Live Action You May Have Missed – Otaku Digest
A couple of weeks ago we talked about the recent trailer releases for the upcoming live action adaptations of Fullmetal Alchemist and Ghost in the Shell. This got me thinking about older live action adaptations and that I have not seen as many as I thought which may be a saving grace as they have not gone down well. With the recent announcements of live action adaptations had me thinking about the backlash they are getting in terms of originality and the obvious white washing in the Ghost in the Shell adaptation. Why do live actions get so much backlash or fail entirely upon release?
The obvious answer to this is they are taking an already loved series or film and creating it in a new world which is closer to reality. That might sound odd but think about it, in an anime you can imagine the impossible and more than likely it will become real, characters have aspects of reality but they are infallible for the most part where live action adaptations we know there is a lot of CGI aspects. Live actions adaptations have had some serious and polarizing opinions surrounding them and for the most part I agree that what we have had has been near to awful. However, and that is a large however, there are some live action adaptations that I consider guilty pleasures. So here are some live action anime adaptations that you may not have seen.
#3 Death Note
Alright not that unknown and probably one of the most well-known anime and live action adaptations ever, spawning 2 sequel films and now another Japanese adaptation as well as a Hollywood adaptation. This film for me was revolutionary, it took one of my favourite manga and anime at the time and made it come to life. Now I am only referencing the first film here, the second was an alright sequel but that third film, this will be the only time it will be mentioned, even if I was happy to see L again.
The cast in this film I felt was perfect and features a now well established Japanese actor as Light Yagami Tatsuya Fujiwara (Battle Royale, Kaiji) but what made the film for me was seeing Ryuk in the flesh (so to speak). Even though all we got in the film was a quicker reiteration of the anime series it was adapted well and made the transition into film pretty seamlessly.
#2 Ace Attorney
This is not cheating since there is now an anime adaptation of the Ace Attorney game franchise, which is also worth a watch if you enjoy the games. This film is my ultimate guilty pleasure and it is not even a bad film. It is just, quirky to say the least. You can see the game franchise making it anime debut considering the use of anime aspects in the newer games but live action? It is not the first game you would think of making a live action film for, considering the disastrous game to live action adaptations we have seen in the past (Tekken I am looking at you) but they actually managed to not stomp all over the source material.
If anything, they embraced all aspects of where this material came from. Obviously, they need to differ slightly in tone and length as those games can go on for quite a while but what they did keep was the ridiculous and light hearted aspects of the game. Where usually combining characters into one annoys me, here they paid respect to characters that they were getting rid of by taking some of their traits. I enjoyed seeing little easter eggs to other characters and trials from the game series. If you have not seen this film I do highly recommend it, it is a good film with the same great characters from the game series brought to life.
#1 Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
You might be shocked but just take in the information, there is in fact a live action series adaptation for the Sailor Moon anime. So, for anyone who loves Sailor Moon like I do they know that the anime series itself is a bit cringe at the best of time, especially the English dub of the original series. However, this takes the cake in terms of cringe but it is worth every second. It is exactly how you think it would be a cute, cringe but still action packed series.
A good way to explain the series is if the Sailor Scouts became the Power Rangers. Every aspect is farcical but you cannot stop watching. Clocking in at just over fifty episodes the series follows a similar storyline to the original anime with a few tweaks here and there. Trying to bring it more into a realistic setting and feel they give the scouts more realistic obstacles to face, like cancer. Yes, they actually gave a sailor scout cancer but no spoilers here. Even though it is a cringe fest including instead of using animation or animals Luna and Artemis are stuffed animals, the series is actually worth watching if you are a Sailor Moon fan, the characters are engaging and likeable, the story is progressive with some really great twists and the actual magical girl aspects are really good. Lastly even if you only watch for this reason, the villains of this series are downright hilarious and almost make the series their own to the point where they got an additional episode to themselves.
