Anime has grown in popularity over the years, from the time of just having a niche audience to today, where big corporations are involved in creating and distributing anime and manga. With so many parties getting involved, it would also make sense that Hollywood would also become a piece of that puzzle. Interest in anime is at an all-time high, as multiple parties are interested in adapting it into live-action in an attempt to cash in on what could be the next big trend in Hollywood. With the amount of money that other Japanese anime films have brought in, it is easy to see why Hollywood has taken such a strong interest in anime.
Update August 22, 2023: In honor of the upcoming release of One Piece, this list has been updated with even more great animes that would make amazing live-action adaptations.
Anime fans have tended to be weary of these adaptations, as films like Dragonball Evolution or Death Note were not widely liked. Ones that did receive positive attention, like Speed Racer, bombed at the box office. Yet the tide is starting to shift, as seen in the James Cameron film Alita: Battle Angel, which managed to make over $400 million worldwide. Netflix is betting big on a live-action remake of One Piece, and more live-action anime is on the way. For this reason, it is important to figure out which anime would make the best live-action fare. Here's our list of anime we think would make great live-action Hollywood films.
13 Paranoia Agent
Created by Satoshi Kon, Paranoia Agent is a mind-bending mystery thriller that revolves around Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa, two detectives assigned to a bizarre case about strange occurrences in Musashino City. Apparently, several residents are being attacked by an assailant named Shounen Bat, or Lil’ Slugger. He goes around on his rollerblades, swinging his golden, bent baseball bat at his victims, and spreads terror among the rest.
Kon’s greatest achievement with the anime is how he blends different genres and blurs the line between the normal and the paranormal. Hollywood could totally benefit from the same visual style and create something astonishing. Using the production tools we have today, the story could tackle subjects like how social media is spreading a shared psychosis among users and how unnerving that is. Undoubtedly, a recipe for a box office smash.
12 Psycho-Pass
22nd-century Japan looks nothing like the present. Working under the Sibyl System, which ensures a person’s integrity and level of risk they may pose by examining their mental state and psychology, the citizens are constantly monitored. Psycho-Pass is a sci-fi police thriller that reimagines a society through the lens of its protagonist, Akane Tsunemori, a young policeman who is determined to be honest and just. When a criminal mastermind named Shinya Kougami locates a glitch in the Sibyl System, Tsunemori begins to question everything she stands for in life.
The concept lends itself perfectly to a live-action Hollywood film because the industry has produced incredible futuristic worlds with detailed dystopian settings. With stunning visual effects and a full-realized cast, the resort could look something like Blade Runner 2049, and we all know how well that turned out.
11 Your Lie in April
Anime isn’t all about action and adventure. The art has graced our small screens with adorable, sometimes gut-wrenching slice-of-life stories as well. Your Lie in April is a deeply moving shōjo anime that follows piano prodigy Kousei Arima, who has spent most part of his life perfecting his skills and winning every competition he participates in.
However, a personal tragedy has left him introverted and silenced, and he now lives as a normal junior high school student. Enter a free-spirited and lively violinist Kaori Miyazono, who urges Kousei to become her accompanist. Eventually, Kaori teaches Kousei to live again, rediscover his musical genius, and open up his heart. Hollywood could translate this heartwarming tale of love quite brilliantly. The characters from the source material are already rich. Paired with classical performances, a live-action film would work wonders.
10 Hellsing Ultimate
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Manga Entertainment
Set in a secret life-or-death war between vampires and humans, this over-the-top action thriller has a devoted fan base that is spread across the globe. In Hellsing Ultimate, we have two sides. On one hand, there are evil, undead creatures who plague the city, terrorizing the people at night. And on the other, there’s Hellsing, a British-sponsored secret organization determined to keep the vampiric activities at bay and destroy everything that hinders peace. However, Hellsing has an advantage – the vampire Alucard, who works as the exterminator for the organization and battles against Hellspawn.
The anime’s stylish violence and dark supernatural elements would give Hollywood’s current setting an edge. It would redefine the genre and become a guaranteed blockbuster. Using A-list movie stars and fantastic gore effects, a Hellsing adaptation would satisfy both fans of the anime and a fresh audience.
