Series and films bringing live-action manga to the screen are frequent, but struggle to convince fans. On the occasion of the release of season 2 ofAlice in Borderland and before that of One Piece on Netflix, we invite you to discover the best adaptations to definitively bury this received idea.
1 old boy
old boy is one of those adaptations that has completely overshadowed the original workas can be blade runner Where The Godfather. Directed in 2003 by South Korean Park-Chan Wook and narrowly awarded the Palme d’Or, the feature film is considered by many to be one of the best films in history.
Revenge film, thriller… Many themes run through this work where we discover Oh Dae-Soo, father of a family without history, kidnapped and sequestered for 15 years. Upon his release, he has only one desire: to release his rage. Luckily, he’s spent the last 15 years training. A film with perhaps one of the most beautiful fight scenes in the history of cinema.
2 Edge of Tomorrow
While remaining more or less faithful to the original work, manga All you Need is Killthis film by Doug Liman manages to perfectly transpose its story to make it a true American blockbuster, starring the legend of the genre, Tom Cruise. On the program: time loop and war against invaders from elsewhere.
The feature film manages to reinvent the original story and make it a real fun show and much smarter than it looks. A real lesson in editing, this an endless day futuristic war film version brilliantly manages to stage the film’s slogan: “Live, die, start again. » Visually, it’s equally impressive. For years, a prequel project has been mentioned by the director, without having more details for the moment.
3 Alita Battle Angel
Because james cameron came back into fashion with the output ofAvatar 2you should know that it is this great fan of manga who is at the origin of the adaptation of the cult manga Gunnm. Too busy with Avatarprecisely, he did not ensure the realization, but supervised the project signed Robert Rodriguez.
And it shows as the film is visually impressive. By taking only the first three volumes of Yukito Kishiro’s manga, the filmmaker manages to offer a great show film (notably thanks to its representation of motorball, the sport of manga), while retaining its darkness and the depth of its characters, Ido and Gally (Allita in the film) in the lead.
4 Alice in Borderland
While season 2 has just been released on Netflix, it’s time to dive back into the fantastic universe imagined by Haro Aso in his manga of the same name. It tells the story of three friends, a little lazy, who, overnight, find themselves projected into an alternative Japan where many games await them. The reward: their survival.
Arrival in the middle of the Battle Royale fashion where Squid Game reign supreme, this series has risen to all the tops of the best series of the moment. If you don’t feel like waiting for the end of the show, you can always rush to the manga, completed in 18 volumes at Delcourt-Tonkam.
5 The film series Wanderer Kenshin
True cult manga, Wanderer Kenshin recounts, in 28 volumes, the life of Kenshin, a former assassin, master in the handling of the sword, who no longer fights except with an inverted blade to respect his promise, that of never killing again. Japanese filmmaker Keishi Ōtomo took a great interest in it between 2012 and 2021. In total, he directed five feature films around the character, a trilogya sequel and a prequel.
Throughout these five films, what is striking is the care taken by the filmmaker in the photography and choreography of the fight scenes. These films are a real treat for the eyes. And, for once, we feel that these adaptations are very personal works for Keishi Ōtomo and not a way to surf on the success of the manga, as is often the case with live-action adaptations. Unlike the latter, Keishi Ōtomo’s films are (very) far from being hollow and without identity.
We want to say thanks to the writer of this write-up for this remarkable material
No, not all live-action manga adaptations are bad!