I've been wondering, for the past month, how much of the Harry Potter series is actually JK Rowling's idea, that is, pure, unadulterated ideas. Er... lemme elaborate.

Before the last books came out, there already are film adaptations of the first few books. Sometimes, I wonder, would Rowling have made the story run a different course had someone other than Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint or Emma Watson been casted? Would her last two books, The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows have been significantly different if the special effects of the first movie were better or worse than they originally were?

Let's not limit ourselves to Rowling's work. Animè fans might know about two popular manga series: Bleach and Naruto.

Bleach started as a manga by Kubo Tite. It was still unfinished when its animè version was aired. For the most part, initially, the series was faithful to the manga story. Now, seeing how the animation studio has rendered the Bleach characters, the colors they have, the voices they own, the personality projected on screen, would Kubo Tite have altered the manga to accomodate those changes? Would the author's original story have been influenced, if not altered?

When the animè series was in danger of nearing the manga storyline, the animation studios did a tried and tested (and, oftentimes, failed) technique, which was to go on a filler arc, that is, a storyline that is not in the manga and (supposedly) should not affect the original story. Game-wise, it's a lot like a side-quest. In this filler spree, certain characters had gained new powers. The operating principles behind the weapons of some characters had been explained (for example, a weapon's special powers is claimed to be based on the ability to draw or inject poison, another weapon, a sword, has the power to absorb and inflict injuries) and these concepts were not in the manga. In other words, by claiming how a particular item works, has the animation studio ruined what plans the author might have for those weapons? Suppose the original weapon was really based on kidou (magic) and not poison? Suppose the other sword was not really supposed to be a healer-type of sword?

If things are that strange for Bleach, it is worse for Naruto. Indeed, many people have the notion that 50% of the series is adherent to the manga storyline while the other 50% are no more than filler sprees. Again, these filler episodes have a damaging effect. Some characters gain abilities early on while other, more competent, superior characters, gain a similar ability through hard work and training, at a much later point in time. I wonder how the author feels about the animation studios second-guessing the abilities or spells supported by the characters he/she himself made. Would the author have changed his original plans for the work? Or would he/she simply ignore the film/TV adaptations and go on writing, leaving the problem in the hands of the animation studios?

When I presented this possibility to my friend, he said, "Yeah, it is distinctly possible. Maybe someone though, "$#!+, this old headmaster they casted is hot, maybe I'll make him gay, maybe I'll let him have a lover of sorts," so, really, the original story could have been changed to accommodate an imagined lover for a gay old geezer."

I promptly felt nauseous.

From another friend, "If I'm writing a novel and they tell me they're gonna make it into a move starring Jake Gylenhaal, I'd definitely turn it into an erotic story."

And we sighed wistfully.

This post has been edited by salamangkero: Jan 2 2008, 12:51 AM

Sorry for the short reply, but aren't you asking about the future? It's always changing. An author may re-read a current publication and change his view about the direction he wants the future publications to go.

When an author sells out to a studio to put it to film or what not, there will always be some loss or gain in the story line. When have you ever seen a movie that is strictly adherent to a book or video game?

Stephen King's "cujo", at the end of the book, the kid dies of rabies and the mother survives, but in the movie... both the boy and mother survive. No one at the time would put a child's death on screen. It was lost in the paper to film translation.