Live-action movies adapted from anime usually have the reputation of being terrible. This can be attributed to the lack of flexibility live-action movies suffer from as compared to hand-drawn animation, the dilution of complex plots to accommodate the limited screentime, and the lack of emotional context that animated versions succeed in achieving.
This does not mean that there aren’t any live-action adaptations of anime that have impressed audiences and borrowed from their source material in a successful fashion. While the task of making a live-action anime adaptation is not without its significant challenges, many movies have succeeded in the task. However, many anime fans feel that these movies are rare gems in the abounding multitude of live-action anime remakes that should not have been attempted in the first place.
Updated on December 27th, 2021 by Ben Hathaway: There are more than a few particularly good and particularly bad live-action anime adaptations out there. Some films missed the mark by a long shot but some managed to please both fans and critics. In fact, many count a couple of them among the best live-action anime adaptations of all time and are well worth ing.
Good Live-Action Anime Movies
Gintama (2017)
• Available on YouTube, Tubi, and Prime Video
Hideaki Sorachi’s Gintama has been hugely acclaimed for being a stellar anime that parodies other anime from Japan, constantly breaking the fourth wall, making pop-culture references, and taking the viewers on a hilarious trip of meta-humor and slapstick comedy.
Adapted to the silver screen by Yūichi Fukuda in the form of a live-action movie, 2017’s Gintama fares just as favorably as its anime counterpart, providing excellent humor and a satisfying dose of the nose-picking protagonist, Gintoki Sakata. The movie was so successful at the box office that a sequel, known as Gintama 2: Rules Are Made To Be Broken, was developed and released only a year later.
Detective Pikachu (2019)
• Available on DIRECTV
The anime-based game Pikachu was both a financially successful spin on the well-worn as well as an interesting twist on its most beloved character. Unlike most other Pokémon games, there's a clear focus on storytelling (not unlike the original 90s anime series).
The movie, featuring a surprisingly well-cast Ryan Reynolds as the title character, was also a financial success. It was deserved, as the film is a fun watch even for those who never bought into the franchise or its little monsters.
Rurouni Kenshin (2012)
• Available on Funimation
Kenshin Himura, popularly known as Samurai X, is one of the best-known characters in Japanese anime, created diligently by artist Nobuhiro Watsuki and director Kazuhiro Furuhashi. Telling the tale of a Meiji-era samurai, Rurouni Kenshin is eloquent and historically sound in its depiction.
Maintaining these qualities in a live-action movie seemed challenging, but director Keishi Ohtomo made sure that the live-action version of this iconic fictional samurai remained just as awe-inspiring as the animated version. The movie was expanded into a successful trilogy, holding its own as a well-made movie amongst the many others that abound within the samurai genre.
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
• Available for purchase on Prime Video
Created by Yukito Kishiro, Battle Angel Alita has been a hugely popular anime since its release in 1993. Telling the story of a dilapidated cyborg with no memories, found by a doctor of cybernetics in a post-apocalyptic future, Battle Angel Alita was so loved that it catapulted Business Jump’s circulation to a record high during the years 1990-1995. Adapting it to live-action, therefore, seemed like a considerable challenge.
However, director Robert Rodriguez and producer James Cameron managed to achieve the task, Alita: Battle Angel struck a favorable chord with die-hard fans of the anime, courtesy of its impressive character design and little-to-no-deviations from the source material.
Ace Attorney (2012)
• Available for purchase on Prime Video
Takashi Miike is known for experimenting in various genres of movie-making, and attempting an anime adaptation is nothing new for the veteran Japanese filmmaker. However, one of his best adaptations has to be Ace Attorney, adapted from the eponymous anime and video games by Capcom.
Decked out with bizarre courtroom sequences and humor, a titillating awareness of suspense, and some ingenious filmmaking techniques, Ace Attorney brings the story of Pheonix Wright and his courtroom antics to the silver screen in the most polished fashion possible.
Blade Of The Immortal (2017)
• Available on Tubi, Vudu, Hulu, and Prime Video
Takashi Miike’s 100th film had to be something special, and Blade of The Immortal does not disappoint. Adapted from 2008 anime of the same name, this movie brings to life the tale of a wandering samurai cursed with an immortal life of gore and bloody battles.
