Don’t think we need much of an intro this week. Last week we looked at the worst. This week we’re looking at the best. These are the films that give me hope that
one day we can see a proper Live Action Mobile Suit Gundam film, so long as it’s
in the right hands. These are the Top 5
Favorite Live Action Anime/Manga Films Ive Seen.
#5-Oldboy
You know, for the longest time I never knew this was
based on a Manga. All I knew about
Oldboy when it was released was that it was a movie beyond compare and beyond
belief. And man were they right. This wasn’t just a simple revenge flick, this
was something else entirely. The amount
of psychological drama at work was incredible.
That hallway sequence is the kind of movie making magic that’s no doubt
inspired every Hallway fight in the MCU Netflix universe. And the twist ending is the stuff Shamylan
wishes he was still capable of.
Seriously, the end of Oldboy will mess you right up and is one of the
reasons it’s still held in such high regard today.
#4-Pacific Rim
No this is not based on any preexisting Anime title. It’s based on multiple ones. Pacific Rim is Guillermo del Toro’s love
letter to the Giant Robot Anime Genre and sees inspiration drawn from Godzilla,
Neon Genesis Evangelion, The Big O, Voltron and probably dozens of other
titles. And it shows. The level of detail put into each Jaegar, how
each part moves, how big theyre built, how theyre piloted, there’s so much care
put into every visual shot of this film.
Granted the story isn’t the greatest but the Jaeger v Kaiju battles more
than make up for it. Honestly I don’t think
the sequel looks like it could live up to the groundbreaking visual brilliance Del
Toro brought to the screen. Really, it’s
an underrated classic.
#3-Space
Battleship Yamato
I never saw Star Blazers when I was younger and by the
time I knew of its existence I was very much a more or less Robotech/Macross
fan. Still, the original pioneer of scifi
space battle combat is a title I hope to see someday and this movie helps fuel
that dream. Yes, it bears a heavy visual
resemblance to the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series but that doesn’t change the
overall feel of the film. Yamato’s story
and characters feel like they were plucked right from the original Anime. The character drama is well done, the
costumes are very flashy and very 70’s scifi, everyone looks like they belong
(particularly Captain Okita). The ending
might have a ton of issues but everything up til that point is classic Anime gold
brought to life nicely.
#2-Death Note and
Death Note 2: The Last Name
For a long, long time, this two part adaptation was my
gold standard of Live Action Anime. I
literally spent an entire summer watching one or both films at least once a
week. By then I had seen the Anime all
the way through once and can easily say that both Live Action Films do
somethings I wish they had done in the Anime, even in regards to that legendary
ending. Tatsuya Fujiwara and Kenichi
Matsuyama are perfect as Light Yagami and L and everytime theyre on screen (especially
together) the film shines. Ryuk looks
amazing and seeing his visual still made me want to check the movies out in the
first place. While both films equal to a
little over a 4 hour feature, the pacing will make you forget all about that,
especially with the longer Death Note 2.
While I haven’t had a chance to check out the “forbidden sequel” that is
Death Note: Light Up the New World, as much as I want to see it, I doubt it
holds a candle to the brilliant masterpeices that are Death Note and Death Note
2: The Last Name.
#1-Rurouni Kenshin
Otakon 2013. I sat
in a viewing hall packed to capacity. I sat alongside a new friend who told me
her anticipation for this film was on par with The Avengers…and she was
right. Rurouni Kenshin looks and feels
every bit like its Manga and Anime inspirations. The set design alone deserves props for transporting
us to a mid 1800’s Japan and making it look so damn real. The characters act every bit like the ones we
know, especially Kenshin and Sanosuke.
And the action, if you haven’t heard how good it is, then believe me,
they hype is real. The sword battles
make Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon look like a fight amongst five year olds
and they would continue to be the one shinning constant through the other two
films as well. I remember cheering
literally every few minutes with everyone else seeing this legend come to
life. Even though I hadn’t read or
watched RuroKen in ages, it was all coming back to me watching a movie that
could have been a botched project and it still remains a movie experience I would
never forget.
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