Adapting Character Personalities: Emotional Resonance in the Transition of Comics to Animation

This paper explores how the adaptation of comic characters into animation reshapes personality and enhances emotional resonance. Rather than a simple shift from static panels to moving images, adaptation is treated as a creative process of negotiation between source material and reinvention for new audiences. Grounded in adaptation theory, transmedia storytelling, and semiotics, the paper examines two case studies: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), a Western example of superhero reinvention through multiverse storytelling and stylistic experimentation, and YuYu Hakusho (1992), a manga-to-anime adaptation that deepens shōnen characterisation and emotional engagement. The analysis demonstrates how animation extends character identity through movement, voice, and pacing, while also navigating challenges of localisation and cultural translation. The findings suggest that the sustainability of transmedia franchises depends on deliberate planning that preserves essential identity traits while allowing flexible reinterpretation across platforms and cultures.