Man, and hopefully, Fire Punch won’t be long off.
4 Billy Bat
Manga By Naoki Urasawa & Takashi Nagasaki; Serialized In Morning 2008-2016
Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki’s Billy Bat stars Kevin Yamagata, a comic book artist in post-World War II America who learns he might have accidentally plagiarized the hero of his story Billy Bat while stationed in Japan. Kevin returns to Japan to track down the creator, and doing so gets him embroiled in a centuries-old conspiracy that the biggest figures in history have all played a part in.
Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki have collaborated on some of the best seinen manga of all time like Monster, Pluto, and 20th Century Boys, and sure enough, Billy Bat embodies everything great about Naoki Urasawa and Takashi Nagasaki’s work with its incredible art and intricate character and mystery writing. Billy Bat is one of many Urasawa manga that have never gotten an anime, but with the recent success of Netflix’s Pluto, a Billy Bat anime is more plausible than ever.
3 Goodnight Punpun
Manga By Inio Asano; Serialized In Weekly Young Sunday 2007-2008, Weekly Big Comic Spirits 2008-2013
Inio Asano’s Goodnight Punpunstars Punpun Onodera, an awkward young boy who, in addition to having his thoughts and words almost exclusively conveyed through third-person narration, is depicted as a cartoon bird while everyone else is depicted as a regular person. The series is focused largely on Punpun’s growth from childhood into adulthood, and despite the bizarre presentation, the story gets progressively darker with each passing milestone in Punpun’s life.
The seinen demographic is known for having manga with dark, yet riveting storytelling, and sure enough, Goodnight Punpun stands out as one of the best seinen manga of all time thanks to its great art and surreal, yet dark and thought-provoking narrative. The surreal and dark nature of Goodnight Punpun has probably kept it from getting an anime, but with the recent success of Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction, a Goodnight Punpun anime hopefully won’t be too long off.
2 Yotsuba&!
Manga By Kiyohiko Azuma; Serialized In Dengeki Daioh Since 2003
Kiyohiko Azuma’s Yotsuba&! stars Yotsuba Koiwai, an eccentric and curious young girl who moves to a new home with her father and is quick to make friends with everyone she meets, regardless of their age. Unlike other slice-of-life manga, there’s no central plot in Yotsuba&!, and it’s a largely episodic story about the mundane, everyday lives of Yotsuba and her friends and family.
In addition to its pleasing art style that only gets better over the years, Yotsuba&!’s character writing always makes for some of the best comedy and overall writing of any manga, and doing that with so many mundane topics only sells the strengths of its writing even further. Series creator Kiyohiko Azuma has said that he feels Yotsuba&! is too mundane to work in animation, but with how popular slice-of-life anime have become in recent years, now might be the perfect time for it.
1 Vagabond
Manga By Takehiko Inoue; Serialized In Morning Since 1998
Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond is a fictionalized account of Musashi Miyamoto, the man often regarded as the greatest swordsman in the history of Japan, if not the world. Vagabond chronicles Musashi’s growth from a cocky man wanting to prove himself at all costs into a wise and contemplative figure always seeking the meaning of strength on a philosophical level, all of which is paired with the growth of various other characters, most notably Musashi’s destined rival Sasaki Kojiro.
Thanks to its gorgeous art style and masterful storytelling, Vagabond has often been called one of the greatest manga of all time, if not the greatest, and it’s to the point that it might be too good for an anime to do it justice. Animation studios are plenty interested in animating Vagabond, but nothing has actually come of it, so Vagabond still stands as the best manga that still needs an anime.
