Live Action Anime: Some ramblings about it.

August 28, 2008 by Toonleap
Filed under Anime, Editorial

Recently I visited an interesting website called liveactionanime.org. The website has news about anime series that receives the live action treatment.

Take for example DRAGONBALL or EVANGELION. Dragon Ball has tons of episodes and has too many plotlines and characters that for my consideration, I think it cant be translated into a coherent movie, yet Hollywood IS PRODUCING IT as I write this lines. I saw the recent production stills and promotional posters and wonder…”why?”

I really think that there are “some” anime that does not need to be translated to the 3D world because of their complexity and looks or they are just too long to be executed into a live action movie.

I love DBZ but the idea of translating this into a live action movie really scares me because the cast does not look like their 2D counterparts, and the anime series is too long to compress it into a movie. Of course, this movie will make piles of money in their first weeks, but I predict it will plummet into oblivion. Guess I will leave my brain at home and will watch it because I am a fan and I am sure many people will go to see it as well. This was made for fans by fans with lots of money to trash. Thats the whole point. Please DBZ Live Action producers….prove me wrong and make a good movie.

Another anime series that “probably” will receive the live action treatment is EVANGELION. For years, I heard rumors and news about this and yet, no solid confirmation about when it is actually going to start. I love the idea of an Evangelion live action movie but frankly speaking…is it possible? Evangelion is not as long as DBZ but it has a complex story, lots of characters and a unique perspective of the end of the world that will make any writers break their minds to translate this into live action. Good luck with that. I just hope they get OSCAR WINNER screenwriters to write the screenplay so they can convince me of the contrary. I really want to see this translated, and hope for the best.

If I could suggest some producers to burn their cash on good anime series and translate them into live action, I could mention some titles:

1- Read or Die.

I love this series and I am sure this could have a great transition into the real world. It has nice characters (Yomiko, Miss Deep), an original story and special effects. I must admit I am a Yomiko fan and I would love to see what actress can play the part.

2- Macross (ROBOTECH)

Great action sequences with mechas and jets, a romantic triangle and aliens. I heard that ROBOTECH is going to step into the realm of live action (Thanks to Warner Bros.) and Toby Maguire is one of the executive producers and probably will play the role of Rick Hunter. I just hope they dont screw it and make it right. I must admit I like the valkyries and I will like to see those airplanes fight and transform into mecha.

3- Witch Hunter Robin

For years since the anime release of WHR, I heard that a live action series was in production. Unfornately, in December 2005, it was revealed that the live action version developed by Sci-Fi was dropped. Guess I will continue watching SUPERNATURAL or reruns of X-FILES. I stil think it was a great idea for a live action series.

4- BLOOD, The last Vampire

This is in production…YES! Production I.G has announced in 2006 that Blood the Last Vampire will be getting a Live Action adaptation. The company that will be makingit is French Pathe. Pathe will spend 20 million Euro ($25 million US) on the production of the film. Shooting is scheduled to start in January 2007, and a worldwide theatrical release is expected in Spring 2008.
Pathe is the largest independent film studio in France. They produce, distribute, and manage their movie licenses. The movie will be produced by Bill Kong (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Hero) and directed by Ronny Yu (Freddy vs. Jason, Bride of Chucky). Ji-hyun Jun will star as the lead Saya.

On August 13th, a Korean news site reported that the movie will now see a March 2009 release date in the United States and abroad. The film will be released domestically by Universal Studios.

5- Card Captor Sakura.

Yes, I am serious about this. I love this series and I think this is possible. I dont think it could be a feature movie and probably will suit the TV format instead. I am sure if done right, it will be a fun ride.

Those are my top 5 anime series or movies I would love to see in the live action format. Of course there are many more to come like Gatchaman, Avatar the Air Bender, Transformers, Coboy Bebop, and many more.

Hollywood is running out of ideas and anime is a great source of stories they need to produce movies. Ironman and The Dark Knight are great examples of how they can translate the comic book theme into the live action territory. Anime deserves that treatment as well. If done right, live action anime is good news, but if it follows the epic failures of video games translated into movies (Street Fighter, Double Dragon, Super Mario Bros, etc) Count me out. Do you have any anime series you would love to see in real action format? Share your ideas.