10 Worst Live-Action Anime Adaptations

The world of live-action anime adaptations is hitting something of a renaissance these days, as offerings like One Piece and Avatar: The Last Airbender have helped change the game. In the past, the term “live-action anime adaptation” was often thought of with disdain but those times have changed. Various live-action projects are currently in the works, including the likes of Naruto, Mobile Suit Gundam, One-Punch Man, and many more. When it comes to what the live-action anime adaptation world has to offer, there are more than a few terrible examples that helped the medium gain its original infamy.

1) Cowboy Bebop

Let’s start with one of the most obvious, and most infamous, recent examples of live-action anime adaptation series to go awry according to fans. 2021’s Cowboy Bebop premiered on Netflix with ten episodes, with many Bebop enthusiasts finding that the series starring the likes of John Cho, Daniella Pineda, and Mustafa Shakir simply wasn’t able to hit the same heights as the original anime. Perhaps, it was an impossible task for any live-action Cowboy Bebop to come close to the original, even with the series using “Tank” as its opening song but I personally appreciated the effort to do so. Never receiving a second season despite its cliffhanger ending, the Bebop remains a prime example of what can go wrong when it comes to adapting anime stories.

2) Death Note

Another Netflix offering, 2017’s Death Note failing still throws me for a loop at this point. On paper, the Adam Wingard directed project seemed as though it was bound to be a hit. On top of Wingard making a name for himself with the likes of You’re Next, The Guest, and Blair Witch, the live-action film had serious star power behind it. Atlanta’s Lakeith Stanfield playing L was inspired casting to say nothing of Willem Dafeo taking on the role of the Shinigami Ryuuk. Unfortunately, the story of the film is a muddled mess and is unable to capitalize on what made the source material work so well. Much like Cowboy Bebop, Death Note’s movie ends on a cliffhanger with no sequel in sight, though Netflix is returning to the property with a future live-action television show helmed by Stranger Things creators, The Duffer Brothers.

3) Attack on Titan

On paper, an Attack on Titan live-action project is simply begging to come to life. The bleak anime franchise will stand the test of time and remain a fan-favorite anime series for years to come. Unfortunately, the two-part live-action films released in 2015 were unable to capitalize on what made Hajime Isayama’s series work so well. To start, the CG used for the Titans never quite elicited the true terror of them and from a strictly curiosity standpoint, the new additions to the films that weren’t a part of the source material need to be seen to be believed. We have to imagine at some point, a Western live-action take will come down the pike but these two films are sure to be forgotten in the mix.

4) Ghost In The Shell

2017 was not a great year for live-action anime adaptations. Ghost In The Shell has become legendary in its inability to live up to the source material especially considering just how much time and money seemingly went into the film starring Scarlett Johansson. The film’s story and characterization were found lacking according to many anime fans, especially when it came to the big twist involving Major Kusanagi in the film’s final minutes. Despite this failure to launch, the Ghost In The Shell franchise is still going strong and has a new anime adaptation dropping from Science SARU next year. Speaking of Science SARU…

5) Devilman

Science SARU had created one of the most nihilistic, best takes on the classic anime character Devilman. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for 2004’s live-action movie that attempted to breathe no life into Devilman. Much like Attack on Titan, the demon-centric story suffers from terrible computer-generated graphics and some horrible acting that doesn’t live up to the sheer emotion conveyed in the original story. You don’t hear as much about Devilman’s live-action portrayal too often, which makes sense considering the lack of groundswell.

6) Fist Of The North Star

Sometimes when you find yourself wading into the world of bad movies, you tend to steer your way into offerings that are “so bad they’re good.” Such is the case with 1995’s Fist of The North Star, which dodged a theatrical debut entirely. Many of the battles of the live-action anime adaptation were nowhere close to the excessive carnage that was a part of the original anime, and the lack of budget showed itself in more ways than one. Ironically enough, star Gary Daniels had been signed on for three films but the failure to launch for the first outing meant that this live-action anime adaptation was never meant to continue.

7) The Guyver

I really struggled with putting The Guyver on the list of “worst live-action anime adaptations” because I have a deep nostalgic affinity for this trashfire. Even with a film that is unable to live up to its source material, there is plenty to love here in the same way that fans have fallen for the previous Fist of The North Star entry. Even starring Star Wars’ Mark Hamill wasn’t enough to have the armored superhero series live up to its source, but with that being said, I refuse to add Guyver 2: Dark Hero to this list as the David Hayter-starring film improves on its predecessor in almost every way. Guyver simply didn’t have enough going for it to be a live-action anime adaptation and that’s a shame for fans of the character.

8) The Last Airbender

No, not the recent Netflix Avatar: The Last Airbender. I am of course referring to M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender which is now legendary for its infamy. The Paramount produced film was simply unable to capture what made the original series so special with its terrible bending, subpar acting, and strange tendency to completely rename characters with different pronunciations. The film is absolutely swimming in exposition to try to blast out as much information as possible and it’s almost a miracle that another live-action anime adaptation was released at all.

9) Black Butler

While making changes to the source material is nothing new for many live-action anime adaptations, 2014’s Black Butler took things a little too far for most fans of the anime franchise. Normally, these aspects can be dodged with a truly great outing but this can’t be said for the Warner Bros-produced film. Unfortunately, the changes made to the source material weren’t able to elevate the movie enough to make fans of the original overlook the drastic differences.

10) Dragon Ball Evolution

Everyone had to have seen this one coming right? Dragon Ball Evolution is legendary at this point, often considered by many to be the cream of the crop when it comes to just how horribly wrong live-action anime adaptations can go. On top of attempting to recreate Goku’s story in an American setting, Evolution misses the mark in almost every conceivable way in adapting Akira Toriyama’s shonen story. So terrible was the movie, that it somewhat caused the resurgence of the franchise as Toriyama created Dragon Ball Super as an answer to it, wanting the Z-Fighters to not be remembered for the awful live-action showing.