Hollywood announces new live action Akira films

At the end of the day, cyberpunk was originally spawned from Western comic books and 'hard boiled' film noir - basically, Akira was inspired by the likes of Blade Runner in the first place!

Which leads me onto another point...the manga includes a lot of stuff that was impossible to include in the movie, either due to running-time contraints or because it hadn't been physically published at the time of making the film; I'd welcome a more faithful adaptation to the manga to include those elements. Above all else I'm concerned about the original story, or at least its essence, being retained.

However:

does anyone know if Otomo is involved in the movie's production in any way? Even if he's listed as 'executive producer' or 'consultant' I'd be a little more comfortable with it.

Granted, the cityscapes of Akira could be *any* futuristic metropolis but there's some extra shock value from seeing Tokyo being laid waste after half a century of being the most anti-war country of them all! As an aside, Cloverfield was damned good; if the SFX can match that this movie is going to hold at least a little entertainment value.
 
I think it will be good but it won't be the same.

I think it would be a good idea to go see it and put the Manga & Anime to the back of your mind and enjoy it.

A bit like when you go see a re-make :lol:
 
Paul said:
Two words: One Piece.
Click to expand...

Here's another two: Totally different.

And I'm baffled you're apparently suggesting that something becoming less Japanese isn't a bad thing. You're an anime fan, right? There's a reason why you like 'anime' so much, and it has to do with the fact that it's from Japan; everything that seems to be unique about anime is great because it has been made in that different culture, after all, that's why you're here right now and not on Loony Toons UK News.
Click to expand...

Of course it isn't a bad thing. I enjoy Family Guy and South Park - but not because they're American; I enjoy them because they're entertaining. I watch South Park dubbed into Irish every night on TG4 and I still enjoy it, even though the American-ness has been diluted. It's the same thing with anime. As long as the concepts and imagery of Akira is kept, which it will be, then I see no problem with the shift in setting (besides, no one seems to have noticed anything uniquely Japanese about Akira either).

I suppose I'm just not a Japan purist - I don't think it's cardinal sin to watch anime dubbed, I don't think something has to be Japanese to be enjoyable or worthwhile, there's lots and lots and lots of stuff about anime and manga that I really dislike and I don't care when minute changes are made to base Japanese material. So sue me! :p
 
I'm not keen on remakes at all, but I would assume that Otomo has given his blessing to the changes.

Some of the changes seem logical, I mean we can't have a bunch of white actors running around Neo-Tokyo just wouldn't make much sense and it would be overtly racist.

There's a lot of anime remakes coming out now but I'm more interested in the Monster movie coming out, it's just got excellence written all over it hopefully Cronenberg will throw his weight behind it.
 
Would people possibly feel differently if it was a Japanese director with a Japanese cast? Is it the idea of it being an American film that is making people already turn their backs on it? Because from the anime/manga to film versions that I have seen that have been Asian,none have been that amazing.Infact the Prince of Tennis film was terrible.
 
TRASHBAT said:
Would people possibly feel differently if it was a Japanese director with a Japanese cast? Is it the idea of it being an American film that is making people already turn their backs on it? Because from the anime/manga to film versions that I have seen that have been Asian,none have been that amazing.Infact the Prince of Tennis film was terrible.
Click to expand...

If that were to happen I can honestly see those two Japanese actors who played Light and L in the Death Note movies playing Kaneda and Tetsuo.
 
Well the main thing that makes Akira so rewatchable for me is the beautiful, fluid animation and not so much the story or characters if I'm honest. The idea of a live action film doesn't really interest me much because of that.
 
TRASHBAT said:
Would people possibly feel differently if it was a Japanese director with a Japanese cast? Is it the idea of it being an American film that is making people already turn their backs on it? Because from the anime/manga to film versions that I have seen that have been Asian,none have been that amazing.Infact the Prince of Tennis film was terrible.
Click to expand...
Not any old Japanese film crew, no. If members of the animated movie's staff, especially Otomo, were involved then I probably would feel better. I'll keep my final judgement on hold until I've seen the Mushishi live-action but I think Otomo is capable of directing a live-action film. Plus the fact that any changes needed will be instigated by the original writer, which is bound to help.

an alternative approach would be to risk losing the 'spirit' of the original by changing A LOT of things, which could pay off by making something fresh and interesting. Maybe the change of location and staff could work in the movie's favour but I'll need some more convincing of that.

Sy makes a good point though - I didn't understand what was going on in the anime version but the vibrant depiction of the city and the animation is what makes it a classic for me.
 
thund3r said:
Paul said:
href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000138/">Leonardo DiCaprio</a> has signed on as <em>Kaneda</em>.
Click to expand...

Yep im not even going to bother..
Click to expand...

As much as i hate to write off a movie by its casting choice....yeah, couldn't they have gone for someone better? *sighs*

I'm surprised thats going to be two movies, i thought they would of been lazy and just do an american version of the anime movie. Adapting from the manga is a good sign and the location changes doesn't bother me that much just casting meh i supose it could be worse.
 
