{"id":21849,"date":"2023-10-15T11:24:33","date_gmt":"2023-10-15T10:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lostinanime.com\/?p=239788"},"modified":"2023-10-15T11:24:33","modified_gmt":"2023-10-15T10:24:33","slug":"lia-bespoke-project-live-action-anime-on-stage-and-screen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/15\/lia-bespoke-project-live-action-anime-on-stage-and-screen\/","title":{"rendered":"LiA Bespoke Project \u2013 Live-action Anime on Stage and Screen"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As anime fans, most of us from the West have very little exposure to the world of live-action anime and manga adaptations. \u00a0Most live-action TV dramas are never subtitled (and certainly not dubbed) into English. \u00a0Netflix has made that less of a hard and fast rule than it used to be, but that amounts to relatively rare exceptions. \u00a0And unless one happens to be in Japan, stage productions may as well not exist at all for foreign audiences.<\/p>\n

The fact is, though, this is a very big business. \u00a0From humble beginnings half a century ago stage adaptations of animanga have evolved into a cottage industry, complete with its own set of tropes. \u00a0As for live-action TV, it\u2019s become more common for shoujo titles to be adapted that way than into anime, and seinen isn\u2019t far behind. \u00a0Sometimes we get both, and sometimes even at the same time – as with Boku Dake ga Inai Machi <\/em>and Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia<\/em>. \u00a0That might seem counter-productive from a marketing standpoint – aren\u2019t you competing against yourself for consumer Yen? \u00a0But if it wasn\u2019t profitable it wouldn\u2019t be happening in an industry where profit trumps everything.<\/p>\n

Then we have theatrical films, and they too represent a huge chunk of business these days. \u00a0We do actually see some of these make it into English, if they\u2019re popular enough – the Rurouni Kenshin<\/em> movies<\/a> come to mind. \u00a0If a franchise gets a live-action theatrical film, you can bet it\u2019s a powerhouse – something along the lines of RuroKen<\/em> or Kingdom<\/em>. \u00a0Plays and TV shows can be done a lot cheaper of course, at a cost where they can justify their existence as advertisement for the source material (as is the case with many anime). \u00a0But movies are a \u00a0different beast.<\/p>\n

Stage adaptations of manga started with the Takarazuka Revue<\/a> (a legendary troupe in its own right) taking on Rose of Versailles<\/em>. \u00a0This phenomenon tool a quantum leap with the Hunter X Hunter<\/em><\/a> stage play (it\u2019s had several since) in 2000, which made a splash by being the first to cast the anime seiyuu as their characters on-stage. \u00a0Then, in 2003, the Prince of Tennis<\/em><\/a> musical was a monster hit, drawing over two million customers over its run. \u00a0That one, it could be argued, has been more influential on the modern product than any other.<\/p>\n

Stage plays today are broadly referred to as \u201c2.5D\u201d. \u00a0These are especially popular with young women and teen girls, and serve as a launching pad for many young actors. \u00a02.5D musicals had become a \u00a522 billion market by 2018, and virtually every anime popular with the otome demographic seems to get one sooner or later. \u00a0Frankly every one I\u2019ve ever seen footage of strikes me as extremely silly, but of course I\u2019m not the target audience. \u00a0Women in short pants prancing about the stage pretending to be young boys doesn\u2019t exactly lend itself to suspension of disbelief, but the fact is, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s really supposed to.<\/p>\n

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As to live-action dramas (and films) of manga and anime, the track record is a mixed bag for me. \u00a0There seems to be a broadly expected sense of overacting to most of them which I find unappealing – ironically, a factor I find in most English anime dubs when compared to Japanese ones). \u00a0That said, there are some live-action dramas which have worked for me – none better than their anime counterparts, I would say, but some pretty darn close. \u00a0Here are a few of my personal favorites.<\/p>\n