Late last week, the first official promo image for next
years live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell began circulating the
net. A lot has already been said about
the casting of Scarlet Johannson as Major Motoko Kusinagi, not all of it
pretty. Personally, it’s a role ScarJo
can play in her sleep and play it well.
However, when it comes to Hollywood adapting Anime, i’m skeptical. In the past, the US has tried it’s hand at
bringing Anime to life and usually fails horribly. Sometimes it’s a matter of casting (White
actors in lew of Asian based characters), material (trying to cram 26-52
episodes of material into a 2 hour flick) or choice of director (while not
technically Anime, the Avatar the Last Airbender movie was doomed to fail the
moment we saw Shamylan’s name attached)…or even remotely thinking Dragon Ball
Evoluton was ever a good idea. Could
Ghost in the Shell break this trend? I
honestly don’t know. I am willing to
share my thoughts on how they could improve and maybe earn some points with the
Anime community again.
#5-Don’t be afraid to go all out with the rating
Sometimes dumbing down the violence and content can be a
pretty big misstep. There is the need to
cater most movies to all audiences. But
that’s been tried before: The Expendables 3 sucked for it’s lack of hard
violence and God only knows what might happen with Suicide Squad which deserves
the R Rating. Most Anime that are being
chosen for adaptation are hyper violent and sexualized, like Ghost in the
Shell. Holding back on the rating just
to get the 12 year old snuck in by his irresponsible parents, does no favors
for anyone, especially if violence and action is what the Anime is best known
for. If Berserk or Ninja Scroll were
getting the Hollywood treatment, their productions should not hold back and go
all out on the violence, sex and gore factor.
It’ll probably freak a lot of people out but the fans will know they
were being thought of.
#4-Don’t be afraid to fill out the cast with awesome
Asian actors
One of the biggest criticisms of Scarlet Johannson’s
casting as Motoko is the idea of casting a white actress in a generally seen
Asian role as being a mortal sin. While
im not opposed to a big name being used to advertise a movie, Hollywood should
not be afraid of bringing in talent from Japan to bolster the production of an
Anime based live action flick. Rinko
Kikuchi proved she could more than hold her own alongside Charlie Hunham and
Idris Elba in Pacific Rim. Tatsuya
Fujiwara from Death Note and Battle Royale popping up in a casting will
definitely get some buzz going, especially if he’s playing the right character. Who knows, these actors or actresses may be
bigger fans of the Anime than anyone in the crew and their guidance could be
the most valuable aspect of getting the project right.
#3-Take cues from Japan
Death Note, Rurouni Kenshin, Space Battleship
Yamato. What do all of these titles have
in common? They are all, in my opinion,
some of the very best examples of Anime come to life. Each one is incredibly faithful to the source
material while adding their own little spins to make them their own entities. The characters are true to form, the story
runs at a smooth pace, the visuals are straight out of the Anime or Manga. This kind of attention to detail is a recipie
for win and Hollywood should be all over this aspect of the production. It shows authenticity and proves Hollywood
gives a damn about pleasing the fans while trying to make a good looking film
in the process.
#2-Don’t try to cram so much into one movie
Most series that are ripe for the adaptation process tend
to range between 13 and 52 episodes long.
That’s a lot to jam into a 2-2.5 hour flick. Hell even most Anime compilation films run
into this problem. Important character
development is brushed aside and events are rushed for the sake of getting to
the finale. As much as I liked Pacific
Rim, I have to admit, it felt like we got the first three episodes of an Anime
before jumping right to episode 25 and 26.
Single films may not be the best approach. Have faith that enough of a tale can be told
in one movie before planning sequels to smoothly continue the overall arc. There are a lot of fun single stories that
could be the basis for a film, like Gundam 0079’s Operation Odessa. Throw too much in, and you run the risk of a
jumbled mess that not even the fans could get behind.
#1-The fans are the greatest weapon
One of Hollywood’s most recent success stories is
Deadpool. The movie made a huge amount
of money but really, it’s the praise from the fans that was the real
reward. Regardless of box office returns
(though it garuntees a sequel), the fact that Ryan Reynolds and the filmmakers
were able to stay so faithful to the character and never compromise his quirks
for the sake of safety says a lot.
Hollywood could apply the same care to an Anime adaptation. If the fans enjoy it and say it’s the
greatest US take on a franchise they’ve ever seen, that is the true reward for
all the hard work. The director
shouldn’t be worried about
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