walking meditation (borrowed from minako seki): touch the ground, begin the walk, and attend to the sensation of your feet touching the floor. if the mind/body wanders, pause. finish by touching the floor
settlement practice #1: “sink under one’s own weight”--locate a point in the body that pulls you to the floor. just when or right before it finally touches the floor, locate another point of the body to sink again.
[0:00] Kensho Ono: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind (Part 5)
[0:53] Eriko Nakamura: The idolm@ster
[2:10] Ai Kakuma: Batman Ninja
[2:30] Kento Itō: Wotakoi
[3:40] Megumi Han: Steins;Gate 0
[4:18] Tomokazu Seki: Psycho-Pass
[5:34] Minako Kotobuki: Yagate Kimi ni Naru/Bloom Into You
[6:36] Kenta Miyake: Boku no Hero Academia
[7:20] Hiroki Takahashi: Prince of Tennis
[8:53] Asami Sanada: Maria Holic
[9:21] Aki Toyosaki: Yuru Camp△
The bolded ones are just the ones that I recommend watching.
Kensho Ono - I recommend this one because it’s Jojo. It’s fricking Jojo. Now I want to yell something like that. It seems like so much fun and a great way to let out.
Kenta Miyake - He broke into a sweat voicing that small clip, and both Kenta Miyake and Akio Otsuka passed out during the recording of this fight (because don’t forget they have outtakes). Just this one scene was so satisfying, uplifting, inspiring, and overall exciting to see. I highly recommend this one because you can see the amount of effort put into this one.
Mika Suzuki Character Bio (Doki Doki School Hours)
Age: 27
Occupation: High School Homeroom Teacher
Family: Mr. and Mrs. Suzuki (parents), Unnamed Uncle
Likes: Teaching her students, drinking beer, inspiring her students, sleeping in, her dad spoiling her, staying home during the summer,.
Dislikes: Her students failing, her mom being strict, hot weather, Kitagawa teasing her, Seki cross-dressing at school (got used to it eventually), gaining weight, exercising.
Voice Actor: Omi Minami (Japanese), Angie Beers (English)
Description
Mika Suzuki is the main protagonist of the manga and anime series, Doki Doki School Hours. Mika is a 27 year old high school teacher who teaches homeroom literature. Mika is very short, which causes her classmates to tease her and treat her like a child, due to her small size and childlike appearance. Mika tries to be an adult, but she still lives with her parents and sometimes acts like a child. Her students are also her closest friends, who call her ‘Mika-sensei’.
Personality
Mika is a young woman who takes her job as a teacher very seriously. She cares about her students and wants them to do well in school. She becomes troubled if any of them have to attend summer school, because that means that she has to work during the summer as well. Mika is often treated like a child because of her height and appearance, which frustrates her because she wants to be treated like an adult. Despite wanting to be treated like an adult, Mika does have many childlike qualities: She likes to be lazy at home, she likes playing games at summer festivals, and she sometimes throws a tantrum if she doesn’t want to do something. She often hangs out with ten of her students: Tominaga, Suetake, Kobayashi, Kudo, Kitagawa, Nagare, Seki, Watanabe, Nakamura, and Anthony. She still lives with her parents and often acts spoiled at home. Mika is not very athletic and hates going outside when it’s hot, but she will go outside if she is teased about gaining weight when lazy.
Relationships
Parents: Mika lives with her parents and is an only child. Mika’s father is a doting father who loves to spoil her, while her mother is more strict towards her. Mika’s mother wants her to get married and move out, while her father dreads of Mika getting married and leaving home. They both love their daughter and are happy that Mika has a good relationship with her students.
Minako Tominaga: Tominaga is one of Mika-sensei’s students. She is a smart and serious person with a sharp tongue. She is brutally honest and often insults with boys in her class. She often points out Mika’s flaws due to her brutal honesty. Despite this, she is a popular students who has many friends, since everyone is pretty much used to her sharp tongue. Tominaga likes to tease Mika-sensei about how many calories the food she likes has.
