Batman, Cyberpunk and the Winchesters.
What is anime and what is not? Japanese animation is often intertwined with Western animation.
And there are many animated series that are undoubtedly anime in origin and style, but at the same time tell stories about characters and worlds from Western franchises.
1. Batman: Gotham Knight, 2008
The events of the film take place between the plots of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Batman gets involved in showdowns between criminal factions in Gotham and dispenses justice in his own way.
The narrative is divided into six stories, mostly created by different studios. The result is interesting, although not all episodes are equally good.
But the unusual approach of the Japanese to the visual style of the Dark Knight and his environment refreshed the stories. This movie has deservedly occupied various places in all sorts of top animated Batman movies for many years.
2. Supernatural: The Animation, 2011
In 2009 and 2010, Madhouse was in great demand among Western studios. The creator of the Supernatural anime was the founder of the series, Eric Kripke, who left the series after the fifth season.
Together with Madhouse, they developed 22 episodes. Half of them were reworkings of some episodes from the first and second seasons of the TV show, and the rest were completely new stories.
The talented creator of the original collaborated with one of the most famous Japanese animation studios. The partners did not blindly copy the plot of the original source, but expanded the lore.
And they also attracted the actors of the series: Jared Padalecki voiced his character throughout the series, and Jensen Ackles – in two final episodes.
3. The Animatrix, 2003
The first Matrix brought in millions at the box office. This freed the Wachowskis to experiment and return to their roots.
It is no secret that The Matrix itself was largely inspired by anime. So the idea of making an animated anthology that reveals the world of the movie was a natural one.
Some of the short stories fill in the gaps in the trilogy's universe – the Wachowskis themselves wrote the scripts. The rest play with the world of The Matrix in different ways, showing how thin the line is between the real and the virtual.
4. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, 2022
The game Cyberpunk 2077 showed that this universe has unlimited potential for amazing stories. The anime series Cyberpunk: Edgerunners confirmed this. Trigger Studio has created one of the best anime of 2022.
Visually, the series makes you fall in love with it from the very first frames, just like the girl Lucy captivates the main character David at their first meeting. Trigger's attention to detail is particularly pleasing.
The studio carefully transferred Night City to the screens. At the same time, the authors have added new details: the streets have become more lively, the inhabitants more diverse, and the protagonist travels through the city on the subway, which the developers once promised to include in the game.