The Bizarre World of Video Game Manga

[@mugenbop]

CORRECTIONS: So the visuals I used in some of the video is the regular Famicom cartridge system and not peripherals of the floppy disk system. Someone kindly pointed out the first Dragon Quest released on the standard Famicom cartridge system and not the disk system I misspoke when reading the script and did not realise. -There is a Jak and Daxter Manga. Thanks to a commenter, I found on the subreddit for Jak a link and there it was but never showed up in databases because it was not collected into volumes :o

[@aliastheabnormal]

Actually the Bubble economy as its called. Was caused because of the deflation of the Yen combined with numerous real estate schemes collapsing and defaulting. Caused an economic crash and crisis that lasts to this very day. Frieza and the Freeza force was inspired by these real estate businessmen who would use cutthroat tactics and violence to get back their loans.

[@pablocasas5906]

Something incredible about Dragon Quest: the Adventure of Dai, is that the Gigaslash technique, one of the best known attacks in the game and the Hero's Final Smash in Smash Ultimate, actually debuted in the manga and then emigrated to the games

[@mugenbop]

Oooh didn’t know that about that technique always thought it was a thing :)

[@orangeslash1667]

@@mugenbop Fun Fact: There is manga based on Fire Emblem.

[@pablocasas5906]

I also should mention that The Adventure of Dai was dubbed and broadcasted into various languages across the world, and for many it was their first exposure to Dragon Quest, especially in those counties where the games would take decades to arrive officially In Latin America the original anime was dubbed as "Las Aventuras de Fly" and it was a modest hit, not as big as other Toei shows like Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, Sailor Moon, Slam Dunk or Digimon but some people remember it and it had a pretty good voice cast. Last year the remake got dubbed, though, save for two secondary characters, none of the original voices reprised their roles, though some of the them are present as other characters. Curiously enough, Dai's new VA, Claudia Motta, and his original VA, Marina Huerta, do have similar sounding voices and they also shared another character before, I'm talking about Bart Simpson

[@jamesdigennaro6705]

Sometimes the manga of video games can tell a story 10x better than the game can, I remember the manga version of Sora and Roxas from Kingdom Hearts acting as complete badasses, as well as giving each and every Link a different personality, especially the Twilight Princesss manga.

[@mugenbop]

This is very true showing a character as a bit more multi-dimensional

[@stampoulisrafael5262]

The Manga is missing out plot points of the game how is it better xd

[@niteriemcfarlane5285]

@@stampoulisrafael5262 ikr lmfao

[@yourlocalusername392]

Word

[@wizcatcheslightning]

My first question was “blue dragon was an anime?“ followed by “blue dragon was played on Cartoon Network in Australia during the aughts?” Mind blown dude 😮

[@hollowinuyasha01]

From memory it wasn't on very often, probably at a weird time

[@himuragoXD]

Even in cartoon network in the US.

[@TableClothPersona]

God, Persona 5 Mementos Mission is seriously my favorite characterization of Joker. It just fits him so well I end up subconsciously imitating him in my play throughs of 5. Not to mention Rokuro Saito’s gorgeous art. Seriously, if you like Persona 5 and wanna see Joker with a great personality, I highly recommend it.

[@Eques_Umbra]

The Kingdom Hearts manga definitely has some of the more out of pocket moments in the franchise. Sora getting hit on by a "lady of the night" in Traverse Town, Vexen having made several Replicas of himself, and them deciding to follow Replica Riku in a gag comic at the end of Chain of Memories, Kairi learning how to communicate with Dusks by wiggling, and subsequently accidentally cursing at them with said wiggles, and, one of personal favorites, the Queen of Hearts being smitten by a giant Luxord! The manga for these games are bonkers, and I love every solitary panel of it!

[@mugenbop]

The more I see these gags the more I feel committed to keep reading :)

[@thomasffrench3639]

I knew that Dai was going to be mentioned. Adventure of Dai is the first good adaptation of a game which is incredible that it came out in 1989. Video games and manga are so intertwined in the 80s and 90s which makes manga a natural thing adapt video games. Even in the west comics are used to promote games and movies. So it makes sense that the biggest media industry in Japan would jump on it. Not to mention there’s a lot of great games that are based off manga. One of the best NES RPGs is Destiny of an Emperor which is based off a Shonen Jump manga. Also Murata and a bunch of other Mangaka got their start designing Robot Masters for Mega Man, which is really cool.