Akane Kobayashi: Kobayashi is one of Mika-sensei’s students. Kobayashi is a typical girl who tries to lose weight by going on last minute crash diets, which Mika warns her about it not being a good way to lose weight. Mika is impressed by Kobayashi’s willingness to work a part-time job for something that she wants. The two of them often sulk about their body weight, since they both don’t like gaining weight. Kobayashi often falls asleep in class because she works part-time jobs.
Shizuka Nagare: Nagare is one of Mika’s students and is also the class representative. Mika-sensei is very impressed with her hard work and capabilities as class rep. Despite being very smart and talented, Nagare is only the class rep because her favorite singer, Koro, said that class rep’s were wonderful. Her dream is to work in the entertainment industry so she can be closer to Koro.
Rio Kitagawa: Kitagawa is one of Mika-sensei’s students. She is a lesbian who loves short girls, and has a not-so-secret-crush on Mika-sensei. Kitagawa is often teasing and molesting Mika-sensei, which agitates Mika greatly. Mika is very embarrassed when Kitagawa calls her ‘cute’, and doesn’t like it when she goes too far with her teasing. Mika doesn’t feel the same way for Kitagawa, and only sees her as a student and friend.
Kenta Suetake: Suetake is one of Mika-sensei’s students. Suetake is not very bright and often needs to be tutored. He also has the heart and personality of a young child, but he has imagined Mika-sensei wearing sexy clothing from time to time. He is very talented in sports and is a member of his school’s soccer team. He often treats Mika-sensei like a child. He is unaware that his best friend, Kudo, has an obvious crush on him...though it is obvious to everyone but him.
Yuichi Kudo: Kudo is one of Mika-sensei’s students. Kudo is an honor student with excellent grades. Kudo is gay and has a huge crush on Suetake, often fantasizing about him and even making excuses to spend some alone time with him. Mika-sensei knows about Kudo’s crush on Suetake, and sometimes feels embarrassed whenever he is open about it. Kudo often gets nosebleeds whenever Suetake, unknowingly, says or does something erotic.
Jyoji Seki: Seki is one of Mika-sensei’s students. Seki is a flamboyant boy who loves girls, but is also a narcissist who loves himself more. Seki has a hobby of crossdressing is women’s clothing, and even wears make-up and a bra. At first, Mika was surprised by Seki’s crossdressing...but she and everyone else got used to it overtime. She sometimes gets fashion advice from Seki.
Takumi Watanabe: Watanabe is one of Mika-sensei’s students. Watanabe is an otaku who draws manga no matter where he is. Mika likes to read his manga, and doesn’t mind that he draws in class...mostly because she wants to know what happens next in his stories. Watanabe is the President of the Manga Club, and was also the only member until he got a new member: Nakayama.
Gen Nakamura: Nakamura is one of Mika-sensei’s students. Despite only being 17 years old, Nakamura acts like an old man, which is why his friends call him ‘Old Man’. Nakamura is very polite and humble, and is very considerate towards Mika-sensei. He doesn’t like disappointing his friends and teachers when they assume he is working during the summer, when he is actually vacationing at an island resort. It is hinted that he has a crush on Nagare.
Anthony M.Chamberlain: Anthony is an American exchange student who becomes one of Mika-sensei’s students. Anthony loves Japanese anime and manga, which is why he came to Japan as an exchange student. He gets along well with Mika-sensei and the rest of the class, and compares Mika-sensei to a kokeshi doll...much to her embarrassment.
Chinatsu Nakayama: Nakayama is a first year student who becomes the second member of Watanabe’s Manga Club. Nakayama is a very energetic and optimistic young girl who wants to impress Watanabe. She is a very bad artist, but Watanabe is willing to teach her how to draw and makes her his apprentice/student. Nakayama has a crush on Watanabe and seems to understand him the most. It is hinted that Watanabe starts to develop feelings for her overtime as well. Mika-sensei supports Nakayama and Watanabe’s blooming relationship.
Linda Matsumoto: Matsumoto is the school nurse and Mika-sensei’s best friend. The two of them are the same age, except Matsumoto is taller and has curvy body compared to Mika-sensei. Matsumoto is more mature and adult, but she does want a boyfriend like most single women her age. Matsumoto cares a lot about Mika-sensei and often gives her cold packs when she has aching muscles.
The 8th son? Are you kidding me?, online un nuovo video promo della serie animata
L’anime tratto dalla light novel di Y.A. debutterà sulle tv giapponesi ad aprile.
