Imagine Arya With a Kawaii Face: 5 Reasons for a Game of Thrones Anime

The anime industry has captivated Western creative minds for decades, prompting writers and directors to imitate the genre's storytelling and visual aspects.

Recognizing the enduring popularity of anime, many Western companies are now producing their own projects in the genre or work in collaboration with Japanese studios. Just think of the recently released My Adventures with Superman, which borrowed some hōnen manga tropes, or Star Wars: Visions — a distinctly unusual take on the iconic franchise.

So how about an anime based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire? Hear us out — there are actually at least five reasons why this might be a great idea.

5. Japanese pop culture has strong ties with modern fantasy

Some would say that anime is too lighthearted and colorful to depict the dark world of Westeros where murder and violence are commonplace. However, let's not forget that Japanese pop culture has had a great influence on the modern fantasy genre.

Here's just one of the many examples to prove it — Kentaro Miura's manga and anime Berserk was one of the first dark fantasy stories set in medieval Europe, which has inspired many fantasy creators around the world.

4. Animation provides more freedom with visuals

We're not meant to say that HBO's Game of Thrones was bad in its visual effects, but for financial reasons, many of the original battles were lacking detail or had to be omitted in the live-action adaptation. Also, some of the supernatural creatures didn't look as impressive as Martin described them.

In this sense, anime allows for much more creative freedom and doesn't depend on huge budgets to deliver stunning visual action.

3. No need to cut characters due to budget and time constraints

Actually, the same applies to the narrative itself. Due to budget and time constraints, some of Martin's characters had to be excluded from the adaptation completely. For instance, House Dorne is less detailed in the series, and Victarion Greyjoy, one of the books' narrators and a formidable and independent force in Westeros, had to be eliminated altogether.

2. Bran's story could be a masterpiece of creative vision

Fans of the original novels surely remember Bran's colorful and mystical visions and out-of-body journeys he experienced during his apprenticeship with the Three-Eyed Raven. Unfortunately, the series' depiction of his story was too bland, and that is something anime creators could fully explore, unleashing the creative potential of the genre.

1. We could have a more satisfying ending

As mentioned earlier, Japanese creators have great taste for fantasy stories, both lighthearted and terrifying. So it's only natural to expect them to come up with a better, more satisfying ending to the Game of Thrones saga — just to give a masterclass to HBO writers!