Takehiko Inoue is often praised for his basketball opus Slam Dunk, but his Seinen manga Vagabond is second to none. It takes the cake in terms of its art, storyline, and character designs. It stands as one of the top rated manga on My Anime List, but the series may have found its archnemesis after all.
Not Berserk, but another Seinen manga is brilliantly breathtaking in its art and plot and deserves its place in The Louvre. And while it stands as one of the underappreciated gems in the genre, it hasn’t yet been adapted by any studio. This also applies to Takehiko Inoue’s samurai masterpiece.
The Seinen gem that deserves to be in the Louvre
There’s Shonen and Shojo and then there’s Seinen. The genre has had its popular masterpieces over the years. Shonen has Dragon Ball, Shojo has Sailor Moon. When it comes to Seinen genre, Berserk is one of the noteworthy series that is hailed for its plot and characters.
Kentaro Miura’s manga is brooding in every sense, especially when it comes to the protagonist and his journey. He imbued each character with complexity, which made the series compelling yet jarring for readers on several occasions. But there is a manga that deserves all the praise for its sheer novelty.
While ranks and ratings matter, The Climber’s premise is what captures the readers from the very first go. Its art style coupled with its portrayal of profound emotions serves as a hook for most readers. Compared to Guts, he’s rather realistic but there’s an interesting story behind its conception.
The Climber is a 2007 manga written by Shin-Ichi Sakamoto and Jiro Nitta. It is based on the legendary mountain climber Buntaro Kato, who shaped the landscape of climbing sports in Japan. Ultimately, he passed away at the age of 31 along with his fellow climber on a mountain.
It is a riveting tale of loneliness and depression that blends seamlessly with meticulous and realistic manga panels. The visuals and art are so stunning that one cannot overlook them simply. However, its greatness is yet to be recreated through animated adaptations just like Takehiko Inoue’s manga Vagabond.
Vagabond and the dilemma of animated adaptations
Vagabond is one of the landmark series in the seinen genre that is based on Eiji Yoshikawa’s novel Musashi. The manga breathes life into Musashi Miyamoto’s menacing character. Inoue’s detail-oriented panels amp up the character’s aura in every aspect. It is a shame the series hasn’t been animated.
So far, we only know of Fortiche studio’s interest in animating the Samurai masterpiece. It is the same studio that gave us Arcane’s TV series in 2021 and did a good job producing it. However, some fans in the community are worried about the time it’d take to adapt it.
It’s been almost 20 years since the series got published. And while their concerns may seem trivial, this isn’t a first for a Seinen manga to take eons to get an animated adaptation. Take Parasyte, for example, that took 25 years to ultimately be adapted by Madhouse, but that is not all there is to it.
There are several reasons as to why manga doesn’t get its deserved anime. Apart from budget and popularity, it is difficult to recreate the art style. Botched up animations are common and detrimental to an artist’s work, which only makes sense why both Vagabond and The Climber are in a safe zone.
The Climber is available for reading on the NovelCool website. Vagabond is available for reading on Viz Media.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
