From the moment it was announced, everyone knew Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle would be big, but it was somehow even bigger than people thought. Not only did it quickly surpass Mugen Train’s massive box office, but it has a genuine chance of grossing over a billion dollars, solidifying Demon Slayer’s status as a pop culture icon even outside of anime.
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Of all the reasons for Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’s success, though, the biggest is that just like Mugen Train, Infinity Castle is canon to the story, making it far bigger than a typical anime film. This practice has become increasingly common in recent years, and sure enough, there are plenty more manga arcs that would benefit from that treatment.
10) Monster World Arc (Yu-Gi-Oh!)
Monster World is the third major story arc of Kazuki Takahashi’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Yugi and his friends visit their new friend, Ryo Bakura, to play the tabletop role-playing game Monster World, but things quickly take a turn for the worse when Bakura is revealed to have his own Millennium Item with an evil spirit out to kill them.
The Monster World arc was completely expunged from the second anime, despite its unique premise and being Bakura’s proper introduction into the series, and as such, making it into a movie could be a fun way of both fixing some of the anime’s problems and appealing to fans of the early stories, and that could make it a surefire hit.
9) Goddess’ Monument Arc (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End)
The Goddess’ Monument arc is the eighth major story arc of Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe’s Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. After encountering a monument of the Goddess, Frieren finds herself flung back in time to when she was in Himmel’s party, and they now have to find a way to send Frieren back to her time without irrevocably changing the future.
As a largely self-contained story focused on developing Frieren and Himmel’s party, the Goddess’s Monument arc would make for a great, emotional story, especially if it had the same incredible animation as the TV show. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End season 2 could run long enough to cover the arc, but making it a movie would still be great to see.
8) Taro Sakamoto’s Past Arc (Sakamoto Days)
Taro Sakamoto’s Past arc is the sixth major story arc in Yuto Suzuki’s Sakamoto Days. As the conflict with Slur begins to escalate, Shin finally confronts Sakamoto on his refusal to let anyone in and help him, prompting a flashback to when Sakamoto, Nagumo, and Slur were all students alongside Rion Akao and the incident that caused everything.
Sakamoto Days was always a fun action story, but Sakamoto’s past is largely agreed to be the manga’s peak for its incredible action and for how well it develops Sakamoto and other characters. The arc has often been compared to Jujutsu Kaisen’s Hidden Inventory arc, and since that was recently remade into a movie, Sakamoto Days should do the same.
7) Space Globalists Arc, Part 2 (Dandadan)
The Space Globalists arc is the seventh major story arc in Yukinobu Tatsu’s Dandadan. Following the arrival of the mysterious Vamola, the cast is then confronted by an alien invasion from the Space Globalists, and after a devastating loss in the first half of the arc, everyone has to train to stop their full invasion in the second half.
The Space Globalists arc is Dandadan’s longest arc, so not only would making the second half a movie help with pacing, but it would perfectly show off the action and emotional beats as well, especially with Vamola’s backstory. Dandadan season 3 might cover the entire arc, but it’s hard not to see a movie as being essential for the series.
6) Second Yoshioka Arc (Vagabond)
The Second Yoshioka arc is the second arc centered around the Yoshioka school in Takehiko Inoue’s Vagabond. Musashi has finally returned to Kyoto for his promised rematch with Denshichiro Yoshioka, but Musashi’s physical and mental growth has far exceeded everyone’s expectations, leading to the conflict becoming far bigger than a simple duel.
Between paying off one of Vagabond’s earliest plot threads, Musashi’s incredible growth, and the thrilling climax of Musashi fighting the Yoshioka school, the Second Yoshioka arc is nothing if not the peak of Vagabond’s story. Vagabond has infamously never received an anime before, but the arc still works as a standalone story, and that would translate to a phenomenal movie.
5) Purple Haze Feedback (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure)
Purple Haze Feedback is a spinoff of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure written by Boogiepop creator Kouhei Kadano. Six months after Giorno defeated Diavolo, Pannacotta Fugo, who was too scared to turn against Diavolo with everyone else, seeks redemption for failing his friends, and it just might come through a mission to shut down Passione’s narcotics team for good.
Not only does Kouhei Kadano perfectly understand JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s stylish action, but between Fugo’s emotional character arc and its stellar execution, Purple Haze Feedback is a great epilogue to Golden Wind and an all-around great story. It’s a story that many fans largely accept as canon, and it would work great as the franchise’s first big movie.
4) Can’t Fear Your Own World (Bleach)
Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World is a Bleach sequel written by Ryogo Narita of Baccano! fame. Not long after the Thousand-Year Blood War, mysterious events start playing out that threaten to destroy the Three Realms once more, and against all odds, the key to stopping it might lie with Shuhei Hisagi of Squad 9.
Between closing out loose ends and providing great development for the cast and world, Can’t Fear Your Own World is everything someone could want from a Bleach sequel. The Thousand-Year Blood War anime has already referenced Can’t Fear Your Own World numerous times, so if that’s setting up an adaptation, a movie trilogy would be the best way to go.
3) Bastard Munchen Vs. PXG (Blue Lock)
Bastard Munchen vs. PXG was the final match of Blue Lock’s Neo-Egoist League arc. As the only teams in the Neo-Egoist League still undefeated, Bastard Munchen and PXG’s match would decide the champion of the Neo-Egoist League, and more importantly, it would be Isagi and Rin’s chance to determine who was Blue Lock’s best player before the World Cup.
Bastard Munchen vs. PXG has some of the manga’s best artwork and cathartic writing to date, and it’s the kind of story that deserves to be a major event. Blue Lock season 3 will adapt the Neo-Egoist League arc, but hopefully, the final match will be saved for the big screen and made to look as incredible as possible.
2) Granolah The Survivor Saga (Dragon Ball Super)
The Granolah the Survivor saga is the second original story in Akira Toriyama and Toyotaro’s Dragon Ball Super. After learning of Frieza’s revival, Granolah, a victim of the Frieza Force’s genocide, uses his planet’s Dragon Balls to become the strongest in the universe, leading to a conflict with Goku and Vegeta that goes deeper than anyone could have imagined.
The Granolah the Survivor saga excels for its stunning action and thoughtful character writing, and it’s easy to see why it’s so beloved by fans and critics. Both it and the Galactic Patrol Prisoner saga would make great movies, but with how much more straightforward the Granolah the Survivor saga is, it’s the far better choice between the two.
1) Harald’s Flashback & The God Valley Incident (One Piece)
In the Elbaph arc of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece, to convince Hajrudin to free Loki from his chains, Loki was forced to tell the truth about the death of King Harald. What followed was a lengthy flashback covering not only Harald’s past, but the formal introduction of Rocks D. Xebec and, surprisingly, the long-awaited reveal of the God Valley Incident.
With the great worldbuilding of Harald’s backstory and the God Valley Incident, One Piece’s latest flashback is an all-around masterpiece, and it isn’t even over yet. One Piece’s new seasonal format means there’s finally room for a canon movie, and the God Valley Incident would be the best choice for that format, and the best canon anime movie, by far.
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