It’s a great self-contained story told in just 8 episodes.
Summary:
- Onimusha is a series of games that got an anime adaptation by Netflix recently.
- However, the adaptation is very different from the games.
- It’s a good short story that fans of historical anime may like.
Onimusha is a series of video games developed by Capcom. The first installment was released in 2001, and since then, the franchise has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. It’s actually fairly well-known in the West, too.
Still, fans were surprised when the game series were announced to receive an adaptation by Netflix. Initially, they were somewhat worried: game adaptations often end up being quite disappointing, and there was no indication this would be any different. However, the Onimusha anime was surprisingly good.
The Games’ Formula Wouldn’t Make for a Good Adaptation
The Onimusha games follow a certain formula most of the time. The protagonist (who changes from part to part) is a swordsman traveling through Japan. He defeats enemies, collects a special sort of energy from them, which he later uses to acquire power-ups.
While this is a good formula for a game franchise, this doesn’t really make for a good anime. The game elements, such as energy collection and power-ups (not to mention puzzles, which are quite abundant in the games) don’t translate well into anime: it would feel like watching someone else’s playthrough and not a proper anime series.
Onimusha Anime Doesn’t Actually Adapt the Games
However, this adaptation was fairly surprising. And that was mostly because… it wasn’t really an adaptation. No characters from the original trilogy of games even make an appearance, and pretty much all there is in common are the setting and the concept.
Sure, the Onimusha anime follows a protagonist who travels throughout Japan in the Sengoku Period. There are also supernatural enemies in the anime — but that’s it, really. The anime doesn’t directly follow the storyline of any of the games, and it’s instead a fully self-contained story which concludes properly in 8 episodes.
Not the Best Thing Ever, But It’s Still Worth Watching
Is Onimusha the best anime ever? Certainly not. The setting is fairly generic, and the CGI isn’t the best. Still, it is a good watch if you like short series that don’t drag on. Fans of historical anime might also appreciate it, as its supernatural elements don’t feel out of place.
Ultimately, Onimusha, once again, proves that you can make a good anime even when the concept is generic. It also shows that game adaptations don’t exactly need to adhere to the storyline of the game: they can be stories set in the same world, and without including the actual game elements, they’d probably be better.