Hello everyone. First off, I am in the process of watching the Zoroark movie for my Pokémon movie marathon, and whether I not I do get into a showing of the I Choose You movie, rest assured I will be finished before I officially recap it (I imagine it will probably be on Disney XD not long after its two-night theatrical showing). Second, I am eager to talk about the new information on Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon that was officially unveiled yesterday, but I want to collect myself before I do. My errand out of town took a day longer than expected, and I will not address why here.
Now, however, I will address something I've been wanting to for a while. There are currently live-action TV series in development for two of my favorite anime series: Cowboy Bebop and One Piece. Although there are not currently any cast members in place, the shows will be overseen by their respective creators and co-produced by their respective animation studios: Sunrise and Toei.
Even though I am well aware the idea of adapting any beloved animated work in live-action is a crapshoot, I will try to keep an open mind the best I can. I admit other live-action anime adaptations have had a relatively spotty track record, even as recently as this year. The Death Note movie on Netflix doesn't even stream till next week, and it remains a polarizing adaptation (not helped by the creators' statements on the matter). While the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure movie I mentioned in a previous post looked good, the fact that it underperformed at the Japanese box office leaves the prospect of its planned sequels uncertain. As for Ghost in the Shell: apart from what I've said before, the film is still being savaged even with the home release (for instance, the Cinema Sins and Honest Trailer for the film point out casting Scarlett Johansson as the Major was the least of that bomb's problems).
As you can tell from that last paragraph, while I am somewhat skeptical about the matter; I also admit there is potential if they're done well. In the case of Cowboy Bebop (along with fellow series such as Trigun and Outlaw Star), good models to follow would be the Guardians of the Galaxy films as well as Firefly (and its film adaptation Serenity). There were initially plans for a film, but I think a TV series might work better for it. As for One Piece: while some of the visuals may be tricky to pull off in live-action, as long as the script and characterization are good; I will support it. The series is reportedly seeking funding from major Hollywood studios, and even though some parties (who shall remain undisclosed here) have sometimes been critical of Toei's handling of the series, I think that it could appeal to the audience that it's built. Some of the Pirates of the Caribbean films have had outlandish stories and trippy visuals that make good models for the series. If all else fails, I can't imagine either show being worse than Dragon Ball Evolution.
That will be all for now, some of my plans for tonight; in addition to working on the Zoroark movie recap, I will be working on catching up on my Netflix backlog as well as watching Outlaw Star coming back to Toonami. See you space cowboy.
No comments:
Post a Comment