9 Baccano!
We’ve already had an honest and decent adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist, so why stop there? Baccano! is an incredibly amazing anime that is set during the Prohibition era. Occasionally jumping between multiple storylines, it follows Flying Pussyfoot’s unrelenting journey on a transcontinental train that proves to be fatal for many. Somewhere else in New York, there is a scientist and his apprentice looking for an immortality elixir. The criminal underworld is waging its own war, while alchemist around the world are making new discoveries.
Baccano!’s English dub has already helped introduce this madcap series to a wider audience. When turned into a live-action film, it would only become more colorful, humorous, and exhilarating. With multiple stories centered around mafias, immortals, and alchemists, the film could prove that crime can also be fun to witness.
8 Yasuke
The story of Yasuke is made for a live-action adaptation as it tells the true story of a Black samurai from Africa. A man who started as a slave eventually became a well-regarded warrior under Nobunaga. This series, per HITC, was originally set to be a live-action film before it was turned into an anime for Netflix. The series was not highly well regarded by anime fans, however, with many fans criticizing the supernatural elements not being well intertwined with the story being told. With a series such as this not being as highly acclaimed, a live-action feature has the potential to strengthen the brand and go into new creative directions that could be more faithful to the essence of what Yasuke is meant to be.
7 Vinland Saga
Another anime based on a true story, Vinland Saga, tells the story of the Vikings in the 11th Century, with its main character being Thorfinn and Askelad. The series is loosely based on the true events of these characters, and a live-action movie could take the story in very new directions while remaining true to the characters that the anime managed to craft. Vinland Saga is also a grounded enough story that even adapting the anime faithfully wouldn't be too complicated of a task. Considering Hollywood's history of movies about Vikings, The Northman being its latest success, Vinland Saga would fit right in.
6 Black Lagoon
One of the strongest animes to ever be made is Black Lagoon. The series is a crime thriller filled with blood and action and has always felt like it has had an American influence with how the characters all interacted with each other throughout the series. The series is very crass and loud, with lots of guns being used throughout the series. It is easy to see how this show can make for a great Hollywood blockbuster.
5 Berserk
Berserk is an iconic manga series that has never had the best track record when it comes to great anime adaptations. The strongest adaptation is the 1997 Berserk series, which is well-loved for its beautiful but somber score that many people have gone back to over and over. Beyond this, however, no other Berserk anime adaptation has been able to live up to the legacy left behind by the manga.
This means that Berserk would be prime material for an epic fantasy story done in a live-action setting. The world of Berserk is so vast that an adaptation on the big screen would only get Berserk in the eyes of more viewers while also giving fans of the franchise another chance of getting a perfect adaptation.
4 Trigun
Another series that has been well-received by most anime fans is a sci-fi Western in the same vein as Cowboy Bebop: Trigun. This would be one of the series that probably would have been a shoo-in if Netflix's Cowboy Bebop was better-received than it had been. Instead, that series was criticized for being overly campy and having an overly complicated plot that wasn't accurate to the original anime. That being said, a live-action adaptation of Trigun could still work if given the right creators and a strong budget.
3 Speed Grapher
The story of Speed Grapher isn't as well known and, as a result, would have a much easier time getting an adaptation that the majority of audiences could accept. Many anime series have a strong audience that will be very critical of any live-action adaptation. However, a series such as Speed Grapher doesn't exactly have that same level of cache as most.
Speed Grapher tells the story of a young photographer who, while investigating a death in a club, meets a girl who gives him a special superpower that allows him to kill anyone he takes a picture of. Speed Grapher is a dark, sophisticated world filled with depressing themes that could make for an interesting live-action film.
2 Stein's Gate
The strange time-traveling show Stein's Gate would make for a really interesting Back-to-the-Future-esque film with its weird and strange concept around a microwave. This beloved anime series has a lot of potential to be a lot of fun if made into a live-action film. It is also a film that would be strange enough that it could get people who enjoy more independent fair into the story if given the right amount of time and would have a strong creative direction to go along with the story.
1 Gundam
After the success of Ready Player One, this became an immediate possibility. The Steven Spielberg film gave us the first glimpse of what a live-action Gundam had the potential to be. Gundam is an amazing franchise with multiple series under its belt, with different characters in each, meaning a live-action Gundam movie has the potential for plenty of sequels.
With Spielberg proving that these giant mechs could be made into real, tangible machines, it just gives more proof to why Gundam would be a great source for an adaptation. Netflix was developing a live-action film in 2021, but no word on the project has been made. This seems like a project that will happen eventually, as it is too good to pass up.