When it comes to comic adaptations, many friends feel headaches. In fact, the Japanese audience next door is often dissatisfied with the live-action works. So much so that the option to get first place in the vote to expect which work to get Hollywood's live-action is "no"...
Affected by the broadcast time, story rhythm and other aspects, the original work will always be modified while the work is live-action. And such modifications will often cause the original fans to resent. So in the large number of live-action versions, are there any works suitable for viewing?
Recently, the Japanese website Magmix has compiled 4 well-known manga adaptations of live-action works. Although these works have also changed the original work, they have achieved a relatively good reputation. If you are interested in comic book adaptation, in the upcoming May Day holiday, these 4 works may also be worth a look:
Ping Pong
As one of Matsumoto's masterpieces, Ping Pong fully demonstrates the deformation of flat patterns and the characteristics of magic realism in his works. In the animated version directed by Masaaki Yuasa, he also fought back with the unique art of deformation of animation.
However, in the live-action version of "Ping Pong" released in 2002, more emphasis was placed on the role of live actors. While retaining the prototypes in the work, the characters' images are adapted closer to reality. The live-action version is generally faithful to the original, but some stories have also been cut. That said, the adaptation of the 55-episode original manga into a 114-minute movie did not give people a sense of inadequacy.
In the picture of the movie, the more prominent is the competition scene. In these scenes, you can feel the sense of jump that only the live-action version can show. Through such scenes, the audience can also feel the charm different from the animation.
"Please Call Me a Hero"
The live-action film Please Call Me a Hero is based on Kengo Hanazawa's heterochromatic zombie manga. Although the work is also a traditional zombie comic in which zombies suddenly multiply in the world, there are many depictions of the protagonist's heart in the story. The protagonist of the game is the 35-year-old down-and-out manga artist Suzuki.
In the first volume of the original monograph, almost all of them are depictions of the protagonist's daily life. However, the film boldly cuts out the background description of the characters and only makes a compact summary of the story of survival suspense. Although it is different from the original, it is also an effective change. At the same time, the atmosphere from daily life to zombie panic in the original work is well preserved.
"The Heart of the Ranger Sword"
The live-action film adaptation of Nobuhiro Wazuki's popular manga "Ranger Kenshin" was so popular that 5 works were released by the end of the final chapter.
Movies that make comics live often give the impression of "barely approaching the visual image of the original". It may be fun to look at as a "high-quality Cosplay PV", but as a "movie" it will be full of contradictions because it is out of touch with reality. However, the live-action version of "Ranger Sword Heart" maintains the original character modeling while adjusting the movie to the scope of "era drama" to a certain extent.
Stains and aging have been processed in terms of clothing design, making it both faithful to the original and full of realism. The cross-shaped scars on Sword Heart's face are also vivid, and the visual effect can be felt even in front of the screen. In addition, the "reverse blade" with the opposite blade is used as a blunt weapon to prevent the opponent's action, which is also closer to the concept of weapons in reality. In addition, in order to be included in the "era drama", it is also a good change not to shout out the name of the skill when fighting. Although in order to summarize the plot during the release time, the live-action version did not faithfully reproduce the original part, which also triggered some discussion. However, for film works, these can be called "proper judgments".
"Boom King"
"Boom King" is a work featuring a cartoonist. In the live-action version, a large degree of "tidying" has been carried out around the characters who appeared on the scene. Except for the heroine Miho, other female characters with names have basically been deleted. The role of the newsroom is also integrated into two people.
Due to the deletion of many characters, the group portrait drama elements and love elements in the original work have become very thin. But thanks to this, the film's focus on the two protagonists makes the story very smooth. If you want to compress the content of 176 episodes to 120 minutes, it is necessary to make appropriate trade-offs. Although the composition of the story has become "something different" from the original, it is very effective to deal with.
The original uses a lot of textual information to tell the story of the manga production process. In addition to processing this through montage, the live-action version also uses performances that are only available in movies such as projection mapping, which is also a well-received point. Unlike the original, which continues to tell after high school, the live-action version ends with "Our battle starts here". This juvenile comic-like ending makes people feel the creator's love for JUMP, and the curtain full of "comic love" has also won the praise of the audience.
Of course, the live-action version of the work that has been well received after the original work has been revised is not much, and there are not many less. So what are your favorite live-action works?