Forum - View topicLive-action: Same characters, different story.
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tankerboy
 Posts: 81 Location: Chicago |
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I've been reading about the proposed live action adaptations of various anime. A question or two occurs about using western actors. Take Bebop and Bleach, for example. In Bebop it would be simple since the setting and characters are not specifically Japanese however, the hierarchical relationships in Bleach, relationships almost non-existent in America and which really haven't existed in Europe, for the most part, since World War II, are very culture specific. .
Does this mean that a western produced Bleach would have to be set in Asia with an Asian cast to be credible? Or could you put western actors in some sort of nebulous setting where the social structure is Asian? Just as another point to ponder, some anime characters would do well in live action no matter what continent it was on. What about using specific characters and basic setting (office, school, etc) from an anime in a more western oriented (sounds like an oxymoron) story? Anime often has taken western characters and worked them into series palatable in Japan, wouldn't it work in the opposite direction? |
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ArsenicSteel
 Posts: 2370 |
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To be credible? Depends on how much localization you are talking. If they are keep Shinigami/Soul Reapers,kimono, tabi socks, wajiri, katanas, and the Japanese house structures in the Seireitei then it would be a bit off not being set in Asia.
There are plenty of Western actors that are Asian, but I take it you mean Caucasian actors. Imagining that Japan won WWII is an option. So names, clothing, and the like are now more akin to the Japanese society. That would need some setup and would likely overshadow the movie itself. If disenfranchising the movie that far from the source is something you would want to see or producers want to make, I don't see the reason for putting the Bleach logo on it. Why not just write something similar, give it a new name, and be done with it. |
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tankerboy
Posts: 81 Location: Chicago |
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<chagrined> Yes, I did mean Caucasian actors, <sigh> life can be so complicated when you're an old white guy.
They might be counting on the Bleach's large fanbase to bring they're friends. Obviously it would be aimed at the same crowd the "Transformers" series is. <shrug> Who knows maybe gamers, etc wouldn't find the hierarchy that strange. Or they could pull the old Hollywood bait and switch, call it "Bleach" but write a completely different story, a la "Avatar". Once they got the money who cares if it's true to the original? Although so many young 'uns are pissed off about "Avatar" the producers of any more titles might be a little shy about changing the whole thing willy-nilly. And as far changing the names goes, I think that in many cases you could get away with it but, say, you were doing "xXxHoLic". No matter what you call them and if you set it in Sweden, the characters are so unique you'd get into a copyright battle immediately, and probably lose, I'd guess. Which brings up the thought: would Japanese rights holders license just the characters? Robert Parker did that with Jesse Stone. The producers of the TV movies have the right to use Parker's characters in original scripts. - I suppose you can license anything. |
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EricJ
 Posts: 876 |
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And usually be better off ending up something like the "Grudge" remake, which would make zero sense in the West, so the character is an American, uh...visiting Japan--That's it! |
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dewlwieldthedarpachief
 Posts: 751 Location: Canada |
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There's not a whole lot a film in and of itself can do to be successful. It helps if it's good but it's not mandatory; in any case I'd say it has a lot to do with the logistics of the matter more than anything.
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Analog_Now
 Posts: 211 Location: Montréal, Québec |
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Placing american actotrs in an asian environment specifically a Japanese environment wouldn't be bad because as long as the setting is all there that's all you need. Imaging being in a american town and people have katanas and stuff it wouldn't make sense. All I'm saying is that it's better to have actors in the correct setting then have them in the wrong setting.
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