Old Shonen Anime That Need Remakes

Whether it’s due to nostalgia, curiosity, or studios not wanting to risk cash on original properties, remakes are more in vogue than ever. Maybe they never went away, but now they seem to be all over the place. Sailor Moon Crystal rebooted the original Sailor Moon with modern animation, as does the new Urusei Yatsura and Ranma ½ anime series.

Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin follows up on the old 80s series, City Hunter came back as a live-action series, and even Fist of the North Star is due to be reanimated by WB Japan. It’s enough to make people wonder which series will be remade next. Whether it’s down to their popularity, or because their first run was rough, these classic shōnen series could do with a remake.

7 Zatch Bell!

The Magic of Mamodo Could Spark Again

2003 was over 20 years ago now, so Zatch Bell counts as old school. Anyone who remembers watching the show on Toonami back in the day may want to get some stretches in. Still, now would be a good time to bring Zatch and Kiyo back to cast a spell on the audience once more, as its sequel, Konjiki no Gash 2, has been running for over 2 years now. It’s only 25+ chapters into its run, so a return to its prequel could help bring viewers up to speed on how Zatch’s magic works.

Granted, they could just watch the original series, except it has a few flaws. The biggest being that was made while the original manga was running. So, the show’s pacing slowed down to avoid overtaking the strip, before reaching a premature end. Now that it’s complete, a remake could cover the story in full without needing to bog itself down partway through or leave out big story arcs.

6 Samurai Deeper Kyo

Can a Second Run Save This Series?

• Studio: Studio Deen.
• Episodes: 26.
• Streaming: None.

Whether they’re wacky like Gintama, serious like House of Five Leaves, or somehow both at the same time, like Samurai Champloo, there’s always room for a samurai anime. But while those series still hold up, the anime adaptation of Samurai Deeper Kyo doesn’t. Its choppy animation, slow pacing, and jumbled plot made it a rougher experience than just reading the manga.

Not that it was perfect, but the tale of Kyoshiro, a medicine man housing the soul of the evil Demon Eyes Kyo, joining the bounty hunter Yuya in search of her brother’s killer could’ve done better if it had a stronger, more structured adaptation. With Jujutsu Kaisen having a similar premise, a stronger adaptation could help appeal to its fans as well. Particularly if they like its feudal Japanese setting and sword-swinging samurai.

5 Great Teacher Onizuka

How the Punk-Turned-Teacher Could Return

Wait, isn’t there already a Great Teacher Onizuka remake? Well, yes and no. GTO Revival is actually a follow-up to the 1998 live-action TV drama, which became a hit series in Japan in its own right. The story of an ex-biker gang member developing a love for teaching, albeit via unorthodox methods, received more live-action TV adaptations, and even a live-action movie.

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4 Iconic Comedy Anime With Better Manga Series

When it comes to the following hilarious comedy anime series, the manga simply excels over the anime show.

But it only had one anime series. Despite offering a beefy 43 episodes, it’s long overdue for a follow-up at the very least. Its manga spin-offs and sequels offer plenty of ground for that too. Bad Company and GTO: The Early Years offers Onizuka’s origins as a delinquent, GTO: 14 Days in Shonan covers what he did while he disappeared, and GTO: Paradise Lost sees him dealing with prisoners instead of students.

4 Appleseed

The 4th Time Could be the Charm for This Cyberpunk Classic

• Studio: Gainax.
• Episodes: 1 (OVA).
• Streaming: Amazon Prime, Peacock, Roku, Tubi, PlutoTV, Retro Crush, and Freevee.

Few of Shirow Masamune’s works really count as shōnen, as even his fancy-free strip Dominion (aka Dominion Tank Police) was a little too risqué for kids. However, Appleseed, his story of ESWAT cops Deunan and Briareos, a cyborg, guarding the supposedly utopian city of Olympus, is more shōnen in content, and an iconic piece of cyberpunk media. However, it hasn’t been faithfully adapted to anime.

The 1988 OVA, the Appleseed 13 series, and the movies went in different directions with the premise. It worked for Ghost in the Shell, except its adaptations still captured what worked about the original manga and developed on it. The Appleseed adaptations strayed and got more mixed receptions at best. If a new anime took a more faithful approach, it might work out better this time.

3 Sakigake!! Otokojuku

The Manliest High School in Japan is Due for a Comeback

• Studio: Toei Animation.
• Episodes: 34.
• Streaming: None.

Sakigake!! Otokojuku might be a hard one to bring back, as it’s essentially Cromartie High School played straight. Kind of. The story of Momotaro and the students at their all-boys school surviving the harsh regime of its principal, Heihachi Edajima, began as a gag manga where wisdom and kindness won out over pure machismo.

Then it became straighter as it went on, as it became a school-based version of Fist of the North Star, with students taking on rivals in martial arts tournaments. It was really popular in its heyday though, like Kinnikuman, it never really left Japan. If the series were remade, it would be new territory for international audiences who are more familiar with its parodies.

2 Bio Booster Armor Guyver

When Biomech Armor Got Bloody

• Studio: Studio Live, animate Film.
• Episodes: 1 (OVA).
• Streaming: None.

On the other hand, audiences may be more familiar with Bio Booster Armor Guyver. If they hadn’t watched its OVAs or 2005 series, they might’ve seen its odd live-action adaptation, The Guyver, where Mark Hamill turns into a weird alien creature. Or they may have seen Guyver: Dark Hero, where David ‘Solid Snake’ Hayter played the titular hero.

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Unlike Appleseed, Guyver might benefit more from a reboot than a straight remake. The original story, where a school student becomes a biomechanical take on Kamen Rider, is dated with its thin characters and edgy gore. But its influence can still be felt in comics, particularly with DC’s Blue Beetle. With a fresh approach, it could catch on again.

1 Ashita no Joe

The Original Boxing Anime

Unlike Guyver, Ashita no Joe holds up quite well despite being over 50 years old, as Joe’s journey from being a drifter to a professional boxer is still high in drama, telling a Rocky-style story years before Rocky. It received a few anime series in the 1970s and 1980s, alongside a few animated movies, so one would think it was well-covered ground.

However, they’re hard to find online as the original series isn’t on any streaming platform. Its sequel series, Ashita No Joe 2, has a few episodes on Amazon Prime, but that’s it. The closest equivalent is Megalo Box, which is more of a futuristic take on Joe’s premise. For an iconic piece of shōnen media, Ashita no Joe could do with more attention, be it through remastering the old series, or remaking it altogether.

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