Live actions have always been a contradictory topic in fiction. Whether it’s derived from a webcomic, some animated show, or movie, people have tried adapting them into these live
actions. Yet many fans of these franchises are heavily disappointed with each one that comes out.

There are many possible explanations for that. From the bad CGI and the inability to convey emotions well with these CGI creations, to changing the entire atmosphere of a film. The casting is something that is personally important to me, as wrongly casting characters could heavily throw off fans. We already have these images of the characters in our heads, so to cast someone who wouldn’t be able to fit the character’s mannerisms and personality well, just doesn’t sit right with me. Furthermore they also have a tendency to change the personality of the original characters completely. One example of this was the Death Note live action. While the original main character was very cunning and quick witted, what we got instead was a clueless and brash man. It took away all the charm of the original character and also completely threw off the plot. Mulan is another good example as the film had a lot more serious take on the original, disappointing many fans.

Humor can be very hard to transfer between mediums. This is especially true with animated franchises being turned into live actions. The exaggerated expressions can’t really be achieved with a human face and a lot of the lines just come out cheesy. This also depends on how well the actors can execute it, and if the directors are able script it well enough. Otherwise it just feels forced and doesn’t have the humorous effect it had in the original. Novels or longer series can be very hard to turn into live actions mainly because of the story issues. Not everything can be condensed into a movie form easily, especially with longer series. You’re not able to get in the character’s heads as well. This potentially causes issues like newcomers to the series having no context in some situations and being lost, while people who know the original would be able to understand. So while it’s not a problem for the original fans it’s disappointing to know that the film can’t really be enjoyed by others by itself. I am very much someone who doesn’t really like live action. Whenever I hear about a new one in the works I can’t help but mentally cringe at the thought. They could potentially turn out well, however I’ve just had too many bad experiences to think positively about them. Maybe in the future as we constantly improve filmmaking my mindset will be changed.