30 Anime based on games! Lots of popular titles like Fate, Grable, Magireco and more!

We’ve compiled a selection of 30 of the most popular anime based on video games!
Here’s a list of hit anime adaptations from various genres, including smartphone games, national RPGs, otome games, gyaru games, and more.
We’ll even judge which one is more famous, the game version or the anime version!

Fate series

This is an extremely popular series that has now become one of Japan’s most popular games.
Numerous anime adaptations have been made, including the original Fate/stay night, where three routes have been adapted to film, and the hit spin-off Fate/Zero, as well as Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, Fate/EXTRA, Fate/Apocrypha, Emiya-san’s Today’s Gohan, Lord Ermeloi II’s Case Files, and many more have become anime.
An anime version of Fate/Grand Order will also be airing from October 2019.

Known for the original game* and the anime◎.
The anime version is also quite famous due to the huge success of Zero and UBW, but the game version is better known worldwide due to the mega-hit of FGO, so the game gets the nod.

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The Idolmaster series

Although it originally started as an arcade game and was later made into an anime after a consumer expansion, the first title was the mysterious robot anime The Idolmaster XENOGLOSSIA, which had a completely different setting and storyline.
Since then, it has been made into a regular anime, with “THE iDOLM@STER”, “Cinderella Girls”, “Cinderella Girls Theater”, and “SideM” being made into videos.

In terms of fame, the original game and the anime are well known.
The game versions of the series are popular in a variety of genres, including IMAS, DELEMAS, MILLIMAS, SHANIMAS, and EMAS, and both male and female gamers are well known for their popularity.
The anime is also a huge hit, so it’s hard to call them both winners, and I have the impression that they are evenly matched.

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Touken Ranbu series

This anthropomorphic game is affectionately known as “ToRabu.”
It is the gold standard for creating the custom of playing games for women on smartphones and popularizing handsome training games.
It has been adapted into an anime by several companies, with the daily comedy “Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru” being produced by Dogakobo and the sword-fighting action “Katugeki: Touken Ranbu” being produced by ufotable.

The original game and the anime are well known.
The game was produced by Nitroplus, so it received a lot of attention from men at first, but after the service started, the support from women was overwhelming, with the PC version having 2 million users and the smartphone version having over 5 million users.
Both of the animations have been a hit, and both have high popularity, but the game version is slightly more prominent.

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GRANBLUE FANTASY

“Granblue fantasy” is a popular game known by the nickname “Granblue fantasy”, and initially only the browser game service was launched, with an app version released soon after.
For its popularity, the anime adaptation was quite late, with the first season airing in 2017, three years after the service started, and the second season starting in October 2019.

The name recognition is ◎ for the original game and △ for the anime.
The number of registered users for the game version has reached 24 million, making it the game with the highest number of users in Japan.
The anime version has become a huge hit in terms of discs, but it seems that the main factor is the serial codes for the game version, so the game dominance is not moving.

Azur Lane

This Chinese game app is developed with a similar concept to the Ship of Steel, in which ships are anthropomorphized.
The TV anime version of the game has been airing since October 2019.

The name recognition is the original game ○ and the anime △.
The game version has recorded 7 million downloads, and also has a high name recognition, partly due to the influence of being often compared to “Shipboard”.
The anime is also very popular, so there is a lot of potential for it to grow in the future.

Magia Record Magical Girl Madoka ☆ Magica Gaiden

The game is based on the TV anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica and was originally a smartphone game, but a PC version will be released in 2019.
The anime is scheduled to begin airing in January 2020.

Since the anime version is before the broadcast, it’s impossible to judge the name recognition of the game.
The game version does not have that many users yet, but it is expected to grow significantly due to the effect of the anime broadcast.

Dragon Quest Series

A national RPG that goes without saying.
There are surprisingly few animations, with the exception of the manga-based Dai no Daibouken, the only ones being Dragon Quest: The Legend of Abel the Brave, which aired between 1989 and 1991, and the full 3DCG animation film Dragon Quest Your Story, which will be released in 2019.

Known for the original game☆ and the anime△.
While The Legend of Abel the Brave is immensely well known to the Alafore generation, it is not well known to the rest of the population.
Your Story was not a hit, earning only 1.4 to 1.5 billion yen at the box office.

Pocket Monster series

This is a big title that has sold over 200 million copies of the series and still attracts a lot of attention when new titles are announced.
The anime series started in 1997 and is still a long-running work.

The original game and the anime are both famous.
It’s hard to judge which game or anime is more famous than the original, but considering the popularity of “Pokémon GO”, the game version is probably more popular.

Digital Monster series

This is a popular mobile game based on the concept of “Fighting Tamagotchi” that has captured the hearts of many boys with its “Digimon” nickname.
The anime aired for a long period of time in the mornings, and was also popular with children.
In the early spring of 2020, a movie titled “DIGIMON ADVENTURE LAST EVOLUTION KIZUNA” is scheduled to be released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the series.

The original game and the anime are well known.
The anime version also boasts a high level of fame, and the theme song “Butter-Fly” is a standard anime song that still shines brightly today, but the game version, which sold more than 8 million units in total and excited children at the time, is slightly better known.

Tales of series

This very popular RPG series, which has been well received for its combat with action elements and a strong anime feel, will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2020.
Tales of Eternia, Tales of the Abyss, and Tales of Zestiria have been adapted into TV anime, Tales of Vesperia has been adapted into a movie, and Tales of Fantasia and Tales of Symphonia have been adapted into an OVA.

The original game and the anime have been given high marks.
The game version was a mega-hit RPG that sold a total of 20 million copies worldwide, but the anime did not show the same explosive power as the original.
However, there are some works, such as “Zestiria”, that have covered up some of the unpopular aspects of the game in the anime.