[@pablocasas5906]

I find Dai to be very different from other manga adaptations of video games, since it's not a direct adaptation of a mainline DQ game, it's a completely original story, mostly based on DQIII, and since the DQ games only had 3 games at that time, the mangaka had to create plenty of original ideas It's also interesting that Dai had an impact on the mainline DQ, like the inclusion of the Gigaslash technique, that debuted in the manga. Dai even got a video game adaptation recently

[@kammhia397gaming9]

2 things that I remember about the 1st Kingdom Hearts manga,1 was that my Teacher bought it for me as a kid cause at the time my family didn't have the money for it and 2 was when Sora got hit on by a literal prostitute and got her heart taken from a solder heartless that stab his hand in her chest wish I still had that manga with me.

[@mugenbop]

She was literally trying to get with Sora a minor and then like the chad hero the soldier heartless actually kills her, very Disney friendly comedy right there :)

[@Cyboytheawsome]

Man reading the kh novels as a kid was the best it was just more kh content that came out and a new way to express my love for a series that was my favorite video game of all time and still some what is sadly kh 3 didn’t live up to all of my hypes for the game but man I will say this the manga made up for most of what I was missing (kh 3 remind handles the rest of it with its fun boss fights and nomura esque storytelling) and I can’t wait for missing link to come out thank you for the video and memories may check out blue dragon as a series now just cause it seems interesting

[@mugenbop]

I definitely wish I had access to them as a kid :)

[@spongebobfan78]

Other manga spin-offs I would suggest: -Touhou has a lot of those which are canon and expands the series' lore -Sonic has a lot of those, even later titles like the recent Sonic Superstars, though almost all of those are lost with the entire community having no interest in preserving it

[@TheNerdLounge]

Your videos have exploded in quality bro! This was an absolutely awesome topic and I was hooked throughout! Can’t wait for more videos!

[@mugenbop]

Thanks dude :) I’ll be working on the next one

[@Chiquicheeta]

Great video, well done and informative!! :D My personal "Ratchet and Clank" war flashbacks are: The Professor Layton manga, the one at 18:26. Which was for some reason licensed in my country, and it is a gag manga, where you see Professor Layton naked in the shower just to make a joke that he never takes his hat off, LIKE WHY

[@mongezibuthelezi1032]

Does anyone know this song 1:45

[@BDSomewhat]

Thank god, finally talking about the Metroid and Zelda manga! Also, this was a great video, you could talk about a topic I don’t even like and I would still watch it.

[@fluffcake]

I thought I was gonna hate this video as I actually read a lot of Manga adaptations of games as the title felt a bit off putting. But I grew to really like it, and actually agree on some points!! As I was younger I couldn’t afford the games and I only had money for books and I purchased video game based manga. I remember reading the OOT manga and then playing the game and being jumpscared by Bongo Bongo and White Hand. Awesome video!!

[@mugenbop]

Thanks mate :)

[@lrgogo1517]

This video didn't really play out how I expected. It made me fleetingly aware of so many manga oddities, and sated my curiosity on barely any of them. We only took a good look at, like, _three series in particular?_

[@iamincline]

Man your videos are too good! I gotta become a patron!

[@funkybunko]

Great video. Minor correction: Dragon Quest wasn’t on the Famicom Disk System, it was a standard Famicom cartridge game.

[@mugenbop]

Thankyou for that I have added that to the corrections in the pinned comment didn’t realise I did that 😮

[@HikerMike28]

Man, I remember reading a volume of the kingdom hearts manga at my local book store when I was a kid lol I remember being blown away that there was more context to the story (I think only 1 and 2 were out at the time).

[@mugenbop]

that would have been insane to have at a local bookstore :)

[@wadejohnston4305]

A really freaking great video brother. The editing is also on point. Can see this channel going places. Look forward to future content!

