In one of my previous posts, I listed most of the Japanese live action movies I’ve seen. (There are some more which I got to see after that post.) This year, there are a lot of them, too. Just in this list alone, there are already 17 titles and that’s not even complete!
The ever-growing list of adaptations
Hirose Suzu and Yamazaki Kento in Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (2016)
Many of the drama series and movies shown in Japan are live action adaptations. Their original sources are manga/anime or novels. They are the easiest to search for in the web when you’re an international fan as they are the ones who have established fan base. As unless a drama/movie is from a well-known director and/or writer or unless the actors casted on it are popular, it’ll be either difficult or impossible to see them even on the web. There are also only a few shows picked up by fan subbers, though we can’t really blame them because they also have their own lives to live.
Matsuda Ryuhei and Miyazaki Aoi in Fune wo Amu (2013)
Anyway, considering how they try to fit a complete (or not) story in 1-and-a-half to 2-hour movie, not a lot of them are easily likeable. I still find myself waiting for the opportunity to watch them, though. I can’t help but compare the adaptation from its original source, but I still consider the adaptation a different show to enjoy, especially if it changes quite a lot.
Oh, and I have an issue with the fact that Yamazaki Kento stars in a lot of these recent adaptations. Especially the shoujo ones. Not that I hate him or anything, but I’d prefer it if some of the lead roles are given to other promising or talented actors, too. Though I guess that’s better than them given to those with dead-fish eyes acting.
Nonetheless, I still find the increasing number of live action films based on popular manga series a bit too much that I wish there are more movies based on novels or original sources. Or at least more of the latter which gain more international attention. Since I’ve seen a lot of the anime or manga series they adapt, I want to see something completely new with the medium. I guess I’m just so used with how it works in our country. From where I live, almost all of the movies have scripts specifically done for it. There are only few adaptations of books.
Ayano Go in The Snow White Murder Case (2014)
One of the Japanese voices
Recently, I came across this Kimi no Na wa. parody video which I already saw before. It features Kamiki Ryunosuke and Hirose Suzu. I decided to watch it again since the first time I saw it, I haven’t seen the movie yet. I scrolled down and saw the top comment and it’s just so amusing. I’m amazed that I understood it because I happen to know the kanji characters in it.
The comment is this one:
ten kit: “For a moment, I thought, ‘Another live action show? Stop screwing with me!’ But I’m glad that it turns out it isn’t.”
ten kit used ふざけんな (fuzakenna) which is actually a vulgar word (I just don’t want to use it so I toned it down), so it makes me think that s/he’s really had enough of live actions. It’s an interesting find for me because I know some people who are overwhelmed by the amount of live action shows (mostly movies) nowadays. It’s interesting how there seems to be a lot of Japanese people who feels the same because surely, most of those 1870 people who gave a thumbs up must be Japanese, right? I’m aware that I can’t conclude with this, though, because that’s just a small fraction of their population and it doesn’t really say much about the feelings of the majority. If anything, I actually guess that many people receive them well, so there’s a influx of more live actions.
Segue: Somewhere down the page, there’s also a thread where people are talking about how if there’s going to be a live action, they’d like Ryu and Kamishiraishi acting Taki’s and Mitsuha’s roles. I think a live action for it is feasible if it were not for the comet thingy. Then again, there’s going to be a Fullmetal Alchemist live action, so what’s a little CGI for a comet?
In any case, even if I rant or something here, nothing will stop the Japanese industry from producing them. After all, their target audience are the Japanese and as long as the people support them, they won’t stop. When it all comes to it, I can always check out the original sources if I want. And I should also be grateful that they at least release Blu-ray DVDs which can be bought internationally (though as far as I know, not all of them are) so fans outside their country can have watch with those, too.
Treasure Box 