My Thoughts and Concerns for a Live-Action Gantz Movie.

Hey everyone: seeing how it's a new year; I like to try to do at least one experiment with content in the middle of my usual material. The past year definitely was one that saw announcements that nobody would have expected otherwise, such as today's subject that I've been meaning to address for a while. This past September, Marc Guggenheim revealed that he would be making a live-action adaptation of the anime and manga series "Gantz" under Sony Pictures. Here is a piece from comicbook.com reporting on the matter.

Though not the first live-action adaptation of the series (that honor goes to the Japanese film Gantz: Zero), it's one that has sparked a mixture of both excitement and concern from fans and the public alike. I fall into the latter of both camps; since I was never that into the material in the first place. However, this has again given me a bit more leeway to speak on the matter. While normally I don't cover that much stuff I don't care for unless I have something I can add to the table; I have several reasons why I'm not entirely convinced as others this adaptation will work. Even removing the current cinematic climate from the equation; here are my thoughts and concerns for a live-action Gantz movie.

5. The creative team

Even if Guggenheim has had extensive work for adapting DC Comics' material for the CW; with him also being tapped to make content for HBO Max (after the DC Universe banner was folded into their new service); his track record for film has admittedly been less encouraging. Even though he co-wrote and co-produced Green Lantern; the film quickly faltered despite opening at #1; and a proposed franchise never materialized (talk persists of a reboot). Beyond that, Sony handling the movie also doesn't inspire much confidence in me. Though they're the current owners of Funimation; the studio hasn't had the best results in other blockbusters as of late. It doesn't help that Tom Rothman has been every bit as much as infamous for meddling there as he was at Fox (now a subsidiary of Buena Vista Entertainment). After all, this is the man who personally canceled Firefly on the grounds he disliked the series. This is the man who mandated the Alien VS Predator movie be rated PG-13 and set on contemporary Earth (the complete opposite of the original source material). This is the man who extensively meddled with the initial X-Men movies (especially the third and Origins: Wolverine, and regarding the latter; ordered Deadpool's mouth sewn shut in the film); and personally prevented a standalone Deadpool movie from getting made (which, given the success of the first two; talks of a third film and a proposed X-Force spinoff, is now more baffling than ever). That, and I don't know how they'll handle the material; which brings me to my next point.

4. Potentially watering down the material

Sometimes; people just can't help themselves. This isn't a problem unique to this medium; but even as my lifetime has seen all manner of material go from subculture to pop culture, some executives still operate under the mindset that boils down to, "Let's take this successful IP and do nothing that made it popular! It'll make millions!" This led to other brilliant decisions we'll come back to in this list; but lots of them make decisions that seem downright illogical to the surprise of no one but the ones who demanded the changes. I just mentioned Rothman; but despite the fact the Dragon Ball series continues to entertain the young and old alike for the past few decades; he was reportedly the one that pushed for the changes in the movie (cutting Puar and Krillin, making Goku want to bed Chi-Chi when it was the other way around in the source; etc.) on the grounds that he wanted to "make it more appealing to older audiences." Predictably, it backfired: older audiences found the movie too insipid, and younger ones stayed away. The 1995 Ghost in the Shell focused on the idea of humanity in the digital age and personal growth; the 2017 remake focused on expensive special effects and a generic revenge story (I still submit The Matrix was a smarter and more faithful live-action adaptation than the 2017 film). The previous versions of Death Note, despite the supernatural elements were, at their core; a detective story that explores the concept of morality and how it's never as black and white as it seems. The template for a good live-action adaptation was there in the JP films and TV spinoffs; but instead we got what was more or less an unintentionally-hilarious clone of Final Destination (though it does make a more faithful remake of Heathers than the terrible Paramount series, with Light essentially being Christian Slater's character and Misa's counterpart Mia being like Winona Ryder's character). Though Gantz: Zero was decently-received for the most part (JP live-action adaptations I've seen have had a better; though admittedly not perfect reception than their Western counterparts); several critics and fans felt that it didn't go quite as far as the original manga or even its anime adaptation. So, there's admitted concern that a western adaptation might not go all-in for the over-the-top violence and other content that would be impossible to escape a Hard-R rating (a distinction the Japanese live-action versions earned); or worse, tone down the story for a PG-13. This naturally ties into another concern I have.

