AnimeSuki Forums

KiraYamatoFan · 2016-08-04, 01:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neki Ecko

I am actually want to see if this does work out or not. Sure the West has a very bad record when it comes down to Anime adaptions but it takes time and patience to find one that is going to hit it off.

The only one that worked out well was Edge of Tomorrow (a.k.a. All You Need is Kill), and yet that was one success among many abject failures and unborn projects. I still remember when there was the idea of adapting Neon Genesis Evangelion. My initial excitement was real, but all of that has been relegated in some studio's archive room and has never been brought back since. Adapting a very popular anime/manga into movies for Western audiences is an extremely daunting task.

Seriously, if the Japanese entertainment industry were to adapt Western movies and TV series for Japanese audiences, I'm sure a number of people out there would be crying bloody butchering and murder. Sometimes, it's better not to cross certain lines when an original product has already been successful in itself and needs no shitty adaptations by people who know next to nothing about how deep the original product is.

Obelisk ze Tormentor · 2016-08-04, 03:05

IMO like some people already said, this has a bigger chance of working if they only take the general concept of SAO, ditch a large part of its original story and make something like GoT or WD out of it. I mean, it shouldn’t be too difficult to make a better adaptation when your original source is just a glorified harem fantasy with some nice arcs in between the harem-y narrative.

Diluc · 2016-08-04, 03:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

IMO like some people already said, this has a bigger chance of working if they only take the general concept of SAO, ditch a large part of its original story and make something like GoT or WD out of it. I mean, it shouldn’t be too difficult to make a better adaptation when your original source is just a glorified harem fantasy with some nice arcs in between the harem-y narrative.

Exactly, Western adaptation is not really bad.
As i said before the major problem for SAO is the heavy japanese troupes. The story aren't all bad but harem and japan cliches made SAO unbearable to watch.
who know if Western SAO would become a better SAO than the original.

gocav · 2016-08-04, 12:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Semblance_of_Power

Has there even been any significant number of actually good live action adaptations from Japan? talking specifically about cases where the original material was high on fantasy aspects and not just character drama type of shows.

The only one that comes to mind are the Samurai X/RK movies. As far as I know everything else has been terrible or maybe acceptable in keeping with the spirit of the original source but still pretty bad when compared to mainstream entertainment.

Wasn't there one based on Ring, I think. Never saw it but I heard it was good. Also, The Magnificent Seven was based on Seven Samurai(both awesome). I should point out that both of these were films used as a basis and not something like SAO where they are trying to simply make a live action version. It would have been much simpler and better if they had chosen to do the former rather than the latter. At this point, I think the best case scenario would be if they told the story of a guild based in America rather than the primary characters of the LNs/anime. This way they could do whatever they want with race and won't have a Starblazers-type but use the characters we know in periodic appearances to provide familiarity to the fans.

alex_drian · 2016-08-04, 13:10

When the source is a work properly set like DB we know the outcome, but in a plot so generic like SAO you removes the generic elements (gary stu kirito and harem) and you can stard from there. You can't mess up with something so average.

And so far like I can remember the western series are good, now a live action of a japanese franchise is other matter, but that would be a good oportunity.

In summary a SAO free of tropes and cliches of LN japanese is an interesting idea.

KiraYamatoFan · 2016-08-04, 13:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Semblance_of_Power

Has there even been any significant number of actually good live action adaptations from Japan? talking specifically about cases where the original material was high on fantasy aspects and not just character drama type of shows.

The only one that comes to mind are the Samurai X/RK movies. As far as I know everything else has been terrible or maybe acceptable in keeping with the spirit of the original source but still pretty bad when compared to mainstream entertainment.

I think my previous quote was not quite on the money to prevent some confusion. I meant that if the Japanese entertainment industry were to adapt any sort of Western material so it can fit Japanese audiences, there would be a number of people on this side of the world (i.e. Western countries) who would be angry at the Japanese adaptation. So I hope you understand why anime and manga lovers like us are not fond of the prospect of an American adaptation after past failures from the American industry in their attempts to adapt Japanese anime/manga material.

