Hey guys Justin here, welcome to another edition of the Otaku Corner a new part of the show where I talk about anime, manga, or anime related topics I find interesting and give my thoughts on them. For this Otaku Corner I’m gonna be talking about the Expendables. In case you don’t know, have forgotten, or been living under a rock the 3rd Expendables movie is set to hit theaters this Friday and from what I’ve heard this is going to be the best one yet. Is it, I don’t know, but I’m gonna check it out this weekend and see for myself. Anyway, as I was thinking about the movie while watching an anime I’m preparing to review next month I got to thinking what would happen if they made an anime version of the Expendables using anime characters? How awesome would that be, seeing some of the most badass iconic anime characters of all time coming together and doing what they do best, kicking ass and being awesome? So for this edition of the Otaku Corner and in honor of the release of Expendables 3 I’m going to name my anime team of the Expendables. There’s a lot of great characters out there and chances I won’t name them all but keep in mind this is my own opinion you’re free to agree or disagree with me. Also, I’m only picking one character an anime so if you don’t see some characters from a certain anime I name on this list you know should be on this list that’s one of the reasons why they’re not on the list. Alright, let’s take a look at my version of the anime Expendables or Anipendables if you will.
The Team
Goku from Dragonball Z
No matter what we have to have Goku on this team he’s the most recognizable and iconic anime character out there. He’s also one of the strongest anime characters out there having super saiyan powers, a likable personality, and just being an overall fun character to fight with.
Luffy from One Piece
As a huge fan of One Piece I have to put in a One Piece character on this team and the character I choose is the main character himself Luffy. Next to Goku Luffy has often but seen as that one character who completely captures the overall idea of the ultimate shonen character. Dumb but smart enough to know what’s going on and act on it, funny and laidback but can be serious when the time calls for it, continuing to get strong as time passes, and finally a character who never gives up and overcomes all the problems he faces in a way that makes sense and is good for the readers. We’ve seen Luffy and Goku team up and fight each other in specials in the past so we know the two are at each other’s level and are on good terms with each other that they can work together and defeat the enemy in front of them.
Natsu from Fairy Tail
This is the last mainstream character on the list. Much like Goku and Luffy, Natsu also is a character who comes close to matching the ultimate shonen character except he falls short in a few areas one of them being his power growth just spontaneously happening. With Goku and Luffy we get an explanation or idea on how they’re getting stronger. Goku was trained by King Kai and as a saiyan the closer he comes to dying and survives the stronger he gets and with Luffy we find out he was trained by Rayleigh the vice-captain of Roger’s crew and before that was trained by his grandfather in harsh and dangerous environments to become tough and thus making Luffy a resilient guy who can take a beating and bounce back from it (literally). But despite this shortcoming I think Natsu would work out for this team because it’s always good to have three badass shonen characters by your side in case one of them becomes unable to fight or isn’t around you can at least have one extra character to help out and pick up the slack of the other and why not Natsu. In my opinion Natsu is a character who’s stronger and better than Naruto and Ichigo.
Negi Springfield from Mahou Sensei Negima
The young mage from Wales can serve as the team’s mage officer. In the animes we see that Negi is a good mage but if you’ve read the manga you’ll quickly find out that Negi becomes a very badass powerful mage with amazing powers and skills. On top of that the kid is smart and mature for his age so he’s able to quickly analyze the situation he’s in and come up with a plan to get him and the others out of it and on this team it’s always good to have someone who’s mature and smart to keep the hotheads under control. Plus, with his childlike appearance the enemies will easily be fooled by him and if push comes to shove we can have him be the team’s mascot.
Sinbad from Magi
Here’s another good magic user for the team and when I say Sinbad I don’t mean the one from the main series who’s a king and everything I’m talking about the young Sinbad the Sinbad who was an adventurer the Sinbad who had dreams of sailing the world in hopes of adventure and riches. I want that Sinbad that I read about in stories and saw in movies. For me the young Sinbad is the best Sinbad for this team because he’s not concerned about political power, gaining an edge over his enemies, he’s just an adventurer looking for an adventure and the fights that go along with it.
