Japan’s Take On ‘X-Men The Animated Series’ Is Too Good

Marvel’s X-Men comics may have had major successes over its many years, but a major draw for a certain generation of fans to the series was its animated series running on the Fox Kids Saturday morning block.

This animated series introduced many kids to the franchise and turned them into lifelong fans, and although it is held in high regard, who would have guessed that the series could be greatly improved by leaning into its anime influences.

Over in Japan, the 1992 animated series had a much different opening than fans got in the United States, and some consider it to be a tease for a much different series.

The Japanese opening of the series has made rounds online off and on over the years, but Twitter user @TristanACooper perfectly encapsulates why it has such long lasting power with “the [J]apanese opening to the [X-Men] animated series might be the best 84 seconds of anime on the [I]nternet.”

Not only does the new opening place the recognizable Marvel characters into some considerably anime opening trope laden sequences, it also presents a smooth and more detailed look for the characters than normally featured. But at the same time, the United States fans would much prefer their version of the opening because while not as action packed, the theme song takes a far more striking tone with his strong guitar riffs.

This is not the only time the X-Men have crossed over with the world of anime before, as Marvel launched a collaboration project with notable anime studio Madhouse in 2010. This collaboration resulted in four different anime series based on the X-Men, Wolverine, Blade, and Iron Man, and was notable for largely featuring Japan as a main setting and having writer Warren Ellis (who would also handle the Castlevania anime series years later) at the helm.

The X-Men Movie Universe continues with The New Mutants on April 13, Untitled Deadpool Sequel on June 1, and X-Men: Dark Phoenix on November 2. Not much is know about X-Men: Dark Phoenix, but the film is set in the 90s and takes place after the events of X-Men: Apocalypse. It is also the directorial debut for director Simon Kinberg, but he’s setting out with the intention of getting the fan-favorite saga from the comics better across in film.

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