While some Japanese animated series are completely original, such as the masterpieces Cowboy Bebop and Neon Genesis Evangelion - our ranking of the best 100% original anime can be found here - the majority of production is based on manga adaptations. Unfortunately, some great classics have never been adapted, like the one we're going to talk about today.
We want an adaptation of this manga
Every fan of manga and Japanese animation probably has a list of works they would like to see adapted for the small screen. We're thinking in particular of Takehiko Inoue's Vagabond, praised as much for its restitution of the story of the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi (based on the novel The Stone and the Sword by Eiji Yoshikawa) as for the beauty of its drawings. However, it can be argued that several factors can complicate the adaptation of a manga into an anime: its tone, its drawing style, or even its incompleteness. However, it is surprising that Billy Bat never ended up as an animated series.
Billy Batis the work of Naoki Urasawa, unanimously recognized as one of the best manga artists in history. He has established himself as the absolute master of the Japanese thriller, thanks to such iconic works as Monster, 20th Century Boys, and Pluto. A huge fan of the work of Osamu Tezuka—whom he has worshipped since childhood—Naoki Urasawa is a manga artist with high narrative and visual standards. His work has also been regularly adapted, notably his sports manga Yawara!, but also Master Keaton, Monster and Pluto. Among Urasawa's major works, three have yet to be brought to the small screen: 20th Century Boys—despite repeated requests from fans—the exceptional Asadora!—still in publication—and Billy Bat, published between 2008 and 2016.
Over twenty volumes, it follows the adventures of Kevin Yamagata, an American comic book artist of Japanese origin in the 1940s. When he discovers that the character he thought he had created—a detective bat—already exists in Japan, he goes there. But what began as a personal quest turns into a sprawling thriller worthy of Urasawa's greatest manga, blending historical plots, time travel, and philosophical questions. Indeed, the bat seems to influence the history of humanity throughout the ages, from Judas' betrayal of Jesus to World War II. In addition to increasing the popularity of this masterpiece, an adaptation of Billy Bat into an animated series—by Madhouse, MAPPA, M2, or Netflix—seems obvious, as Naoki Urasawa's manga is imbued with a cinematic feel. While in many ways Billy Bat seems to evoke the cinema of David Lynch - as much for its sense of disturbing phantasmagoria as for its philosophical questions -, the manga is deeply inspired by several cinematographic genres, notably film noir and historical films (in the jidai-geki style). Moreover, Naoki Urasawa is also interested in the relations between Japan and the United States before the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco (1951), a pivotal period that is ultimately too little known.
And you, what do you think of an adaptation of Billy Bat into an anime? Tell us in the comments section.
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