Unless they bring the creator of SAO himself on board to write a part, I have a hard time seeing how an American live-action adaptation of SAO would not be at risk of being another failure. There are big themes that go deep in the story, and no one knows those themes better than the creator himself despite all the other tropes/clichés he also put in there.

wavehawk · 2016-08-05, 05:19

I'm not normally fussed about US adaptations (I'm one of the rare few who are actually looking forward to the live-action Ghost in The Shell). But...I don't have a lot of faith in this. I just feel that there are some stories you can localize and not lose much, but there are some that you just can't translate fully. Or else some that you change so much that whatever comes out is totally unrecognizable. And that's not even taking into account who the directors/scriptwriters are.

We could still be proven wrong, but I don't think SAO is a good fit for a localization. You'd have to have a miracle worker get at it first.

l.kostas · 2017-09-29, 10:40

Live-Action Sword Art Online Series Adds Writer-Producers Patrick Massett, John Zinman
American independent production company Skydance Television announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Patrick Massett and John Zinman (Friday Night Lights executive producers, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider writers) for the pair to serve as writers, showrunners, and executive producers on Skydance television projects, including Skydance's live-action Sword Art Online (SAO) series.
Massett and Zinman are joining Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar, Terminator Genisys) in writing the pilot script, and are executive producing along with Kalogridis and Skydance's Marcy Ross, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg.
http://deadline.com/2017/09/skydance...an-1202178496/
“Patrick and John have shown incredible range in their storytelling capabilities, from subtle character drama to big, world-building action, and we are beyond fortunate that they have joined the Skydance family,” said Skydance Television President Marcy Ross. “We’re already deep in development with Patrick, John, and Laeta on our larger than life Skydance SAO series, in which we aim not only to satisfy the franchise’s enthusiastic sci-fi and anime fan base but also to appeal to new TV audiences the world over.”
Said Massett and Zinman in a joint statement: “The fantastical world of SAO offers an unparalleled opportunity to tell stories that resonate on both an epic and human scale. We couldn’t ask for better partners than Skydance and Laeta to help us bring this global pop culture phenomenon to new life on television.”

AnimeFangirl · 2017-09-29, 11:46

I think it's a great fit for localization as long they don't try to be too faithful to the source material. It's not that hard to get the concept of "If you die in the game you die in real life" right. Then all you need is a cute girl to play Asuna and a bland lead to play Kirito and you're done. You can even rename them Chris and Anna, I don't mind.

wavehawk · 2017-09-30, 07:48

To quote Luke Skywalker: "I have a bad feeling about this..."

Sure they can be a little more loose with the source material and it could work, but...for some reason I'm feeling this live action SAO will be a bust of G-Saviour proportions. There's a balancing line between too faithful (and losing everything about it) and being too loose (why even call it SAO)?

May just be me feeling miserable right now but I don't really have much faith in adaptations or kinda sequels to stuff I like lately.

Kazu-kun · 2017-09-30, 16:56

They should keep the core idea of "getting stuck inside a game when you can die for real" and change everything else. SAO is very anime, so to speak, so it wouldn't transition well to live action if they tried to be too faithful.

IceHism · 2017-09-30, 18:49

I hope kirito gets renamed to Chad. Chad Thundercock. And Asuna can be Stacy. It fits so perfectly.

Anyways I hope it's nothing like jp SAO. Make it more like game of thrones.