Diffuso un nuovo video promozionale di “Hachinan tte, Sore wa Nai deshou!” (The 8th son? Are you kidding me?), la serie animata tratta dalla light novel isekai/fantasy di Y.A. che andrà in onda in Giappone a partire da aprile.
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Le musiche dell’anime saranno composte da Minako Seki (Kingdom, Black Clover) e dal Catherina Ancient Music Ensemble, un complesso musicale specializzato nel suonare strumenti tipici dell’Europa medievale e rinascimentale.
Shingo Ichinomiya è un ragazzo di 25 anni che lavora in un'azienda, e mentre pensa alla prossima giornata lavorativa si addormenta. Tuttavia, quando si risveglia, si ritrova in una stanza a lui sconosciuta e si rende conto di trovarsi in un corpo da bambino di 6 anni! Presto impara dai ricordi del ragazzino che egli è nato come il figlio più giovane di una famiglia nobile caduta in disgrazia che vive in un paese arretrato e non avendo capacità amministrative, non può fare nulla per gestire la vasta terra della sua famiglia. Fortunatamente, è benedetto con un talento molto raro, ovvero quello della magia, ma sfortunatamente nella situazione in cui si ritrova questa abilità più che altro un sacco di guai! Questa è la storia di Wendelin Von Benno Baumeister.
Il progetto è in lavorazione presso gli studi Shinei Animation (Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san, Elegant Yokai Apartment Life) e Synergy SP (12-sai, Initial D Final Stage) e vede il debutto alla regia di Tatsuo Miura. La sceneggiatura è curata da Takeshi Miyamoto (Trickster, Fullmetal Alchemist live-action), mentre il character design è ad opera di Keiji Tanabe (Caligula, Binbougami ga!).
En sus piezas, Seki investiga la comunicación entre lo consciente y lo inconsciente, la descripción de los estados emocionales y los límites entre la realidad y la ilusión. Su enfoque artístico no puede separarse de su filosofía personal de la vida, que de manera integral combina la meditación vipassana, la cocina macrobiótica y las técnicas tradicionales japonesas de curación del cuerpo.
walking meditation (borrowed from minako seki): touch the ground, begin the walk, and attend to the sensation of your feet touching the floor. if the mind/body wanders, pause. finish by touching the floor. (7 min to the sounds of soil)
death/rebirth (from natsuko kono): you continue the walk, and now in your mind form a time-lapse image of decomposition—a withering flower, a decaying tree trunk, or a stone being broken down and disintegrating over a long, long period of time; hundreds and thousands of years now experienced in one moment; feeling the pull from the ground, the calling from the soil, from the center of the earth, the sink, the falling away; when you have decomposed onto the ground, reverse the process to rebirth, to leave the ground, to re-enter the realm of the living; keep the walking going, and repeat the cycle, the walk of death and rebirth, of decay and renewal… (7 min to the sounds of soil)
read and discuss excerpts from haunani-kay trask, “settlers of color and immigrant hegemony”
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emily: time clashing, self layering, pieces of time
tashi: change and grief; what’s your timeline?; not fighting the timeline; a person’s time zone?
dil: time and perspectives; what would the future self look at this?
june: infinite time, infinite perspectives
john-mario: being present; ancient trees; earth history—time exists not in human time, but in earth time
ye qing: time travel; where does unspent time go?; time (or time traveling) as healing?; “serving time”; carceral time vs accountability time
june: sangodare akinwale--making a ceremony for the onerous, for the not yet, for the unknown
tashi: collaborating with forces that are beyond us and beyond the present
john-mario: repetition and ritual
june: lazy asians are bad settlers (but still settlers)
ye qing: material, iterative practice of deep knowing
june: unknowing and deep knowing can coexist
dil: scarcity mindset on a settler colony; how to be a non-invasive foreign species
image: march against the centennial of the overthrow of the hawaiian kingdom by the us military, jan 17, 1993 (via honolulu magazine)
Yakuza, known in Japan as Ryū ga Gotoku (Like a Dragon, Japanese), is an action-adventure beat ’em up video game franchise created, owned and published by Sega.
