Back in the early 90s, Goosebumps was the premiere book series for children. Aside from its fun and slightly scary plot lines, the books also featured a very special “Choose Your Own Adventure” spin off series where the reader was able to affect the actions of the story’s protagonist, making the plot feel a bit more personalized. The narrative was written in the second person as a means to put the reader in the center of the action. To help this sense of immersion further, Goosebumps would utilize a hollow main character to allow the reader to better identify with the protagonist, such as when Valve chose to keep the details about Gordon Freeman’s life vague so that it was easier for the player to assume his identity in the Half-Life series. Based on the choices made, the main character would either emerge triumphant or suffer a rather bizarre death at the hands of their enemy. No matter what happened in the end, the one thing that was guaranteed was that children would read through these books multiple times to experience all of the story’s paths.

In Japan, the popular formula found in “Choose Your Own Adventure” stories is prevalent in their visual novels titles. For those unaware of what a visual novel is, they are primarily presented as interactive books that utilize a wide range of media that help flesh out the story. Because these novels are meant to be played on PCs, the companies writing the stories are able to engage their readers’ sense of sight and hearing to create mood, helping to create a strong atmosphere that cannot be easily replicated through text alone. Often, these tactics include the use of background music, sound effects, scenery backdrops, character pictures and voices. These elements are used as visual aids and help facilitate what is going on in the story, rather than as the primary focus, which is the story’s text. It is in this unique world that the player is encouraged to influence the story’s plot by guiding that same hollow protagonist to see if they succeed in their quest, be it saving the world or wooing the woman of their dreams. Given their primary focus on storytelling over spectacle, it makes sense to find out that many visual novels have been graced with their own anime series.

Visual novels are a favorite choice of source material when it comes to anime adaptations, sitting alongside video games, manga and light novels as a rich source for story ideas. What makes a visual novel a ripe choice, in addition to their rich storylines, is that the source material itself already gives anime studios a treasure trove of cannon material to work with: character models are already complete, the sound track is nearly finished, voice actors are already cast for their roles and the scenery is already drawn. If we were to compare making an anime adaption to cooking a meal, then selecting a visual novel as the main dish is choosing a recipe that is already halfway completed for you, and the rest of the ingredients have been purchased in advanced. Proof that memorable titles can be made from visual novels exist in such fan favorites as Fate/Stay Night, School Days and Air, just to name a few.

Given the perceived ease that comes with creating an anime series based off of visual novels, one has to wonder why only a few adaptations have come to surface in recent memory. Going back to the cooking analogy made previously, while indeed a visual novel recipe is one that is already halfway complete, there also exists a small warning at the bottom of the cookbook that clearly states that such a dish should only be attempted by a skilled chef, or else the end result will be anything but appetizing. Visual Novels themselves carry more than their fair share of risks and challenges that only begin to surface when a studio has committed to the project. How well these difficulties are approached ultimately reflect on the end product’s quality. While there are shining examples of such a feat being pulled off, for every Clannad out there exists a Tsukihime, an adaptation that was so horribly done that its very existence is denied by its core fanbase.

The first of the challenges that need to be addressed is the sheer volume of content that visual novels contain. An average play through can clock in at anywhere between fifteen to twenty hours depending on how fast the player can scroll through the text and how diligent they are in completing all of the story routes to see all the endings. While the cutting of content from source material is nothing new when it comes to stories being adapted for television series, the issue is only exacerbated with visual novels. The sheer amount of content presented is astounding, and trying to figure out what can stay and what can be omitted is a daunting task. However, when talking of the issue of content, the source material’s relative size is only part of the core problem. It is the existence of multiple storylines that proves to be the more difficult task to tackle.

Each fan of the visual novel has their personal favorite route and favorite character, and making a solid choice in which route to animate is going to disappoint a sizable chunk of the target audience. Often times, companies will try to please all of their fans and create their own central storyline that weaves together all the routes present in the original story so that they are presented equally. While such a narrative choice allows for the general appeasement of fans of the less popular routes, it does create a strange mishmash story that can easily fall apart. For the most part, this tactic is quite the powerful fix for such a problem as many visual novel story routes serve as proverbial “what ifs,” and is more about the protagonist’s journey though life rather than the final destination. For example, a school based visual novel could feature a storyline about the main character focusing on his studies to get into Tokyo University, while a different one has the character simply trying to get a girlfriend. Both storylines exist in the same universe but can be enjoyed on their own merits. However, many of the more popular visual novels do not have such clear cut story branches, choosing instead to have each serve as only a small piece of the collective narrative. It is only by going through all of the endings that the big picture comes into view, where all the major questions are answered. Fate/Stay Night serves to be this type of visual novel. For those only familiar with the animated series, the visual novel of Fate/Stay Night contains three vastly different storylines. Fate, Unlimited Blade Works and Heavens Feel. Each story route has its own unique plotline and supporting heroine, contributing to the overall mythos of the central storyline by providing their own set of answers to the reader.

While Goosebumps' “Choose Your Own Adventure” books can only be purchased through special orders, America is slowly starting to embrace visual novels in small ways. Popular websites like J-List and mangagamer.com actually sell officially translated titles. Meanwhile, the Phoenix Wright series shares many characteristics with visual novels and has been captivating many video gamers' imaginations with each new installment. Anime adaptations of these titles do present their own set of problems that can potentially ruin any production. Still, these roadblocks should not prevent any dedicated studio from attempting such a project if they are confident in their abilities, as these stories should indeed be enjoyed by the masses.

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