3. How other adaptations have a mixed track record

While for the most part, the quality of adaptations of American comic book superheroes has vastly improved (occasional misfires like Bloodshot aside); that was after decades of lackluster films. Though the surprise successes of Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog have helped give more confidence in the idea you can capture a video game's tone that will make it successful with fans and audiences; there are still bombs like Monster Hunter among them (the film reportedly ended on a sequel setup, but given the box office numbers; I don't think that's going to happen). Following up on the last point, despite a few exceptions; most Western anime and manga adaptations have been roundly panned; and their commercial success varies considerably. Gantz will definitely have to stand out and prove to its fans as well as the general public that the material can work onscreen. In theory, if they were willing to embrace the absurdity of the original source; it might grab people's attention if they play their cards right. In practice, however; not even Alita: Battle Angel could convince everyone in a post-MCU, post-Deadpool world to see it. Disney even tried to rerelease the movie theatrically last Halloween; but the film made less than rereleases of other cult favorites such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hocus Pocus (lockdowns effectively cutting the theaters showing the movie in half out of safety concerns not helping matters). The creators have thankfully expressed interest in doing a follow-up on streaming instead, which I think would be a better format (maybe even a soft reboot as a TV series). Even ones I have a soft spot for like the Wachowskis' live-action Speed Racer are only fairly recently getting more recognized; with that film costing $120 million to make and grossing back roughly over a third of that domestically. So far, there's still yet to be a film that makes the same impact for the medium that western comics have. Blade re-popularized them critically in 1998, X-Men did it with fans in 2000; and Spider-Man did it with everyone else in 2002. All three played a big part in the obsession we have now; and though I don't think Gantz will be on the same level as them all, it can't be denied they've got an uphill battle on their hands.

2. The casting

We've all heard this issue before. "Hollywood whitewashing- How is this still a thing?" Though not as openly cringeworthy as seeing Mr. Funioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's (I submit you could cut his scenes and the movie wouldn't be affected at all); this was always going to be a concern of mine no matter what. For fairly obvious reasons, I am not a fan of "racebending" POC roles to accommodate white cast members. It's unfortunately been a process that's long been overdue to be left behind. To put this into perspective, even in 1956; the infamous film "The Conqueror" saw Genghis Khan being played by John Wayne. If that's not insane enough, the movie was also filmed near a former atomic test site; which saw Wayne and other cast members developing terminal cancer. It's since been regarded as not just one of the worst films of all time, but one that helped rob the world of the star of The Searchers. I mean, The Eye Creatures sucked; but I don't think it killed anyone. Though recent examples haven't caused any fatalities that I know of; they've still been perceived as miscast at best and downright inappropriate at worst. Despite the fact that the Dragon Ball series draws from the Chinese folk tale "Journey to the West," most of the leads (Goku, Bulma and Piccolo) were played by white actors; and the few Asian roles in the movie were at best comic relief with almost none of their competence from the source (Roshi and Yamcha) and at worst, glorified cannon fodder (Grandpa Gohan and Agent Mai). The Last Airbender is infamous for many reasons; chief among them is casting white actors for Aang, Katara and Sokka (whose influences included Shaolin Monks and Inuit tribes) while leaving the villainous Fire Nation (whose influences are mainly both Ancient Japan and Ancient China) as the main Asian representation (aside from Iroh's masseur and Randall Duk Kim in a bit part). This was the movie that brought the term "racebending" into the lexicon after all. The simplest thing is that we all like characters we can see strains of ourselves in; and even though it's getting more and more clear that representation sells, there is definitely a concern that people working on this movie might just not bother and whitewash the cast and setting anyway. Just don't be surprised if they shift the setting from Japan to Chicago and cast a bunch of YA stars; which brings me to my biggest concern with this movie.

