The United States is home to some of the biggest media franchises the world has ever seen. Whether you're looking at Disney movies, superhero movies, cartoons, massive television shows, or anything in between, the United States is an entertainment powerhouse. However, while the United States may be on top of the world when it comes to major franchises that are recognized around the world, there's another country that has made waves in the entertainment space for over 40 years.

Anime, a style of Japanese animation geared toward both children and adults, has steadily been gaining popularity outside of Japan over the years, and has since gained mass appeal in the United States. So, with anime being popular in the United States and U.S. media being popular in places like Japan, what happens when the two cross over with each other? The result is pieces of American media being adapted into their own anime films and television shows. Here are ten examples of anime based on American media franchises.

10 Ultraviolet: Code 044

ultraviolet code 044
Madhouse

Ultraviolet: Code 044 is a television series loosely based on the 2006 film Ultraviolet. Both the film and the show are in the action/science fiction genre and follow female super soldiers in a world where people have become infected by a blood virus that mutates the genes of whoever is infected. This virus turns the infected into hemophages, who develop qualities similar to a vampire with fangs and increased speed and strength, but have a limited lifespan due to their altered genes. However, the anime deviates from the story when it comes to the path of the main protagonist.

In the film, protagonist Violet is trying to stop the government from destroying the hemophages and is trying to create a vaccine in order to prevent the hemophages from dying. When it comes to the anime, the protagonist 044 is actually a clone created by the government and is tasked with taking down a powerful group of hemophages called the Phage. Despite being different stories, the anime still follows a similar path of the film when it comes to the lore of the world and the hemophage virus as well as bringing back certain characters that were also present in the film.

9 Highlander: The Search for Vengeance

highlander the search for vengeance
Imagi Animation/Madhouse

The 1986 film Highlander tells the story of Connor Macleod, the Highlander, an immortal man who was born in 16th century Scotland as he wages a secret war with another immortal called the Kurgan for hundreds of years. The war between the two eventually comes to a head in 1985 New York as they fight to earn a power called the Prize.

The anime, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance, tells a similar story, but changes up some of the details. Now named Colin Macleod and living during the time of Roman Britain in 125 A.D., this fantasy film has Colin chasing after a different immortal named Marcus Octavius after Octavius murdered Colin's wife. Colin and Octavius clash for thousands of years, battling throughout historical moments all the way up to the distant future of 2187, when they face off for the final time. The anime has since received much better critical reception than its source material, with many critics claiming the anime to be the best piece of Highlander material out there.

Related: Best Anime Series to Watch if You're New to the Medium

8 The Animatrix

The Matrix anime film The Animatrix
Warner Home Video

An interesting fact about The Animatrix is that the anime film was actually produced by the Wachowskis, who were the directors of the source material Matrix films. Because of this link with the creators of both the films and the anime, The Animatrix is actually part of the same world as The Matrix films, detailing events that occurred prior to the events of the films.

The Animatrix itself is an anthology film, detailing nine different short stories of The Matrix universe, including stories about how the Matrix itself was created along with the war between humanity and machines. Not only that, but The Animatrix even has characters from the original film return during some of the short stories, including appearances from both Neo and Trinity. The film has received generally positive reviews and is one of the most acclaimed Matrix films behind only the original.

7 Supernatural: The Animation

supernatural the animation
Madhouse

Supernatural: The Animation follows a similar path to the original Supernatural, where viewers see brothers Sam and Dean Winchester taking on monsters and supernatural beings after their mother was killed by the demon Azael. Both the original show and the anime were created by showrunner Eric Kripke, with half of the animated show going over stories that were already told in the original show and the other half being completely original stories. The show only went on for one season however, while the original Supernatural ran for 15 seasons and was the longest running live action fantasy show in television history. Despite only being one season long, the anime was positively received and is looked back on fondly by longtime fans of the original series.

