T5W#189-Top 5 Anime That Need Sequels

In a couple of weeks, we’ll finally see the return of everyones favorite devil may care but so carefree superhero Saitama with One Punch Man Season 2.  The only thing I can think of (besides having not watched the trailer yet but hearing not so great things) is…it’s about freaking time.  Seriously, some Anime are so good you beg for a sequel, even when what you’ve gotten is good enough.  Im sure many of us felt that way watching Toonami back in the day and seeing the ends of Ronin Warriors or Tenchi Muyo.  Every now and then, our favorite shows conclude and leaving wanting so much more.  With that in mind, todays Top 5 Wednesday centers around my choices for TV Series and Movies that need continuations, some that are lonnnng overdue.  These are my Top 5 Anime That Need Sequels.

#5-Outlaw Star

This one you think would have been prime sequel bait.  After all, what happens after you find one treasure and save the universe? You go looking for the next big treasure and maybe save the universe again.  Hell, One Piece has been at it for 20 years, how come Outlaw Star couldn’t ever do the same?  Ive thought of Gene Starwind and his crew as the sort of Guardians of the Galaxy of Anime and think theyd do good to get a second lease on life.  Just imagine Gene, Jim, Melfina, Suzkua and Aisha heading off to another part of the galaxy, encountering new and more powerful enemies and making some serious upgrades to the Outlaw Star itself with more weapons and options.  This sequel should have happened years ago and im sure im not the only one who hopes the chances of a continuation haven’t full faded into the ages.

#4-Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy

In my review of this movie, I thought that Eternal Fantasy was a step up from the overall disappointment that was Adieu Galaxy Express 999.  There was one nagging problem though: the movie ends at what would be considered the halfway mark and a huge plot development happens off screen, ending the movie on a massive cliffhanger.  So…why hasn’t this been resolved yet?  I know the Leiji Matsumoto universe isn’t as popular as it once was but that’s no excuse to leave the saga of Tetsuro and Maetel unfinished.  I’ve heard some of this films events are alluded to in other Matsumoto works like The Galaxy Railways.  Personally, I just want the second half of what was shaping up to be a pretty decent sequel to one of my all time favorite Anime titles. 

#3-Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory

Until I get an official wording that this is happening, it is staying right here on this list.  Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory was one of my favorite Anime of 2018, bringing back Full Metal Panic bigger, darker and better than ever.  After almost two decades of waiting, plot lines were coming full circle, the overall story took big risks that paid off (including that damn cliffhanger) and Full Metal Panic was allowed to shed the comedy that didn’t work so well in favor of an all out action packed thrill ride.  So when are we getting an announcement about Season 5?  Could we please not have to wait 13 years until we finally see Sousuke and Mithril kick Leonard Testarossa’s ass and save Kaname?

#2-Martian Successor Nadesico

It hurts to remember that when Nadesico concluded it’s final episode, one of the final lines was Ruri hypothesizing that any unanswered questions would be followed up on in an “inevitable sequel”.  Well…we got a sequel in The Prince of Darkness and it’s a sequel many of us want to forget.  We don’t want Akito to lose everything that made him so loveable.  We don’t want Ruri saddled with a forgettable new crew.  No, we want Yurika Misamaru helming a new Nadesico with all the familiar maniacs at their stations and ready to save the world…or mess it up in the process, it’s bound to happen.  Hell, Nadesico 2 could just forget that The Prince of Darkness ever happened, lots of Hollywood sequels like Superman Returns try to do just that in the wake of terrible predecessors.  We need more Nadesico, we were kind of promised more Nadesico…so yeah give us more Nadesico pleeeease?

#1-Spriggan

I am so glad a new adaptation has been announced for this one.  I first learned of Spriggan when I saw the Anime film, partly worked on by Katsuhiro Otomo, was back in the early 2000’s.  The plot had potential that was totally squandered but the action felt about as close to an all out Metal Gear Solid Anime was we’ve ever gotten.  The idea of specially armed secret agents defending artifacts and sacred sites across the globe is ripe with storytelling potential.  And if what we saw in the movie is any indication, then we need more Yu Ominae’s running up snow hills carrying a 50 caliber machine fun like dragging a tree branch.  Fun fact: I wrote a very short story outline for what I thought a Spriggan sequel could be…which turned out to be a poor Hollywood retread of the first one…so maybe best leave it to the professionals (who knows they might try the same thing but I digress).