1. How to best capture the source's tone

One of the many reasons I'm not a fan of this series is because of its tone. I'm not saying that it's impossible to blend darker elements with comedic ones at all. Hell, my favorite comedy is Monty Python's The Meaning of Life; closely followed by The Big Lebowski. That said, though many adaptations I've discussed here have had varying degrees of success; the one constant is a simple four-letter word that determined the degree of their success or failure: tone. Gantz is very-much a "genre-buster;" running the gamut from supernatural horror to dark comedy and speculative science fiction. Though these elements can and have made for films I've enjoyed (I loved The Cabin in the Woods for example); the way the source material applied them didn't appeal to me. Gantz: Zero did have some success in its attempt even if some said it didn't get quite as much as the original. However, at least they tried; and what I've just told you does suggest it will be a challenge to make this material work. Will the filmmakers focus on one element at the expense of the others? Will they try to soften the very R-rated manga and anime for a PG-13? Or will they go all-in on the absurdity of the original? It's a recurring issue when any animated material is adapted for live-action; let alone a Japanese one.

Even though it's clear to me that the movie industry as a whole will definitely be adjusting to a post-coronavirus world (I ended up watching WW84 three times on HBO Max, since only one area in my entire state currently is in a low-enough risk phase to have theaters open); it wouldn't surprise me if this movie just ended up on streaming/PVOD instead. I guess I won't know what to expect until something is actually announced. Not much has been heard about the live-action Gundam and Voltron films either (in the latter case; I think Dreamworks should just make an animated film instead); and unless something happens, I can add those to the many failed attempts to get them off the ground. As for this live-action Winx Club series on Netflix: I may not be the biggest Winx Club fan (think I only saw the tail-end of it once when I was waiting for Sonic X to start); though those that are have my sympathy. Suffice to say, until I am given reason to believe otherwise; I will not be anticipating this movie or addressing it further. That will be all for now; take care.

Honest Thoughts: The Missteps and Blunders of the attempted Digimon "Resurgence."

You know, contrary to popular belief; this hasn't always been as easy as others might think. Granted, I do love the fact that I can write about my hobbies in a manner that helps me not only prepare for one day getting a job in my field after I get my degree; but even if you love what you do, there's no guarantee you'll be able to please everyone all the time. That said, I've never really been shy about going against the grain when the opportunity arrives. Today is another one of those times; so here is another entry in my Honest Thoughts series; in what I consider to be the missteps and blunders of the attempted Digimon "resurgence." Granted, this is a franchise that's admittedly had no shortage of divisive outings (Frontier, for example); but although I appreciate the gesture on paper, this is a shortlist of a few issues that I feel are keeping this revival from being a full-blown resurgence. Let's get started.

5. Underselling the TCG reboot

This is admittedly the smallest issue on this list; since the trading card game reboot itself is admittedly pretty well-constructed; both as a game and in terms of its art direction. That said, the people in charge really should have learned from how the game fared in the past to better handle it this time around. Granted, those who have gotten their hands on the game did have plenty of nice things to say about it; but there's the flip side to the coin: in my area; where even common cards can be snatched up by younger players and enthusiasts alike, actually finding the blasted cards has been roughly in the same ballpark of difficulty of finding a Playstation 5 in the wild (side note: deliberately waiting to get one till Horizon Forbidden West comes out at the earliest); and my closest business that sell trading cards (and weren't impacted by closures for safety concerns) didn't think to order enough stock to meet demand. Admittedly, I don't buy into the "artificial scarcity" argument (especially given what I learned about it in economics); but given the quality of the new cards, I'm admittedly concerned about the quantity making Bandai repeat past mistakes; which will be a recurring issue throughout this list.

4. Delaying Digimon Survive past the 20th anniversary

This is a twofold issue here: though I haven't played that many of the video games in the series (I only fairly recently beat the PS1 Smash Bros. clone Digimon Rumble Arena in quarantine, for the first time since I was 9), they've apparently vastly improved in quality. As such, when I first heard about this title (a combination of survival and tactical RPGs); it admittedly showed promise. Then it got delayed past its 2018 release date, and again past 2019. Then after the publisher denied them delaying the game again; Namco Bandai admitted they would have to delay this and their other 2020 titles because of coronavirus impacting development across the board. The current release date is slated for this spring, but at this point; it wouldn't surprise me if they had to delay the game again. That's not even getting into development being halted at one point and essentially having to start over from scratch. I will admit that's one of the realities of even games I've been playing and enjoying as of late: Ninjala, Cyberpunk 2077 and the HD remaster of Star Wars Racer to name a few; but at least those titles did come out and I knew about the contingencies they had before that. Needless to say, the fact this game got delayed past the 20th anniversary of the franchise when it was originally meant to part of the celebration wasn't exactly a good look. Even with the infamy of titles such as Duke Nukem Forever in mind; there's a point where you need to make a judgment call that's never ideal: either finish and release what you have, or kill the project. There's also some admittedly familiar aspects that will be key to not just the next bullet points; but the rest of this shortlist.