Starring Takuya Kimura in the role of Manji, Blade of The Immortal manages to find a unique and restless energy in its movie-making process that complements the painful and battle-strained storyline of the anime. Showcasing brilliantly brutal action sequences and strong acting performances, this is arguably one of the best anime-to-movie adaptations to have ever happened.
Live-Action Anime Movies That Missed The Mark
The Guyver (1991)
Bio Booster Armor Guyver was a manga series focusing on a symbiotic techno-organic device that increases the capabilities of its host. First seen in 1985, Guyver can be found and read to this day.
The Star Wars trilogy's Mark Hamill starred in the Americanized movie version of the Japanese series. Hamill stars as Sean Barker, who stumbles upon an alien artifact that transforms him into a formidable titan of combat called "The Guyver." Critics and fans were quick to point out deficiencies in acting as well as poor attempts at humor.
Death Note (2017)
• Available on Netflix
Fans of would be better off with similar non-anime shows than with Netflix's film adaptation. The manga series follows Light Yagami, a teen who discovers a notebook known as the "Death Note."
The film follows similar beats but goes about telling the narrative (and explaining the protagonist) in a wildly different way. Adam Wingard's directorial eye was appreciated, but the narrative was overstuffed with uninteresting characters who failed to gain the audience's interest (in stark contrast to the manga).
Ricki-Oh: The Story Of Ricki (1991)
• Available on Fandor
Adapted from Masahiko Takajo’s Business Jump manga Ricki-Oh, the 1991 Lam Ngai Kai directed Ricki Oh: The Story of Ricki is anything but close to the original material.
Dealing with the somber topic of an avenging husband out to seek justice, this movie tends to be more funny than riveting. Courtesy of extremely poor acting, terrible English dubbing, and some hilariously exaggerated action sequences, Ricki Oh: The Story of Ricki is probably one of the worst anime to movie transitions of the last 50 years.
Speed Racer (2008)
• Available on HBO Max
While it is probably one of the Speed Racer, better known as Mach GoGoGo to anime lovers, is a disappointing adaptation when compared to its anime roots.
The main problem for this live-action take has to be its extravagant CGI animation, which makes the movie look extremely fake, while it should actually have accomplished the opposite. Furthermore, the visual extravaganza was given more importance than character development and plot. Despite having a cult following, it cannot be accepted as a modest live-action remake by the loyalists of the anime.
Devilman (2004)
• Available on Tubi
1972’s Devilman, created by illustrator Go Nagai, has been a go-to project for many directors over the years. With the latest release of Masaaki Yuasa’s best Netflix season finales in the last decade. However, little-known to fans, there exists a live-action version of this iconic anime and manga known as Devilman, which was released in the year 2004.
Directed by Hiroyuki Nasu, most fans of the anime felt that Devilman is outright strange and cringe-worthy, filled with terrible visual effects, over-the-top acting, constant attempts to cram-in information, and one of the most hilarious on-screen superhero (super-devil in this case) transformations seen to date.
The Last Airbender (2010)
• Available on Netflix
While the main characters of the celebrated anime some questionable life choices, the decision by renowned director M. Night Shyamalan to create a live-action version of the same is arguably quite questionable in itself.
A movie that lacked a good script, had lackluster performances and a tendency to inform more than it possibly can within its stipulated time-frame, The Last Airbender was a disaster from the word go. With a new TV show in production, here’s to hoping that it does a better job at telling Aang's story than what the movie did.
Dragonball Evolution (2009)
• Available on Prime Video
creator of the series being perplexed as to why it is so. However, with the huge popularity of the animated production, expectations of it being adapted into live-action were considerably high and it disappointed many in the fanbase.
Many fans felt that the live-action movie adaptation of the mighty Saiyan’s story is not even on par with the worst episodes from the animated series. Riddled with devastating visual effects, hilarious action sequences, a healthy dose of overacting, and a substandard plot, Dragonball Evolution was so bad that, as per Forbes, even the writer of the movie later issued an apology and literally said that he "dropped the Dragon Ball" while writing this live-action adaptation.
