These 5 Popular Anime Are Actually Inspired by Classic Western Literature! Do You Have a Favorite?

Kapanlagi.com - Inspiration to create a story can come from anywhere. Ideas can arise after reading or hearing a story. This also applies to manga and light novel writers.

There are so many world-renowned Western classic literature. Some of them are classic fairy tales and classic literature by Shakespeare. Surely the popularity of this literature will inspire many writers around the world.

Here is a list of popular anime whose stories are actually inspired by classic works from the West that are equally popular. What are they? Check out the following review!

1. AKAGAMI NO SHIRAYUKI HIME (2015)

AKAGAMI NO SHIRAYUKI HIME (Credit IMDb)

AKAGAMI NO SHIRAYUKI HIME is an anime whose story is inspired by the classic fairy tale SNOW WHITE by The Brothers Grimm. This anime tells the story of a rare red-haired girl named Shirayuki, which translates to snow white. Because of her unique hair, a king in her kingdom asks her to become a concubine.

Not wanting to become a concubine, Shirayuki flees to a neighboring kingdom and meets the second prince of that kingdom. She then works in the neighboring kingdom as a royal doctor. Shirayuki's presence in the kingdom is not well-received, and there are those who try to eliminate her.

2. MAGI: THE LABYRINTH OF MAGIC (2012)

MAGI: THE LABYRINTH OF MAGIC (Credit IMDb)

MAGI: THE LABYRINTH OF MAGIC is an anime inspired by the story of 1001 NIGHTS which contains several stories from various authors. The characters in this anime take the names of characters from 1001 NIGHTS such as Alibaba and Aladdin. Aladdin himself is a character who has the ability to summon a blue genie from his flute.

MAGI tells the story of a boy named Alibaba who meets Aladdin, who turns out to be a magi. It is told that a magi is a person who is tasked with choosing someone as a candidate for king. His appearance is accompanied by the appearance of dungeons that must be conquered. Aladdin and Alibaba together struggle to conquer the dungeons.

3. HELLSING (2001)

HELLSING (Credit: IMDb)

HELLSING is inspired by the popular horror story titled DRACULA by Bram Stoker. This anime features a character named Alucard who is revealed to be Dracula when spelled backward. In fact, this anime can be considered as an extrapolation of the story of DRACULA if the character Dracula was not killed by his enemies.

HELLSING tells the story of the strongest vampire named Alucard who was once defeated by his enemy. He then joins and becomes part of the British government organization tasked with exterminating blood-sucking creatures. From here, Alucard helps humans in eradicating these cruel creatures.

4. ZETSUEN NO TEMPEST (2012)

ZETSUEN NO TEMPEST (Credit: IMDb)

Not many people know that this anime is actually inspired by two classic works of a famous writer, William Shakespeare. The story of this anime draws ideas from Shakespeare's works titled THE TEMPEST and HAMLET. This anime has a quite complex storyline and is heavily influenced by these two renowned works.

ZETSUEN NO TEMPEST revolves around Yoshino, who secretly dates Aika, his best friend's sister. One day, Aika dies mysteriously. Yoshino and his friend, Mahiro, then investigate the mystery of her death.

5. PANDORA HEARTS (2009)

PANDORA HEARTS (Credit: IMDb)

Although not many are aware of it, it turns out that the story in PANDORA HEARTS was inspired by Lewis Carroll's popular classic work titled ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND. This anime revolves around a young nobleman named Oz Vessalius who doesn't care about fairy tales or folk stories.

One day, during his coming-of-age ceremony, Oz is thrown into a fairy tale world that he had never believed existed, called the Abyss. Whether he likes it or not, Oz must struggle to explore the Abyss and uncover its secrets. He is not alone, as a mysterious entity named Alice also helps him.

Those are some popular anime whose stories are inspired by classic Western tales. Which ones have you watched?

Written by Ursea Mayoriska

(kpl/mag)