Tatsuya from Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
Do I really need to explain why he’s perfect for this team? The man is over powered as hell, I wouldn’t be surprise if he could beat Goku he’s that good. But I do think he’s a good addition to this team not because of his amazing magic and fighting skills but I think for his intelligence and emotionless. His intelligence is amazing so he’s definitely the gadget guy of the group always creating gadgets and weapons for the team that they’ll need and because of his emotionless personality he won’t get swept away in emotions and make a mistake and even if someone were dumb enough to touch on his only emotion than they’re pretty much dead on the spot. Another reason why Tatsuya is on this team is because I can see him being the second in command behind Goku. Goku is the leader who always gets everyone hyped up, ready to fight, and won’t back down from anyone while Tatsuya is the brains of the group the guy who keeps everything in order and makes up for the things Goku lacks but it works out because with Tatsuya keeping everyone and everything in order Goku and the others are free to go all out without worry.
Jing and Kir from the Bandit King Jing
Let’s get a few thieves on this team and I think the thieves perfect for this team are my boys Jing and Kir. I thought about putting Lupin on this list but I don’t think he would fit in with all of these super power characters so the next best person are Jing and Kir. These are good at one they do, being thieves and looking good while doing it so they be good for black op operations or missions that require sneaking around and getting stuff without being noticed and even if the villain knows they’re coming they’re still no match for these two. On top of that Jing and Kir can hold their own in a fight when things get rough and aren’t afraid to fight with the others if they have to and of course the two are smart, inventive, and creative with their plans.
Kenshin for Rurouni Kenshin
Here’s your expert swordsman for the team. The manslayer himself Kenshin is probably the most badass swordsman I’ve ever seen in anime and the scary thing is the guy is holding back. Because he made a vow never to kill again his moves aren’t as strong as they use to be. He can still take down opponents and beat them easily but I think that if he would stop holding back than this guy would be unstoppable. Still, even with him holding back Kenshin is still a great swordsman to have on the team and someone who rightfully deserves it.
Vash from Trigun
Here’s your expert marksman. Much like Kenshin, Vash is a badass when it comes to guns and completely fooling you when you first meet him. At first Vash looks like a goofy coward who has no idea what he’s doing but when he gets serious we see that this wanted man is quite dangerous and isn’t someone who should be messed with.
Spike from Cowboy Bebop
This team could use some class and nobody screams class than Spike from Cowboy Bebop. This space cowboy is someone who has proven to be a strong fighter both in hand to hand combat and gun combat. Spike is just a well-written and likeable character who has a lot of problems going on in his life but at the same time he’s fighting through them and trying to move on with his life making him possibly the most human out of everyone on this team and I think for a team filled with crazy overpowered maniacs having someone who’s human and nothing more is good character to have around.
Kumagawa from Medaka Box
Every good team needs a rogue character a character who you’re sure if you can trust them or not and probably the greatest rogue character out there is Kumagawa from Medaka Box. This guy was hands down the best character in Medaka Box like he pretty much steals the show I almost wish the manga had him as the main character instead of Medaka. That’s how good he is. Anyway, what makes Kumagawa a good rogue character is that you never know what he’s thinking or what he’s planning. With the other characters you get an idea of what they’re thinking about but with Kumagawa you never know what he’s thinking. Even in the manga when he starts to be a good guy nobody can trust him and just being around the guy makes them feel unsettled and they should be the guy has the powers to make almost anything he wants not exist or see fiction. That means, if he were to die he could make his death not happen and chances are he’ll do other things that makes the other characters not trust him. I could honestly see Kumagawa being the Deadpool of this group because in the manga we find out that he enjoys reading Shonen Jump so I can see him making all kinds of references to mangas and breaking the 4th wall.
Sebastian from Black Butler
Here’s a character I wasn’t sure if I was gonna put on the list or not. I thought about putting Alucard from Hellsing Ultimate but decided not to because when I think about it Alucard really comes across as a character who works better alone and by himself. If he was in a group chances are he wouldn’t get along with them and would probably kill them out of boredom or for his amusement. Sebastian on the other I could see him getting along and working with these characters. While he may be a demon he seems to come across as a demon with class and style who won’t harm you unless you harm him first. He’s scary, sadistic, and downright cold so I could definitely see him being the Batman of the team who get information out of people and he’s a strong fighter who gets a good thrill out of fighting. Plus he’s a butler and can come across as the voice of reason for this team.
