Ask John: Are Live Action Adaptations of Anime a Recent Trend?

Question:
Is live action anime the new thing? They seem to be making a lot of the lately.

Answer:
American anime fans may now be becoming more conscious of live action adaptations of manga and anime, but such films are not a new trend. In fact, I don’t think the average number of live action manga and anime adaptations made in Japan annually has been changing much over the past several years. The oldest live action adaptation of manga I know of is Giant Robo, which premiered as a manga in May 1967, then as a live action television series in October 1967. Although possibly not directly inspired by the anime, the 1974 movie Lupin III: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy premiered three years after the debut of the first 1971 Lupin III anime TV series.

There have been a steady stream of live action adaptations of manga and anime produced in Japan for decades. It’s only recently that average American anime fans have begun to become aware of them. Even these days, for every live action Death Note, Tetsujin 28, and Cutey Honey movie there are lesser known live action adaptations like Nekome Kozo, Maichingu Machiko-sensei, and God’s Left Hand, Devil’s Right Hand.

On the other hand, there have been a lot of American live action adaptations of manga and anime announced relatively recently, although very few have actually been produced. American live action versions of manga and anime go back to at least the 1991 movie The Guyver, but a relatively large number of live action anime and manga adaptations including Kite, Astro Boy, Evangelion, Lupin the 3rd, Monster, Dragonball, Yamato, Battle Angel, and Kiki’s Delivery Service have been announced in America recently because manga and anime have come to mainstream awareness and marketability in America recently.

Addendum: The following was submitted by reader E. Bernhard Warg

Before Giant Robo, Ambassador Magma debuted as a manga in May 1965 and became a live action TV series (shown in the US as “The Space Giants”) starting July 4, 1966. Actually (though these may not count as they were pre-1963, and thus pre-TV anime), Tezuka’s Wonder-kun debuted as a manga in April 1954 and became a live acton TV series on April 3, 1961. The Testsuwan Atom live action series ran from March 7, 1959, to September 28, 1960 (not to mention a puppet series from April 13 through September 28, 1960), and Tetsujin 28, which debuted in manga form in 1956, became a live action series in (I believe) 1960.