Top 20 Anime That NEED A Reboot

Ah yes, the one where a human attends a school for monsters and inspires the love of countless members of its female cast, while trying to do his best to keep his species a secret lest he be devoured by his classmates. Alas, unlike Iruma-kun, Tsukune has little to no charm to his name, and spent the entire series NOT trying to get hounded by the ample bosoms of his ever-growing harem. What’s worse is that the series was cut off before the meat of the manga could be adapted – the part that has Tsukune go full God Mode and actually starts to enjoy the attention he’s getting? Missed opportunity guys!

A fantasy epic filled with dragons, princes, knights, and that one dark elf you would slay a Mindflayer in order to woo. If this is starting to sound like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, that’s because it is, or at least based on one dude’s eccentric experience with a sprinkle of original world-building. The premise might sound generic, but there’s a solid foundation to its storytelling, to the point we’d like to see this old-school quest be given another chance to enchant those who want to see the fate of all decided on luck and the quality of actual loot-drops!

Oh Kaneki. The only thing worse that all the torture you experienced since becoming a half-Ghoul is what they did to your series. The original adaptation, while a tad tamer compared to the gruesomeness of the manga, was still decent…then Root A came along and messed everything up. From the anime original direction, mismanaged character arcs, and how it seemed to pick and choose whatever plot points it fancied, it was a jumbled doozy of a sequel. With Re; not helping the matter due to cutting numerous corners, it’s high time these Ghouls were given the bloody and brutal on-screen treatment they deserve.

Hey, if a live-action version can succeed, then a gritty reboot featuring the uncut misery, mechanisms and murder that dominate Alita’s world is guaranteed to be a hit. The classic OVA gave us a good insight into this post-apocalyptic landscape, as well as just how hardcore the battles and content could get, the only problem being it was way too short! Give the much beloved series the attention it deserves, don’t shy away from the risqué aspects, and demonstrate what Alita can do when she really goes all out in a brawl.

It’s one of the earliest harem comedies with a vastly polarised audience, but nonetheless struck a chord in its early days due to its sizzling cast, abundant use of innuendos and slapstick comedy, though compared to some of the trash these days, it’s rather tame in how it handles Keitaro’s exploits as the new impromptu manager of the female-dominated student apartments. Given how the genre has taken on new life with gems such as We Never Learn, perhaps a romantic reboot of a golden oldie like this would make for a nice change of pace?

Possibly the most bat-shirt insane excuse for a sports anime we’ve ever seen, you can’t deny watching the exploits of the Devil Bats wouldn’t make for a hell of a ride with updated visuals. After all, these guys don’t so much play American football as they do turn the whole thing into a mad dash complete with the most shounen-inspired techniques ever conceived. Give it a remake with a much higher production rate and you’ll have a Superbowl that otaku the world over would actually tune into!

Both the original series and the manga have a major cult following to their name, which isn’t hard to see why since the premise is essentially what happens when you mix the best shounen clichés with a darker take on Alice in Wonderland. After a young and spoiled noble finds himself plummeted into the alternate world known as the Abyss, his only chance at survival is putting his faith in the wild and deadly Chain conveniently named Alice. There’s massive potential for an epic comeback here, what with every isekai under the sun getting adapted. Give the people what they want!

There aren’t enough good things that can be said about this giant of a sports anime, especially with how it set the stage for all great basketball-based series to follow in its wake. So why does it need a reboot? Time, uh, hasn’t been the kindest to the animation. With such an uplifting story and a brilliant example of how to make a typical game of shooting hoops feel like the most intense spectacle, Sakuragi’s rise from punk to star is well overdue for a second shot. At least this time around they’d have an excuse to adapt the inter-high tournament!

If we can just about withstand the tour de force of emotion that was Devilman Crybaby, then we should be able to handle its spiritual successor…right? Wildly controversial due it being set in a post-apocalyptic world where raiders, rapists and other vile survivors ravage the land in search of victims, it falls to the equally brutal yet somewhat heroic Jack to save whatever fragments of humanity remain. As you can guess, the content would be gory and upsetting, but considering how well Crybaby was handled, a legit adaptation of the manga’s work could potentially turn this into something amazing!

You know which one we’re talking about. Whereas Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven’s Feel have been given the attention they deserve, the original venture is widely regarded as a choppy mess that doesn’t deliver on the fights, and is mostly remembered for a terrible CGI dragon and some really, really, really terrible dialogue. Just let UFOtable work their magic and give the Saber route what it deserves, and by that we mean gorgeously animated battles, exploring Saber’s vulnerable side as a romance option for Shirou, and most vitally – that scene with Rin and Saber!

