Poll: Akira Remake...What is wrong with that phrase?

[Dango]

Let me look look at this from the view of a teenage anime fan:

The only two possible scenarios:

Scenario 1 (The less likely one). The movie is absolutely amazing, and it turns out becoming a classic among teens. Everyone my age loves it. I expect them to be more tolerant of anime, and possibly try to get them into anime, or at least try to show them the original Akira. They decline and make fun of me for liking anime because it's foreign and "nerdy". I am lonely.

Scenario 2 (The pretty much inevitable one). The movie is a commercial and critical failure, everyone makes fun of it, and it farther worsens anime in the eyes of teenagers. I am, once again, lonely.

Either way, if the movie is made, I lose.

SNIPPITY

The problem is less that they're changing the names and more that they are changing everything. They're taking a foreign production and Americanizing it so they can appeal to a bunch of teenagers that don't even view anime as socially "normal", just so they can make a decent profit. Most people won't see it because of it's relation to anime, and most anime fans won't see it because they view it as butchering something they love. It's a stupid for a movie to begin with.

 

[Julianking93]

I've never seen the original but this new one just sounds like a bad idea all around.
Same with the Death Note remake, though since I have strong feelings about Death Note to begin with, that will be infinitely worse for me. >.>

 

[Trogdor1138]

Tell me one good reason that this film should be made?

I'll remind you that it's a big budget Hollywood film, so expect absolutely anything that you feel could benefit a new version being made completely thrown out the window.

They've already changed everything about the core film and we haven't even scratched the surface of the film yet. Expect the worst, I doubt I'll ever see it.

 

[mireko]

I'm glad they're not remaking something unambiguously good, at least.

[sub]Or is that worse?[/sub]

 

[TyrantGanado]

All I can think of is this [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HijackedByJesus] happening. I mean I'm not going to defend Akira to the ends of the Earth, it wasn't perfect. But....gah.

 

[zarix2311]

One word, one really long word. nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 

[blind_dead_mcjones]

It is slated by IMDB to have a 2013 release date.

I am now rooting for the world to end in 2012
In all seriousness I'm probably just going to skip this one. While the original animation wasn't perfect it was something so uniquely Japanese and Anime that changing every single element makes it into something completely different. I don't understand why film makers can't just make their own films and in the credits say what inspired by ______.

because for both the american producers and the original japanese owners its a great deal

the american studio gets a ready made plot for much cheaper then they would having to come up with something from scratch

and the japanese studio that holds the original licence is happy because the money they're paid by the american stuudio is by and large far more than what they will ever see from dvd sales and the box office

in short everybody involved in the project wins, the only people who lose out is the audience

Actually, I'm surprised that Michael Bay hadn't already jumped at the chance to do a Gundam movie. The earlier series in particular are almost formulaic Bay movies.

probably because someone beat him to it, i take it you have never heard of G-saviour?

 

[thecoreyhlltt]

So recently a friend of mine from college forwarded me some information on a live action, big budget remake of Akira. Yes, Akira, the most classic of anime films that summed up the genre for an entire generation that is not just a masterpiece of animation, but writing as well. It introduced many people to a world where cartoons could be visceral, gritty, and evoke the same emotions as a live action film. So, what is wrong here? In a word everything.

The live action version is being moved from Tokyo to New York. The characters are being changed to white characters and Robert Pattinson and Zac Efron are on the shortlist and in negotiations to play in a lead role. I'm not joking I'm entirely serious. Regardless of who is cast, Tetsuo is becoming 'Travis' and Kaneda is now 'Kevin', and I will reiterate I am not joking. Apparently, many of the darker themes of the original are being thrown out and rewritten to give it a PG-13 rating as well by the writers and crew who brought you the Book of Eli. It is slated by IMDB to have a 2013 release date.

So what does everyone think about this? Are you as horrified and mildly disgusted as I am?

GODDAMNIT!! IT'S DEATHNOTE ALL OVER AGAIN!! EXCEPT WORSE!!!!!

 

[Gottesstrafe]

Actually, I'm surprised that Michael Bay hadn't already jumped at the chance to do a Gundam movie. The earlier series in particular are almost formulaic Bay movies.

probably because someone beat him to it, i take it you have never heard of G-saviour?

Meant along the lines of a big budget AAA movie license. You know, more Michael Bay's Transformers than Leigh Scott's Transmorphers.

Took a look at G-saviour on youtube out of interest, first impression was a better than average SciFi channel release (NOT gonna acknowledge that SyFy mess).

GODDAMNIT!! IT'S DEATHNOTE ALL OVER AGAIN!! EXCEPT WORSE!!!!!

It could always be worse.

Spoiler

Don't [http://totallylookslike.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/ryuk.jpg] believe [http://media-worlds.theotaku.com/18818-781030-20100720192021.jpg] me [http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2009/8/4/128938854968880187.jpg] ? [http://i28.tinypic.com/xkra6x.png]

 

[blind_dead_mcjones]

Meant along the lines of a big budget AAA movie license. You know, more Michael Bay's Transformers than Leigh Scott's Transmorphers.

ahhk, well in any case a AAA live action adaptation that wouldn't be happening anyway, simply because:

- Gundam is bandai's cash cow, and they definately have no plans to give that up for anything
- given gundam's status as a pop culture symbol in japan, and taking into account the nature of subsets of the gundam fanbase. any changes made will not go down very well (it would make the current raging demonstrated in this thread look minor by comparison)
- the entire clusterfuck known as bandai's first attempt to market the Gundam franchise to the US back in '95
- the fact that bandai does not really give a flying toss about the north american audience, or indeed the entire western audience in general, they make more than enough money to break even from the local audience that anything after that is just filler

 

[Nico4]

Bloody Hollywood -.- Why must they ruin everything! D:

Does the existence of a remake, no matter how bad, really ruin the original?. I'm pretty sure the original Akira film will still exist as what it has always been.

Not really, but it's still painfull to watch, how little they have respect for the original film.

 

[CrashBang]

No, no I won't go see it. I liked the original or, at least, I loved the concept and the plot. The English dub voice acting was a bit meh and it did drag on a bit, but, still, great film. So no. No no no
And here's why: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-urgent-questions-about-live-action-akira-remake/

 

[Engarde]

I didn't find Akira that great to begin with, and it felt wierdly paced and a bit long, so this could work. Or Hollywood could just make it worse. Who knows?

 

[Scarim Coral]

Name me a film were the American remake had actually supass the original Asian film?
Ok granted The Departed was actually good for a remake but I still prefer the orignal film Internal Affairs. Also I wouldn't really watch the remake (unless my mates got me to watch it with them) anyway if it did turn out good since I didn't like the film to start of with (but I can see why it was impressive at that time).

 

[Weslebear]

Released in 2013 you say?

The 2012 predictions better fucking well come true, this shit needs to stop at the cost of everything.

 

[Nexus4]

I would watch it for the novelty's sake.

TRRRAAVVIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!
KKKEEEEVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNN!!
THAT's Mr Kevin to you, PUNK!

 

[tigermilk]

So recently a friend of mine from college forwarded me some information on a live action, big budget remake of Akira.
Are you as horrified and mildly disgusted as I am?

...Resisting tempatation to shoot the messenger... On the one hand I feel I should keep my mind open and not write of a film while it is in pre-production (or even earlier). In this case though from what you have described it is just wrong on so many levels. Considering the "Japanesseness" of the original the specific cultural references and use of the medium of animation it just seems wrong and distasteful on so many levels.

I can't even console myself that it will increase awareness of the original. *Sighs* wrong on every conceivable level (and probably some inconceivable levels as well).