[@wizcatcheslightning]

Mugen, I already knew you were a real one. But that song from Catherine when you enter the nightmare each night is just the icing on the cake my dude 🤌

[@evlinalw325]

Great vid as always 10/10

[@mugenbop]

Thanks so much :)

[@Jerrremy]

I love the Elden Ring manga! Absolutely hilarious, ive only played the first Dark Souls game but i still throughly enjoyed it. Good video too

[@terriermonisgod]

ral grad art is next level, and love the worldbuilding

[@wise_thaat]

I've known about so many of these for the better half of the decade. As soon as I read Sonic Archie Comics from back in the day, I knew it would eventually catch on for most video game mascots.

[@guidokandori7868]

I love you and your work mugen, keep it up bruv!!!

[@calrain1177]

banger video my dude, i loved ral grad as a kid but had no idea about blue dragon until much older. was still great nevertheless and having just read adventure of Dai after getting the recent video game, i loved the full circle of "a video game based off a manga thats based off a videogame" i didnt realise how much videogame manga i had consumed growing up but its insane to think of how many there are and i think the points you laid out in your video are exactly why. amazing stuff man, can wait to see what else you talk about

[@mugenbop]

Thanks glad you enjoyed it :)

[@MrHagarenViper]

The Kingdom Hearts manga is a great companion to the games. It's largely more of a gag manga but as time goes on some of it's dramatic moments hit harder than the game itself (Days is great at this), and the author re-arranges and slightly changes scenes from the game that make them even more impactful than the original (The World That Never Was in KH2). You're not getting the entire story as the manga cuts many worlds, but it's well worth checking out.

[@guizoooo]

damnn.... these 25m felt like 5!amazing video bro!!!

[@mugenbop]

I’m glad it felt a good pace thanks for watching till the end :)

[@nolanryan5653]

Just commenting for the algorithm awesome video man and fantastic editing, give it time bro bro

[@mugenbop]

Thanks man I appreciate it :)

[@FigaroNewton]

Not gonna that's how inspiration works. Most of my OCs and future game/story concepts is just fusing character designs, worlds, and concepts of my favorite media and making it my own.

[@kartikeyamalik5488]

I had no idea what I was getting into but enjoyed the video regardless. GREAT STUFF BROTHER ❤️

[@mugenbop]

Glad you enjoyed

[@SOGBigBoss]

Man. I had no idea there were so many video game manga adaptations. The ones that are off-brand to their source material really blow me away. Really interesting honestly. Thanks for bringing this unexplored section of manga to me. As always peak video Mugen. The love and care put into your stuff is always top tier. 👌

[@mugenbop]

Thanks man I appreciate it :)

[@lrgogo1517]

Watching Mr. Mugen lose his mind over what this mangaka did to his boy Ratchet gave me an epiphany. Tl;dr - CoroCoro Comic is like Newgrounds for Japanese pre-schoolers. See my gut reaction was "it's weird of him to be this angry about a gag manga." But I don't like responding "calm down, it's just a [insert medium of topic]" to anyone about anything, so I started trying to justify my feelings to myself more clearly. Which led to the thought, "It's not like people complain when a Newgrounds animator turns their fave platforming mascot into an a-hole." If you think about it, kiddy gag manga adaptations are like the official-product equivalent of 2010s animated parodies - it's got the immature humor, off-model drawings, and extreme plot or character deviations. The main difference is that instead of the protag having the personality of whatever 20-yo was animating/voicing them, they have the personality of a 6-yo, not unlike the ones presumably reading these comics.

[@Flamne]

I am crying, Someone remembered my first stand anime, I thought it was very obscured in the community 🤧🤧

[@ArtsyFoxo]

Oooh! You're the first channel I've encountered to ever mentioned Ral Grad!!

[@mugenbop]

Definitely a cool hidden gem manga :)

[@j_fulford3990]

in terms of video game manga megaman megamix/gigamix are STUPID good

[@karekakeka4143]

I loved persona 5 mementos mission, and the a lá carte book is also cool, great adds to any collection

[@WretchedRedoran]

Oh my GOD WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO WATCH THIS. I REMEMBER BLUE DRAGON!!!! I PLAYED IT WITH MY BROTHERS!!!!! I have a vivid memory from first grade, a short while after my dad picked up a copy of the game for me and my brothers to play on our xbox. I think we were having lunch in class or something, because the teacher was had gone to youtube on the computer to play something on the big digital whiteboard thing, and as she was scrolling to find something for us to watch I saw a very peculiar thumbnail, and video title to boot. It was an episode of the Blue Dragon anime. Now, I was probably the only person in that entire school, let alone my first grade classroom, who even knew what Blue Dragon was, and when I saw that it was insane. I remember being like "Wait, that's sHU. THAT'S SHU!!! BLUE DRAGON!!!". It was super crazy at the time.

