Wolverine
Wolverine is one of the most popular Marvel characters ever. Because Hugh Jackman executed the character to perfection, it's no wonder that Wolverine is always in the top three when discussing the best characters out there. As Wolverine fans, the thirst for seeing even a little more of the character just doesn't go away, and that's what brings us to the show that we're here to talk about today.
How can Logan hunt you at night?
I wish this didn't exist, and even if that wasn't possible, I just didn't watch it because it's a stain on the character itself. There's a lot wrong with this adaptation, and that's not to say that it belongs straight in the trash can because there are things that it does pretty well. There's just a lot going on, and we'll talk you through what exactly that is. This is Marvel's Wolverine anime adaptation, which you should never watch! I don’t know what was going through the heads of the creative team there at Marvel when they decided that this was good to go, to be honest. I guess they didn't just start using acid recently; it's been a practice and ritual for almost 15 years now. That indeed explains the recent projects that have come out!
Logan in Japan
Including Japanese elements in anime adaptations of American superhero stories is of course inevitable. While I'm sure no one minds that one bit, if that means taking away the whole character, that's where we draw the line, correct? Since when did Wolverine become such a colossal simp? He's just on a mission to rescue his girlfriend in Japan, who is getting married even when she doesn't want to. What kind of plot is that? The show uses that as the stepping stone to jump up even when it doesn't go up, only down.
Some of the other known characters make some appearances, and while they don't get a lot of screen time, that only works in their favor since they save themselves from getting ruined by the studios, if you ask me.
The story is lacking in many aspects, and even the rest of the stuff isn't up to the mark to make up. Ignore this poorly written stuff. There's a movie where Wolverine follows a similar route from 2013. Trust me, that movie is a million times better than this, and you're better off watching that adaptation over this any day of the week. This is a toned-down version of the movie, and it shows.
The Japanese touch only works for some.
Since Madhouse is making this anime adaptation, it's no wonder it will end up looking like an anime, not a cartoon. Of course, nothing is wrong with that, but whose idea was to make Wolverine the newest attractive boy on the island? He looks nothing like the actual character. Even the Wolverine from the X-Men anime adaptation looks much better, which frustrates many fans to the core. To be honest, dirtying a fan favorite is just a war crime. Moreover, even if his new girlfriend looks perfect, the same can't be said for all the other characters.
Furthermore, since we're so into the Japanese spirit, why didn't we make full use of the setting and bring in someone like the Silver Samurai? Wouldn't that have been the best stuff to happen for this adaptation? The art style doesn't fit the whole Logan theme, and while it still holds well when compared to its peers from back in 2010 or 2011, that still isn't a perfect excuse for us to forget that the show feels like a half-assed take on the character who's the face of the X-Men around this time.
Clunkiness and rough action
Logan's character is rough and violent, in a nutshell. But that's worlds apart from the rough and violent Logan in this anime adaptation. Despite Madhouse being one of the biggest names in action in the history of anime, the action isn't there in this Wolverine anime. Sometimes, it's just a bunch of frames moving and progressing towards the next scene, and fluidity and choreography are nowhere to be found. Now, a character that relies on his claws and fighting prowess is bound to be affected by this in the worst way, and that's precisely what happens.
If you're coming into this anime expecting great fights and altercations, then I will tell you that nothing of that sort will happen in this anime adaptation. Even the movie has better action than this anime adaptation, even though most of it is VFX and CG. I still remember how disappointed I was when the anime first came out.
At that time, the X-Men movies were on a total roll, making Wolverine the most immense character on the planet. But this anime adaptation did more harm than good as far as the Marvel universe is concerned. I'm yet to find someone who found this anime enjoyable, and if that someone ends up being one of you, then I will be somewhat disappointed!
Out of budget for the sound
Again, the sound department makes or breaks some of the best scenes an anime has to offer. Even though the X-Men anime adaptation had some outstanding soundtracks, the Wolverine anime adaptation doesn't fall short as far as the quality of the music is concerned. The music is excellent and gets you pumped up. But that punch is fleeting since the anime doesn't have much “more where that came from." There are a couple of tracks, and they're repeated on a loop over the entire course of the anime series.
Now, this is bound to become frustrating since the anime doesn't do much to make you turn a blind eye to the sound, which clearly gives it away in an instant. They used it all on those other projects; the Wonder Woman anime adaptation never got a second chance. Why didn't this happen at the end of the anime project? It confused me.
The Wolverine anime adaptation could be better. The people at Marvel and Madhouse have done their best to ruin the character. But thankfully, Hugh Jackman has come to the rescue repeatedly, with the recent collaboration with Deadpool being the best entry to date.
Watching this series is a big no. If you're a huge Wolverine fan, you'll only be frustrated at Madhouse at the end. If you like someone else, say Cyclops, then you can watch it since this anime adaptation only ends up making Wolverine look bad, and that's something that Cyclops fans love to no end. But yeah, you’ll agree with me once you’re done with the anime.
I don’t know what the purpose of this anime was, what they were thinking, and everything since the anime tarnished Wolverine’s character more than anything. He looks like a heavily toned-down version of himself, both in terms of his looks and personality, and that from the get-go is where many fans draw the line and don’t continue with the rest of the series. So, you can try that as the litmus test and see if you’re willing to put up with how they massacred my boy with this anime series.
I can’t say that even checking this out will be worth your time because it’s really not going to. But yeah, if we’re drunk on the weekend and have nothing better to do, why not go on a Wolverine bender and add this sorry anime adaptation to the mix? I'm sure that will kill some time, don’t you think? See what I did there? Now, we all have a perfect Wolverine marathon plan for the weekend. Let’s ensure we’re all starting it at 1 am on Saturday!
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