Who doesn’t love a good mash-up? You know, peanut butter and banana, coffee and cold pizza (breakfast of champions), coffee and… well, anything really.
We love it, for instance, when anime meets American superheroes, like in the anime versions of X-Men and Wolverine. The characters and storylines seem to fit well in an anime context – especially Wolverine, whose character spends a significant amount of time and development in Japan. Somehow, in anime form Scott Summers (Cyclops) comes across as less of a pansy and more of a badass, even when he’s mourning his lady love, Jean Grey (The Phoenix). He goes from being just sad to brooding and even a little emo, thanks to his shaggy-cool hair (gotta love anime hair).
While many of us at Anime Herald are Marvel and D.C. fans, a few of us are also Whovians. For the uninitiated, that means we’re mega-fans of the long-running BBC sci-fi series, Doctor Who.
So imagine our excitement when Nerdist released the following video during Geek Week on Youtube (Aug. 4-10): an ani-mazing anime version of Doctor Who. OK, so the video is a bit of a farce – turning the time-traveling Doctor into a cackling psychopath – but even those who know and love DW can admit that the show is a tad cheesy. Ok, a lot cheesy. With evil villains that resemble candy button-covered trash cans (The Daleks) and other seemingly easily-defeated baddies, not to mention a guy who traverses time and space in a vintage blue police call box, well… you just have to suspend disbelief, have yourself a nice cuppa, sit back and enjoy.
(Image credit: Forbidden Planet)
Despite the goofiness of this video, a Doctor Who anime taken a bit more seriously could turn out really well. It’s no secret that there are many Anglophiles in Japan— look no further than Edwardian tea parties put on by the loligoth subculture. We have a feeling that the Daleks could actually be scary in anime form, and the Doctor and his companions could turn out quite dashing, perhaps sporting dayglo, gravity-defying hair. It would be easier to add crazy special effects that dazzle the eye as the Doctor traverses the universe; the potential is truly limitless. So come on, Studio Ghibli; you’ve turned European stories into awe-inspiring anime before… Why not give The Doctor a whirl?
Also: manga incarnations of Doctor Who on deviantART give us happy feels. Squee.
Check out the clip, below, and let us know what you think— would you watch an anime Doctor Who?
Let’s get time-wimey!
