Top 10 Live Action Anime Adaptations No One Asked For
For this list, we'll be looking at the live-action films based on anime and manga that had practically zero demand going for them. Keep in mind we aren't judging these by how terrible they are as movies or series, rather for how little a reason they had for getting made in the first place.
#10: “Ghost in the Shell” (2017)
Even if this adaptation of the cyberpunk masterpiece had managed to succeed on every level (which it most certainly didn’t) it was always going to catch flak for the controversial casting of Scarlet Johansson as Major Kusanagi. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back as far the mainstream media’s attention surrounding Hollywood’s whitewashing controversy. The original is such a beloved classic, and while we can appreciate the live-action’s homages, the fact they tried to fix up the race issue in the most idiotic way possible didn’t help change opinions.
#9: “Mob Psycho 100” (2018)
Their first mistake was thinking they could duplicate the adorableness that is Mob, the second was believing that a series with borderline mind-melting action sequences could be translated into a live-action series with equal success. To nobody’s surprise, the whole thing turned out to be yet another stain on the Netflix anime adaptation train. Besides, the actors look way too old for their respective roles and the special effects are laughable by comparison. We wouldn’t be surprised if the whole thing was one of Reigen’s scams.
#8: “Bleach” (2018)
Here’s the thing, when it was first announced that the once great shounen series would be hitting the big screen, it was met by a resounding middle finger from fans who didn’t want to see Ichigo get dragged through the mud like other anime adaptations. As it turns out, the adaption…wasn’t half bad. Alas, for all of it’s surprising charm, it totally bombed at the Japanese box office, further cementing that there wasn’t any demand for a live-action version to begin with. By this point it’s like beating a dead horse with a zanpakuto.
#7: “Mobile Suit Gundam G-Saviour” (2000)
For those of you that are still worried that the upcoming live-action Gundam film is going to be a heaping pile of space-shit, have a little faith. After all, there’s no way that they could drop the bar any lower than they did with this little abomination. This standalone entry somehow manages to get everything wrong about the franchise, the most egregious aspect being the Mobile Suits themselves. If you think you’ve seen terrible special effects before, then just you wait until you see these bad boys. Let’s hope Sunrise have learned their lesson…
#6: “Kite” (2014)
When Samuel L. Jackson can’t even make your film even somewhat decent, then you know you done goofed up. The original Kite wasn’t anything special, in fact it contained a whole assortment of sex and death scenes way too hardcore for the average movie going public. Desperately trying to catch up by throwing as much gore at the screen as it can get away with, the live-action adaptation nonetheless feels that a watered-down version that tries way too hard to be edgy, all held together with shoddy camerawork and even shoddier plot. Honestly, you’re better off watching hentai.
#5: “Death Note” (2017)
We’re not sure there’s been a film that earned the scorn of the anime community even before it hit screens quite like this one. Like a swarm of sharks, fans of the original occult detective gem proceeded to maul this adaptation every step of the way, from the Americanisation of the cast, the character of Light acting as little as Light as possible, plus the numerous plot holes it had dug for itself. We can sympathize with it due to how much hate it received, but its own poor storytelling did little to help remedy matters. At least Willem Dafoe as Ryuk was awesome.
#4: “Dragon Ball Evolution” (2009)
It’s amazing how this film has somehow only gotten worse over the years, with fans still debating whether or not it truly is the most abysmal anime adaptation of all time. It’s as if the filmmakers learned everything about Dragon Ball from a WatchMojo video; nothing except the names and minor visuals references in order to keep up the appearance of being faithful to the source material. When Dragon Ball fans were asking for a continuation of the series that wasn’t GT, this was the last thing they had in mind.
#3: “One Piece” & “Naruto” (TBA)
These two have yet to escape pre-production, so we’re looping them together. Starting off with Naruto, we fully expect this to be a disaster, to the point where we’re kind of exciting to see how bad they mess it up. Something tells us that unlike Boruto, they’ll be zero creativeness going in. Moving onto One Piece…we’re a little more conflicted. Yes, Hollywood is handling one of the greatest manga properties to ever be published. However, creator Eiichiro Oda has gone on the record to say he has a lot of creative control as far as casting, story elements and other essential factors. Call us crazy, but given Holywood’s track record we’re still kinda pessimistic on this one.
#2: “Speed Racer” (2008)
Some despise it with every fibre of their being, others regard it as a modern classic that is grossly misunderstood by the masses. Either way, we have no idea what prompted the Wachowski siblings to take one of anime’s golden oldies and translate it into a neon fever dream of a flick. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of the original, the weirdness of the Racer family and all the little nods to the show will go over your head, while those that were familiar with the property were just left asking…why?
#1: “Alita: Battle Angel” (2018)
James Cameron knows his way around a killer robot. Robert Rodriguez is a proven lover of green screens. It seems obvious that they would be drawn to something like Battle Angel Alita, yet we still can’t believe that it’s actually being made. Despite a star-studded cast; the violence, dystopian themes and mature content look severely watered down compared to the original, and yes, we can’t talk about this film without mentioning…the eyes. It’s such a strange melting pot of a film that we still can’t believe it’s coming out!