5 Times Studios Got A Live-Action Manga Adaptation Right (+5 Times They Got It Very Wrong)

Japan, and occasionally Hollywood, have made multiple attempts at bringing the pages of manga to the big screen. The results have been hit or miss. Below, we have compiled a list of some of the best manga-to-movie adaptations – and some of the worst.

The Good: Battle Royale (2000)

Based on Koushun Takami's 1999 horror manga series, this dystopian thriller follows a class of 9th graders who are sent to a remote island, where the world watches them kill each other in the most inventive ways until only one student is left alive. And it sure has fun with the premise. Heads roll, bombs explode, all accompanied by typical teenage drama. The movie’s influence extends to the present day, with shows like Alice in Borderland and Squid Game sharing a similar storyline.

The Bad: Uzumaki (2000)

The movie does a terrible job at capturing what makes Junji Ito’s work so horrifying, opting for cheap tricks and low-quality CGI effects that look ridiculous to the modern viewer. The movie does not withstand scrutiny when compared against the original, and cannot be recommended even as a standalone horror.

The Good: Oldboy (2003)

Park Chan-Wook's film noir is a South Korean classic that takes inspiration from the manga by the same name penned by Garon Tsuchiya. The high-octane revenge drama tells the story of a man who is suddenly released from a private prison. After spending fifteen years in captivity, all he wants is to find out the truth about his captors and their real motives. This story is brutal, at times gross, and doesn’t pull any punches as far as violence and sexual content are concerned. Oh, sweet revenge.

The Bad: Gantz (2011)

The Gantz live-action adaptation failed on multiple levels: the story felt underbaked and the characters underdeveloped. Many viewers were left with the impression that the movie rushed to its end without bothering to tie up all the loose ends in a satisfying conclusion.

The Good: Helter Skelter (2012)

The live-action adaptation of Kyoko Okazaki’s manga follows a supermodel named Liliko and her pursuit of the perfect face and body. A classic with a cult following, the movie explores the themes of fame, unachievable beauty standards, and society’s obsession with eternal youth, as well as the shady means used by women to achieve it. But make no mistake: this is no feminist drama, this is a horror story with a bloody ending.

The Bad: Attack On Titan (2015)

The two-parter takes us to a dystopian fantasy world where humans are forced to battle giant human-eating creatures called the Titans. The movie is centered around the protagonist, Eren, and his two best friends, Mikasa and Armin, who join the battle against the Titans to save humanity. Despite its 3-hour run, the movie manages to oversimplify the plot and flatten the characters with the help of clunky, poorly written dialogue. The gore is still there, but the thrill and suspense aren’t.

The Good: Rurouni Kenshin: Origins (2012)

The story, based on the manga by the same name, tells us about a highly skilled swordsman, Himura Kenshin, seeking redemption for his past as a deadly and fearsome assassin. The movie gets everything right: the cinematography, the pacing, the scenery, and, of course, the action scenes. Gorgeously shot, you don’t have to be a fan of the original manga or anime to be able to appreciate its beauty.

The Bad: Death Note (2017)

The infamous Netflix adaptation turned a complex story about morality and justice into a teen drama with slightly higher stakes, completely disregarding its iconic source material. We all know the story: a young man accidentally discovers a notebook dropped to Earth by a death god. The notebook grants you with the power to decide who lives and who dies. This is one of those situations where not staying true to the original wasn’t even the biggest problem as the premise offers limitless possibilities. In the right hands, the story could’ve blossomed into a dark tale similar to one of the good episodes of Black Mirror.

The Good: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

The only Hollywood entry on our “Good” list, this blockbuster is just the right mix of thrilling action and humor. This movie is a live-action adaptation of the light novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, and it remains faithful to the original plot for the most part. Some even consider it superior to the source material. In the movie, an officer played by Tom Cruise is stuck in a classic time loop situation, where every day he wakes up to battle a swarm of murderous aliens until he finds his way to victory.

The Bad: Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Based on the manga by Masamune Shirow, the acclaimed 1995 animated movie Ghost in the Shell is a cyberpunk classic that influenced The Matrix. Despite the inflated budget, the Hollywood remake seemed doomed from the beginning. Casting a white actress as a cyborg with the mind of a Japanese woman was a bizarre choice that many considered a prime example of “whitewashing” and “yellowface.” It’s no surprise that the movie failed to attract a large following after its release.