Kirito from SAO
The team could use a good backup swordsman and think Kirito would be a good fit for the team. We seen him display taking down level bosses by himself and strong players by himself. This is guy who knows how to fight and can hold his own in a fight. He’s a badass swordsman who I like and want to see him interact with these characters.
Ed from FMA
Who doesn’t wanna see Ed on this team? With his amazing knowledge of alchemy and being able to use it Ed can serve as the team’s science leader researching what the group is up against and use his alchemy skills to get the team out of tight and dangerous spots.
Shiroe from Log Horizon
While Shiroe doesn’t do a lot of fighting the thing this guy excels at is coming up with strategies and using everyone to the best of their abilities. I can see Shiroe along with Tatsuya being the team’s main strategist coming up with plans to complete their objectives and get what they want. He would also make a good businessman for the group getting the top brass off the group whenever they do something bad like destroy a city or something.
Makoto from Persona 3
The final member for this team is Makoto from Persona 3. I know there are people out there who prefer Yu to him but I think Makoto is the overall better persona user. He uses them very effectively and he’ll fight beside his persona as well. Yu on the other hand will just have his persona do all the work showing that he doesn’t have any combat experience himself or that he’s not very confident in his combat abilities. Makoto on the other shows us that he’s the better fighter and makes the best use out of his personas not mention he’s a lot cooler and doesn’t seem to get really all that scared or lose his cool when up against strong opponents so I say we put him on the team.
The Villain
The final thing this group needs is a villain someone who’s gonna give them a run for their money someone who’s gonna put these guys to the test. When I originally started thinking up this group I thought John Liebert would be a good villain but when you really think about it he really doesn’t have much of motive for attacking this group other than attacking this group because they’re there. Not a very strong motive really. So I sat down and thought really hard on a character I could honestly see these guys fighting against and I think I found the perfect guy for them to fight.
The Major from Hellsing Ultimate
I really can’t think of no else to push these guys to their limits and then some. This guy is like the jolly and happy version of Hitler he loves war to him war is better than sex. Don’t believe me? The guy goes into a 6 minute long speech about his love for war and how he enjoys it so much. That’s why I think this guy would be the perfect villain for these guys to face. This guy will test them to their limits by creating an army that threatens everything they hold dear and have elite troops each one skilled and ready to laid down their lives in a fight against this cast of badass characters and The Major is just enjoying every minute of it cherishing all the blood spilled, the screams of agony, the explosions, the fires, and everything else that this epic battle would deliver. In the end what makes the major the perfect villain for this cast of characters is that he has nothing to gain and nothing to lose. He’s a man who wants to show the world his love for war and putting him up against these characters is enough to make him happy and have him go all out.
Al-Thamen from Magi
This group could also be a good villain for the team to face. We really don’t know that much about them other than the group wanting to spread chaos and darkness in the world and all of the characters I’ve named are characters who for the most part want to stop that. What gives Al-Thamen an edge in this battle is that the organization is shrouded in mystery we don’t know how many members they have or who their leaders are we just know that these are strong and are ready to lay down their lives to accomplish their goals. So if don’t think the major wouldn’t work out than consider Al-Thamen as the next best choice.
The animation studio
The final thing for this anime series would be what studio would make this. In the end I would choose between A-1 and Madhouse. Both of these studios are great at what they do giving us great animes in the last few years. A-1 and Madhouse both have excellent animators so you know the animation for this show will be high quality along with a good sound team and action scenes that just pop right out. Another good studio would be Wit studio the studio that gave us Attack on Titan. While still a young studio I’ve been impressed with their work so far and think that they would make something great with this project.
Well that’s my anime version of the Expendables. I hope you enjoyed and if you want, leave a comment in the section below on who you think would be a good fit for the anime version of the Expendables that I might have missed or forgotten. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj where I continue the Demon Lord arc as well as The Entity story.
Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave comment, feedback, or request in the comment section below or sent to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com