26 Years Later, Vagabond Still Has No Anime Adaptation

Just as shōnen had its ‘Big Three Era’, dominated by iconic titles like One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach during the early 2000s, seinen manga also has its own ‘Big Three’. Unfortunately, they haven’t fared quite as well when translated into the medium of animation.

Berserk, Vagabond, and Vinland Saga are three of the most popular manga series ever, yet only one of the three, Vinland Saga, has been given a proper, high-quality anime adaptation. Berserk has only once been animated beyond the Golden Age arc, and fans weren’t exactly satisfied with the 2016 series.

The biggest crime, however, is that Takehiko Inoue’s masterpiece historical fiction, Vagabond, has never been adapted at all.

Vagabond Deserves a High-Quality Anime Adaptation

One of the Top Seinen Manga Ever Has Yet to Be Animated

Vagabond debuted just over 27 years ago, two years after Takehiko Inoue’s best-selling, critically acclaimed Slam Dunk completed its run in Weekly Shōnen Jump. Since then, the series has had over an estimated 80 million copies in circulation. Vagabond is a heavy hitter in the industry, and remains as such despite being on hiatus since 2015.

The fictional account of the life of Japanese swordsman Musashi Miyamoto is action-packed, moody, philosophical, and downright beautiful in certain moments, and despite its continued success, no studio has animated it. While the exact cause of that can’t be known for certain, there are few potential reasons.

Like Berserk, Vagabond features incredibly detailed artwork that would be difficult to reproduce, and unless a studio is tackling a work guaranteed to make them a profit, most wouldn’t want to bother wasting the time and resources. And if they were to miss the mark, they might just face the sort of backlash 2016’s Berserk brought on.

However, if a team of talented animators were ever brave enough to tackle what may be a monumental challenge, Vagabond would be the perfect series to bring to life, and there may be a studio out there willing to do just that.

Arcane’s Studio Fortiche Has Expressed Interest in Vagabond

Fortiche Co-Founder Has Revealed His Interest in Animating Vagabond

Pascal Charrue, co-founder of Studio Fortiche, discussed the company’s philosophy, potential future plans, and fun facts with Crunchyroll News. It was during this sit-down that he mentioned Vagabond as a manga he would one day like to animate, citing the series as a masterpiece that would be “fascinating to bring to life.”

Fortiche and Netflix’s Arcane has been one of the top animated series in the world since its debut in 2021, itself featuring a unique visual style. That same team tackling the work of Takehiko Inoue would certainly be cause for excitement.

Until then, Vagabond remains one of the best-selling manga to have never received an anime adaptation, despite being more than deserving of one.