Tracking how stories migrate between formats is one of my favorite little obsessions, and when people talk about 'multoorn' adaptations I take it to mean works that get remixed across novels, anime, games and films — sometimes more than once. There are some classic patterns to watch for: a single source spawning several anime with different approaches, visual novels splitting into route-based anime,
light novels and web novels that later become long-running series, and novels that get a film or anime reinterpretation. A few headline examples: 'Fullmetal Alchemist' gave us two very different TV anime (the 2003 version and 'Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood'), each with its own ending and tone because the manga was still ongoing for the first one. 'Hellsing' got a loose 2001 anime and then the much more faithful OVA series 'Hellsing Ultimate'. That kind of divergence is fascinating because you can compare storytelling choices directly.
Then there’s the visual novel phenomenon, where branching storylines breed multiple anime or spin-offs. The 'Fate' franchise is the poster child: 'Fate/stay night' was a visual novel with routes that later inspired separate anime projects — 'Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works', the adaptations of other routes, and preludes like 'Fate/Zero' that deepen the world. 'Steins;Gate' is another story that moved from visual novel to anime to spin-off novels and manga, and each medium plays to different strengths (internal monologues in the novels, flashy set-pieces in the anime).
Light novels and web novels also churn out repeat adaptations: 'Re:Zero', 'Sword Art Online', 'That Time I Got
reincarnated as a Slime', and 'No Game No Life' all began as online or light-novel projects and grew into anime, manga, games and sometimes short films. Older prose novels have been adapted too — 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' is originally a novel that inspired multiple film and anime versions, each with its own era-specific spin. I love tracing how the same premise bends to fit budget, director quirks, and audience expectations. Some remakes aim for fidelity, others for reinvention, and occasionally you get an adaptation that eclipses the source in popularity.
What fascinates me most is how these multi-adaptations become conversation starters: fans compare pacing, characterization and even soundtrack choices. I still catch myself rewatching different versions back-to-back — it’s like seeing alternative universes of the same story, and that never stops being fun.