Seafoam · 2017-09-30, 19:03

You know what, if they're gonna do this, sure, go full GoT. It'd basically be a high budget fanfiction. But SAO's first arc is so riddled with inconsistencies and would look like DB Evolution if they tried to emulate it in real life.

l.kostas · 2018-02-14, 11:43

Live-Action Sword Art Online Producer: Series Sold to Netflix, Will Have Asian Lead Actors

Skydance Television's Sword Art Online live-action series writer and executive producer Laeta Kalogridis (Altered Carbon) said in an interview with Collider posted on Tuesday that the series has been sold to Netflix, and that "Kirito and Asuna will be played by Asian actors."
Kalogridis made a similar comment to the Philippine Daily Inquirer in January. "I recently sold “SAO” (Sword Art Online) to Netflix," she said, "and part of the agreement was that Kitty Cat Asuna would remain Asian." (Note: Kalogridis most likely said "Kirito and Asuna.")

http://collider.com/sword-art-online...dis-interview/
Asuna is sort of the savior of the world, in my mind and in the mind of the showrunners, [Patrick] Massett and [John] Zinman, who are doing the show. There’s a real ability to explore a fantasy-based The Lord of the Rings / Game of Thrones kind of world through the lens of these people who are trapped in it and don’t necessarily want to be there, but who have to learn how to survive in it.

AC-Phoenix · 2018-02-18, 15:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by l.kostas

Live-Action Sword Art Online Producer: Series Sold to Netflix, Will Have Asian Lead Actors

Skydance Television's Sword Art Online live-action series writer and executive producer Laeta Kalogridis (Altered Carbon) said in an interview with Collider posted on Tuesday that the series has been sold to Netflix, and that "Kirito and Asuna will be played by Asian actors."
Kalogridis made a similar comment to the Philippine Daily Inquirer in January. "I recently sold “SAO” (Sword Art Online) to Netflix," she said, "and part of the agreement was that Kitty Cat Asuna would remain Asian." (Note: Kalogridis most likely said "Kirito and Asuna.")

I hope so, because renaming the characters doesn't make sense at all. I just hope that Leafa.
I just wonder if Leafa remains asian too then.

2016-08-04, 03:05	Link #22
Obelisk ze Tormentor Black Steel Knight Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Indonesia	IMO like some people already said, this has a bigger chance of working if they only take the general concept of SAO, ditch a large part of its original story and make something like GoT or WD out of it. I mean, it shouldn’t be too difficult to make a better adaptation when your original source is just a glorified harem fantasy with some nice arcs in between the harem-y narrative. __________________

2016-08-05, 05:19	Link #27
wavehawk Some say I'm the Reverse Join Date: Jul 2006	I'm not normally fussed about US adaptations (I'm one of the rare few who are actually looking forward to the live-action Ghost in The Shell). But...I don't have a lot of faith in this. I just feel that there are some stories you can localize and not lose much, but there are some that you just can't translate fully. Or else some that you change so much that whatever comes out is totally unrecognizable. And that's not even taking into account who the directors/scriptwriters are. We could still be proven wrong, but I don't think SAO is a good fit for a localization. You'd have to have a miracle worker get at it first. __________________ "We haven't been properly introduced..."

2017-09-29, 10:40	Link #28
l.kostas Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012	Live-Action Sword Art Online Series Adds Writer-Producers Patrick Massett, John Zinman American independent production company Skydance Television announced that it has signed a multi-year agreement with Patrick Massett and John Zinman (Friday Night Lights executive producers, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider writers) for the pair to serve as writers, showrunners, and executive producers on Skydance television projects, including Skydance's live-action Sword Art Online (SAO) series. Massett and Zinman are joining Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar, Terminator Genisys) in writing the pilot script, and are executive producing along with Kalogridis and Skydance's Marcy Ross, David Ellison, and Dana Goldberg. http://deadline.com/2017/09/skydance...an-1202178496/ “Patrick and John have shown incredible range in their storytelling capabilities, from subtle character drama to big, world-building action, and we are beyond fortunate that they have joined the Skydance family,” said Skydance Television President Marcy Ross. “We’re already deep in development with Patrick, John, and Laeta on our larger than life Skydance SAO series, in which we aim not only to satisfy the franchise’s enthusiastic sci-fi and anime fan base but also to appeal to new TV audiences the world over.” Said Massett and Zinman in a joint statement: “The fantastical world of SAO offers an unparalleled opportunity to tell stories that resonate on both an epic and human scale. We couldn’t ask for better partners than Skydance and Laeta to help us bring this global pop culture phenomenon to new life on television.” Last edited by l.kostas; 2017-09-29 at 11:55.

