Lately I’ve been hearing rumors of Hollywood adapting Akira into a movie of sorts. While I haven’t exactly watched Akira myself, I know enough about it to understand that Akira is largely about/symbolic of Japan struggling to find an identity post-World War II, and features the start of the body horror genre, which, in Akira, was meant to mirror those who suffered from the effects of radiation after the United States deployed nuclear weapons on Japan. Am I the only one who feels that the United States making any sort of adaptation on Akira is a bit terrible?
All true, but you missed a few other reasons. American live-action interpretations of anime have had results ranging from terrible, all the way down to Dragon Ball Evolution. And honestly, even the anime film adaptation of Akira really wasn't a good idea; the original manga is much too long and complex, and the film, while it looks very pretty, is a narrative mess. – LangsEnd9 years ago
I certainly would agree. American adaptions of anime tend to be disrespectful of the source material. Hollywood suits seem to be under the impression that American audience aren't interested or capable of understanding other cultures. Besides Josh Trank's "Chronicle" is sort of the American "Akira" already. – Cagney9 years ago
It would definitely be a terrible idea just because you know they'd probably whitewash the entire cast. – Kayla Novak9 years ago
Hollywood has a history of not only fundamentally changing the original idea behind the movie but, as Kayla already stated, whitewashing the entire cast. I'm still highly pissed about the remake of Old Boy which I realize is a Korean film, not Japanese. – nighteyes9 years ago
Maybe you should focus on WHY it would be near impossible to adapt the source material correctly than to just say an American adaption will be a bad idea. – RGM9 years ago
I think you should bring up the upcoming Ghost in the Shell movie, and how that's not as egregious because Ghost in the Shell isn't as closely connected to Japanese history and culture like Akira is. We don't lose much whitewashing Motoko Kusanagi, but we do lose a lot by white-washing Tetsuo. – MaxEngel9 years ago