5 Anime Series That Need Live-Action Adaptations!

While Netflix’s track record with anime adaptations hasn’t all been stellar, there are still a few beloved classics and hits that could actually do well in live-action with the right direction. For every live-action "Cowboy Bebop" that’s out there, things like the 2008 adaptation of Speed Racer show that there’s still room in the tank for good live-action anime. Here are 5 anime shows that are worthy of getting adapted into live-action!

1. "Space Dandy" 

This bombastic series follows the adventures of Dandy, a bounty hunter on the lookout for the galaxy’s rarest species of aliens. He is joined by his mechanical helper QT and the cat-like alien Meow as they travel from world to world. Each episode of the series is mostly self-contained. Since there isn’t a single storyline that the writers need to follow, this lets the writers go wild with what they can do for episodes. In one episode, the characters will be forced to turn into zombies, and the next, they’ll be forced to stop hunting aliens to deal with parking violations. With the right casting, the series could be a breath of fresh air for people wanting less serialized TV to watch. 

2. "The Girl From the Other Side"

This dark fantasy manga series follows a young girl named Shiva and the shadowy figure that she calls Teacher. After being saved from a band of humans that was attacking her, Shiva comes to live with Teacher as the two slowly deal with the origins behind Shiva’s past. The series has produced a few OVA (Original Video Animation) releases and a feature film. As long as an adaptation is able to capture the quiet, gothic atmosphere from the manga and the bond between Shiva and Teacher, then it could be quite successful. 

3. "Great Pretender"

Animated by Studio Wit, "Great Pretender" follows the misadventures of Makoto Edamura, a con artist who gets roped into high-scale robberies and thefts with his partner Laurent Thierry as they travel the world to steal money from corrupt elites. This Netflix exclusive features a wide variety of characters and locations that the characters travel to. From Los Angeles and Singapore to London, and Shanghai, there isn’t anywhere on the planet that Makoto and Laurent aren’t traveling to to complete their heists. 

4. "Chainsaw Man"

This latest mega hit manga from Shonen Jump is rather unorthodox to say the least. The series follows Denji, a devil hunter who fuses with his adorable devil dog Pochita to become Chainsaw Man, a crazy half-human, half-devil hybrid with a lust for battle. The series’ fights are short but violent. Limbs often get torn to shreds, blood is everywhere, and our main characters are often left with serious wounds or worse. Amidst this bloodshed, however, is a genuinely good story about Denji’s quest to finally achieve a normal life for himself outside of the confines of what his employers tell him to do. Any adaptation of this would receive nothing short of an M rating, but with how good Chainsaw Man is, it’d be worth it. 

5. "Samurai Champloo"

Finally, we have "Samurai Champloo". Set in feudal Japan, the story follows two ronin samurai, Jin and Mugen, accompanying their energetic companion Fuu on a quest for the “samurai that smells of sunflowers”. Much like "Space Dandy", "Samurai Champloo"’s episodes are mostly episodic, with the gang dealing with anything from local gangs to games of baseball. But the characters, along with an atmospheric hip-hop soundtrack, are enough to keep you hooked into the show’s world.