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Anime as live-action film -- good or bad?




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Guyver23



Joined: 15 Mar 2009
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:24 pm Reply with quote
Theres a number of animes being remade as live action feature films, dragonball, Blood last vampire, Akira, Death Note, Cowboy Bebop. Judging by remakes we have seen what does everyone reckon? Are they doing the anime justice or ruining it all?

P.S. it can happen both ways, as weve seen with Highlander and the forth coming Mad Max.
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Top Gun



Joined: 28 Sep 2007
Posts: 4654
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:37 pm Reply with quote
Like almost everything else in this world, it largely depends on the specific example you're talking about. Obviously, the Dragonball project turned out to be nothing less than horrific. Despite being a box-office flop, Speed Racer had its share of those who found it very entertaining. I've heard praise of similar scope for the Death Note movies, and the Blood trailer looks intriguing in the very least. And the jury is still very much out on the Cowboy Bebop project, and probably will be until we get some more concrete details, though the announcement the other day was definitely somewhat reassuring. Trying to pin down the whole idea of live-action adaptations as "good" or "bad" is like trying to likewise pin down the entire medium of anime...it's all in the details.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23917
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:37 pm Reply with quote
It's really hard to say. I haven't seen any of the live-action anime adaptations yet. If the quality of those movies is really bad then that could potentially turn off new fans from checking out anime. Hate to be Mr. Obvious here, but the flip side is that if the movies are half-decent, they could lead new fans to the anime watering-hole. On balance, I lean toward the view that cross-pollination is generally a good thing.
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Ggultra2764
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Joined: 21 Jan 2004
Posts: 3914
Location: New York state.
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:43 pm Reply with quote
As shown with Hollywood's releases of comic book superhero movies over the past decade, it is possible to make a good movie out of any source material as long as the makers make an effort to maintain the themes and nature of its original source. Trying desperately to use something only to milk money out of it has been shown to backfire on many occasions. Speed Racer and Dragonball: Evolution are the two latest examples of what to not make of a live-action adaptation of an anime series.

Let's hope Hollywood's take on anime improves with the next batch of live-action movies that are in the works.
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corinthian



Joined: 20 Feb 2009
Posts: 264
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 7:46 pm Reply with quote
The kinds of anime that have been made into movies have all been shonen titles, so is it any surprise they're high on SPECIAL EFFECTS ACTION! and short on plot and characterization? They don't have the luxury of thirteen episodes to tell a story and have characters grow. Heck, they're lucky if they've got two hours. Is it any wonder they get bad reviews?

Although it would never happen because of how Hollywood seems to operate, a movie of a romance anime could probably be well done. I could easily see Paradise Kiss or Emma being made into a pretty good film. Take the money saved from not having expensive CG and rent some good actors and you'll have a quality movie. Don't even mention it's based off an anime if you want.
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arachneia



Joined: 20 Mar 2009
Posts: 415
Location: On the wings of Bob Lennon
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:25 pm Reply with quote
Well, if it's a labor of love, and the production team actually cares about faithfully retelling a story versus trying to make money off of an already existing franchise... I'm a dreamer. Anyway, I think adaptations are a good idea when the source material is somehow lacking (turning Vampire Hunter D novels into movies, for example, yielded a far better product), whereas an unneeded one will just alienate people.

Last edited by arachneia on Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:28 pm; edited 1 time in total
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S.Canton



Joined: 21 Mar 2009
Posts: 26
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:26 pm Reply with quote
I think it really depends on who is producing, directing, etc. I think that it sort of takes away from what an anime is supposed to be, and the film simply becomes something else.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
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Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16941
PostPosted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:14 pm Reply with quote
Any sort of movie be it live adaptation of an anime or anything else possibly conceivable can be either good or bad. It all depends on the plot, character performances, and dedication by the rest of the staff (in particular the tech crews I think). The problem with making anime adaptations is how the bloody hell do you honestly expect any live action film, be it Japanese or Hollywood or some Korean movie, to live up to a 12-26 episode (let alone longer series like Dragoonball) in just a 2 hour movie? You practically have to make it a completely separate entity because there's no way you can get the movie to follow the series. Unless you want it to be a trilogy with each movie being 12 hours long that is. I think that's one big hurdle with the recent movie adaptations. They all been pretty much from series. Simply making a live adaptation of say Akira or Vampire Hunter D would be a hell of a lot easier in terms of sticking to the actual material. With Speed Racer, Dragonball, and the upcoming Cowboy Bebop the producers can't do that. There's simply too much material to base a movie off of. So they have to make it a separate entity and I think the problem the producers and script writers seem to be having is keeping the tone and feel of the characters right. At least if they could do that and fans could readily say that's Goku, or that's Spike, the movies would come off a lot better. I think most have been bad, or at least luke warm, so far but I have hopes for future releases and that the movie makers will finally get it right.
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D_man71200



Joined: 31 Jul 2006
Posts: 36
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 1:33 am Reply with quote
This sounds like my old topic "Anime to the big screen" which talked about the good and bad sides of an anime being adapted to a live action movie.One of the good thing is that it gives those people a chance who called anime a childish cartoon an opportunity to see the reason why we watch. The bad side is if the you get a crappy director or a cast with terrible acting it can turn people away from anime and just further confirm others hate of the genre. My thoughts are that they have been doing comic book heros for so long with much success that they are looking for a fresh start. It is alot easier to mess up a live action movie but it is time for anime to shine.
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fighterholic



Joined: 28 Sep 2005
Posts: 9193
PostPosted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 1:45 am Reply with quote
I think that the problem with some of the adaptions may be that people who think they are into a series may not be that knowledgable about the series and just wing it without wanting to disappoint. All sorts of people have an investment in the movie, so you have to produce and make sure to get results. If you make back more than what you put into the movie, then you're good, financially. First and foremost I think it comes down to finances and the turnaround as a result of making the movie.
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