3. Coasting on the goodwill of Digimon Adventure and its fans

Having too much of anything, even something you enjoy is never as good as it sounds. We all have our limits; and I think that maybe Bandai and Toei have been pumping the well of Digimon Adventure quite a bit as of late. Admittedly, I liked the Adventure seasons fine growing up; but my favorite season was Tamers; and I do have some retroactive appreciation for Savers/Data Squad. Yet, between how much the merchandise and newer stories (including the next two slots on the list) have been milking the goat of Adventure; part of me wishes that they would do more experiments. Fusion/Xros Wars was a good effort that managed to be a solid enough take on the tropes and character types of Adventure; only for Young Hunters Leaping Through Time to squander the characters of past seasons by basically being glorified assist trophies in the final moments. It's pretty telling that season hasn't gotten an English dub. The Tri movies also did take some creative license that I appreciated; but that still doesn't change the fact that it's yet another adaptation of Adventure. I also don't think including the cast of the second season is enough, but I shall come back to that. I'm not saying that revisiting an older story is a bad idea in general: Lupin III The First was a splendid CGI remake of Lupin's first major caper, but that was presented in a way that still felt faithful to the tone of the original source. It's just that despite the claims otherwise; the overall handling of Adventure as of late seems like it's coasting on the goodwill of the series and its fans. Refuting the claims elsewhere, it's less of growing with the audience and more pandering to them; which brings me to my next point.

2. Mishandling the 2020 anime reboot

I've mentioned before that rebooting any work is often a crapshoot; both on and off this blog. Admittedly, when the plans for the 2020 reboot were unveiled; they showed promise. Then the anime actually started airing; and the trouble began. Though some changes from the original I do appreciate (the new, yet familiar art style; the threats of the Digital World causing real-world havoc more openly, and Kari showing no signs of the illness that left her unable to attend camp with the others in the original); the reboot unfortunately stumbles in the areas that were the strongest in the original: the story and characters. Over the course of the 1999 version, there was both a clear sense of escalation of threat combined with smaller, more personal conflict. In the second episode of the reboot; they decided to adapt the "Our War Game" storyline when the main cast hadn't been fully introduced yet. While I do believe the show handled that plot line better than the 2000 film did; it also had the unfortunate side effect of tipping their hand way too early. I'm currently on the fourth episode (stacking them so I can binge the whole season at my pleasure); but based on other testimonials and what I've gleaned so far, this reboot has been the show that many of us worried the original would be. 

Despite the fact the show is running longer than the original (1999 had 54 episodes, this one has 66 planned); past the halfway point, there is a growing consensus that the new version has taken longer to tell the same story as the original in a less interesting way. One complaint has the other Digimon being reduced to damsels-in-distress for the main characters to rescue; though that might be too generous in my view. That would imply the side characters were actually written like characters: often times both the real world and digital world have their extras written like props, glorified set dressings for the action. Even bigger moments from its senior involving Kari and TK have less impact this time around. The character dynamic was easily my favorite part of the original, and that's something I don't think later versions of Adventure have ever fully nailed. This is in stark contrast to series such as One Piece and newer ones like My Hero Academia; both of which have been able to clearly define and balance their casts with unique personalities and goals that are planned out as much as years in advance. Yet, it's not even the biggest example of how the series can't seem to get out of its own way to make a mere revival into a full-on "resurgence." My top point should explain why I keep putting that term in quotes.

