Japanese Live Action Movie, Faithful or have Changes?

[Super Sonic]

Was thinking recently due to seeing this trailer for a Japanese live-action Black Butler movie, if they were to make a DB movie in Japan would it be more faithful than DBE, or still have changes like it. For those wondering why from that trailer, it looks like it's taking place in modern day Japan while the Black Butler series takes place in Victorian England.

[helsinkirocks]

Not entirely related, but I hear the live action Rurouni Kenshin movie is rather good...

[dbboxkaifan]

It all depends on the director, script, composer, cast and budget not the country.

If you gave Uwe Boll one hundred million dollars with a great cast he'd still do a shit job because he's a terrible filmmaker.

[UpFromTheSkies]

If they ever do make one, I hope it's completely faithful with no changes, I want to see animal people, talking turtles, dinosaurs, and hovercrafts.

[Gyt Kaliba]

There would likely still be changes - there always has to be - but I have a hopeful outlook that they'd be more likely to try and at least keep the spirit the same. That would help out a lot. There'd still have to be certain changes, however minute, though, and honestly I'm fine with that so long as they don't destroy something about the series. If I want to watch or read exactly what's in the manga and anime...I'll...just go read the manga or watch the anime. The movie doesn't have to adhere 100% for me to be happy.

[shinmaru]

If you gave Uwe Boll one hundred million dollars with a great cast he'd still do a shit job because he's a terrible filmmaker.

Thats not true you need creativity and fantasy.
Creative filmmakers make great movies with low budget.

[Kamiccolo9]

Not entirely related, but I hear the live action Rurouni Kenshin movie is rather good...

Damn right it is. I was extremely pleasantly surprised when I saw it.

....anyway, I don't see why it would be any more accurate just by nature of being Japanese. It would depend on the people making it.

[Hellspawn28]

I hate to agree with DBkaiboxfan for once. Japan has made some awful movies based on anime/manga like Devilman.

[Eddie]

I really don't think a Japanese live action film could work without being fairly awful. It just wouldn't have the big budget Dragon Ball needs to work without being super cheesy. It really wouldn't shock me at all if a theoretical live action Japanese Dragon Ball film had a more pathetic Ozaru than Evolution. The Death Note films are pretty awesome, but the CG doesn't hold up super well. There isn't half as much CG as Dragon Ball would require in both films together. (That's right, BOTH films. That's all they made. )

[Hellspawn28]

The Japanese grew up with the franchise better then we did since DBZ is not even 20 years old yet in the US. Japan could do a better job, but it can still suck. For the Oozaru, we can get better suit work then the awful looking CG Oozaru that we got. Japan is good at making good monster suits in my opinion.

[Ringworm128]

I'm no Japanese film buff but I don't think I've ever seen or heard of one live action Japanese movie that didn't have special effects on par with Dr Who at best. It's probably just me but I think DB deserves more than just some silly Kung Fu Hustle Sentai Godzilla cheese fest, even if DB itself is a bit over the top.

[Hellspawn28]

Most of the Godzilla films are not even cheesy. Americans tend to think if something does not have high art special effects then it's cheesy. Japan's monster suits are just good as the ones as America makes, if not better. Japan can pull off good special effects, just look at the recent Space Battleship Yamato movie.

Also Japan can pull off live action fights similar to DBZ. Just look at the battle between Ultraman Zero vs Darklops Zero (link down below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7xktdtFUME

[Kamiccolo9]

Most of the Godzilla films are not even cheesy. Americans tend to think if something does not have high art special effects then it's cheesy. Japan's monster suits are just good as the ones as America makes, if not better. Japan can pull off good special effects, just look at the recent Space Battleship Yamato movie.

Also Japan can pull off live action fights similar to DBZ. Just look at the battle between Ultraman Zero vs Darklops Zero (link down below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7xktdtFUME

Someone hasn't watched the Showa series Godzilla movies. They are cheesy as hell once you get past Godzilla vs. Mothra.

[Gyt Kaliba]

Godzilla varies wildly, honestly. Some of the movies are super serious, and are good because of it. Others are super serious and not much fun. Some are cheesy as hell, and damn do they play that card well. Others are so goofy that you almost feel you can't even finish them.

Gotta say I'm pretty excited for the new US movie though.

[Hellspawn28]

I seen every Godzilla film. I only found Gigan and Megalon to be campy while Monster Zero and Ghidorah still felt solid sci-fi films. The ones from the 90's and 2000's tend to have a more serious tone expect for Final Wars. Toei could pull off a live action DBZ show or movie, but they need a good budget for it. I would imagine their Oozaru would be done in a suit since Toei has made their giant monsters in the Sentai shows done in suits.

[sailorspazz]

I have no doubt it'd be more accurate than Evolution (really, they'd have to try pretty hard to make it less faithful). Whether it would look good...well, based on other Japanese live-action adaptations I've seen, that's the part that could be a concern. The more they try to portray all the mystical stuff, the more likely it might turn out (as other posters mentioned) looking cheesy. Movies like NANA worked alright since they just had to portray dramatic shoujo angst and musical performances. I've heard the Rurouni Kenshin movie looks great, which makes sense since Japan has a long history of making samurai movies. But looking at the special effects in other live action adaptations with more "out there" content worries me a bit: the Death Note movies had a pretty weird looking Ryuk; the Ranma ½ special was ridiculous in every way (good, bad, and everywhere in between); and the manga-esque elements that were attempted in the Ouran drama were clever, but just didn't work in live action. I'm VERY curious how the live action Attack on Titan will turn out (pretty skeptical at the moment, leaning toward it turning out looking less than stellar).

So I guess if there are certain elements that need to be changed in order to keep a scene from looking stupid in live action, I wouldn't have a problem with that, as long as the overall plot and feel to the story are still intact. I just don't know what they'd do with characters like Oolong. I'm picturing a fat guy painted pink and wearing a prosthetic snout, and the image is not pretty...

[Hellspawn28]

It still depends on the director, the writing and acting. Being faithful does not mean it will be better. Some movies can be in name only and still be pretty good like The Lawnmower Man in my opinion.

[RocktheDragon]

I think that the Japanese would try to be faithful to the source material and be respective of it. That doesn't mean that the movie would be any better than Evolution (though it would be hard to make it worse) but it would definitely be a breath of fresh air to have another go at a live action DB movie from within Japan.

Honestly, even if the film wasn't any good (script, screenplay, acting wise) it would still be such a novelty to get something from the home country that I'd be game. At this point in time I don't think anyone has the resources or the drive to really make a successful DB film franchise.

[Dooiney]

As far as being faithful is concerned, I'm pretty sure Japan would be fine in that department. I have more concerns about how some of the fight scenes would look in live action, but I don't think it's impossible to pull off. I think Scott Pilgrim looked pretty darn good, and its budget was only a little bigger than DBE's was if I'm not mistaken.

Did anyone see the live action Speed Racer movie? I think I'm in the minority, but I enjoyed it. I never liked the Speed Racer cartoon and I don't know how faithful the movie was or wasn't, but it definitely had some anime mojo to it.

And as far as DBE is concerned, I liked the idea of starting the story with Piccolo. I think if someone were to try again, that would be a good place to start if they do it right.

[B]

I tried to think of a real-world re-imagining of DB; a whole new set of characters looking for the balls, but couldn't figure out a believable way for them to be found. I'm fairly certain there's nothing that can pick up the signal of a 3-inch ball that could be located on another continent.