10 Classic Anime That Wouldn’t Do Well As Remakes

There’s no telling how far anime will push its boundaries when it decides to test its audience. The medium fearlessly amalgamates humanity’s downsides and upsides so synchronously that gray subjects like grief or lust are not portrayed as taboos but foundations of a great story. It’s a storytelling approach that demands nerve and audacity, two qualities that have led to the creation of timeless classics that could never have been produced today.

These anime ignored polite boundaries of taste and morality, providing raw, unfiltered stories. However, what once inspired interest or reflection would not survive today’s anime culture. These anime are best left to ride the wave of nostalgia rather than being reimagined for an audience that belongs to a different cultural landscape.

Great Teacher Onizuka (1999)

Great Teacher Onizuka surprisingly makes delinquency seem desirable. Focusing on Eikichi Onizuka, a former biker turned high school teacher, the anime depicts his efforts to connect with students through unapologetic honesty and humour. The story features bullying and harassment, elements that it pulled off in a way that felt exciting in the late 90s, but would be too sensitive today.

The anime worked because Onizuka was inappropriate but still empathetic. However, including its sexualized tone and gender politics in a new version would unsettle today’s audience. Conversely, removing those elements solely to increase palatability would erase the soul of the story.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)

A relatively traditional entry to the mecha genre, Neon Genesis Evangelion begins like a straightforward robot vs monster story before taking on psychological subjects. In the post-cataclysmic setting of the story, Shinji Ikari pilots the EVA Unit-01 to protect humanity from the Angels.

What elevates Neon Genesis Evangelion from a simple mecha story to an audacious entry in the genre is its effortless transition into existential breakdowns and its portrayal of depression with an honesty that was both bold and refreshingly candid in its time. Despite the noble attempt, the series had several flaws.

The animation was less than perfect, and the tone felt somewhat claustrophobic. These flaws, however, gave the anime a rawness that, if reattempted, would come as a cleaned-up version that would make the story feel hollowed out.

Golden Boy (1995)

Golden Boy is all about Kintarou Ooe, a genius who drops out and begins roaming Japan on his bicycle. In the process, he takes on odd jobs and learns about life. With each new episode comes a new workplace and new chances to expose his enthusiasm and perversion.

With a character like Kintarou in the lead, the story is full of sexual tension and dirty jokes that, though uncomfortable to watch, are so tied to the story’s sincerity. To remove them would be to take away the paradoxical innocence of the story. While Kintarou might come across as too voyeuristic and absurd, his humility makes it worth the discomfort.

Desert Punk (2004)

Putting aside the endless sand and gunfire, Desert Punk is a story about how survival eats away at people’s morality. Desert Punk, the story’s protagonist, is selfish, cunning and indecent, the sort of character that needs time to warm up to an audience.

However, his nature is what helps him survive in the wasteland where the story is set. With so many betrayals and people vying for power, Desert Punk became what many would call an antihero. The questionable protagonist isn’t the only thing that makes the anime unsuitable for reproduction today. It’s full of enough sexism and sexual jokes to make it feel dated.

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (2010)

An original story by the studio Gainax, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt feels like a blend of Powerpuff Girls and South Park. The titular characters, Panty and Stocking, are angels banished from heaven for being too depraved. Now, they must fight ghosts to be allowed back into heaven.

The anime is a vulgar take on American cartoons. For example, to fight the ghosts, Panty and Stocking use their underwear as weapons. However, beneath the absurdity, the anime prompts viewers to consider themes such as celebrity culture and consumerism.

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt is creative freedom at its best or, by today’s standards, its most problematic. The critical reactions to the recent sequel suggest that the anime is best left in its previous form.

Berserk (1997)

Very few anime have the dense emotional brutality of Berserk. The story follows the protagonist, Guts, and his bonds with Griffith and Casca, as they rise and fall in the Band of the Hawk. Set in a medieval world of betrayal and many ambitious acts, Berserk became a classic not because of the violence but the intimacy of the story.

While the story includes sexual violence and blurs the lines of morality, it’s the willingness to dwell inside rough and traumatic events that makes the anime resist replication. Attack on Titan has a painful and fatalistic approach that resembles Berserk, but few anime could replicate Berserk’s emotionally unbearable story.

While hardly the first to take on its premise, Ninja Scroll is adult action perfected. The anime follows a wandering swordsman, Jubei Kibagami, as he faces the Eight Devils of Kimon and uncovers a government conspiracy.

Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Ninja Scroll features mutilation and nudity, and was one of the anime that introduced the medium’s darker side to the rest of the world. Ninja Scroll doesn’t shy away from assault and sexism, and it’s easy to see this in the way Jubei treats Kagero, a female ninja in the story.

Despite how infamous the anime is, it could never have been so memorable without showing some loose morality. Any version unwilling to take those risks would lose a lot of the story’s value.

Elfen Lied (2004)

At its best, Elfen Lied offers both bloodshed and normalcy. The story is about Lucy, a Diclonius with telekinetic powers, who tries to escape government experimentation and kills many in the process.

Elfen Lied is double-faced, easily going from massacre to domesticity. This transition seems like a reflection of Lucy’s split personality. The anime boldly attempts to humanize monsters, showing that monsters are made and not born.

Elfen Lied includes child abuse and sexual violence that contribute to the story’s depth, but would be more unbearable if released today. A remake will mostly trivialize or censor the difficult subjects and reduce the anime’s shock value.

Kodomo no Jikan (2007)

Kodomo no Jikan is one of the all-time most controversial anime ever. Its premise, even in 2007, was problematic enough to get it pulled from TV stations’ broadcast schedules. In Kodomo no Jikan, a teacher gets pursued romantically by his prepubescent student.

While the anime, besides the provocative subject, shows the impact of loneliness and trauma, and the importance of adult guardianship, it still comes across as tone-deaf and excessively scandalous. The anime is proof that intention alone isn’t enough to create a good story.

Where Kodomo no Jikan falls short, anime like Made in Abyss more than succeeds. Made in Abyss shows that a subject like childhood trauma doesn’t need all the shock tactics of Kodomo no Jikan.

Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki (1992)

When it comes to anime that show the limits of what the medium can, or should, depict, Midori: Shoujo Tsubaki is unmatched. Based on Maruo Suehiro’s manga, the story follows a young girl who gets tricked into joining a travelling freak show where she must endure abuse and horrific acts. It’s almost impossible to watch the anime without revulsion.

Directed by Hiroshi Harada, the animation was done in a collage style and with distortions that feel like an extreme mirror of degrading humanity. In the ’90s, Midori was more of a creative rebellion, while today, it’s an untouchable story, too delicate to soften or reproduce.