The Live Action Gamble

Just a few hours ago an opening scene for the live-action of Cowboy Bebop was dropped and it made me think about lots of issues that are often presented in the live-action subgenre. I can't speak for Cowboy Bebop yet because the show hasn't come out, but I can certainly foresee some issues that might be present on the show. Join me in this discussion and let's see if anime live actions can actually be successful or not. 

If we look at the ever-evolving industry of entertainment, we can see how live-actions about comics, cartoons, or animes are becoming more and more frequent as of recent. This trend isn't anything new though, as we have seen plenty of books being adapted into movies or classic superheroes becoming the stars of weekly shows in the past. However, what is a relatively new concept to this trend is the creation of live-actions based on animes. Since the mid-'90s, the anime industry has been growing at an incredibly fast pace, becoming more popular each day and rapidly leaving its place as a medium only watched by niche audiences. Nonetheless, this success hasn't translated well into live-actions, and quite frankly, the record so far is the best proof of that. Most anime series adapted ended up becoming poor replicas or uninspired adaptations that fail to deliver on the hype of the original material. This often begs the question of whether is this a problem of the studios, budget, or directors. The answer to that question is yes and no. Although direction, budget, or studios can have a great effect on the production of a show, there's much more than that when it comes to live-actions of anime. Some aspects can, perhaps, be a problem of the transition between mediums. 

Alan Moore is a comic writer who back in 1986, presented in his magnum opus, Watchmen, a criticism of the concept of the superhero. In one of the many elements he analyzed in his comic, he presented a very simple scenario; "How would superheroes transition into the real world?" He established the argument that just by the nature of their looks, superheroes would look like idiots. In fact, many illustrations from the comic simply mock this idea. But why do I mention this? Well, one of the main problems with live actions is the aesthetic they present. Most live actions try to replicate the aesthetic of the animes they are based on. This might seem like a detail, but it's important to mention it because by trying to replicate the looks of an anime character, you are simply trying to replicate a concept that is alien to our reality. Anime works in its own world and it can have a very well-defined aesthetic, one that can easily ignore the rules of realism. In anime, all characters respond to similar "choices" in terms of designs, so it's normal to see characters with weird haircuts or clothes that someone might never wear. Those elements are already established in the "rules" of anime, and by replicating this concept in a live-action, you are immediately creating something that would look off with real people. Humans aren't designed and replicating the looks of characters made for a different medium makes them simply look weird. That's why cosplay is such a divisive hobby, it might look cool for some but stupid for others. We all know how most humans dress, so seeing something so different be abruptly inserted into our reality can just look unnatural. Rather than imitating the aesthetics of anime, live-actions should morph or create a similar look but making it their own. 

Another important element to keep in mind when it comes to adapting certain works is how some creations are just simply made for a specific medium. This is a concept that not only happens with live actions but with plenty of other creations as well. A perfect example of this issue is how Junji Ito's mangas have been poorly adapted into anime. Not so long ago, some of his work was adapted into a short series of anime episodes and the studio in charge couldn't nail the same dread that his artwork transmits. The drawings were practically identical, but there are aspects that can't just be imitated, panel distribution being one of them. If this happens with manga and anime, it's even more likely to happen with mangas to live actions or animes to live actions. Not only we are ignoring the fact that we are taking an art form to a completely different plain, but also the fact that those art forms were created in a specific medium for a reason. It's impossible to take Les Coquelicots by Claude Monet and make a song or a movie of it, you can certainly take inspiration from that work but replicating it is impossible if we take it to a different medium or genre. 

These issues are not only a problem of American studios but Japanese studios as well. In fact, Japanese productions are often criticized for looking "cheap" or plain bad. However, at least they go full-on with the looks of the characters, something that can't really be said for American productions. In the case of American productions, they usually try to change aspects of characters (as in the case of whitewashing) like their ethnicity in an attempt to add some novelty or diversity into the adaptations. This concept works well when the appearance of characters isn't well defined, as it happens with books sometimes. Nevertheless, when it happens with characters with such clear features or identifiable looks as anime characters, changing the ethnicity of a character can be poorly perceived. A perfect example of this issue was the live-action of "The Last Airbender", in which characters had clear ethnicities but were changed because the director thought "anime characters can look like anyone". 

Now, going back to the initial question, can live actions be successful? The answer to that question is yes! In fact, some of the most profitable movies these days come from comic-book characters or renowned books. However, it's hard to see this very same success in live actions based on animes or mangas. Comic books can be adapted into live-action movies because the occidental artwork is often more grounded in realism and in some cases, the stories are even settled in real places. The worlds created often share plenty of similarities with our world, making a transition into live-actions be more doable. Marvel has been doing a fantastic job in this regard, but it's fair to say that it wasn't an easy task, there was a huge trial and error process. In the case of anime, not everything has been that bad, there are some exceptions that have translated "well" into live actions, as it happened with Rurouni Kenshin or some Pokemon spinoffs. Notwithstanding, these are very unique cases and they happened because there were some very smart choices made in the creative processes or in how the creations were separated from the original source. If a live-action is planned, I think that a more realistic perspective would be to do spinoffs or take inspiration to create something unique and different. In my opinion, replicating an anime is a lose-lose situation since deviating too much from the original work can push fans away, but imitating the original source to its fullest is also impossible because of some of the reasons I mentioned beforehand. I tend to suggest people to prefer the original material as it is how the creations were meant to be experienced, but if you have fun watching live actions of books, comic books, or animes, that's perfectly fine as well.

Live-actions can be bad, but in some cases, they can also introduce people to different stories and different genres. I don't mind live actions as long as they are created with that intention in mind, but when they are created in an attempt to "legitimize" stories to broader audiences or to simply make a profit, they will probably be bound to failure. People aren't dumb, and they can clearly see when something is made with care or not, no matter how cheap it may look.