[@orangeslash1667]

Fun Fact: There is another Metroid manga called Samus and Joey. It takes places place between Super and Fusion, but it is nothing like Other M. Joey is more useful than you make think.

[@playdemvideogames]

Great video nice too see dome great videogame manga! Love dai and pokemon adventures

[@AquaBlueTea]

The amount of times the thumbnail of this video has changed is hilarious

[@mugenbop]

We are on thumbnail #2 right now, not uncommon f

[@afroflow_2654]

Great Intro Mugen

[@mugenbop]

Thanks dude :)

[@jmh8817]

that elden ring comedy is an inspired idea, im glad miyazaki allowed it

[@PowercellZeke]

Hey mate, awesome video! Small correction though, Jak and Daxter DID get a manga. It serialised in Coro Coro Comics in 2002, and was a similar gag manga to Ratchet or Klonoa. I think the reason you couldnt find it is because it was never rereleased in standalone volumes like most manga, so its quite obscure haha

[@mugenbop]

Thanks for that I'll add it to the corrections pin. I just looked at some panels and oh man I got to read this :) I see also you are the man to thank for the iceberg video

[@PowercellZeke]

@@mugenbop No worries mate

[@BumpBobLooly]

There's a manga adaptation of Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children Black Book & Red Book. It received the nickname "Berserk for children."

[@johnnyappleseed4133]

I remember me and my brother playing blue dragon way back then never knew there was a manga ,Very well made video love the background music especially the risk of rain 2 👌

[@mugenbop]

Risk of rain does go hard :)

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

The sad truth is that many videogame manga have only recently started getting translations even fans didnt really care to track them down back in the 2000s

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

lot of untranslated rpg manga back in the 90s

[@nomology6482]

god damn, i didnt knew there were so many manga about videogames.

[@chimeracage10]

I remember that Boktai has a manga and there are 2 standalone manga chapters for clock tower and clock tower ghost head done as promos.

[@yourlocalusername392]

Lowkey the Kingdom Hearts manga made the games stories even better IMO

[@ShinyWitch]

Lol that ratchet and clank manga was kind of like the ren and stimpy cartoon.

[@mugenbop]

It looked like it belonged in unhinged Nickelodeon

[@clooebooie]

Omg ral grad, i didnt know anybody else read that

[@mugenbop]

One thing I cut from the video was the mention it as illustrated by Takeshi Obata. Illustrator of death note :)

[@EMOJIHEAP]

Good vid

[@insertchannelnamehere7154]

There was a iron man story made with art and story by Kazuki Takahashi. It’s crazy to look at

[@mugenbop]

Just looked it up that goes hard!!

[@Liliquan]

I was so excited for this video that I pissed myself.😂

[@mugenbop]

That’s cool man :)

[@Koko-rc2su]

The Kingdom Hearts 2 manga was my first introduction into the series, and ever since then, I've been a fan❤

[@mugenbop]

Wow what an entry point :)

[@Groovy_Gordon]

Fun video. I cannot strongly recommend DQ Dai enough. It was a huge inspiration for so many things. If you've ever seen an elemental slash in Dragon Quest, like flame slash, Dai did it first. Gigaslash, an ability that is frequently the Hero's final attack that ultimately became Hero's final smash in Ultimate, is from Dai. One of the best shonens to do it.

