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Forum - View topicINTEREST: Live-Action Cowboy Bebop's John Cho is Worried About the Inevitable Comparisons
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Sinsekihokimchiansu
 Posts: 159 |
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I guess that's pretty natural for him to be nervous
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andramus
 Posts: 193 |
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I think there's a broad spectrum when it comes to critics of adaptations of properties from one medium to another.
There are those who are open to just about anything no matter how much it deviates from the original. You have purists who pretty much want a 100% faithful adaptation and at the furthest end are those who are against any adaptation whatsoever. I tend to prefer mostly faithful adaptations whilst making allowances for what I personally consider necessary compromises due to changes in medium and other issues such as time constraints. That said if you give me one faithful adaptation of a property I care about that satisfies me I'm much more open to future adaptations taking a lot more liberties with the source material. How many versions of King Arthur, Robin Hood, Cinderella etc. have there been over the centuries? If there ever was definitive versions of these tales there isn't now and each iteration has it's own merits albeit some were far better than others. |
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timber
Posts: 142 |
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I don't thing that manga/anime adaptations are always bad, nor do they need to follow at 100% the source material, they just need to be good enough to stand of their own.
My preferred adaptations are probably the "Dragon Zakura" TV serie and the "After the Rain" movie. Edit: I nearly forgot the "Paradise Kiss" movie. |
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sonryu
 Posts: 161 Location: LI, NY |
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As with any live action adaptation of a manga/anime title, whether that adaptation is a Japanese production or not, I won't be too quick to judge until I've actually watched it. I prefer them to be as source accurate as possible, but i know that some things just aren't practical or possible (or affordable) in live action. I don't have a problem with the casting for Spike, Jet, or Faye. I don't care that Faye's outfit is not source accurate. I am however very happy with Yoko Kanno's involvement.
As far as some other live action adaptations go: I absolutely loved the five Rurouni Kenshin films. I thought Ghost in the Shell was petty good. I hated Netflix's Death Note, but I liked the Japanese Death Note films. Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist were ok, but the Attack on Titans were pretty bad. |
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Beatdigga
 Posts: 4646 Location: New York |
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It doesn't help that manga/anime adaptations at the level we're seeing them are a relatively new phenomenon. There's been some tepid attempts to make adaptations (The two Guyver films, the Fist of the North Star LA movie, Crying Freeman) but in the modern era of adaptations, while comic books arguably got Superman: The Movie, Burton's Batman, the X-Men trilogy, or the Raimi Spider-Man films, manga and anime fans got Dragonball Evolution. And DB Evolution, Son Chatwin, etc, are the first, last, and only words on these adaptations and their quality, or lack thereof. Until manga/anime adaptations get a big, successful adaptation (and there's been plenty of "Doesn't count" attempts), the stigma will continue, and the fans will be hesitant at any changes. |
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The Not so Chosen One
Posts: 433 |
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As he should lol it's a live-action adaptation of a beloved anime made by Netflix, and Netflix's adapts usually are very mediocre and not resembling much of the original source at best (I can only think of like, 2 examples of a good adapt on Netflix).
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TranceLimit174
 Posts: 963 |
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All of the controversy surrounding this adaptation isn't surprising at all. Despite all of the inherent difficulties, the allure is too difficult to resist it seems.
Ultimately, I think NetFlix's Cowboy Bebop has too many masters to serve. A lot of what made the anime special, you can't translate into live action. Conversely, I can see the show tripping over itself in trying to be too faithful to the source. It's also apparent to me that NetFlix will want this to go on for as long as possible, and as a result this isn't as much about adapting the series as it is about giving people a chance to play in the sandbox that is Cowboy Bebop. So while I think some of the more iconic episodes will get the live action treatment, most of the series is gonna be full of original one-and-done's. It makes me worry for Vicious and Julia because essentially their stories are gonna have to be both padded out and put on hold. Now, are those live action original episodes going to be able to capture that magical Cowboy Bebop vibe? I have my doubts, but I also believe everyone involved is trying their best. I just think this whole endeavor is a fool's errand. |
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7777ale7777
 Posts: 105 |
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I think people usually are more lenient with properties that aren't faithful adaptations of the source material when the former are good in their own right. Like, I heven't read The Shining but it is known that the famous movie is not a faithful adaptation of the book, however, let's just say that a lot of people seem to like the movie (though maybe not Stephen King).
