Otaku Alternatives.

Ever wanted to watch the anime equivalent of a film you love? Or a Book? Well, I'm here to present to you anime and manga alternatives to some of my favourite titles. Enjoy!

Lord of War - Jormungand

Where they are similar:

Both take us into the world of arms dealers and highly successful ones at that. Both have a pretty philosophical message presented through a series of philosophical messages, mainly to do with human nature and it's relation to war and killing.

Despite their seemingly rough exterior, through all the shoot outs, gruesome deaths and never ending tensions there is a pretty deep message that is delivered with a skillful ease.

Where they differ:

In Lord of War our protagonist is the arms dealer himself whereas in Jormungand our protagonist is a child soldier observing the world of an arms dealer.

Lord of War focuses more on a wider range of emotions and situations considered a part of human nature such as lust, greed and fear, all prominent aspects of our protagonists life. Jormungand also follows the lifestyle of a particular arms dealer, however that lifestyle is mostly comprised of war and death, always posing different questions all to do with human nature and our relationship with killing eventually to ask you a big one right at the end (I won't spoil ) that hopefully answers some internal debates you have with yourself on the subject.

Mad Max - Desert Punk

Where they are similar:

Both are set in a post-apocalyptic desert wasteland, comprised of many factions of bandits and raiders in a barbaric world where violence rules. As such, we see many weapons reminiscient of the weapons of pre-apocalyptic society, such as guns and explosives.

Both stories follow badasses who become legends throughout the wastelands for their prowess in combat.

Where they differ:

The Mad Max films make a transition over the years, both for the character and the world of the story itself. In the first Mad Max the world was still pretty much the world we know, (or at least our grandparents know considering it was 1979!) Society had not collapsed, the world had not turned into a sun-dried wasteland and Max was still just a cop.

As the series progresses we see the world become more and more like the world of Desert Punk, Particularly, the third and fourth movies where the entire world is wasteland built up of little communities trying to survive and gangs trying to take their resources.

Max, also differs from Desert Punk in terms of character, because Max was a cop he's got a pretty solid sense of righteousness and a habit of getting involved for the sake of others whereas DP only cares about himself. However over time Max is subjected to a lot of trauma and grows darker and ever darker but the closest his and DP's characters got is in Mad Max 2, whose synopsis is very similar to a particular episode of Desert Punk. At this point in the series Max and Punk are almost the same person.

Bourne Identity - Eden of the East

Where they are similar:

Both follow the journey of men who have lost their memories including their identities, only to later discover a specific set of skills that can only be normal among elite soldiers. Both have civilian female companions who they eventually develop an attachment towards.

Where they differ:

The nature of the two protagonists is different, with one being more serious than the other.

Other than that the stories are pretty much similar until that point where both stories go on their own direction that inevitably makes each story so unique.

Archer - City Hunter

Where they are similar:

Both follow the lives of dirty minded, philandering weapons specialists who, through a series of episodes, take on various roles including that of spy, body guard, pervert and even fiancé. With exciting action scenes, side splitting comedy and more ecchi eye candy than one can handle both these shows are worth a few re-watches.

Where they differ:

Well, for one, City Hunter first aired in the 1980s, for those of you who consider old school anime inherently boring then do not count this one amongst the others, it is truly a worthy anime, personally this show gave me an appreciation for the artistic representation of women in anime back in the 80s. Other than the age gap there isn't much difference between the two, save for the adult language frequently used in Archer, you may find yourself more emotionally stimulated by City Hunter due to the tragic nature of some of the stories.

Lord Of The Flies - Sprite (Manga)

Where they are similar:

Both tales are set on 'islands' where social order such as hierarchy and power are established.

Both tales focus on the contrast between childhood and adulthood following closely the subsequent transition from innocence and logical order to sin and savagery.

Both stories represent innocence through childhood.

Where they differ:

Sprite is a science fantasy and Lord of The Flies is non-fiction, so at first glance these two works seem nothing alike, however from a metaphorical stand point both stories are littered with similarities, for example, the building in sprite, in which our cast is trapped, can be seen as an island, like Lord of The Flies, from which they cannot escape.

The differences between the two grow fewer and fewer as we take a closer look, one such difference is the fact that in Sprite our perspective is that of an adult whereas in Lord of The Flies it is that of children. To be honest, these two are probably the closest to each other but the only way to spot that is to examine the details, after all, Sprite includes a number of metaphysical subjects such as time travel whereas LoTF is far more direct with their issues. If you are a fan of either work I sincerely urge you to give the other a read, I guarantee you won't be bored.

If there's one specific difference I had to point out it'd be the fact that Lord of The Flies portrays a distinct loss of innocence whereas Sprite showcases the contrast between losing your innocence and freely choosing to let it go.

Bonus:

Les Miserables shojo casette - Les Miserables manga - Les Miserable Film - Les Miserables Novel

I highly recommend you expose yourself to this story, take your pick between anime, manga, film or novel just finish this story, you will not regret it.

Thank you and have a great day!