The series originated from Toshihiro Nagoshi’s desire to create a game that would tell the way of life of the yakuza.
The series primarily focuses on the yakuza Kazuma Kiryu from the Tojo clan.
While Kiryu often assists the Tojo clan, the series has also featured him searching for another way of life in the form of raising orphans and helping those in need.
The gameplay of Yakuza has the player controlling Kiryu and various other characters depending on the story, in the city of Kamurocho, a fictionalized version of the real life Kabukichō district in Tokyo, where he can encounter an enemy, perform an activity or participate in its various available sub-stories, which often complement the main game story and reward the player with extra EXP to better enhance your fighting style, resilience and gameplay.
This game is also well known for its various mini-games, which range from things like bowling, darts, and arcade games, to much more involved things like hostess club management which can take a number of hours over the course of several sessions in themselves to complete, all to some hilariously amusing results.
The franchise has become a commercial and critical success, and as of 2017, Sega has reported that the Yakuza franchise has sold a combined total of 10.5 million units in physical and digital sales since its debut in 2005. Strong sales of the games in its original Japanese market has led to the franchise’s expansion to other mediums, including film adaptations.
A great Beat ‘em up series that not only has had popularity over its home country of japan, but has gotten a big following in the united states and in Europe.
So it is why this STAGE of the Retro VGM Revival Hour, you better set up which fighting style works better as you are about to journey through the streets of Kamurocho taking down some thugs with these selected tracks from the Yakuza game series.
Full track listing:
=======Game – Composer – Title - Company========
2.) Yakuza – Hidenori Shoji, Sachio Ogawa, Keitaro Hanada, Fumio Ito, Yuri Fukuda & John Newton – “Funk Goes On, Scarlet Scar, ID & Poison Pill” – December 8, 2005 – Sega – PS2, PS3 & Wii U (Japan Only)
3.) Yakuza 2 – Hidenori Shoji, Hideki Sakamoto, Franz Gruber, Norihiko Hibino & Takahiro Izutani – “As a man/As a brother, Push Me Underwater, Blockhead Boy, Face To Face & Evil Itself“ – December 7, 2006 – Sega – PS2, PS3 & Wii U (Japan Only)
4.) Yakuza 3 – Hidenori Shoji, Kentaro Koyama, Takahiro Kai, Hiroyoshi Kato, Love Sound System, Yoshio Tsuru & Hideki Sakamoto – “Fly, Bruise, Ryu-Kyu Humming, Crush and Strike, Test Your Imagination & D 2 A (w/ vocals by Chihiro Aoki)” – February 26, 2009 – Sega – PS3 & PS4
13.) Judgment (Judge Eyes)- Hidenori Shoji, Yuri Fukuda, Saori Yoshida, Rio Hashikawa, Chihiro Aoki, Hiroaki Watanabe, Yasuyuki Matsuzaki, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Jin Senbonmatsu, Hideyuki Ono, Shunsuke Yasaki , Yuki Kobayashi, Kiyo, Charles François Gounod, Johann Sebastian Bach – “Drumfire, Moth, Line of sin, Final decision, BUZZY, Darkness & The Last Assassin XIV: Symphony of The Judgment“ – December 13, 2018 – Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega – PS4
14.) Yakuza Kiwami – Hidenori Shoji, Yuri Fukuda, Saori Yoshida, Keitaro Hanada, Sachio Ogawa, Syunsuke Minami, Shunsuke Yasaki, Zenta Tsuchihashi, Tsuyoshi Kaneko, Kiyo – “Funk Goes On, Flirt With Bomb, Ideal For Violence, The End Of The Dogma & Cherry blossoms 2000“ – January 21, 2016 – Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega – PS3, PS4 & Windows PC
15.) Yakuza Kiwami 2 – Hidenori Shoji, Yuri Fukuda, Saori Yoshida, Keitaro Hanada, Sachio Ogawa, Syunsuke Minami, Shunsuke Yasaki, Zenta Tsuchihashi, Tsuyoshi Kaneko, Kiyo – “The End Of The Dogma, Amusing Octagon, Update With Gunfire & The Wicked“ – December 7, 2017 – Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio/Sega – PS4 & Windows PC
Edgar Velasco: @MoonSpiderHugs
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10 Live Action Adaptations of Anime You Might Not Know About
Anime is no stranger to the formula of live-action adaptations. Filmmakers and showrunners in both Hollywood and Japan have been bringing classic and popular anime stories to life for years. Whether you love them or hate them, they’ve been around for longer than you might think, and will continue to make their way to the big and small screens.
