I recently made a blog post disagreeing with a common claim that Anime is somehow not good at Horror. But is there any Genre that even I as an enthusiastic Anime Evangelist have to admit Anime hasn't done that well?
Well the genre I have in mind is more of a Sub Genre of a Sub genre, but I think the one very popular Genre Anime hasn't done right yet is the Mafia movie.
Now what I mean when I say "Mafia" movie is much more specific then Gangster. I'm sure there's plenty of Anime that can scratch one's Gangster movie itch, after all certain Anime were a major influence on Tarantino. I'm sure Japanese entertainment media is the best place to go if you want fiction about the Yakuza. And I'm kind of surprised how often Street Gangs in Anime remind me of American media about Street Gangs of the 50s and early 60s.
Now I'm gonna express an opinion that might be a bit controversial and hard to fully explain. What I mean by "Mafia" fiction is even more specific then just being technically specifically about the Italian Mafia, and depicting Italian characters with Italian names and maybe Italian accents. For example I can't truly count any Golden Age 30s/40s Gangster films as Mafia movies even though plenty were basically just about Al Capone. Yet what I mean by "Mafia" movie still has enough variety within it that it can include The Godfather Trilogy, Goodfellas/Casino and at least some episodes of The Sopranos.
When I say I wanna see a Mafia movie, I want an atmosphere that makes me crave Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce, but Anime tends to give me Egg Noodles and Ketchup.
Much of what you'll see in any alleged "Top 10 Mafia Anime" list is based on treating "Mafia" and "Gangster" as synonyms. Here is a site recommending 6 that at least knows to stick to the Italians.
https://www.fandom.com/articles/6-must-see-mafia-anime
Most of those seem to be set in the 30s and with a look that tells me they are more inspired by those Golden Gangster films. One is an over 200 episode Shonen monstrosity involving a hitman who's a baby and an MC who's character design is aping Hunter x Hunter.
I've watched two episodes of Arcana Famiglia, it looks fine as an Anime, in fact I'm optimistic for how it'll compare to other Reverse Harems with genre elements. But it does not succeed in capturing that proper Mafia movie vibe. I'd very much like to see an Anime combine what I love about mafia movies with what's distinctly Anime, like a Mafia Princess walking around in Twin Tails, Zettai Ryouiki and the voice of Luci Christian. But something is just inherently missing.
The one time Anime has come at least close to giving me a vibe like a Godfather movie are certain episodes of Noir, my favorite Anime. As I've said before Noir was the first proper Anime I ever watched, and interestingly enough the first episode of Noir I watched was episode 9, the second part of a two part episode about the Mafia. One of the reasons those 20 minutes of Japanimation kept my attention was how much it reminded me of The Godfather Part III, the last Godfather movie most people would intentionally want to evoke but my personal favorite of them.
In total I'd say there are 4 episodes of Noir that have this Godfatheresque quality, 8 & 9, 14 and 17, but it's mainly the parts of those movies where they're in Sicily they remind me of. Coincidentally enough those are the same four episodes that are the main basis for why I like to Headcanon this Anime being part of The Blackcoats Universe.
I think the obstacle here is a cultural one. Now I'm not someone who normally thinks that's a problem, I think lots of stories can be re-imagined into or adapted by other cultures. But Mafia fiction isn't just about one culture, it's not just American or Italian, it's Italian-American. And the definitive Mafia movies I refereed to above were the ones that had Italians as more then just actors but as the key creative minds, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola (and his father who did the Music) and Martin Scorsese. So even though you can say these movies are problematic in how they relate to negative Italian Stereotypes, the good ones are about how the American Dream failed for many of those who immigrated here, and the hypocritical corruption of Capitalism.
I hope someone can find me an Anime that can refute this premise, I definitely want to find Anime that can succeed in filling every nerdy niche.
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