meta: Live-Action Anime


2021


Netflix's 'Cowboy Bebop': A New Jam Session 
Lopsided, but still very enjoyable; if this hasn't raised the upper bound for anime-to-live-action, it sure has raised the lower bound
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2018


'Illang: The Wolf Brigade': Defanged 
Jee-woon Kim's live-action adaptation of Mamoru Oshii's 'Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade' is passable on its own, but doesn't come close to the primal shadow-play sorcery of the original
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'Fullmetal Alchemist' (2017): Ed And Al, In Miniature 
Further proof that some anime-to-live-action adaptations need to either be done at the right scale or not done at all
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2017


'Death Note' (2017): D.O.A. 
This isn't 'Death Note'; it's barely Cliffs Notes
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Welcome To The Desert Of The Real: The Live-Action 'Gintama' And 'Bleach' 
There's always the chance the live-action 'Gintama' and 'Bleach' movies will be good, but right now they appear to embody the deadliest, most literal sins of such projects
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How The Future (Of Western Live-Action Anime Adaptations) Can Be Female 
'Ghost In The Shell' fizzled, but there are tons of other worthwhile anime/manga titles with strong female leads that could be adapted excellently for English-speaking audiences
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Anime Roundup: June 11, 2017 
Project Itoh's 'Genocidal Organ' hits theaters next month; peek at the new 'Gintama' live-action trailer; and 'Kino's Journey' wanders back into print
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They're Going To Film This (On TV): 'Cowboy Bebop' 
A bad idea? Maybe not -- in big part because Cowboy Bebop doesn't have nearly the same number of obstacles to live-action adaptability as other shows
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Little Miracles, Done Dirt Cheap 
Hollywood doesn't need blockbuster-sized live-action anime/manga adaptations. Here's some projects that could work on modest, manageable budgets, are easy to adapt, and could win over Western audiences handily
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Anime Roundup: April 14, 2016 
'Perfect Blue''s source material is seeing an English release for the first time; 'Ghost' bombs at the b.o.; and 'your name.' makes a modest splash in the U.S.
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The Cracks In The 'Shell' 
Whatever my own readings of the film, the 2017 'Ghost In The Shell' is still problematic in ways that are potentially a bad model for other live-action anime
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'Ghost In The Shell' (2017): The Americanization of Motoko 
The most fascinating thing about the Western remake of 'Ghost In The Shell' is how what seemed most problematic about it -- Scarlett Johansson in the lead role -- is leveraged as a thematic element in the film itself
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Anime Roundup: March 24, 2017 
'Ghost In The Shell''s opening scene; the first U.S. 'Death Note' trailer; 'Outlaw Star' and 'Big O' are headed back onto shelves
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'Attack On Titan: The Movie': A Dead-Action Film 
Misguided, tone-deaf, ugly, and erratically paced, this is one of the rare occasions where a promised Western remake might actually be just the response we deserve
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They're (Probably) Going To Film This (Again): 'Attack On Titan' 
After the dismal live-action version produced in Japan, a Western remake of 'Titan' seems a no-brainer, but not merely because the story is easy to re-localize
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Let's Film This: 'Cowboy Bebop' (2017, Post-'John Wick' Edition) 
'Keanu Reeves as Spike Spiegel' is not a death sentence, and 'John Wick' is Exhibit A for the defense
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2016


Is This The Real Life, Or Is This Just Fantasy? 
Live-action adaptations of anime are arriving at a head-turning pace. Is that great news for fans, or a portent for a flood of mediocre cash-grabs to come?
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The First Full 'Ghost In The Shell' Live-Action Trailer Is Remarkably Promising 
The looks: check. The action: check. The questions of identity: check. Now let's see how the rest holds up
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Five Things About Those Five Glimpses Of The Live-Action 'Ghost In The Shell' 
A few short snippets won't provide us with the whole flavor of the live-action 'Ghost in the Shell' project, but they have given us some tea leaves worth reading
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Anime Roundup: August 22, 2016 
'Bleach'? 'Haruchika'? 'Pokémon'? 'Gin Tama'? We'll do it live!
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See more Live-Action Anime posts from 2016