But outside of the recent hit Detective Pikachu movie, a Ghost in the Shell adaptation that received tepid critical and fan response, and the upcoming continuation of the Rurouni Kenshin films, there are plenty of adaptations of anime that you might not know about. These include plenty of Japan-only TV series, movie franchises, and even some dramas that you can view on Crunchyroll right now! Without further ado, here's a list of live-action anime adaptations that you may be surprised actually exist!
Mob Psycho 100 (2018 Netflix series)
The wildly-popular psychic action anime has a 12-episode series on Netflix. It tells the same story of Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama, a young boy trying to live a normal life and learning to understand his emotions while keeping his immense psychic powers at bay.
Though the show takes a few narrative liberties with some characters, including involving Ritsu in Mob’s fights with Dimple and Teru, the drama remains largely faithful to the entire first season of the anime. It even features some flashy effects-driven fights that benefited from impressive stunt coordination rather than traditional animation.
One of the more notable aspects of this adaptation is its cast, which is comprised largely of alumni actors in tokusatsu franchises such as Kamen Rider, Super Sentai, and Ultraman. The eponymous Mob is played by Tatsuomi Hamada, who played the titular main protagonist in 2017’s Ultraman Geed, which you can watch on Crunchyroll now! His self-proclaimed master and conman Reigen Arataka is played by Kazuki Namioka, who portrayed a villain in Kamen Rider Gaim in 2013. Kasumi Yamaya, who played president of the school Telepathy Club Tome Kurata, had a major role as Kasumi Momochi/MomoNinger, the pink ranger in 2015’s Shuriken Sentai Ninninger. Anyone who dabbles in tokusatsu may want to take a second look at most anyone else in the cast, because chances are you’ve seen them using fancy toys to transform into superheroes before!
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable (2017 film)
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Right as part 4 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure was airing, Warner Bros. and Toho announced a live-action adaptation of Josuke Higashikata’s adventures. The first movie was released in August in Japan and was planned to kick off a series of films that would adapt the whole story. The film told a largely abridged version of the original story, either splicing together various plot points or removing them altogether for the sake of brevity. These included placing Koichi’s Stand awakening during one of the original arc’s earliest fights with Keicho Nijimura, and Sheer Heart Attack replacing Red Hot Chili Pepper’s debut. The film was highly anticipated, but mixed reception left the future of the series in question.
The film stars award-winning Japanese actor Kento Yamazaki as Josuke, who coincidentally stars in several live-action adaptations. But more on him later. The true hero of the film might be Yusuke Iseya, who portrayed Jotaro Kujo in the film. A short-lived meme that emerged during the film's promotion revolved around just how Iseya achieved Jotaro’s signature hat-hair blend. The meme, which showed actor Asano Tadenobu with a large shaven bald spot in the middle of his head, suggested that Iseya might have had to do the same for his own hair in order for the hat to form around it. If true, that would make him one dedicated actor!
Death Note (2015 drama series)
You might have heard of the series of live-action movies in Japan from 2006 that adapted the Death Note story. Perhaps you also caught wind the Netflix adaptation, a movie that sparked casting controversy and received some negative critical response. But did you also know about the 11-episode drama in 2015 that you can stream on Crunchyroll right now! This show tells a shortened version of Light Yagami’s story, but still adheres to his goal of using a magic death-dealing notebook to save the world.
In trying to condense a 37-episode story into 11 hour-long segments, the drama trimmed the narrative and made several interesting changes. This included introducing Near as a detective and L’s protege in the very first episode, making Mello into Near’s violent alternate personality, and a drastically different ending for L. A few changes were made with other pre-existing characters as well, such as making Misa Amane a pop idol instead of a model.