6 X-Men

xmen anime
Marvel Entertainment

The X-Men anime is one of multiple Marvel properties to be adapted into an anime, despite only being animated for just one season. The anime includes characters like Cyclops, Professor X, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Emma Frost, Armor, and multiple other X-Men following the death of Jean Grey. In the anime, the X-Men are brought back together by Professor X and must travel all the way to Japan to take on a new threat and save Armor, who was abducted. Armor was abducted by the U-Men, a group of supervillains who have been abducting young mutants in order to harvest their organs. During their fight with the U-Men, however, the X-Men discover that some of these young mutants who have been abducted are having dangerous second mutations, which is yet another problem for the X-Men to solve.

5 Wolverine

wolverine anime
Marvel Entertainment

Another Marvel property that was adapted into an anime, Wolverine must travel to Tokyo on a quest to rescue his girlfriend Mariko Yashida. On his quest, Wolverine has to take down a Japanese crime syndicate along the way as well as deal with other obstacles that he encounters. What's interesting about the Wolverine anime is that we actually see a version of this Wolverine story adapted into its own film, with 2013's The Wolverine. In The Wolverine, we see Logan travel to Japan to take on a Japanese crime syndicate as he comes face to face with death. We also get to see Mariko Yashida make her live action debut as the two go on the run together.

4 Iron Man

iron man anime
Marvel Entertainment

The final Marvel property to find its way onto this list is Iron Man. Iron Man was actually the first Marvel property to be adapted into an anime, and tells the story of Tony Stark traveling to Japan to create a new arc reactor as well as unveil a new version of the Iron Man suit. However, when Tony goes to showcase the new Iron Man Dio suit, the suit goes crazy on a destructive rampage. It's then up to Tony to take down the suit until it's revealed that the suit was actually being controlled by Ho Yinsen, who was revealed to still be alive after Tony's first time suiting up as Iron Man.

While the story isn't canon to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the prospect of a character like Yinsen still being alive is fascinating to think about.

3 Mutant Turtles: Superman Legend

mutant turtles anime
Tsuburaya Productions

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have had many different animated iterations over the years, whether you're looking at the original 1987 series, the 2003 series, the 2007 animated film, the 2012 animated series, the 2014 and 2016 live action/animation combination, or even the upcoming 2023 animated film. So, with so many different versions of the Ninja Turtles, it's no surprise that there was an anime adaptation of the heroes in a half-shell released in 1996, titled Mutant Turtles: Superman Legend. This two part animation shows what happens when the turtles are given the powers of super mutation as they travel to Japan and face off against popular TMNT villains Shredder, Bebop, and Rocksteady.

Related: The Most Visually Stunning Anime, Ranked

2 Powerpuff Girls Z

powerpuff girls z
Cartoon Network Japan

The story of Powerpuff Girls Z is similar to that of the original Powerpuff Girls, with Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup teaming up to fight evil forces like Mojo Jojo, Sedusa, Fuzzy Lumpkins, and the Gangreen Gang, but their origin story is a little bit different. Instead of the girls being artificially made with sugar, spice, and everything nice along with Chemical X, Powerpuff Girls Z takes a different approach.

In the anime, Professor Utonium is working on creating Chemical X, but a mistake in the formula turns it into Chemical Z, sending off light beams around Tokyo City. Three ordinary girls are hit with one of the light beams, transforming them into the Powerpuff Girls Z. The show ended up running for 52 episodes and loosely follows the same formula of its source material.

1 Stitch!

stitch anime
Walt Disney Television International Japan 

Finally, Stitch! is a spin-off series to Lilo and Stitch and is loosely based on the same idea as the original Lilo and Stitch and Lilo and Stitch: The Series. However, instead of Lilo being the main character and taking place in Hawaii, the show follows young Japanese girl Yuna on a fictional island of the coast of Okinawa. Outside a different location and main character, we see other familiar characters on the show, with the main one obviously being Stitch, and other characters such as scientist Jumba, his partner Pleakley, and other experiments of Jumba's. The show ran for three seasons and included multiple different special episodes throughout the time that the show aired.