Ninety percent of this anime is really good. Solid characters, great banter, a gothic yet light-hearted setting, and some decent battles for the time. Then it got an original ending, and essentially cut the head off the snake. Given the success of Fire Force, there’s never been a better time for Maka and company to get the redo they deserve. Can you imagine David Productions putting their A-Game into some of the series’ most epic moments? Not to mention actually finishing the damn thing without the Deus Ex Falcon Punch?

Speaking of anime original endings. While the abundance of character death, political strife and bloody scuffles ensured that this rendition of the dark fantasy series earned plenty of good reception upon release, especially with all its psycho ladies, the dismal end that befell the members of Night Raid were…mostly non-canon, especially Tatsumi’s nonsensical downfall. It had a good thing going, yet got its wings clipped too early. Hopefully a second chance would allow it to live up to its gory potential! Or you know, just give is an Esdeath spin-off.

While everyone loved the Disgaea Hour of Darkness PS2 game, we can’t exactly say the same about this little adaptation, which is a shame since the amount of demons, airheaded angels and prinnies practically demands an off-the-wall adventure filled with all manner of fiendish fights. It was a major step down for what fans of the franchise had been hoping for and did little to impress newcomers. They radically changed the plot and order of events. Hence why we need a studio to take the essence of the games and show just how awesome they can be in animated form. Seeing Laharl clear house with slick animation backing him up would make for a hell of a good time - dood.

The first two seasons of this retro epic are already considered some of the best when it comes to classic samurai action, to the point where we wouldn’t change anything. Season Three? That’s a different can of worms. Made entirely of filler, this collection of uninteresting episodes totally derailed the Manslayer’s journey, with hardcore fans having to seek out additional OVAs in order to see how Kenshin’s sword-swinging journey came to an end. In order words; give the boy the Inuyasha Final Act treatment pronto!

With the Higurahi franchise due to make a resurgence in the near future, there’s never been a better time for Beatrice to make a comeback! With how royally messed up the visual novel is, there’s plenty of potential here to create a legitimately disturbing horror series, just as long as they nail Beatrice’s exquisite yet monstrous demeanour. Let’s be honest, it’s hard to take the original series seriously when it skips out on so much of the gore, and if we adapt the full story we can finally see some of those action packed battles in animated form!

Rotoscoping – one word we never want to see associated with an anime again, especially if it’s purely to try and make the whole thing appear realistic for the sake of being different. It’s twice as dumbfounding when you see how it was used on a series famous for its still moments of fear and uneasiness. You have borderline psychotic students roped in a tale of teenage lust, deception and other explicit content that demands attention to detail in order to really capture the monstrous nature of the original artistry. Not something that looks like a cutscene from Phantasmagoria.

Aliens hiding in plain sight, a mysterious black ball taking deceased humans and forcing them to hunt them down, and one guy who won’t let a little thing like death stop his desire to get laid. Yeah, Gantz was that kind of show, even if it cut things off before the real crazy could get going. Hence why we feel it’s time for the sci-fi shenanigans of Kei “Forever Thirsty” Kurono to make a return, hopefully one that bypasses all the censorship and adapts the source material in its entirety. Can you imagine how messily awesome the results would be?

For our buck, the original series is a masterpiece in its own right, with the only issue being its cliffhanger ending. Only to be followed by a sequel full of so much horrendous CGI and ridiculous sound effects that it was borderline nauseating. This cannot stand, and while the idea of watching a third adaptation of the Golden Age arc might sound painful, if it means giving an authentic recreation that encapsulates the dark, vicious nature of the source material WITHOUT cutting corners, we’re willing to take it. At this rate Miura is going to actually finish the manga before we get a decent anime version, and that’s saying something!

We know, we know, there is no Tsukihime anime, but maybe there should be…just as long as it’s not a condensed, confusing cantaloupe of cringe like we got the first time around. Another gem from Type-Moon, this visual novel is highly regarded for its take on vampires, it’s female lead, and how the narrative slowly unfolds into this twisted cluster! If UFOtable are determined to continue their consistent adaptations from this company’s work, they might want to make this their next project. We’d hate for its only legacy to be…this.

Ultimate Muscle may be the more recognisable series; the one that somehow came out of the 4Kids censor machine relatively unscathed. However, there’s a whole world of intergalactic wrestling out there just begging for the chance to relive its glory days. King Muscle’s battles against the Akuma Choujin, his slapstick failures with women, the countless combatants he’s faced in the ring, there is a treasure trove of content here you could easily turn into a tournament-heavy anime capable of showing the newcomers what it means to throw down!