DC Comics boasts an incredible gallery of iconic characters and stories. Many characters like Superman and Batman live in many people's shared cultural zeitgeist because of their fantastic stories. These stories have been re-written, expanded upon, subverted, and analyzed over and over for decades.
As a medium, anime has thrived in telling unique and compelling stories for many years. With anime's proclivity for telling action-packed, entertaining, and engaging stories, adapting any number of DC Comics seems like a no-brainer, as they tick all those boxes. Anime could be an entirely new ground to tell and re-tell many iconic DC Comics stories that have captivated fans for decades.
10 Flashpoint's Reality-Altering Story Would Make A Great Anime
Flashpoint is an important story both in and out of the DC Comics universe. The limited series story follows Barry Allen, The Flash, as he discovers he is in an entirely different universe where he is without his powers, and all his friends and allies are completely different.
Barry eventually realizes he is the one who created this alternate reality when he went back in time to save his mother. Flashpoint would make a great anime for its compelling premise alone. Combining that with animation to support its intense action would make for an incredible anime adaptation.
9 Batman: Year One's Noir-Inspired Tone Would Benefit From An Anime Adaptation
Batman: Year One is a highly acclaimed retelling of the Batman mythos. The story serves as a gritty and dark origin story for Batman and many of his most important supporting cast.
Making Batman: Year One into an anime would allow for the noir-inspired tone of the comic to shine through in animation. The anime could be paced over multiple episodes as the story builds up to Bruce Wayne's debut as Batman. The dark atmosphere could be set with the use of film-scoring, sound mixing, and animation techniques.
8 Birds Of Prey Would Make A Fun Woman-Centric Anime
Birds of Prey is a comic book series about Black Canary, Oracle/Batgirl, and their partnership with other, primarily women, superheroes. The Birds of Prey team were recently thrust into the limelight with the 2020 movie of the same name.
Despite being an all-girl group, Birds of Prey would make a great shonen anime as it has intense action, fun storylines, and a balanced cast of characters who work off each other. Both comics and shonen anime would benefit from having more woman-centered action stories, making this a perfect idea for an anime adaptation.
7 Wonder Woman: Year One Deserves An Anime Adaptation
Wonder Woman: Year One is a modern retelling of Wonder Woman's origin story. This series tells two stories simultaneously — one with Wonder Woman fighting in a World War, and the other in the present day. Both stories end up converging to create one single narrative.
Wonder Woman is an iconic character who is just as important as Superman and Batman. Wonder Woman: Year One, which is full of action, adventure and heart is practically begging to be adapted into an anime series. An anime series about Wonder Woman and her exploits is sure to captivate fans and critics alike.
6 Justice League: Origin Hits The Anime Sweet Spot
Justice League: Origin is a revamped version of the Justice League origin story for The New 52 line of DC Comics. The story is focused on getting the main players of the Justice League together to fight against the villain Darkseid.
Justice League: Origin has everything needed for a good anime. The series has a distinct and vibrant cast of characters, plenty of action, and a big threat that the heroes must take on in order to save the world. An anime adaptation would heighten an already great story to something spectacular.
5 New Teen Titans Already Feels Like A Shonen Anime
New Teen Titans is the series that introduces many of the mainstays to the Teen Titans line-up of characters. Heroes like Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire debut in this series along with villains like Deathstroke, Trigon, and H.I.V.E.
This series is the perfect model for a shonen anime. It has teenage protagonists, a wide cast of characters, and a big rogues gallery. New Teen Titans stories would fit incredibly well into the earnest and happy tone of many battle shonen anime. The series would be very similar to My Hero Academia.
4 Back To Blüdhaven Tells A Nuanced Story
Back to Blüdhaven is a story about Nightwing and his role in the city of Blüdhaven, where crime has been thriving amidst his absence. The story is small compared to the threats usually faced by DC heroes but still manages to be a gripping and entertaining character study.
The best anime series often ask tough questions and tend to be subversive. Back to Blüdhaven would make a great anime because it also takes a more nuanced approach to its world. There are no simple answers in this story and an anime adaptation of it would honor that sense of ambiguity.
3 For The Man Who Has Everything Is A Gripping Character Study
For the Man Who Has Everything is one of the quintessential Superman stories to read. The plot involves Superman being trapped by a plant that feeds on him while showing him his deepest desire. While his friends fight in the real world, Superman gets to live happily on Krypton with his dream family.
For the Man Who Has Everything is an intriguing character study on Superman, who seems so powerful and so content. Anime often deals with introspective ideas made physical, like the plant feeding off of Superman's desire. This is why the story would make such a great anime adaptation.
2 New Gods Has A Distinct Style
New Gods is a comic book series created by Jack Kirby. The story is one of epic proportions, involving two planets in a perpetual state of war and beings that are near-immortal. The story of New Gods is unique among other comic stories.
New Gods' worlds are vibrant and distinct as well as the character designs of the New Gods themselves. Turning this into an anime would allow animators and story-boarders to create a visual flare unique to this story and Kirby's work. An anime adaptation could allow for a broader exploration of the New Gods not typically adapted.
1 Crisis On Infinite Earths Is Too Iconic To Pass On
Crisis on Infinite Earths is the build-up of decades worth of stories all manifesting into one big event. It is argued that this series is what started the trend of Event comics that happen every few years. The story completely changed the landscape of DC Comics, and its effects can still be felt today.
This would make a great anime adaptation simply because of how iconic it is. Crisis on Infinite Earths has action, tragedy, and dimension-bending battles. Anime is great at elevating already amazing material. An anime adaptation of this story is sure to blow the audience's minds away.