Already a noteworthy actor in his own right, the aforementioned Kento Yamazaki received praise for his role as fan favorite L. In 2016, Kento Yamazaki won the 39th Japan Academy Prize for Newcomer of the Year for his role in Orange, a film adaptation of a slice-of-life romance manga. Shortly after his work on Death Note, he coincidentally found roles in other live-action adaptations. Aside from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and Death Note, these include a lead role in Saiki K., a starring role in a 2020 adaptation in Wotakoi, and a certain piano-playing high school student who we’ll talk about in just a bit.
His co-star and lead actor Masataka Kubota, who played Light Yagami, has also seen work in live-action versions of Rurouni Kenshin, Tokyo Ghoul, and Gintama to name a few. He also won Best Actor in the 86th The Television Drama Academy Awards for his role as Light.
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (2003 series)
As a worldwide cultural phenomenon, Sailor Moon has seen three movies, an anime remake in Sailor Moon Crystal, re-releases, stage musicals, and yes, a tokusatsu series in 2003. While it remains faithful to the overall plot of Usagi Tsukino and her friends transforming into Sailor Soldiers to fight evil, this 49+ episode show featured several plot points that are distinct from both the manga and the original anime, becoming its own unique story in the long run.
While originally, Minako Aino is a regular girl who dreams of fame, the live-action Minako balances an idol life, a school life, and being a Sailor Soldier. As Sailor Venus and a veteran Soldier, she’s notably harsher on her fellow Soldiers as she tries to make them understand their duties. Sailor Moon also has an exclusive super form called “Princess Sailor Moon,” a powerful yet dangerous form that combines Usagi and her past self.
The show also introduced two completely new characters in the form of Dark Mercury and Sailor Luna. A short arc in the show saw Ami Mizuno being brainwashed by the Dark Kingdom and turning against her friends. This caused her to take on a new, more evil Sailor Soldier form. Sailor Luna, on the other hand, came about after Luna gained the ability to become a young human girl (albeit with her feline nature still intact). Designed by Naoko Takeuchi herself, Luna replaces Chibusa/Sailor Chibi Moon in the story, as she starts living with Usagi as a human and transforms into a childish Sailor Soldier. Her design takes cues from both Sailor Chibi Moon and Luna's original human form as depicted in the manga and the Sailor Moon S film.
An amusing footnote of the series was Luna and Artemis often being portrayed with cute plushies during various scenes!
Your Lie in April (2016 film)
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Kento Yamazaki continued his trend of working on live-action adaptations by portraying Kosei Arima in an adaptation of everyone’s favorite tear-inducing piano drama. This rendition came hot off the heels of the successful anime that ended in March of 2015.
Though certain characters were omitted from the adaptation, the movie was able to tell the same dramatic and emotional story in its entirety. The film placed at number 3 in the Japanese box office during its initial release, trailing after the Japanese release of Warner Bros. Suicide Squad and the infamous Makoto Shinkai film, Your Name, which maintained its number 1 spot in its third week in theaters. The theme song for the film, “Last Scene,” was performed by Ikimono-gakari, who are known for their work on Bleach and Naruto: Shippuden theme songs.
Tonari no Seki-kun (2015 mini-series)
A hilarious short form anime in its own right, Tonari no Seki-kun saw an eight-episode mini-series. It stayed true to its original story of a schoolgirl sitting next to a classmate who does all manner of ridiculous activities on his desk except pay attention in class. The series stars the actress formerly known as Fumika Shimizu, who previously appeared in 2011's Kamen Rider Fourze and in the first Tokyo Ghoul live action film.
The short segments aired alongside another comedy called Rumi-chan no Jishou. Coincidentally enough, both shows starred girls named “Rumi” as main protagonists.
Ouran High School Host Club (2011 drama)
The popular romantic comedy about an androgynous young girl who gets caught up with the handsome and flamboyant boys who run her school’s host club was adapted into a live action series in 2011. The adaptation's popularity earned it a feature length movie in 2012 that took place after its broadcast, as well as a spin-off miniseries.
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This 11-episode drama adapts a number of the anime episodes faithfully, with each character remaining true to the source material. But the show actually goes a step further to include plotlines from the original manga. Characters like Ayame Jounouchi are featured more prominently than they were in the anime, and the show’s final episode more closely adheres to the manga than the anime did. The 2012 film also uses a manga-only arc as its plot, while also taking creative liberties with its characters. If you wanted to check out the show for yourself, you'd be in for a fresh Ouran experience!
