Burn the Witch has Bleach manga fans rejoicing, while new fans are left in the dark after the first few episodes. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time an anime failed to fulfill its actual purpose.
Burn the Witch garnered attention for its unique art style and interesting plot, where two women are part of a task force to subdue dragons and protect the citizens of London and its alternate version. But when the first episode premiered in the beginning of October, the plot confused some viewers. The most prominent question, “Did I miss something?” was prevalent for many viewers by episode 3. Perhaps the answer will be revealed in future episodes, but it feels as if there’s some kind of inside information the viewer doesn’t know about. Going to the comment section doesn’t help, since it’s filled with “It’s based off the Bleach one-shot in the manga, you need to read that first to understand what’s happening.” This does the opposite of what an anime adaptation is meant to do; if the show is this confusing, how is the manga any different?
In most cases, anime adaptations follow the plot and storyline of the manga they’re based on, only straying from the beaten path to give the manga time to update, or to fill out a 12-24 episode long season with some fillers. They typically kill two birds with one stone; they give the manga a moving, breathing form to satisfy the readers, and also introduce viewers to the manga if they want to jump ahead of the show and learn what is to come. But in some cases, it’s clear the anime was intended for the manga fans only.
Other than Burn the Witch, Dorohedoro is another fairly new anime series that commits this crime. Dorohedoro centers around a man with a reptile head looking for the sorcerer who cursed him and took his memories away. The art and what looks like a riveting plotline draws people in, but it’s as if the show starts on episode 12 out of 24, and viewers are expected to know most of what’s going on already.
This failure can severely hurt a franchise. If an anime serves to only please those who read the manga, then the series alienates any new fans from jumping on the bandwagon. After that, what’s the purpose of continuing the show if only the readers can watch it?
But let’s say the manga is actually pretty good. The pacing feels right, the characters are lovable, and readers absolutely must buy the next volumes to learn what happens next. Well, how come the anime fails to do the same? Especially if anime like Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, and hundreds of others succeeded in encouraging new fans to read their manga.
Still, perhaps these shows could serve the purpose of bringing attention to their source. Fans might be motivated to read the manga to understand what’s happening in the show and to gain a deeper understanding of the plot. However, if the comment section in CrunchyRoll says, “You have to have read the manga before watching,” then there’s a problem.
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