2017-09-29, 11:46	Link #29
AnimeFangirl Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The dog gossips too much.	I think it's a great fit for localization as long they don't try to be too faithful to the source material. It's not that hard to get the concept of "If you die in the game you die in real life" right. Then all you need is a cute girl to play Asuna and a bland lead to play Kirito and you're done. You can even rename them Chris and Anna, I don't mind. __________________ Last edited by AnimeFangirl; 2017-09-29 at 11:58.

2017-09-30, 07:48	Link #30
wavehawk Some say I'm the Reverse Join Date: Jul 2006	To quote Luke Skywalker: "I have a bad feeling about this..." Sure they can be a little more loose with the source material and it could work, but...for some reason I'm feeling this live action SAO will be a bust of G-Saviour proportions. There's a balancing line between too faithful (and losing everything about it) and being too loose (why even call it SAO)? May just be me feeling miserable right now but I don't really have much faith in adaptations or kinda sequels to stuff I like lately. __________________ "We haven't been properly introduced..."

2016-08-04, 13:10	Link #25
alex_drian Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2015	When the source is a work properly set like DB we know the outcome, but in a plot so generic like SAO you removes the generic elements (gary stu kirito and harem) and you can stard from there. You can't mess up with something so average. And so far like I can remember the western series are good, now a live action of a japanese franchise is other matter, but that would be a good oportunity. In summary a SAO free of tropes and cliches of LN japanese is an interesting idea.

2017-09-30, 16:56	Link #31
Kazu-kun Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006	They should keep the core idea of "getting stuck inside a game when you can die for real" and change everything else. SAO is very anime, so to speak, so it wouldn't transition well to live action if they tried to be too faithful. __________________

2017-09-30, 18:49	Link #32
IceHism Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2014	I hope kirito gets renamed to Chad. Chad Thundercock. And Asuna can be Stacy. It fits so perfectly. Anyways I hope it's nothing like jp SAO. Make it more like game of thrones.

2017-09-30, 19:03	Link #33
Seafoam 『Lolimancer』 Graphic Designer Join Date: Apr 2014	You know what, if they're gonna do this, sure, go full GoT. It'd basically be a high budget fanfiction. But SAO's first arc is so riddled with inconsistencies and would look like DB Evolution if they tried to emulate it in real life.

2018-02-14, 11:43	Link #34
l.kostas Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012	Live-Action Sword Art Online Producer: Series Sold to Netflix, Will Have Asian Lead Actors Skydance Television's Sword Art Online live-action series writer and executive producer Laeta Kalogridis (Altered Carbon) said in an interview with Collider posted on Tuesday that the series has been sold to Netflix, and that "Kirito and Asuna will be played by Asian actors." Kalogridis made a similar comment to the Philippine Daily Inquirer in January. "I recently sold “SAO” (Sword Art Online) to Netflix," she said, "and part of the agreement was that Kitty Cat Asuna would remain Asian." (Note: Kalogridis most likely said "Kirito and Asuna.") http://collider.com/sword-art-online...dis-interview/ Asuna is sort of the savior of the world, in my mind and in the mind of the showrunners, [Patrick] Massett and [John] Zinman, who are doing the show. There’s a real ability to explore a fantasy-based The Lord of the Rings / Game of Thrones kind of world through the lens of these people who are trapped in it and don’t necessarily want to be there, but who have to learn how to survive in it. Last edited by l.kostas; 2018-02-18 at 02:19.