Much like the live-action Mob Psycho 100, this adaptation also included a considerable number of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai alumni actors in its main cast, as well as one who would move on to Sentai. Tamaki Suou was portrayed by Yusuke Yamamoto, who was previously known for his role in 2006’s Kamen Rider Kabuto as Tsurugi Kamishiro/Kamen Rider Sasword. Yamamoto also had a role in a 2012 live-action version of Great Teacher Onizuka.
The Hitachiin siblings were played by twin brothers Shinpei and Manpei Takagi, the latter of whom played Retsu Fukami/GekiBlue in 2007’s Juken Sentai Gekiranger. Shinpei Takagi had brief roles in Super Sentai history as well! The bunny-hugging Mitsukuni “Honey” Haninozuka and the gothic, photophobic Umehito Nekozawa were played by Yudai Chiba and Ryo Ryusei respectively, each of whom portrayed red Sentai rangers in their careers.
Future Diary: Another World (2012 drama series)
This version of the violent survival game anime is a vastly different take on the source material. While it borrows a few details from the original story, there are notable alterations throughout. Seven people (as opposed to 12) are given cellphones that predict the future and are thrust into a dangerous game where the last person standing can create a new future.
The protagonists of the original series have counterparts in the live-action characters, but with different names and personalities. A major example includes Yuno Furusaki, the counterpart to yandere mascot Yuno Gasai. Furusaki retains her stalker-like affection for protagonist Arata Hoshino and immediately resolves to defeat anyone who would do him harm, but she does not initially display any of the hyper-violent tendencies that her anime portrayal is infamous for. As its own original narrative, it's certainly worth checking out to see how unique it is from its predecessor.
Gegege no Kitaro (2007-2008 film series)
Gegege no Kitaro has seen several anime revivals and films over more than 50 years, including its most recent weekly-airing adaptation. It should come as no surprise that two live-action films came about in 2007 and 2008 (not to mention a live action drama in 1985). Portrayed as a young man rather than a boy as he is traditionally shown, Kitaro works with his yokai friends to defend the human world from evil yokai that would do them harm. Using this “monster-of-the-week” format, the live action movies were able to tell noticeably original stories, albeit borrowing from some of the franchise’s classic arcs. The first film reportedly earned more than 23.4 billion yen throughout its theatrical run.
Kitaro was portayed by Eiji Wentz, an American Japanese singer who also performed the theme song for the first film. Kitaro's father, Daddy Eyeball, was voiced by Isamu Tanonaka, who had voiced the character since 1968. He is known for voicing the character in almost every Gegege no Kitaro adaptation throughout his lifetime!
Black Butler (2014 film)
The demonic butler, Sebastian Michaelis, made a silver screen debut in 2014 with a live-action cast. He was portrayed Hiro Mizushima, who also co-wrote and co-produced the film. He is best known for his starring role in 2006’s Kamen Rider Kabuto. He also starred in the live action adaptations of Gokusen and Beck.
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The overall plot remains the same, wherein a young child’s soul is bound to a demon in exchange for its eternal servitude, but it diverges from the source material in multiple respects. The film is set in a modern nation in the year 2020, a far cry from the anime’s original setting in Victorian-era London. Main protagonist Ciel Phantomhive became Shiori Genpou, a female descendant of the Phantomhives who disguises herself as a male descendant to retain her stake in the Phantomhive legacy. Characters like Angelina Dalles and Mey-Rin see Japanese name changes in their live-action counterparts. The film debuted at number 3 in the Japanese box office during its weekend premiere.
Live action adaptations are something of an institution in the anime world. The adaptations listed here are far from the only ones out there, and they'll likely be around for years to come. With adaptations Cowboy Bebop and Your Name on the horizon, it'll be interesting to see how they'll stack up to the original works!
Have you checked out any of the live action anime adaptations listed here? What anime would you want to see receive the live-action treatment? Let us know in the comments!
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Carlos is a freelance features writer for Crunchyroll. Their favorite genres range from magical girls to over-the-top robot action, yet their favorite characters are always the obscure ones. Check out some of their satirical work on The Hard Times.
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