Anime Shows That Could Use The Live-Action Treatment

Anime, which originated in Japan, has been a staple of American popular culture for decades now. Japanese imports like "Speed Racer," "Voltron," and "Robotech" were popular in the 1970s and 1980s, despite being heavily re-edited and re-dubbed. In the 1990s, Toonami on Cartoon Network introduced American audiences to "Dragon Ball Z," "Sailor Moon," and more. Once a niche category, anime has become ubiquitous and mainstream. 

With anime's immense popularity in the U.S., there inevitably have been many Western adaptations, especially live-action ones. Unfortunately, Hollywood has had very few successes at live-action anime adaptations (such as the Wachowski sisters' vastly underrated "Speed Racer" film from 2008), with most being disappointing at best and a few being outright abysmal.

However, streaming services like Netflix have decided to try and turn anime properties into live-action shows instead of films. This includes the critically reviled "Cowboy Bebop" starring John Cho that came out last year, as well as their upcoming "One Piece" and "Avatar: The Last Airbender" adaptations. Even J.J Abrams is developing a "Speed Racer" show for Apple TV+.

Let's see which other anime series would most benefit from the live-action TV treatment (or, at the very least, would be the least damaged by the transition). 

"My Hero Academia" is a manga and anime set in a world where 80% of the population has superpowers (here called "Quirks"). However, despite that, very few people choose to become superheroes, instead deciding to work menial jobs for some reason. The greatest superhero in the world is the Superman-esque All-Might. The story focuses on Izuku Midoriya, a rare Quirk-less teen who nonetheless wants to be a superhero. He gets his chance when he serendipitously gains All-Might's powers. He then joins the prestigious superhero training school U.A. alongside other super-powered teens – like Froppy, who has the power of "frog," and his rival Bakugo, who has the power of "explosion."

While there's a live-action film adaptation already in the works, "My Hero Academia"—like "Dragon Ball Z"—would work best as a show. This is because it has a wide roster of cool, fun characters and awesome events that a feature film would need to strip down, delete, or change in a way that would make them potentially unrecognizable.

Live-action superhero TV shows aimed at teens—like "Smallville," "Titans," and the upcoming "Ms. Marvel"—have been pretty successful (with a few duds here and there), which suggests there's an audience for "My Hero Academia." Furthermore, the unique characters and world of "My Hero Academia" would help it stand out "plus ultra."

"Sailor Moon" was an anime series based on a manga of the same name that ran from 1992 to 1997. It was about a group of super-powered teen girls called Sailor Scouts who fought off monsters, aliens, and all manner of other evildoers. Each of the Sailors was named after a specific planet (and a moon), such as Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and, of course, the eponymous Sailor Moon.

While ostensibly an anime series aimed at young girls, "Sailor Moon" was nonetheless a fantastic and fun show, so that it could honestly be enjoyed by everyone, no matter their age or gender. The fights were cool, the characters were funny and relatable, and every episode taught valuable lessons about friendship.

To be clear, there was a live-action Japanese series called "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon" that aired from 2002 to 2004, as well as an attempt at an Americanized live-action/animated hybrid in the early '90s. However, with modern visual effects, as well as a depressing dearth of female-oriented action shows (despite a few efforts from Marvel and Disney), there is an opportunity to bring "Sailor Moon" back to a new audience. A reboot could also allow for more diverse casting. Being live-action would help showcase some interesting—and much needed—colorful, sparkly visuals that aren't seen in most action/superhero shows, even ones ostensibly aimed at a younger demographic.

Just look at what Netflix did to "Winx," of all things.

At first glance, "Mobile Suit Gundam," which premiered in Japan in 1979, seems to be just another mecha (or "big robot") anime, albeit a pioneer of the subgenre. However, "Mobile Suit Gundam"—which kickstarted the expansive "Gundam" universe, consisting of multiple series, movies, video games, etc.—remains the best of its kind.

Even though there's a lot of exciting robot-on-robot violence on the show, the story is grounded in compelling political intrigue playing out between nuanced characters. In the original "Mobile Suit Gundam" anime, for instance, there is no real clear good guy or bad guy among the competing factions, even though the show mostly focused on one side at first. Like in a real-life war, the line between good and bad is blurred by the brutal moral compromises made during the heat of battle, as well as the usually complicated circumstances that led to the fighting in the first place.

A "Gundam" series would work in live-action since robots and spaceships are generally easier to do in VFX than organic creatures (and less expensive). You'd also have a good backdrop of political intrigue and complex character dynamics to keep audiences—and talented actors—invested in the show, even when costly action scenes aren't happening on screen.

Also, come on, there's a giant mech with a glowing sword blowing stuff up in space. That's just awesome.

Satoshi Kon is one of the greatest anime directors in the modern era. He is responsible for many anime classics, such as the psychological thriller "Perfect Blue" (which was arguably the basis for Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan") and the wildly imaginative "Paprika" (which also arguably inspired Christopher Nolan's "Inception"). Kon's visual style is memorable and awe-inspiring.

This brings us to his anime show, "Paranoia Agent." "Paranoia Agent" is a mind-bending anthology series, similar to "The Twilight Zone" or "The Outer Limits," about different people encountering a mysterious red-capped boy nicknamed Lil' Slugger who hits them with a golden bat. This act changes their lives in drastic—and often unpredictable—ways.

There is a recurring protagonist who tries to investigate Lil' Slugger's attacks, but the show is much more focused on how the attack changes the victims' lives. The show goes into interesting psychological places exploring how different people respond to the assaults, with some even surprisingly benefiting from it.

As with Kon's other works, "Paranoia Agent" is visually distinct and emotionally evocative. It wouldn't take much to translate it to live-action. It's already arguably been done successfully before for the silver screen, as mentioned above. Also, more people need to watch "Paranoia Agent." If a live-action adaptation—even a lesser one—gets people to seek out the original, it might be worth it for that alone.

While the "Gundam" series is the original (and still arguably the best) mecha anime franchise out there, "Neon Genesis Evangelion" definitely gives it a run for its money. Not only does "Neon Genesis Evangelion" have great and exciting mech action sequences—some of the most exciting in the genre, in fact—but the characters and plot are also intriguing.

"Neon Genesis Evangelion" possibly surpasses "Gundam" and other mecha anime in the way it talks directly about depression and the psychological effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. The anime is still ostensibly an action show, but it challenges its viewers and complicates tropes the mecha anime genre usually takes for granted: child soldiers, constant warfare, mass destruction, civilian casualties, etc. It asks the audience to take the psychological effects this would actually have on these characters seriously. That's not to mention the show's symbolic religious imagery. The heroes fight monsters called "angels" that blast energy attacks in the shape of crucifixes. 

A live-action show could similarly focus on the characters and their mental and emotional issues. Being character- rather than action-driven would also cut down costs, but we'll still want to see mech vs. angel action rendered in cutting-edge CGI.