I use the term “original” in the sense of an anime having no prior source material and not in reference to originality in story, plot, and characters. The latter point is more of an indirect consequence of relying on source material. Anyway, a good chunk of anime that have aired throughout 2007 are adaptations from existing works. Examples of such are anime that have their original roots in mediums like manga, games, visual novels, and light novels. I suppose sequels and spin-offs can be added to the point total too since they’re riding on the coattails of previous successes.
I can understand why animation studios stick to safe bets that are already popular in other mediums. The big cash cow is just too irresistible so we end up getting a bevy of h-games, manga, and novel adaptations translated into anime form. It is difficult to come up with original story concepts for a fresh anime with no ties to another medium. Why pay writers to come up with original stories and scripts when a profitable series is already on the table? Maybe all the truly original ideas have already been sapped up in years past. Who’s to say?
Case in point: “We don’t feel like coming up with anything original. Let’s go pick up ‘Random visual novel’ that has sold 100,000 copies. We’ll basically be printing easy money. Merchandising rights = even moar CHA-CHING!”
2nd point: Anime adaptations as advertisements for source material. Let’s say an anime adaptation deviates from the original visual novel. “Oh noes, they totally screwed up XX scene from t3h original game!!1!”. Maybe the anime studios do it on purpose to get some intentional buzz. Once word of mouth spreads, the fans that were drawn in by the anime will pick up the original game or manga to see how the story originally went. Conspiracy theories do exist. Examples as follows…
Fate/Stay Night teased the audience with little bits and pieces of the game’s other paths in the second opening. They didn’t deliver, so now you have to go pick up the game on the PC or PS2 to get the whole package.
School Days. Nice Boat. Serious business. For School Days it’s not so much that the anime deviated from the game, but the shock value it induces for a new audience. Gotta love the way they generate buzz for the game.
The Claymore anime ending. What a load of bull. To get the real story you have to pick up the manga where the anime parted from the source.
Am I just overanalyzing the situation? Probably so but I think the argument holds water. I can count the number of truly original titles this season on one hand. Don’t believe me? Head on over to Random Curiosity and check out what’s currently airing.
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Granted, while one of my favourites the past season is a novel-based franchise (Baccano!), Dennou Coil and Ghost Hound are both original-based franchises.
Since you’re watching it, Dragonaut is also an original spin.
Plenty of original anime to be found, but they’re pushed out of the limelight thanks to stuff like Genshiken and Clannad.