T5W#174-Top 5 Anime Netflix Maybe Shouldn’t Try To Adapt

Netflix has certainly become an unexpected underdog in the US Anime market hasn’t it.  Not only did it manage to get its hands on a couple of popular new titles like Kakegurui, Little Witch Academia and Fate/Extra: Last Encore, it has also become the debut platform for hotly anticipated live action Anime adaptations like Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach and illang: The Wolf Bridage, all within the last year.  Netflix is bold for sure, so bold its also secured the streaming right for the long dormant Anime legend: Neon Genesis Evangelion.  That’s exciting news…but then came the news that Netflix is working on adapting Cowboy Bebop into a live action TV Series.  This announcement could not be more the opposite of the Evangelion one.  Not only is Cowboy Bebop a hugely beloved title, but both hardcore Anime fans and casual scifi buff, but Netflix once tried a live action adaptation of another popular Anime…the travesty that was 2017’s Death Note.  There’s cause for concern and already it seems likely that Netflix will be trying to take a stab at other popular titles that the community will rally against instantly.  NOW, Netflix could learn from its mistakes and pull off a win, that is very possible.  For the time being though, here are my choices for Top 5 Anime Netflix Maybe Shouldn’t Try To Adapt.  Im excluding titles that have already been greenlit by other American studios for the live action treatment such as Attack On Titan, My Hero Academia, Sword Art Online and Mobile Suit Gundam

 

#5-Fate/Stay Night

Earlier this summer, I reviewed Fate/Zero, the prequel to Fate/Stay Night and called it the Game of Thrones of Anime.  I still stand by that.  Fate/Zero and all of the other subsequent Fate series have such a rich lore from hundreds of mythologies cobbled together with a cast that’s multilayerd, fascinating and incredibly entertaining.  HOWEVER, just because each studio is trying to find their “Game of Thrones” goldmine doesn’t mean its always going to work.  Like I said, Fate/Stay Night has a lot in it and sometimes even it has a hard time keeping track of all the rules, cast of hundreds and continuous twists and turns.  I personally think Netflix already has a popular Game of Thrones series in Stranger Things.  No need to poke the hornets nest that is the Fate/Stay community…if you thought the Death Note backlash was bad you aint seen nothing yet.

 

#4-One Punch Man

The misadventures of Saitama, the man who can end most fights in a single punch, is a breath of fresh air for the superhero genre in general.  While Marvel has struck gold with the MCU, their comics as well as those of DC Comics have lost a lot of the heart that made them so great in the first place, instead opting to focus on depressing the crap out of their worlds and their readers as a result (but much of this is a discussion for another time).  With One Punch Man finally returning for a second season next year, I wonder if Netflix would see some potential in a more humoruous (if not honest take) on the life of an all powerful superhero, kind of like The Tick sans the main characters ego.  This would be ill advised in my eyes as the tone of One Punch Man and Saitama’s signature laidbackness is kind of hard to replicate if youre coming at it with eyes that are not the original creators.  Netflix’s efforts would be better spent giving us a Superman who can smile on screen again (oh wait Supergirl already did that in the Arrowverse…ok ill stop cause this is a whole other rant for another day).

 

#3-Sailor Moon

2019 is going to be a big year for the Sailor Moon franchise with the long awaited arrival of the 5th and final season of the original Anime, Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, for the first time in English on US shores.  There’s bound to be substantial buzz and I wonder if that will prompt Netflix to attempt a Power Rangers inspired series following 5 high school girls battling the forces of evil.  Japan already attempted a live action Sailor Moon TV series back in 2003 and I feel like there’s a reason why we hear more about the stage plays than that version.  Still I cant help but feel like Netflix would just try to give us Gossip Girl with occasional super powered antics.  The Sailor Moon Anime isn’t perfect but it is legend nonethtless and is alright staying put in Anime form.

 

#2-Little Witch Academia

Netflix currently has a hit with the popular young adult wizarding genre with Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.  And while I hope that series finds its fans and popularity (it comes from the same people who do Riverdale so that seem possible), I hope it doesn’t give Netflix the idea to try and make more of a buck on this fad.  That could mean they’d want to do a live action version of their popular Little Witch Academia title.  We’re not talking adapting a Harry Potter story here.  LWA is a series by Anime fans (Studio Trigger) for Anime fans and is chalk full of references and style that cant be replicated in live action.  Plus I feel it would be an excuse to darken an otherwise very heartfelt and inspiring story.  Keep the darkness to Sabrina and Archie and far away from Akko, Lotte and Susy.

 

#1-Summer Wars

2018 was the year cinema played home to films that explored what we think the internet and every single social media hub on the planet looks like from the inside.  This worked will in Ready Player One.  This worked well in Ralph Wrecks The Internet: Wreck It Ralph 2.  This has already worked just fine in Summer Wars and ergo, doesn’t need to be touched again.  Summer Wars is a deeply personal favorite movie of mine and is a work of magic I haven’t seen replicated often (except maybe by Your Name).  But if Netflix can ruin Death Note and Hollywood can butcher Dragon Ball Z and Ghost in the Shell (and possibly Your Name, that did get greenlit too), why would I trust they could do any better with this classic?