As many trailers and taglines will assert, every story has a prologue and this includes some best anime prequel. Because the prequel is a predetermined ending, it has a slightly more difficult task than the sequel in capturing the viewer’s interest. However, this can also be used to the benefit of the story: seeing an impending disaster or knowing that there is hope in the future are equally compelling concepts.
Typically, a prequel will tell an origin story that focuses on multiple characters, exploring the show’s world and adding details not found in the main story. Another direction it could take is to delve into the backstory of just one character, usually a fan favorite. Either way, the prequel remains a popular part of anime and all media.
10 high speed! Free of charge! Start Date (2015)
Free of charge! is the quintessential summer viewing, documenting the journeys of swimming clubs Iwatobi and Samezuka. Not only do they train to become better swimmers, but in the process, they grow and mature as they prepare to take the next step in life. High speed! back to the high school days of Haruka Nanase and Makoto Tachibana.
In the absence of Nagisa and Rei, one year younger than Haruka and Makoto, and Rin, who is training in Australia, High Speed! introduced two new teammates. Hot-tempered Asahi Shiina and lonely Ikuya Kirishima struggle with Haruka and Mako to overcome their own problems and work together as a team. It also sets the stage for Asahi and Ikuya to join their old friends in college in Dive to the Future.
9 Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021)
Yuuta Okkotsu was originally envisioned as the protagonist Jujutsu Kaisen before Gege Akutami replaced him with Yuuji Itadori when the story turned out to be bigger than originally anticipated. However, Yuuta has a chance to shine in this prequel. Affected by the curse of his dead childhood friend Rika, Yuuta is scheduled to be executed before Gojo gives him a chance to use Rika’s curse forever.
Learning to harness her and Rika’s powers, Yuuta becomes more confident, fully committed to her desire to prove that she is worthy of life. Every new battle he enters is more interesting than the previous one. He quickly becomes friends with Maki, Toge, and Panda, bringing some of the beloved side characters from the main story into the spotlight.
8 Fruit Baskets: Prologue (2022)
For the entirety of Fruits Basket, especially its 2019 manga faithful reboot, Tohru Honda’s parents, Kyouko and Katsuya, hang like ghosts in the story. She has complicated feelings about both of them and viewers only know what she does about their backgrounds. The film adaptation of Natsuki Takaya’s prequel manga, tells their love story from beginning to end.
Tohru’s mother, Kyouko Katsunuma, comes from a difficult background, joining a gang of thugs to escape an abusive family. The kind and sensitive Katsuya Honda realizes that she is lonely and responds to her longing for connection. The animated version also includes post-production scenes of Tohru and her partner Kyo that are not included in the manga.
7 Matrix (2003)
No one ever said this has to be an anime prequel. The Matrix inspired several equally groundbreaking anime, such as Ghost in the Shell and Akira. So it’s only natural that its anthology of shorts takes the form of anime: written, directed, and animated by some of the best in the industry. Several short films serve as prequels. The Second Renaissance is one of an entire franchise, detailing the rise of machines and the creation of the First Matrix. Kid’s Story shows how Neo breaks Kid out of the Matrix, based on a short line from The Matrix Reloaded. The stunning animation of the entire film alone is reason enough to watch it.
6 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (2015)
In the latest Gundam, Witch from Mercury, Prospera Mercury joins Char Aznable as one of the most charismatic anime villains of all time. Char remains one of the most classic and villainous characters of Mobile Suit Gundam. This OVA series chronicles his roots in the years prior to the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam series.
Char, formerly known as Casval Rem Deikun, grew up with the ambition to destroy Zabi’s domineering family. When he steals the Gundam for Zeon’s forces, he quickly becomes a formidable force, mercilessly killing people on a quest for revenge. He is even willing to become an enemy of his own sister, Sayla, who is a pilot of White Base along with Amuro Ray.
Dragon Ball Z: Bardock: Goku’s Father (1990)
The debate among Dragon Ball fans about whether Goku is a good or bad dad will be heated until the cows return home. The focus of one of its more famous prequels, however, is not his parenting at all, but that of the father he never knew. Before Goku was sent to Earth as an infant, his father Bardock was one of many conquering Saiyan warriors.
Bardock is ready to spend his life destroying other planets under Frieza’s command, but everything changes when he receives images of the destruction of his own people at the hands of god. their evil lord. He was the only Saiyan who tried to challenge Frieza, but was defeated. However, hope still remains in the form of his son Goku, who will later be the one to kill Frieza.
4 Fate/Zero (2011 – 2012)
In Fate/Stay Night and Unlimited Blade Works, the Fourth Holy Grail War is replayed by Saber and the other Servants. Before being summoned by the young protagonists of the main series, they served very different Masters. This Holy Grail War is a cold and merciless battle between rival clans for the power of the holy relic.
Kiritsugu Emiya, Shirou’s beloved mentor and Illya’s long-lost father, struggles to be a good man in the face of the brutality his family demands. (To be fair, though, it’s not hard to look good next to really low-key opponents like Zouken Matou and Kirei Kotomine). Unlike Shirou’s eventual perfect partnership with Saber, Kiritsugu often conflicts with her upright and honorable fighting methods, preferring instead to fight from the shadows. .
3 Adventures of Sinbad (2016)
King Sinbad is one of the most dynamic characters in Magi: Magical Labyrinth, going from an obscure hero to a world conqueror with aspirations of becoming a god. A flashback round, let alone a single episode, won’t explain why he’s the way he is. Thus we have The Adventures of Sinbad, which, like the Arabian Nights story the character is based on, follows him through his great past journey.
Documenting Sinbad’s life from infancy to his ascension to the throne of Sindria, this prequel brings considerable depth to an already complex character. It not only expands on the world and history of the Magi, but also on the behind-the-scenes stories of the Eight Generals of Sinbad, some of whose young people are radically different from the adults in the main series.
2 My Hero Academy: Beware
While it’s only available in manga form for now, anime-only fans will soon be able to experience this prequel in animated form. In the main series, getting a hero license and pursuing a professional career is everything. True to its name, however, Vigilantes explores the secret lives of unlicensed illegitimate heroes, darker and more gritty than Izuku Midoriya’s rosy view of what a hero is.
Despite being a spin-off written by Hideyeki Furuhashi, original creator Kohei Horikoshi signed on all Vigilantes content, making it the norm. Illegal young hero Koichi “The Crawler” Haimawari follows in the footsteps of his mentor Igao “Knuckleduster” Owaro, determined to use his seemingly ineffectual Koichi powers for the best possible good. Additionally, it features some of My Hero Academia’s most powerful teachers when they were young, taking on the vigilantes.
1 Kakashi Gaiden (2009)
The latest spin-off starring Minato Namikaze, The Whorl Inside The Spiral, proved to be an excellent one-shot. But the story of Naruto’s teacher is still as powerful as the story of his father. It was incorporated into episodes 119 and 120 of Naruto Shippuden as a flashback, but began life as a separate special prequel.
13-year-old Kakashi Hatake had just created Jonin, and was still slow to admit that he was growing close to his teammates Obito and Rin. However, a tragedy on a mission forces them to decide what is most important to all three. Kakashi Gaiden is special in that it not only shows how Kakashi achieves the code of ethics he imparts to his students, but also the origin story of one of anime’s best villains.
The expandable prequel is about world-building, tells compelling origin stories, and provides strong development for overlooked characters. Many anime continue to use them to look at the time before the main story and main characters. The best anime prequel Not only do they expand the story, they expand the viewer’s understanding of the characters and the world.