1. Last Evolution Kizuna ends (?) original story by dividing the fanbase (and its creators)

I really wanted this to be the finale the story deserved. Part of me really wanted to like this movie as much as other fans did. Unfortunately, I can't compromise my integrity as a fan; let alone a critic if I didn't write what I actually thought about this movie. I reaffirm that I do not plan to give the movie a full review; and this would be a better way to express my feelings on the matter. The movie does have plenty of things I liked: the animation is very good overall, the opening fight set to "Bolero" in particular is quite impressive. Yet, while the movie is for the most part a decent film and a good standalone Digimon story; and at least a better finale than the 02 epilogue (with this film even seemingly retconning if not outright contradicting it despite the inclusion of their cast); it makes its own controversial decisions with the story and characters that I absolutely don't support. A lot of the "adult" parts of the movie just feel forced, less like natural progression and more like a checklist of items to show the audience. The drinking at the soba parlor, the cast of the movie acting like they got lost on their way to "Reality Bites," the whole movie just telegraphs things so hard that it not only undermines the mystery behind the digital threats; but comes off less like growing with the audience and instead growing to resent the audience. I did kind of laugh at the part where Agumon found the stash of girlie movies in Tai's mattress; since I guess a folder on his computer full of risqué art of Renamon, Ninetales and Kyubi from Yo-Kai Watch would have been too on the nose. That, and jokes like that have been on YouTube spoofs for years now. 

That aside, it felt less like a wrap-up to decades of storytelling and more like "Matt and Tai Face the Music, featuring the cast of Digimon Adventure." Even that comparison might be too generous, since even Bill and Ted had a more satisfying and emotionally-powerful finale than this film to me. It's not like it would have been impossible; but part of me still feels like it would have been better to do this as an OVA series rather than just one movie. Dragon Ball Super managed to pull this off well: even if not everyone was onboard, I personally felt the tone was the ideal balance of the fun, wondrous style of the original and the more serious storytelling of DBZ. Heck, some people took issue with how they handled Goku; but I think his and others' words and actions were still on-point for their characters. I also know this isn't a fair comparison, but to bring up one of the best animated films I've seen in recent memory: Into the Spider-Verse managed to earn its emotional moments and carve out its own place in the many versions of Spider-Man that have come before. 

This film, however; feels less like a finale to 20 years of stories and more like a glorified monster of the week episode at feature length. The idea was there for a good finale, but they only went halfway. As I've said before, half a finale is hardly a finale at all. Not helping matters is that one of the original directors was initially involved and even used as a selling point; but he left the project on the grounds the movie strayed too far from the concepts established from the original setting. It's one thing to leave the fans mixed about an ending; but it's another to drive a wedge between the creators. I can only hope that the director might be allowed to tell his story in another format; if only to see what his take on the finale could have been. 

I will say that if you're going to have this kind of story in your movie, you need to give every character a proper send-off; not just your leads, and you need to go all-in on drama for both humans and monsters alike. Most of all, if you are going to go forward with a reboot; maybe give a little bit more room before you announce it and start airing it, so it doesn't seem so opportunistic and risk further undermining the message you're trying to send. I just hope that if Toei and Bandai want to do a "20 years after" version of Tamers, they don't just do Lain with a Tamers skin on it. I know they share the same writer; but at this point, I'm just glad I finally got all this out of my system. Whatever shape the series takes next; hopefully the people in charge can learn from their mistakes. That will be all for now, take care.

#Pokémon25 - New Pokémon Snap Coming April 30 and More Soon.

Hey fellas: seeing as we're about halfway through the first month of 2021, I thought I would share something quick with you all. The promotions for #Pokémon25 are underway, with a really neat video teasing what lies ahead; which includes a slew of new trading cards and a promotional album which features a collaboration with Katy Perry. That alone to me, after a long December is reason to believe that this year will be better than the last.

On that note, alongside a new trailer; we now have a confirmed release date for “New Pokémon Snap,” the Nintendo Switch sequel/reimagining to the beloved N64 classic will be releasing on April 30. I’m quite pleased to hear this as a big fan of the original game; and I’m eager to experience what Namco Bandai is brining to the table. Again, I will not be taking part in the comparisons to the art direction in Generation VIII; and I shall reaffirm that I like the visuals of both for different reasons. 

One last thing- though there are leaks and rumors about the remakes of Generation IV, I will not be addressing any of that until there’s official confirmation by Nintendo, Game Freak; The Pokémon Company or any of their other affiliates. Some people don’t mind that, but I do not speculate on unverified leaks; only on concrete details. Just thought I’d also establish that so you all know I’m not just playing the encore Splatfest in Splatoon 2 or watching WandaVision (which is also true). That will be all for now, I will talk with you all another time. Later.