Anime that should become live-action series (and anime that shouldn’t)
By Diana Nosa
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
In 2017, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure received a live-action adaptation. Unsurprisingly, the film, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable – Chapter 1, received split reviews. One long-time fan said the film was “fairly approachable” for a live-action adaptation and called it “faithful to the source material.” But those not familiar with the anime or the manga found the movie hard to follow or “boring”.
Anyone who knows Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure knows that it’s far from boring. There is never a single moment where this series doesn’t leave fans foaming at the mouth. The unique styling of characters and the legendary entrances of some of the best-written villains to ever exist exhilarate audiences. It’s impossible to call this show a snooze fest!
If a live-action film failed to capture the marvel that is Hirohiko Araki’s classic, then it’s safe to assume a series wouldn’t be able to do it either.
The Promised Neverland
When the first season of The Promised Neverland was released in January 2019, it electrified the anime community. Seldom had fans seen this kind of dark fantasy with kids at the center of it. Due to high interest, the anime received a second season that would further follow the adventures of Emma, Ray and Norman. Unfortunately, this is where the anime dropped the ball.
Aside from its incredibly poor pacing, the second season chose to compact the entirety of The Promised Neverland‘s elaborate story into 11 episodes rather than space out the remaining chapters in multiple seasons. This left an incredibly bad taste in the the mouths of fans.
If a live-action series were to stay true to the source material, there is a chance the anime’s reputation could be restored. However, knowing how poorly the 2020 live-action film did, it might be too late to undo the harm done.
