Anime That Deserve Live-Action Adaptations
11. Hellsing
A double bonus: not only is this series a perennial fan favorite, it's a melting pot of elements that seem destined to result in a kick-butt popcorn flick. Vampires. Guns. Nazis. Supernatural monsters of all stripes. And various combinations of all of the above, just to make things even more interesting. Blade and Priest hewed pretty close to the same territory, but Hellsing would unquestionably be its own animal next to them.More »
12. Mardock Scramble
Imagine La Femme Nikita as transmuted through one of William Gibson's cyberpunk novels. Actually Mardock Scramble was indeed based on a cyberpunk novel, by Japanese author Tow Ubukata, and this cycle of anime is a direct adaptation of that story. A prostitute is left for dead by one of her psychotic clients, and she's resurrected by a scientist who wants her to testify against the madman in court ... but the way she's been brought back to life soon threatens to allow her to also become a walking death machine. It's violent and visually lush, but loaded with a surprising amount of heart and soul as well, and its near-future urban setting is inherently adaptable to a live-action movie.More »
13. Outlaw Star
If they can send Cowboy Bebop to the big screen—or at least try to do that—what's stopping them from also doing the same for Bebop's stylish cousin series Outlaw Star? It's probably even easier to adapt in some respects, as there's only a few elements that require being slavishly faithful, and it sports a cast full of quirky, lively characters that hearken back to most every famous Western SF franchise out there, from Wars to Trek and even Firefly.More »
14. The Slayers
The elevator pitch for a live-action version of The Slayers would probably go something like this: "It's Lord of the Rings, but all the actual heroes were busy somewhere else and these are the people you'd really meet." Comedic fantasy on film has a checkered history, to put it mildly, but a Slayers film could be a nice balance between actual adventure and brawling, all-out humor. Suggested tagline: Epic fantasy. Epic adventure. Epic fail.More »
15. Soul Eater
Two words: Tim Burton. His visual style and directorial tropes suffuse this series to such a degree it's impossible not to think of it either as homage or as a dare for him to step into the director's chair. And even if he didn't, a live-action Soul Eater would be accessible to both fans and non-fans alike, thanks to the presence of at least as many Western elements as there are Japanese ones. And on top of that, there's no end of characters (e.g., Kid Death, Liz and Patty) likely to appeal to audiences no matter where they hail from.More »
16. Trigun
Another case of a show that might well adapt easily, in part because of its setting but mostly because of its characters. It's essentially a Western with some gratuitous SF touches, so the budget ought to be less crazy than most other anime-inspired projects. What would be really crucial here is, again, the casting: you'd need an actor for Vash who could switch between goofy and serious without falling down on either side.More »
17. Vampire Hunter D
Last, but hardly least. On-and-off efforts have been launched to bring Hideyuki Kikuchi's long-running light novel series to the big screen as live-action, but none of them have so much as generated a press release yet. That hasn't stopped two animated adaptations -- an '80s OVA and a spectacular feature film version directed by Yoshiaki (Ninja Scroll) Kawajiri -- from turning heads and popping eyes, but if anything seeing those makes the idea of a live-action D all the more beguiling. The fact it hasn't been made yet is nothing short of stupefying. Guillermo del Toro, call your office.More »
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