The anime genre is home to some massive worlds that become increasingly popular due to its main plot. Inevitably, to cash in on this, there will come a spin-off. Like The Cleveland Show birthed from Family Guy, these spin-offs rarely become more popular than their source material, but that doesn’t make them bad. While some spin-offs are serious stories set in the same world as the original, many more are actually just comical re-imaginings. If you are really into a universe and its unique characters, then a little break for comedy can never be a bad thing.
Best Anime Spin-Offs
Gundam Build Fighters
This series seems to kind of poke fun at the horde of Gundam fans that are really into Gunpla, but actually it kind of feels like it plays homage to them as well. Certainly the plot of creating custom Gunpla and fighting it in some virtual reality sort of thing is ridiculous, if not awesome, it takes itself more seriously than you would think. It is surprisingly fleshed out and even comes with your typical sort of dramatic Gundam plot.
A Certain Scientific Railgun
Everyone should acknowledge that Mokoto was one of the better characters in A Certain Magical Index, so it is great news that she got her own spin-off. Many people confuse this as a sequel, but because it shifts focus to Mikoto and all the various things she has going on, it fits more as a spin-off. Regardless, because A Certain universe is so richly detailed, this was something that was needed to show it off more.
The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan
Yuki was a fan favorite character among fans of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya fans, so they gave her a spin-off. Within, Yuki is not an alien tasked with observing, but rather a normal high school girl. This sounds innately boring, but this is one for the fans. There are tons of little details that help connect the series to the main series, and it also gives hope to the shippers of Yuki and Kyon, although it never fully fulfills those hopes.
Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family
The Fate series has tons spin-offs, but I decided to focus on the newest one, which is essentially a slice of life show about food. Have you ever wanted to see Emiya and a number of other characters living in a slice of life universe? Well, this is it! If you are a fan of the Fate series or even the TYPEMOON universe as a whole, it has a number of great treats.
Magi: The Adventure of Sinbad
There is, without a doubt, no character more awesome and intriguing in Magi than Sinbad. As The Adventure of Sinbad focuses on his past epic adventures, this series, in the opinions of many, is actually better than the original Magi series. That can happen when you make a character so cool then show him doing all of this amazing epic adventure stuff as his younger self.
Soul Eater NOT!
Oh, you’ve seen the serious, dramatic, and action-packed daily lives of Maka and the rest of the Soul Eater crew, but now you can experience something much less interesting. Instead of saving the world, Soul Eater NOT shows the daily lives of some of the other students at Death Weapon Miester Academy. It is the same Soul Eater world, but with a more light-hearted slice of life vibe.
Pokemon Origins
I’m going to lay a truth bomb down now, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Pokemon anime. I was more of a Digimon kid. However, having been exposed to much of the Pokemon universe anyway through the games, I can recognize how truly special the Pokemon Origins series is. As it follows the story of Pokemon Red and Blue, you get tons of nostalgia from those games in animated form. Meaning you don’t need to be a Pokemon anime fan to enjoy this if you only played the games.
Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
Serving as a bridge between the first and second seasons of Full Metal Panic, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu takes the occasional comedy of its original series and turns the dial to eleven. This series focuses on Kaname instead of Sousuke and shows her daily life from her point of view where she interprets his hounding as near-constant threats. As it doesn’t totally connect to the main story and can be watched without watching the original, even though it surrounds the same characters of the original series, it is still considered a spin-off.
Attack on Titan: Junior High
This super-deformed comical spin-off came out as a way to distract Attack on Titan fans that the second season took forever to come out. While the main characters are put in junior high, rest assured that they are still hunting titans. However, instead of devouring friends and family, the titans are eating their classmate’s lunches! Yes, it is ridiculous, but with the same epic musical score and many recreated moments from the original series, it is a treat for the fans.
Naruto SD
Naruto’s ridiculous spin-off very fittingly follows Naruto’s most ridiculous character. Instead of following the titular character, Naruto SD actually follows the daily going-ons of Rock Lee, Guy, and their team. It is, as you would imagine, so very random and filled with the power of youth. If you are a big Naruto fan, it is a great way to unwind after a day by seeing characters you are familiar with acting silly.
Do you know any more good anime spin-offs that you would recommend? Let us know in the comments section below.