[@mugenbop]

I will definitely have it on the list :)

[@mongezibuthelezi1032]

Yooo your killing it with the content and what's the song you played 1:09

[@DogDayFromPoppyPlaytime180]

I wish there was games based on horror mangas

[@909crime]

the 1985 rpg Dragon Slayer II Xanadu has both a manga and an anime film adaptation. the art in the manga is very nice! the game itself barely has a story so the mangeka had some creative freedom

[@niclasneziru1854]

Yoooo Persona 5 music in the background

[@alanviniciuswanderleytavar4399]

Somehow in someway, this video about mangá adaptation of games ended up talking about the MCU decadence

[@mugenbop]

It all comes back around :)

[@mishafry9068]

as a kid, the only books i would grab from borders book store were shiro amanos kingdom hearts manga. My mom and dead said they were good and fine, but that i needed to read real books too... these same parents were ps2 addicts and put me on kh when i was 5-6 so they knew the monster they created.. which made them understand more.

[@mugenbop]

A fellow PS2 kid, welcome welcome

[@leonardomelodasilva5934]

I collect only mangas based on videogames

[@RyoKasai25]

Ithink we can all agree that the Legend of Zelda mangas (especially Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess) are godly.

[@renren47618]

Four Swords is great too. Since the original game doesn't have much story, the manga takes a lot of freedom and that makes it very unique, the dynamic between the Four Links is also very entertaining.

[@jacktwelve1710]

I’ve read kh 2, persona 5, Zelda ocarina of time, and Pokémon black and white

[@mugenbop]

The man is on the grind :)

[@schocky5991]

akira toryiama really is the godfatther of modern anime and manga

[@ryuumajin]

*shivers reminded to Rockman Zero and Rockman Shooting Star Manga* I wish I never read that

[@tylercafe1260]

That whole opening bit is a perfect showcase on why Videogame adaptations fail to do their job. You only found out after a few years plus research there's a Blue Dragon videogame. There's probably some guy out there who legitimately thinks Castlevania started at Netflix.

[@mugenbop]

This is true however it can be a good incentive, I have never played a Castlevania game but I watched all of the Netflix series and loved it which now makes me want to play symphony of the night and all these other titles :)

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

Reminds me of the anime based on the tv show supernatural

[@dablaccseaproductions5279]

One Punch Man is a seinen btw and the artwork is very detailed 12:29

[@mugenbop]

Yes of course Yusuke is a god and I probs could have gotten a better example there but ah well

[@dablaccseaproductions5279]

@@mugenbop I just realised you could’ve meant the original webcomic 💀

[@bigsolo6952]

Chrono Trigger needs an anime

[@Axecon1]

If only we can get a Xenoblade manga/anime adaptation. So many people missing out on one of the greatest stories in all of video games.

[@mugenbop]

I did see a xenosaga/gear manga tie in when researching

[@MarketingMovies1337]

Devil May Cry manga is mvp

[@mugenbop]

I remember the anime being good too

[@Riku_michael]

😮 such a cool video wooaaaahhh😮

[@JalynsHouse]

I would always buy the zelda mangas as a kid

[@nathankeel6667]

Fire emblem has a strange manga history the one based on shadow dragon is pretty standered i dont know if gaiden got one but fe 4 has a really interesting manga despite cutting out a entire character fleshes out the back storys and romances between the characters ( tho there is one that should not have been fleshed out) i havent read the fe 5 manga because its currently being translated but fe 6 manga is for some reason a side story about the characters whos names only apear in the game on 3 random wepons and then they stoped untill engage were they seem to be taking a basic and light hearted story more seriously to hopefully better effect then when the game tried to be serious and failed

[@jacki8106]

Ace Attorney manga and anime are great examples of this too!

[@mugenbop]

I'll check them out :)

[@mongezibuthelezi1032]

Does anyone know this song 1:45

[@eljordo5569]

Yo i loved the kingdom hearts manga was such a good adaption.

[@mugenbop]

Might have to move onto the others :)

[@danielg.w5733]

The rachet and clank manga seems like an interesting example of the differences between English speaking humour and Japanese humour

[@mugenbop]

Very much so yeah

[@kiranikib42]

speaking of video game manga i actually have the dmc3 manga i found it for 4 bucks a pop from a used manga section at my "little bit of everything" store, then yesterday i looked up the price of them.......volume 2 was like 40$$ minimum so i think i got a good deal

[@mugenbop]

What a bargain my guy :)

[@kiranikib42]

@@mugenbop yea also found Gantz 7,8,9 singles at half priced which got me back into Gantz

[@mugenbop]

Like the paperback single volumes!? I want those!!

