Supernatural: The Animation

I am a massive Supernatural fan, and I have to say the anime adaptation to the original storyline of seasons 1 and 2 is brilliant, it explains everything and more of the original series. When I say it explains more I mean the episodes in which Dean and John (Sam and Deans dad) are hunting something together whilst Sam is only just meeting Jessica (Sams girlfriend who died) at college, this gives you a deeper understanding of all of their past and also a deeper understanding of the relationships between characters in which you did not get to see in the original series.

However, each episode of the original series was around 40mins (minus TV Ads) with 22 episodes which is 44 episodes in 2 seasons, this anime adaptation is around 20mins long (Minus TV ads) and only 22 episodes adapting the original series season 1 and 2 which would have been hard to do in 1 season of 22 40min long episodes so its even harder to cram it all into 22 episodes lasting 20mins, so because of that some of the detail from the original series has been removed or rushed.

I think Sam and John are played really well Sam's voice is the original seasons star Jared Padalecki, who plays Sam just as well animated or on the live-action show. I was a little disappointed in Deans character, in the original season Dean is physically tough, Mentally Strong and the best hunter you can find, where as in the animated version he is still physically tough but nowhere near as mentally strong as in the original (he cries a lot) and they make him out to be a sloppy hunter too. Bobby is the worst adaptation by far, not involved enough and nowhere near his character in the original.

All in all I thought it was a brilliant adaptation. Same brilliant storyline but episodes are not exactly the same, which helps if you are a supernatural fan that has watched the original, if you have never seen supernatural the original I Don't KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING WITH YOUR LIFE, you should watch that before you watch this. THOROUGHLY ENJOYED

Terry, London, England

Most remakes are like big contradictions; they're made for fans of the original series looking for more, but as a fan you'll probably be expecting what's going to happen more often than not, and you'll inadvertently end up bummed out about it. A complete newcomer to the series on the other hand, unaware of the important events that shape the plot, may derive much greater pleasure from watching, but they are also much less likely to be drawn to the series since they haven't seen the original to begin with.

On comes Supernatural: The Animation, created by Madhouse Inc. animation studio, responsible for such fantastic animes as Death Note and Monster, with the likely intent to open the orient up to a great series that has garnered quite the cult following. By the time I'm reviewing this I have watched the entire first season of this anime, dubbed in English for the impending North American release and I have to say that I'm actually really impressed.

It should be understood that anime (and animation in general) is rather different from live action TV. Most western TV shows like Supernatural employ a 1-hour time slot, including commercial breaks, but a time slot for Japanese anime as well as most serialized western animation is 30 minutes. As a result, some of the episodes do seem rushed and incomplete. Certain plot points are glossed over to reach the conclusion more quickly. If you only watch the first few episodes you may feel that the series has been 'dumbed down', or a lot of detail and vibrancy has gone lost, and you'd be right. Part of what made the original Supernatural so effective and haunting is its firm foundation within reality. Special effects had always been subtle and elegantly simple, like the faint, static-like flicker of ghosts, the black smoke of demons against the darkness of night, or the way things always seem to appear or vanish just an inch off-screen, to the point that any phenomenon you see could be legitimately shrugged off as a play of light or an optical illusion. A lot of animation however goes in a different direction, where the artistic freedom bestowed by the animation genre allows for much more bombastic and impossible sights. Let it be clear that this is not the Supernatural you may know, but fortunately, the core of the original series - the relationship between the Winchester brothers - is also at the heart of the anime.

Contentwise, the first season of the anime (I'm not sure if further seasons are being planned or not) spans the main plot from the first two seasons of Supernatural. While some monster-of-the-week style Episodes that made up original Supernatural's first two seasons had been remade for the anime, there are also new and very entertaining ones that should drive even the most jaded fan to the edge of their seat, but where this anime really shines is the parts where it further expands the storyline of the main series, fleshing out events of the past and further exploring the history of the Winchesters. Some of it is a bit different, and some of it is new entirely, but if Kripke would declare it all canon I wouldn't have a single problem with it. Like the original series, it took me about a third of a season to really get hooked, but once you're hooked, you won't get unhooked.

Visually and aurally, this anime is artful and well-animated, but then again studio Madhouse has always had a thing for 'realistic' anime. The characters are drawn in authentic proportion, move well, and objects and people are animated with a proper sense of weight and mass. Character design is great for the most part, but Dean stands out in special. From the first time I saw him to the last time the credits rolled, I never once questioned that this was Dean, even though Jensen Ackles only got to voice him in the last two episodes, bummer. The shortcomings of the animation medium are visible still, but rarely detract from the overall experience. Most of the faults are the result of a lack of budget, as it is with most anime; eventually I got a little tired of hearing the two or three main tunes from the aggressively small soundtrack, and hearing that Kansas song at the conclusion of every episode felt rather indulgent, since in the original it was used to signal the penultimate episode of the season. There's also something surreal about still shots where only a character's lips are moving but well, that's animation for you. The fact that this anime is based on a live-action series probably highlights such shortcomings even further, especially in areas where the original excelled, and one of the most outstanding visual features from the original series were the fantastic locations. There simply weren't any utter scenery wow-moments as there were in the original, like the many gorgeous motel rooms or that incredibly creepy house full of redneck cannibals, or the ruined mental ward, or Bobby Singer's place...

If you're a fan, check it out! If you're not, but like animation or horror genre anyway, definitely check it out. 3 stars

Sure, it isn't Supernatural. But if you want more and some other point of views or a bit more back story...and if you like anime..then give it a shot.

It isn't 60 fps like other animes though, it is what I would call 'choppy' and the use of black/white a lot of the time and not being actually 'noir' might turn some people off, I found that bit of animation kinda cool. The fact Sam is actually voiced by the real Sam makes it a bonus and the voice actor for Dean sounds pretty spot on is good enough for me.

Don't expect to be blown away or anything but if you are a fan of SN and aren't going to judge harshly then definitely give this a try. If you like both than you will probably enjoy this show.

If you like Japanese Anime like I do you will enjoy this series, now I never miss a beat when it comes to the original series so when I heard there was a animated one I jumped all over it. Now the person who wrote the other review didn't know what they were talking about this anime was very entertaining and at times veered away from the original series so you wont get that i know what happens next feeling also its well animated. Now the cons are Dean is defiantly not like his self in the series he's represented to be more of a klutz and not really a good hunter, also the demons were not creepy enough for me guess they were aiming for a younger audience (joke) and don't get me started on bobby ughh bad representation. All in all it was bland for lovers of the original series but a must watch for anime and supernatural lovers like myself . Enjoy

Season 1 is a anime remix of the series one and two. The reviewer who complained about the exposition dumps apparently remembers season 1 of the live action differently than I do. They used to stop and tell each other things like this all the time.

The anime has the standards conventions - people change hair color to suit the environment (although I am saddened that Sam's hair never has the emotional acting that anime hair often does.) Dean is a horn-dog with an open face, Sam is obsessed with finding Dad and The Thing That Killed Mom and Jess. He gets the classical anime hero drawing. John is the gruff, tragic father - shadowed, square jawed and 20 feet tall. The true break is Bobby who seems to be older and much fatter than he should be. The English dub would also make him from New York. You either accept these things or you do not. Anime viewers are not thrown by these.

The actual supernatural elements are actually better than the series. The gore factor certainly gets a boost. The anime is the Winchesters driving into a different ghost story every week. It was a blast to visit and if you like season one and two, you should definitely watch.