5 Anime That Would Make Badass Live-Action Movies
We’ve now seen a couple of instances of filmmakers wanting to take an anime show and turn it into a live-action movie, and every time it has been a flop. The obvious examples are of course The Last Airbender and Dragonball Evolution. However, what if people did these adaptations right? We picked some of our favorite anime shows that could potentially pull off the live-action treatment.
Supernatural Genre
Yu Yu Hakusho
The Story: Yu Yu Hakusho is an anime from the '90s about Spirit Detective Yusuke Urameshi. Yusuke goes around with his friends fighting off demons to save the world. This could be adapted really well into a live-action movie using the Saint Beast story arc. We’d start off with Yusuke, already having his powers, receiving the call to Maze Castle, where the four Saint Beasts reside. Yusuke and supporting characters Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama would, of course, defeat the Saint Beasts, but those fights could be really fun to watch if done properly. The story from this arc is great yet compact enough to fit into a 1.5 or 2-hour movie if planned correctly.
Other Thoughts: The demons could all be made with prosthetics, giving it a more real feel. Although some may not be able to be done with prosthetics (Genbu, for example), that doesn’t mean we can’t use them in a different way. The fights could also use a style similar to those in kung fu movies, or even Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Honorable Mentions: Witch Hunter Robin, Bleach
Mecha Genre
Zoids — New Century/Century Zero
The Story: Zoids is a fantastic show from the early 2000s about people piloting giant robot animals to fight. There's not too much there in terms of story, except at the end of the show. The last five episodes of Century Zero are the story of the Royal Cup, which is the best narrative section of this series. The narratives are better in Chaotic Century, but they're also next to impossible to break down to one movie. The Royal Cup is long enough that you can have the same narrative, play with a couple of the details (we don’t need 15 minutes of the Blitz Team goofing off at the beach), and make some of the battles longer/more detailed. Let’s face it: when watching a mecha movie, we’re not looking for the best story as much as we’re looking for a really fun time.
Other Thoughts: The animal nature of Zoids would be a nice break from other giant robot movies like Pacific Rim and Transformers.
Honorable Mentions: Gundam Wing, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Sports Genre
Haikyuu!!
The Story: Haikyuu!! is by far the biggest breakout sports anime of the past two years. Based on the JUMP manga, this show follows Karasuno High School’s boy’s volleyball team in their quest for victory. This show is praised for its realistic portrayal of sports (compared to other shows in this genre) and we think a live-action adaptation would help celebrate how true-to-life the action really is.
As much as I love every second of this anime, there’s no way to fit all of season one into a movie. If we simply focus on the Karasuno vs Seijou rivalry, however, I think we can do it justice. This would mean cutting out everything involving Nekoma and requiring different explanations for both Coach Ukai joining the team, as well as Asahi’s return. With these changes, the plot would still focus on Hinata joining the team and how the team has to learn to come together to defeat Seijou, but after Karasuno’s first practice match against them, we’d simply jump into a training camp montage before the tournament arc starts. The movie would end the same way that season one does.
Other Thoughts: This film would be most successful if it was shot in the style that 2004’s Miracle was, where the camera followed the action on the ice, as opposed to showing a bird’s eye view of the games, like you would see in the Olympics. This would allow for the same dynamic action that the anime portrays so well.
Honorable Mentions: Free!, Kuroko’s Basketball
Action Genre
Soul Eater
The Story: Soul Eater is an anime from 2008 that takes place at a school where there are two types of students: weapons and meisters. These students team up to fight evil and collect corrupted souls. For this movie, we’d focus on the team of Soul and Maka, and the adventures that they go on in season one. These would lead up to the battle at the school in episodes 18-24 that involves Maka and her friends trying to prevent the evil witch Medusa from awakening the monster known as the Kishin.
Other Thoughts: My only concern for this film is that it would be very easy to be extremely cheesy. Lame weapon props, crappy effects, or even poor set design could instantly strip away all of the awesomeness that this series brings to the table.
Honorable Mentions: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Bleach
Romance Genre
Your Lie in April
The Story: Kousei was a brilliant piano player when he was young. But after he lost his mother, he could no longer hear his piano playing, despite his ears being fine. This forced him to give up his beloved piano until high school, when on a bright warm day in April, he met a violinist named Kaori. Through Kaori’s encouragement, Kousei was able to conquer his mental block, continue to play piano, and most importantly, fall in love with Kaori. While everything got better for Kousei, life played a cruel joke on Kaori: she was very ill.
“Do you think you will be able to forget? I’m not holding back. So that people who’ve heard me will never forget me. So that I can live in their hearts forever. That’s my reason for existing. I am a musician, after all! Just like you.” — Kaori Miyazono
Other thoughts: I was listening to Kreisler’s Liebesleid (Love’s Sorrow) while I was writing this article. Kaori and Kousei were supposed to play this song together on stage, but they were unable to because of Kaori’s health problems. Your Lie in April is a beautiful story, but it is also sorrowful, like the kind of love that Kaori had for Kousei. Even when she was very sick, she still tried to be brave and supportive. This love story took place in April between two talented teenagers. Maybe it was a lie, but it was the most beautiful lie.
Honorable Mentions: Itazula Kiss, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Post By: Tommy Wiliams, Catherine Wilson, and Yifan Zhao