by Emmanuella Omonigho

There have been several live-action adaptations of animated films, books and even comics over the last decade, ranging from childhood shows from Disney and its counterparts which some of us only got to watch on Saturday mornings on STV while our parents warned us about the consequences of sitting way to close to the large screen television. More recently, we’ve seen announcements of more adaptations coming out in the next years; while we look forward to their premiere, we hold in our worries, hoping for the best.

In the same light, as the western world has worked on making more realistic version of visual arts, the Japanese animated projects, as well as their comic books, otherwise known as manga, have not been left out. However, unlike the reactions audiences have towards shows and films inspired or adapted from old cartoons and shows, Otakus have somewhat chosen to ignore live actions because they oftentimes do not embody the art they grew to love (or hate).

Anime is every form of animated entertainment from Japan that is distinguished by its characteristic style, design, color palettes, extravagant stories, and characters of widespread genres and themes (Source: the artifice). Manga have predominantly been the source material for every anime to exist, dating back to 1814.

When you analyze the extremeness of these creations: bizarre appearances, including hairdo and expressions and how these elements are the parts which fans of animes and mangas love, there is a high probability that the end result of the adaptations would not be pleasing to them, which in most cases is the exact outcome hence the need to ignore their existence.

The first ever live action adaptation recorded was Astro Boy, based on the Manga of the same name by the Tezuka Osamu (you should read about the Father of Manga). It was a black-and-white television drama, that embodied the characters in the drawing and it ran from 1959-1960. Perhaps, their reaction to it was positive seeing that it went from the pages of a book to screen, and maybe they were satisfied with just seeing their favorite character come alive with humanness. Over the years, since 1959, there have been a lot that have gone from paper to animation then to screen, or just paper to screen.

However, this article will be talking about five that premiered in this decade which you might not know existed.

FULL METAL ALCHEMIST BROTHERHOOD

Rating: IMDB: 5.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 28%

This very popular anime has three live actions following almost the same script as the animation which featured the short and funny Edward with his brother, trapped in iron armour, Alphonse. The first adaptation was in 2017, while the two were released this year, according to Netflix details. Yes, it is on Netflix, and that could be every reason to look down on it because there has been a reputation of Netflix Live Action Animation being unlikable.

However, the premise of this live action adaptation starts out good, the CGI for something done in 2017 (should have been better done in 2022) is good, and realistically done. A few of our favorite characters are present, but maybe we can blame budgets on the reason why there are a handful of them. But we get to see why Otakus despise live actions as they try to add in the comedy of the anime with their soundtracks and weird voice mannerisms between Winry and Edward.

My rating would be a 2.5/5, mainly because they captured the beauty and colors of their appearances, and the editing was good enough to serve its purpose.

TOKYO REVENGERS

Ratings:  IMDB: 6.1/10

The story of Takemichi and his supernatural time traveling back to his middle school years was captured well enough in this 2021 live action adaptation of the anime series. First, we must applaud how much the costume designers and makeup artists did to ensure that the appearances matched that of the anime. I particularly liked that the actors looked close enough to the characters they played.

One thing outstanding about this live action is that they do not try to force the silliness and comedy in the anime onto the audiences, rather they stick to telling the story in the same manner that the anime unfolds, with almost the same dialogue. One thing that the creators of FMAB live action should learn.

Removing my bias towards the actor who played Drakken, I would rate this a 4/5. They tried to keep it as real as possible, while still adding in the action and emotions from the anime.

Related: Get Tokyo Revengers Merch here.

ALICE IN BODERLAND

Ratings: IMDB: 7.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 75%

This is a 2020 live action adaptation of the manga of the same name (Imawa no Kuni no Arisu). There is no known anime of the manga, save for one episode I came across, perhaps this is what saves this live action as they are no animated projects for it to live up to. Still, it is one of the best live actions to grace my screen, from the story telling, to the cinematography and the characters feeling as real as the manga.

It is a thriller set in a strange Tokyo where everyone had to play a game to survive. Just like the Manga, the live action stays true to its source materials, and the writers ensure not to do too much to make it a loveable show for both newbies to the story and long time fans of the manga.

My rating would be a 4.7/5, mainly because they omitted some scenes from the Manga, but once again we could blame that on budget and the need to keep the episodes on their planned time.

WAY OF THE HOUSE HUSBAND

Ratings: IMDB: 7.2/10

This is a slice of life comedy that features a former Yakuza turned house husband. You can imagine the pressure such a project will have to stick with the simple comedy of the anime in creating the live action.

It takes the same format as the anime and manga, sticking to the source material, and maybe a little too much over the top acting once in a while, but the comedy timing is still good enough for the show. The actors too play their characters to perfection, which reminded me severally of the anime (the live action seemed to come out before the anime but I watched the anime first).

My rating of this live action adaption would be a 4.5/5. At least, with this one, Otakus are sure not to be disappointed.

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL

Ratings: IMDB: 7.3/10, Rotten Tomatoes: 61%

Everybody heard about Alita, or at least I think everybody did. If you did not, then maybe you should come out from under the rock which you have been living in since before 2019. One thing most people might not know is that it is based on the anime of the same name from 1993.

We can applaud Hollywood for not going overboard and sticking with the source material. Alita is a cyberpunk that tells the story of a cyborg girl rebuilt by her surrogate father. I only found out about the anime after I watched the film and I was glad to see the characters remained the same, the actions and reactions too.

Every scene followed almost the exact same order as the old graphics anime. If you loved Alita, the live-action, do well to check out the original source, either the manga or the anime.

I rate this a 3.5/5.