BlackWolf said:
As much as i hate to write off a movie by its casting choice....yeah, couldn't they have gone for someone better? *sighs*
Click to expand...
Are you saying he's a bad choice from acting ability, or from simple looks? Because he has nothing 'Kaneda' about him, but he has really proven himself as a actor in the last decade.
 
I think Leonardo DiCaprio is a fantastic actor, and choosing him as Kaneda makes so much sense, really.

Martin said:
Sy makes a good point though - I didn't understand what was going on in the anime version but the vibrant depiction of the city and the animation is what makes it a classic for me.
Click to expand...

Nah, I really liked the story and the characters - they're the most important things for me. Akira looks really dated today, anyway (even though it still looks amazing!).
 
kupoartist said:
BlackWolf said:
As much as i hate to write off a movie by its casting choice....yeah, couldn't they have gone for someone better? *sighs*
Click to expand...
Are you saying he's a bad choice from acting ability, or from simple looks? Because he has nothing 'Kaneda' about him, but he has really proven himself as a actor in the last decade.
Click to expand...

It is more of the appearance then anything else, i mean i'm not a big DiCaprio fan but he has done some good work recently. Though having thought about it more overnight, it may do the film some good if it has some big names attached. Just wish they could of found a middle ground between talent and actors that look like the parts they are to play.
 
CitizenGeek said:
Akira looks really dated today, anyway (even though it still looks amazing!).
Click to expand...
I hope you don't mean dated as in the animation because it's got the most amazingly fluid, detailed and even natural looking animation that i've seen in an anime.
 
Where did you lot hear Leonardo was acting in it.. Like, Source-wise. I've only heard its his film company that are producing it and that's the end of with DiCaprio's involvement. To be honest, I really haven't seen him in many films (Only Titanic and Romeo and Juliet come to mind) and even though he has that air of being a bit "OTT Hollywood" as some other actors have, Like Tom Cruise. He still seems to be a perfectly viable choice of Kaneda.

Sy said:
CitizenGeek said:
Akira looks really dated today, anyway (even though it still looks amazing!).
Click to expand...
I hope you don't mean dated as in the animation because it's got the most amazingly fluid, detailed and even natural looking animation that i've seen in an anime.
Click to expand...
I agree with Sy on this, The animation is the only thing that left me with the ability to sit in a seat for 90+ minutes. Its a real spectacle to look at. It has the most animation cells ever in a anime or something, It does show. The only thing I can think of when talking about the "looks" apart from the animation is the character designs, In which, I really don't think they are dated as such. Toryiama-esque in my opinion. Most anime from the 90's do have that certain "twang" in terms of character design though... I much rather the 80s swing of things.
 
Sy said:
CitizenGeek said:
Akira looks really dated today, anyway (even though it still looks amazing!).
Click to expand...
I hope you don't mean dated as in the animation because it's got the most amazingly fluid, detailed and even natural looking animation that i've seen in an anime.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have to say, Akira remains the pinnacle of Japanese animation, even in comparison with some of the best work produced by Miyazaki. It's one of those films that, with every re-watch, just gets better, especially those opening 20 minutes, pure cinematic joy! I wish I had been old enough to see it at the theater back when it was first released, the people watching it must have felt like they were seeing a revolution on screen.
 
That Man said:
Another anime/manga adapted film dumb downed for the dumb Americans or joy. Some times i'm surprised that they even know that there are other places out there apart from there 50 states an or yes Afghanistan, Iraq an Iran. I mean anything not involving any of those places they end up changing to be set there, anywhere else an i'm sure there tiny minds will go pop. It will be like finding out the world if round an not flat all over again for them.
Guess we shall see if they end up keeping anything from the manga at all? Can't say it looks to promising that they will though.
Click to expand...

I agree. This is proberly going to ruin Akira for me.
Carnt dumb americans come up with there own movie plot. :p
 
The real problem I have with a lot of Holywood stuff is not so much trying this kind of thing, but assuming a name is going to sell a movie. How many times have you seen something put out from Holywood with a big name that only barely resembles the original story. Although that said they are never going to please the real fans of anything if they don't included everything thay want to see. I am a fan of Ghost Rider so was not expecting great things of the film, but for me it stuck to the story well enough and included most of what I wanted to see. I don't think Transformers was a bad film, so things can be done. However I am just not sure if I will be able to take Akira seriously if they replace the bike with a chopper, as the bike is just as iconic as the characters.
 
Judging from every other Japanese story turned American Hollywood film (Transformers, Dragonball (which is clearly Americanised judging from the pictures), this will be exactly the same.

To be honest though, I'd rather have an Americanised version big-budget film, than not. Anything that has any slight hint of Japanese culture or even the name will bring awareness about the entire industry and what it's all about, and that has to be a good thing.
 
Back
Top