Ask John: Is Live Action Anime Adaptions the New Trend?

Question:
It seems like there’s a lot more live action anime adaptions than there used to be. I know Masion Ikkoku had a live action adaption in the 90s, but now it seems a lot of shows are having live action movies. Half the latest news announcements on AN are about new live action anime related things. Is it so they can reach a more adult audiance or something?

Answer:
The frequency of live action adaptations does seem to be increasing, but the increase may not be quite as drastic as first impressions suggest. I’m not highly familiar with vintage Japanese television and cinema, but I think that there are enough examples of Japanese produced adaptations of manga and anime during the 70s, 80s, and 90s to demonstrate that the number of adaptations seen recently isn’t exactly a new trend.

Just a few examples of older Japanese adaptations of manga and anime which I can name include the 1959 Tetsuwan Atom television series and 1962 feature film, the 1973 Kozure Okami TV series, the 1973 and 1977 Golgo 13 movies, the 1974 Lupin III: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy movie, the 1979 David no Hoshi movie, the 1986 Maison Ikkoku movie (as mentioned), the 1988 Tsuribaka Nishi first movie, the 1991 Video Girl Ai movie, the 1993 Silent Mobius feature, the 1995 Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo TV series, the 1996 Itazura na Kiss TV series, the 1997 Glass no Kamen and Psychometrer Eiji television series, the 1997 Cat’s Eye motion picture, and the 1999 GTO television series. I’m sure that there are many others that I’ve forgotten to mention, or which I’m not aware of.

International live action adaptations of manga and anime also have a long history, going back to at least the French/Japanese produced 1979 Rose of Versailles feature film. Additional international adaptations include the 1989 Chinese produced “Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins” movie, 1990 Chinese Crying Freeman film “Dragon From Russia,” the 1992 Chinese adaptation of Wicked City, and the 2001 Taiwanese television series “Meteor Garden,” based on Yoko Kamio’s Hana Yori Dango manga. American fans may recollect features such as the 1991 Guyver and 1995 Fist of the North Star movies.

So live action adaptations of manga and anime aren’t new, but their frequency may be increasing. I can’t discount the possibility that Americans merely perceive more Japanese live action adaptations of manga and anime because we now have more access to information about Japanese cinema. But there’s also a strong possibility that manga and anime are being taken more seriously as viable narrative fiction because the popularity and influence of manga and anime are steadily increasing in Japan, and contemporary Japanese adaptations of manga are now produced by film makers that grew up with manga, and are targeted at viewers that likewise grew up exposed to manga and anime.

The frequency of, at least, planned American adaptations of manga and anime are definitely on the rise this decade because American film producers have only recently become aware of the existence of manga and anime, and have only recently recognized the commercial potential of American feature remakes.