Anime and manga are beloved the world over, and they are known to inspire entire franchises, complete with stage shows, drama CDs, and even the occasional live-action project, whether it's a drama series aired on television or a theatrically released film.
Around the world, anime and manga have been adapted and localized into various other formats and mediums, with projects having been developed in the United States, Europe, and other parts of Asia to varying degrees of success. After all, these countries have plenty of anime and manga fans of their own who need to be catered to... and exploited.
10 Sailor Moon: There Isn't Much Just Yet, But Not For Lack Of Trying
When Sailor Moon was first being considered for an original English language release, one early idea was to remake the series as a live-action/animation hybrid. The Sailor Scouts would have been portrayed as a racially diverse group of girls who would turn into cartoon superheroes to fight Queen Beryl. Very little is known to have survived of the project outside of a music video that was eventually leaked online.
A rejected live-action series believed to have been pitched around this time, Team Angel, is also suspected to have been inspired by the anime classic. In addition, rumors of a Hollywood film adaptation have been bounced around for years. At one point, Disney was suspected of producing an adaptation. Actress Geena Davis was also rumored to be attached to play Queen Beryl in a possible film. Despite this, the series would only see a proper live-action remake in its native Japan.
9 Bio-Booster Armor Guyver: The Series Was Popular Enough To Get Two Live-Action Movie Adaptations
Bio-Booster Armor Guyver is a hugely popular dark and gritty sci-fi action manga series that began serialization in the 1980s. Protagonist Sho Fukamachi happens across the titular alien armor, the Guyver Units, and uses it to combat the evil Cronos Corporation that's intent on turning all humans into monstrous Zoanoids.
The series received an American film adaptation in the form of The Guyver in 1991, starring Jack Armstrong as protagonist Sean Barker. It even had Mark Hamill playing a supporting role. While the film was praised for its special effects, it was panned by critics and fans for its campiness and inaccuracy to the source material. However, it was popular enough to warrant a far more well-received sequel, Guyver: Dark Hero, with David Hayter replacing Jack Armstrong as Sean Baker.
8 Death Note: The Netflix Film May Have Taken A Few Cues From Earlier Versions
Death Note already had quite a few adaptations in Japan, including television series, live-action films, and stage plays, before Netflix produced an American live-action remake. Some ideas for the film were actually borrowed from the 2015 live-action series, especially with regard to the characterizations of Light and Ryuk.
Interestingly, in the original Death Note manga pilot, a Death Eraser existed that could restore the lives of the Death Note's victims. Fans have noted a similar concept appearing in the Netflix film where burning a page can spare anyone scheduled to die.
7 Boys Over Flowers: This Series Has Gotten Live-Action Projects All Over Asia
The manga series, Boys Over Flowers, has become infamous for the number of its live-action spin-offs, the first being a 1995 film in its native Japan. However, it would also inspire a Taiwanese drama (Meteor Garden), a sequel series, and a Chinese remake of the same name. The series would later gain Japanese and South Korean dramas of the same name. A Thai adaptation is also in the works.
6 All You Need Is Kill: The Light Novel Inspired Edge of Tomorrow
Sometimes, when an anime and manga gets adapted for a foreign market, it might not be immediately obvious what the new film or series was originally based on. The Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow is actually based on a screenplay for the Japanese light novel, All You Need Is Kill. In Japan, the film's name was changed back to that of the original novel, which had been considered for the film's original English title early on.
5 Speed Racer: The Movie Even Kept Its English Name In Japan
It's been noted that Speed Racer was surprisingly more popular in the United States than it was in Japan. Rather infamously, the "speedy" English dub defined how many Americans saw anime dubs in popular culture for years. Because of this, it makes sense that the series would get an overseas adaptation.
Written and directed by The Wachowskis, the live-action film featured actors like Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, and Susan Sarandon. Somewhat ironically, the Japanese release kept the English name and names of the characters, not redubbing them to match the original Japanese.
4 Dragon Ball: There Have Been Official & Fan Live-Action Films
The popular Dragon Ball anime franchise has inspired many live-action adaptations over the years. 20th Century Fox produced an American film, Dragonball Evolution, after obtaining the rights to the franchise.
There were plans to produce sequels, with it being rumored that seven films were planned in total, but the film's poor critical and commercial performance ended the project after the first film. Before the film was released, two unofficial live-action films were made in Taiwan and Korea: Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins and Dragon Ball: Fight, Son Goku! Win, Son Goku!, respectively.
3 Inuyasha: The Series Inspired A Chinese Fantasy Series
The Inuyasha franchise revolves around a young girl named Kagome who travels to Feudal Japan and falls in love with the yokai-human hybrid, the titular Inuyasha. The Chinese television series, The Holy Pearl, is heavily inspired by the series. In both series, the heroine travels back in time, learns she is the reincarnation of a warrior-priestess and joins forces with a supernatural hybrid. Instead of the broken Shikon Jewel, the plot involves a broken magical vase.
2 The Rose of Versailles: It Got An English-Language Movie Filmed In Paris
The Rose of Versailles is a manga and anime franchise based around a historical drama taking place around the time of the French Revolution, focusing on the fictional Oscar François de Jarjayes as well as actual historical figures.
The series was eventually adapted into a live-action film, Lady Oscar, directed by Jacques Demy, arguably best known for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort, and Donkey Skin. Although a French-Japanese co-production, the Paris-shot film was produced in English and heavily featured British actors. Interestingly, the manga's first-ever English translation was made for the actors of the film to help them learn the plot. Sadly, it ended up being lost to time.
1 Shokojo Seira: It Inspired Live-Action Remakes In The Philippines
Shokojo Seira, which is itself an anime adaptation of the classic novel, A Little Princess, was popular enough in the Philippines to receive a movie adaptation, Sarah, Ang Munting Prinsesa, which was mostly shot in Scotland.
In addition to the film, the anime was later adapted into a live-action series in the Philippines called Princess Sarah. This version was known for making many changes to the story, from adding supernatural elements to making Miss Minchin and Lavinia mother and daughter.