[@kiranikib42]

@@mugenbop yea man for quite literally 5-6 bucks per volume(in usd) they are pretty cool, probably still gonna do omnibus in the future unless I get insanely lucky and find the rest of them

[@Mer.Saloon]

Hey, it's funny this video showed up in my feed. Are you considering making a video about the Metroid manga?

[@mugenbop]

No probably not I have never finished or fully played a Metroid game before

[@Mer.Saloon]

@@mugenbop I would recommend the Metroid Zero Mission manga at least. It is the origin story of the main character and it's impact on the game series is pretty legendary amongst fans. Also the behind the scenes have been relatively undocumented due to the niche nature of the Metroid series. I have some info myself about it nearly coming to the US but it got dragged and cancelled by the destruction of Tokyopop in the 2000s. Some of this behind the scenes info is more interesting than the book itself.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@Mer.Saloon Fun Fact: There is another Metroid manga called Samus and Joey. It takes places place between Super and Fusion, but it is nothing like Other M. Joey is more useful than you make think.

[@GuzRoca]

Lord of the Rings but One Piece? So just one piece with less boats?

[@mugenbop]

I guess so yes :)

[@twelthdoctor1273]

Why is no one surprised about the Minecraft and among us manga?

[@mugenbop]

I think once you’ve seen the weirdest memes of both nothing surprises you when such a huge IP is in other stuff like manga or “other stuff”

[@mazoku9]

Does anyone where to buy any of the KH1 manga?

[@notsosmartguy6254]

Pretty sure Jak and Daxter manga is real. sly Cooper too.

[@mugenbop]

God I hope not haha, I only ever found fan manga for Jak at the most :)

[@sunsetliquid8534]

Lollipop chainsaw and parasite eve have mangas

[@mistagoodvibesyt6333]

I Got My Pfp from star fox manga

[@mugenbop]

Hey there it is :)

[@3L_B4R7O]

Nice

[@MarionicakaMatrix]

Do you know that sonic and crash bandicoot have mangas?

[@mugenbop]

Yes I show the crash briefly in the intro :)

[@MarionicakaMatrix]

@@mugenbop and sonic?

[@mugenbop]

It’s got one but mostly a gag manga, fan made comics of sonic seem to have a better hold on what fans want :)

[@PhillW2406]

No but don't lie to yourself, a Jak & Daxter manga based of all 3 games would good hard.

[@mugenbop]

It exists.. found it today

[@PhillW2406]

If it weren't for this video I would never have known, thankyou good sir @@mugenbop

[@J4Blue]

As a kingdom Hearts fan I will actually genuinely recommend the manga to anyone who is a fan of the games. Now I will say.... The manga for KH1 is definitely the worst of the bunch because it is basically a speedrun of game without a lot of the cool action you would want to see a KH manga. But there are really only improvements from that point onward with the manga series finding its own identity unique from the games while maintaining the heart of Kingdom Hearts. The action is so much cooler and we get characters moments that you would only dream of seeing in the games. So I definitely can recommend it to anyone who's already a fan of kingdom hearts, just stick with it. (The KH2 Manga and the 358/2 Days manga are my favorites of the bunch)

[@mugenbop]

Consider me intrigued :)

[@dagreat201]

Devil May Cry 2, 3, 5 mangas are fire!

[@antori11]

I never knew elden ring had a manga haha!

[@mugenbop]

It is fantastic :)

[@erugurara8235]

Just an aside comment, the Sonic series only gets gag ádatations and it saddens me that there no cool oficial japanese action Sonic paneling.

[@mugenbop]

That’s true but at least fans elsewhere make some really cool comics based on Sonic :)

[@FoxDie77777]

KH1 and chains manga are kinda mid, but 358 and 2 are goated

[@minakohiashi8882]

Fatal Frame has a manga maybe 2 i liked the original story. it's more gore the game. more than half the early characters die quicky.

[@laurenj-s7970]

I was really enjoying this video until the better help sponsor :(

[@kassygo1375]

How are gonna accept BetterHelp man?! Disappointing man