Summary
- Netflix’s early live-action anime adaptations were subpar, negatively impacting their reputation.
- Death Note and Cowboy Bebop’s live-action failures debunked the popular belief that certain anime would be easier to adapt.
- One Piece’s successful live-action adaptation proved that fantastical anime can be successfully brought to the live-action medium.
Of all the beliefs and assumptions that exist around live-action anime adaptations, one has been proven wrong by Netflix’s best and worst live-action anime remakes. When it comes to Netflix’s long history of traversing anime to the live-action medium, the streaming giant does not have a good reputation. Despite having the budget to execute anime in the live-action medium, the streaming service consistently failed to please audiences with its subpar adaptations.
These early years of anime live-action adaptations negatively impacted Netflix’s reputation, forcing viewers to lose all hope. However, with some of its recent adaptations, the streaming giant has finally started rectifying its early mistakes. This process of rectification has not only highlighted how anime can be traversed to the live-action medium but has also proven a popular fan belief wrong.
Death Note’s Realism Seemed Easy To Translate To Live-Action (It Didn’t)
Death Note is often touted as a gateway anime for new anime viewers because of the universal aspects of its themes surrounding morality. Even from a storytelling standpoint, Death Note primarily unfolds as a simple game of cat and mouse between an evil genius named Light Yagami and a brilliant young sleuth named L. Owing to the simplicity of its storyline and the lack of extreme supernatural elements in its narrative, Death Note seemed like the perfect anime for a live-action adaptation. However, Death Note‘s live-action failure proved that translating it to the live-action medium may not be as easy as it seemed.
Shinichiro Watanabe’s anime, like Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop, also had a similar reputation because they adopted storytelling devices from Western pop culture to appeal to international audiences. Compared to typical shounen anime, even their comical aspects had the potential to resonate with wider audiences. Unfortunately, Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop also established that not all anime that seem good fits for the live-action medium will eventually succeed. Although many factors may have contributed to Death Note and Cowboy Bebop‘s live-action failure, their performance compared to One Piece confirms that popular fan beliefs surrounding them were wrong.
The live-action remakes of One Piece, Cowboy Bebop, and Death Note are available on Netflix for streaming.
One Piece’s Fantastical World Seemed Impossible To Work In Live-Action (Yet It Did)
Since One Piece is among the Big 5 shounen, Netflix’s decision to bring its live-action version to the small screen was initially not received too well. The terrible 2009 live-action adaptation of another Big 5 shounen, Dragon Ball Z, left audiences skeptical about how One Piece would eventually turn out. However, even though One Piece‘s fantastical world almost seemed impossible to work in live-action, its Netflix adaptation proved that the common belief around live-action anime adaptations was always wrong. Whether One Piece will pave the way for other fantasy shounen anime live-action adaptations is yet to be seen, but its success proves that Netflix does not have to play it safe by only focusing on anime that are seemingly easier to execute in the live-action medium.
