When creator’s make different works

Have you ever watched or read something because of the original creator behind it? You’ve seen or read one of their works before and wanted more? Who hasn’t? That is something incredibly natural to do. Especially when there is a need to fill in a gap that was created by one of their works ending. When you do something like that, ever notice how there are some similarities between them? Maybe some of the character types are similar. How about some of the themes? Maybe some setting similarities? What about how each anime is formatted? One way or another, there is going to be a similarity between the series. Here are some of the best examples that I can think of.

Yoshihiro Togashi (Yu Yu Hakusho vs Hunter x Hunter)

I’m starting out with something obvious, but the similarities between Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter are just plain abundant. I’m not just talking about the heroes wearing green in the beginning or the fact that they both use energy attacks. Oh no, the comparisons are more dep then that. The way each arc has a different genre attached to it is one example. Even some of the basic elements of each story and the setups are similar. Each show has a criminal underworld, themes about the darkness behind humanity, tournament arcs, the protagonist group of four people (you can easily tell what character from each group is similar to a character in the other), the large variety of powers, and the amazing villains. Since I watched Yu Yu Hakusho, I knew that I would like Hunter x Hunter. The feeling was there. Beside waiting for a time that I can dedicate to watching, that’s I saved it for so long. Watching Hunter x Hunter was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had last year and it made me love Togashi’s style of storytelling even more than I did with Yu Yu originally. If you have only watched one of these shows, then you should definitely watch the other one tool. Not because only because both shows are fantastic pieces of art, but to see how similar themes are played differently.

One (One Punch Man vs Mob Psycho 100)

The comparisons between these two are obvious as well. While what each show is trying to accomplish are different, the set ups are still remarkably similar. For one, each show stars a seemingly emotionless egg head protagonist who is completely over powered. Saitama is emotionless because he is the most over powered thing in the universe and nothing challenges him anymore, so all the joy has been taken out of his life. Mob is an emotionless egg head because his emotions release his hidden, broken psychic powers that can destroy everything. They also have a blonde *cough* haired disciple following them around and a group of quirky and decently developed individuals as the side characters. They might not sound too different from each other with that description, but they both are trying to do different things. One Punch Man is a parody of every long running shonen series that has ever existed, yet has emotional resonance with it too. Mob Psycho 100 is about a kid trying to find his place in the world without his bizarrely strong psychic powers. Seeing how each show accomplishes something different with a similar set up is almost as good as watching the shows themselves. Okay, so that’s a bit of a stretch, but making the comparisons is an interesting thing to do.

Nobuhiro Watsuki (Rurouni Kenshin vs Buso Renkin)

Okay, this one is a little harder. What does a show about a down trodden, former assassin have to do with a show about a kid who gets ultimate power in a high school setting? More than you think it does. At a quick glance, there is only superficial things. That one time the female protagonist in Buso Renkin was put in bandages like Shishio is one. Another when there was the kid who used a samurai sword and whose ultimate attack with a speedy killing one. Mere references and ideas than anything else, but there is more. The protagonist of Buso Renkin is trying to not kill other people just like Kenshin is. He is constantly put into challenging situations when killing would solve the solution easier, but tries his hardest not to. Even at the later part of Buso Renkin when things change for him, he’s still trying to find a way to not kill. It’s all good to me. Even if one show isn’t as deep and complex as the other, but some of the values are similar. Kenshin is the better watch, but that doesn’t mean that Buso Renkin is without value or watchability. It’s a decent show in its own right.

This post has been on my mind ever since I started watching Buso Renkin. I’m almost done with it right now, so there might be a review of it at the end of the week. If not, I will have something interesting to replace it with instead. I know that I missed some easy creator’s works like Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, and some others) and Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun, Gungrave, and Blood Blockade Battlefront), but I feel like most of those speak for themselves. I hope that I am not the only person that automatically makes comparisons between different people’s works. My brain is always looking for connections in one way or another, so this post is just a result of that. Thank you for reading and hopefully I didn’t bore any of you.