So Ghost in the Shell is being made into a live action film and Attack on Titan is already there. We’ve had Death Note for a while, and, for all the soap opera effect, it’s pretty cool. I think I sense a trend coming! At least I hope so. Because there are some pretty amazing anime out there which would make for brilliant live action films.
1: Death Billiards
Death Billiards is one of the most brilliant and original concepts I have ever seen in an anime. Hell, it’s one of the best original concepts I have seen in anything. The short form is this: a girl is assigned work in what is essentially the underworld, where humans are vetted for goodness. Two random deceased humans are brainwiped before being put on trial together to determine who goes on to be reborn and who is sent to the endless darkness of the void. The tests appear simple on the surface, but combined with each person’s history and subtle twists in every game, the people crumble. The decision as to who should be returned to existence and who should be erased from reality is not always clear cut, not always nice and in many ways this afterlife is a reflection of life itself.
2: Case Closed
Case Closed is the most adorable concept to involve blood, guts and hideous crime. An amateur detective is injected with a serum that turns him into a child, retaining his adult memories and capacities. As he works to discover who drugged him and locate a cure, he also solves crimes… in his pre-pubescent form. A friend, a man scientist who understands the situation, helps him maintain his adult identity whilst creating a new identity for him in his young form. And as he progresses through increasingly complex crimes with brilliant inductive abilities, the boy narrowly avoids developing too much of a name for himself.
3: One Piece
One Piece is an all round almost-wholesome adventure for children and adults alike. Luffy wants to become the Pirate King, sole ruler of the seas and most free man in the world. To do so he gathers a rag-tag team of friends to crew his ship, including an anthropomorphic reindeer, a cyborg and a skeleton. In a world where fruits can give you supernatural powers, where everything is unpredictable and where nothing is guaranteed, making progress towards the island of Raftel is a tough trip.
4: Cowboy Bebop
Sort of a cheat here, because the original Cowboy Bebop TV series was actually filmed in traditional Hollywood live action style. Seriously, put it on. It’s made for live action. But it is also a brilliant, stunning anime. From the lovable characters, the perfect balance of comedy, action and drama, Cowboy Bebop in live action could become a high caliber space opera.
5: Black Lagoon
One of the best recent animes, in my humble opinion. Black Lagoon follows the life of a simple businessman when he is used as a disposable pawn in a black market deal. With nowhere to return to, he is forced to integrate into a community of bounty hunters, thieves, mobsters and pirates in order to survive. A delicate balance between East Asian soap operas, Bollywood over the top live action filming and traditional anime characters, with a curious and deep international cast, Black Lagoon would surely be a hit on the big screen.