But a live action adaptation of an animated series is a little trickier because most people already have an image cemented in their head of the character moving and talking and stuff, so it's more difficult to win them over. Another thing that the adaptations have against them is that in an animated madium things like action scenes, sets, costumes, number of extras, etc. are basically limitless (given proper time to work on) whereas a tv show is heavily limited by its budget. |
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Chien93
Posts: 10 |
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I may check this out out of morbid curiosity despite my many gripes with the production. I have more of an open mind to judge this than my friend who told me I may as well jump off a cliff.
This show was doomed since the beginning. It's a live-action, Western-produced Netflix show, what more could go wrong? I'm not too fervent about my dislike unlike other people and I may be too open minded, but this show may be middling quality at best and bad at its worst IMO. |
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John Thacker
Posts: 1009 |
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It's interesting because it's one of the rarer cases where a North American live action adaptation is taking a character who is clearly not Asian in the original source material and having the character played by a actor of Asian descent. Usually we see the reverse. I am sure it will be fine, though, and he will do a good job
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Chris Handsome
 Posts: 323 |
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Spike is from Mars.
And Mars is basically Space Mexico. So I always thought Spike should be Latino. |
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juaifan
Posts: 159 |
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Why wouldn't people make comparisons? The only reason companies do adaptions in the first place is if they think they can do a better job than the original. It's just another example of cultural extraction in that they take what they want from a piece of foreign media (IP, story) and leave behind fairly important things they don't have the palate for (foreign actors and characters, motifs and concepts unique to the culture, etc). The only reason this exists at all is because the people in charge think this can replace or do a better job than the original anime did. Of course we're going to make comparisons and scrutinize the heck out of this.
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SHD
Posts: 1759 |
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Spike was modeled entirely on Matsuda Yuusaku. Just saying. Also, as someone who tends to not care for live action adaptations of anime or manga (I've seen only two that were good*, the rest were forgettable at best and downright garbage at worst) I'm feeling fairly optimistic about this one, specially because it's not trying to be like the anime but rather it openly does its own thing instead of pandering to an unpleasable fanbase. I don't need the show to try to be a slavish copy of the anime, for one that's impossible, and two if I want the anime I will just rewatch that. I want this show to be its own thing while also getting the spirit of the anime right. So, as far as I'm concerned if they get the mood and the character themes right, and don't mess up Vicious (who I think was one of the more interesting aspects of the anime and I'm excited that they have him as a character) I'll enjoy it. *Those two were pretty damn great, though. It's the TV series Midnight Diner and the movie Aoi Haru. Last edited by SHD on Mon Aug 30, 2021 4:29 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16972 |
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I think that's a faulty assumption to assume that movie companies only do adaptations is because they think they can do better. I am sure some probably think this way, but I am pretty sure that the vast majority do it simply because either they think it will make money as the IP is popular, or in the case of smaller companies, or Indie companies, it's a passion project because they like the IP. I think this general idea of they think they can do better or want to "one up" the source material, or "steal mah animu!!!", are off the mark. Whether or not they actually do produce an adequate adaptation is an entirely different topic. |
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NiPah
 SubscriberPosts: 205 |
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I just wish they spent the money from this building a new interesting IP, I’m always up for an interesting sci-fi flick on Netflix, but trying to convert Cowboy Bebop just is inevitably looks cartoony IMO. I’ll probably watch it out of morbid curiosity, and I’m sure the staff and cast had every intention of making an awesome show, but it was doomed from the start.
Meh I’d love to be proven wrong, but till then I’ll just stick with the original. |
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