Many of us tend to expect that anime adaptations will faithfully adapt their source material.

Of course, the adaptation will need to be slightly tweaked to improve the story’s flow when it is adapted into a different medium.

But it’s still closer to the source material despite the tweaks.

While it’s common to see adaptations similar to the source materials, some are nothing like the source materials at all.

Rather than sticking to the original story, what we get is a brand new story but with the same characters and setting instead.

Now, is the new story just as good as the source material, if not surpassing the original one, you ask?

If I’m referring to these anime here, all I can say is they tend to be hit-and-miss.

Yes, the massive tweaks are acceptable to a degree. But for the most part, it can feel like the brand-new story destroys what makes the source material great in the first place.

I’ll let you be the judge based on the anime here.

NieR Automata

While the majority of the scenes in the anime are the same as the ones in the game, some of them are completely different in the anime version.

One of them is what happened to Pascal and those kids in the village.

What should be the iconic scene in the game somehow becomes less impactful when Pascal has to self-explode with the kid who got infected by the virus.

And let’s not forget about the scene where everyone in the Resistance Camp got annihilated when the same virus affected everyone in the camp.

The only exception is Devola and Popola where Lily told them to leave the place.

Will you believe me if I say that’s never the case in the game?

Unlike the anime, the virus only affected the YoRHA units. It doesn’t affect other androids and even the machine lifeforms.

To be honest, I don’t get why they have to make the anime to be a lot grimmer than the one in the game.

But despite its grimmer feel and major differences in the story, I don’t consider the anime to be a bad adaptation.

God Eater

If there’s one thing that left me in a state of utter confusion, it’s the God Eater anime.

For one, we have Utsugi Lenka as the main character instead of Yuu Kannagi.

And the biggest twist of all?

The story is nothing like the one in the game. And it’s a lot grimmer too.

With humanity is on the brink of extinction as the Aragami is going rampant and stronger day by day.

And it doesn’t help that many people die on the frontline protecting the remaining population that we have.

Funnily enough, the game doesn’t have the same vibe as the anime does, though.

Yes, you still hear and see people die on the frontline whenever it revolves around dealing with the Aragami.

But it doesn’t look that grim when you see the characters doing things like playing video games and watching soapy drama during their off day.

As someone who plays the game after watching the anime, I find the anime to be misleading.

And the story is awful too.

Tales of Zestiria

From the look of it, the purpose of the Tales of Zestiria anime is more to promote Tales of Berseria rather than promoting the Tales of Zestiria game.

Rather than the fight with Heldalf taking place at the Artorius’ Throne, it takes place inside a volcano instead.

That’s where you fight Heldalf in the game, in case you’re wondering.

And the volcano where the fight takes place isn’t just any random volcano either.

It’s actually Mt. Killaraus, the place where Velvet throws the vessels to awaken the four elemental Empyreans in Tales of Berseria.

While the first part of the anime is similar to the one in the game, the second part of the anime is more for paying homage to Tales of Berseria.

Does the anime do a good job in the story department?

Sad to say, the answer is no since the second part of the story is a hot mess.

The only saving grace about the anime is you get to see Alisha fight alongside Sorey and Rose which that’s never the case with the game.

Unless you’re a diehard Alisha fan, you’re better off sparing yourself from watching the anime.

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen

Out of many adaptations that I come across, this one takes the biggest cake.

Not only does Sorcerous Stabber Orphen get two anime adaptations. But the story for both versions is nothing like the source material at all.

So, I don’t understand why we need another Sorcerous Stabber Orphen anime when the brand-new one won’t be based on the light novel.

And the saddest part is the new story isn’t any better than the old one.

Funnily enough, I still give the second season a go despite my dislike towards the brand-new story for the second version of the anime.

But thankfully, I was wise enough not to watch the third season when it came out.

There’s no reason for me to watch the third season when the new story isn’t any good, be it the new version or even the old one.

They’re destroying the very thing that makes the source material great in the first place

Okay, I admit that I tend to be a purist as far as the adaptation is concerned.

But believe me, I’m fine with a brand new story as long as the story is on par with the source material.

And judging from what we see so far, most of them tend to fall flat, if not making such a hot mess to the already good story.

Not only has the terrible original story ended up disappointing fans of the source material. But it even disappoints those who are new to the source material too.

Yes, I get where’s the suspense when you already know what comes next because of the source material.

But most people watch the adaptation because they want to see their favorite scenes from the source material come to life.

They don’t care one bit about wanting to see something different from what they’re familiar with.

Thankfully, having the adaptation completely different from the source material isn’t a common practice as far as the anime adaptations are concerned.

And they’re not that many either.

But still, we can only hope they’re not thinking about doing that again unless they want the fans coming at them with a pitchfork.

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