Part of the series’ popularity and reach can also be attributed to their anime adaptations, which have translated the franchise’s lovable characters and intriguing stories into the world of anime. Persona 3, 4, and 5 have all received an adaptation in one way or another, allowing them to reach even people who don’t play games much or don’t enjoy JRPGs but want to experience the story. The Shin Megami Tensei series is the series that spawned the Persona series, but it is far less popular than its spin-off series. An anime adaptation might do a lot to get new people interested in the series, or at least give it more of a presence in the west.
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How Shin Megami Tensei Could Work As An Anime
Part of what made Persona’s transition to anime seamless was mostly due to the games already having a very strong anime aesthetic to begin with. Shin Megami Tensei features a similar aesthetic, although the artstyle can often change from game to game. The older games, featuring artwork by Kazuma Kaneko, have a more classically-influenced appearance to them that stands out from the standard anime aesthetic. Regardless, almost any Shin Megami Tensei game could be easily translated to anime without having to change the style so much that it turns off fans of the games.
In terms of story, Shin Megami Tensei tends to feature post-apocalyptic tales and dramatic battles between law and chaos. The stories are often biblical in nature, and are steeped in concepts borne from mythology. While these stories can be very interesting, many aren’t aware of them either because they’re unaware of the franchise or because they’re not interested in playing a JRPG. Making an anime adaptation would allow those people to experience these incredible stories for the first time, and possibly get them interested in the games.
Possible Problems With An Adaptation
Shin Megami Tensei’s stories and plots are very choice dependent, which often causes the plot to diverge into different routes and endings. This can make it hard to decide which route should be used in an anime adaptation, especially since fans may prefer one route over another. There are many different solutions that other franchises have taken when dealing with this kind of problem, and Shin Megami Tensei paths are not so radically different that they cannot be adjusted to fit a single storyline.
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What’s also a bit of an issue is that Shin Megami Tensei games, especially those in the mainline, are rather sparse on story and dialogue, choosing to allow the players to pull together the details of the story on their own, based on what they hear from NPCs and what they see of the world around them. The games tend to focus more on the gameplay experience, which is great, but it can be a little inconvenient for adaptation, which will largely focus on the story. Having said that, that can also be a boon in itself, as the anime writers could use this as an opportunity to expand on details not discussed in the games, such as improving the interactions between the main characters and giving the usually silent protagonist more personality and backstory.
What Games Should Be Adapted Into An Anime?
Shin Megami Tensei is a large and long-lived franchise, having existed since the late 1980s. As a result, there are many games that could be considered for an anime adaptation, from the original Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei to lesser-known mainline titles like Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. While the main plot points and world settings of Shin Megami Tensei games can be fairly similar, the different characters, factions, and ideologies color each story to make them a different experience. Still, not every game would make the jump to anime all that well, so picking a good game with plenty of story potential is important.
The easiest answer is to pick one of the more recent entries to adapt. Shin Megami Tensei 4 and 5 have very elaborate stories and rather involved side characters compared to other Shin Megami Tensei games, making them fairly simple to adapt into an anime. In addition, their recency means that they are much more easily recognizable compared to other entries that the current generation of gamers may not have played. Still, adapting iconic entries like Shin Megami Tensei 3 is still an option, as its legacy could be more than enough to stir interest in the overall public.
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