In a poll conducted on Yahoo! Japan, a thousand people of all genders and ages were asked which manga series they wanted to see turned into a Hollywood live-action adaptation. The list was dominated by popular shonen titles such as My Hero Academia (which is already getting a live-action adaptation), Crunchyroll’s latest Anime of the Year Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan (which has already received a live-action adaptation in Japan and has been announced for Hollywood as well), and other popular titles. All of these titles received less than 100 votes each though. So, what title could have beaten out so many manga heavyweights like these? Titles that have sold millions upon millions of copies all around the world? The answer is simple: None.
That’s right; in this poll, Japanese fans weighed in and decided that they don’t want any stinking Hollywood live-action adaptations. And honestly, after Dragon Ball Evolution and Speed Racer (I don’t care what you say, Speed Racer was terrible, don’t @ me) can anyone blame them?
There’s always hope that someday we’ll get a truly great Hollywood adaptation, like when Pacific Rim proved that an anime-style movie can be good and successful at the same time. Plus, with so many projects in various stages of production (including the highly anticipated Cowboy Bebop Netflix joint), at some point, you have to believe that they’re going to get it right.
Then again, there are also plenty of examples from cinema history of Japan not getting their live-action adaptations quite right, like the jointly produced Fist of the North Star and Guyver movies. Maybe they’re saying “none” because they already know just how hard it is to accomplish and they’re trying to save Hollywood from grief.
Source: Yahoo! Japan, Kotaku
