So far, this Winter season’s been a goddamn joy: as it stands right now, I’ve picked up 10 new winter anime. That obviously speaks well to my terrible taste (why yes, I am watching that Testament show, and boy is it bad yet I can’t stop watching), but in general, this season’s been pleasant. And hopefully with my determination to stay on schedule with everything I’m watching, I won’t get behind like I usually do when it comes to the season.
Enough rambling about that though. You come for good reads from the internet! So let me get you to them!
“Through Older Lenses: Letting Go of Live Action” by Wintermuted
“Adaptation should always be about more than casting. These words have been on my mind for almost two weeks now. Whether it happens or not, the Ghost In The Shell project has again stirred the hornet’s nest. After yet another attempt to adapt a beloved Japanese property to the Hollywood realm did its part to unsettle and stir the pot, it felt time to again dish out the whys. Also, to hopefully quell minds with a few good realities to consider.
A quick fix is rarely a good thing.”
You know, it was extremely interesting to see the reaction of many people when it was announced that Scarlett Johansson would be the lead character in a yet to be fully announced Ghost in The Shell Hollywood adaptation. Easily those two words — Hollywood adaptation — is enough to get people angry. Me? It continues to make me sad. You’d think by now, with what history has shown us when it comes to these adaptations of a Japanese work, that I’d get angry and be upset and declare Hollywood to be a fat joke and all that stuff. Instead, I find myself just going, “Blah. Who cares?” This is basically an indictment of me since I hope, with all the resources Hollywood has in store to actually make a successful transition from a JP production to a US one, that they actually succeed on this project, but needless to say, history and their choosing of Johansson only makes me think of all the ones that have been butchered and well, this one is most likely on the same track.
So reading this piece reminded me of how indifferent I’ve become to all this live action stuff, and not just in the US either. It’s not all sun and roses when the JP do it (see all the Death Note live action reviews), which makes me think that, for the most part, the manga and anime mediums don’t lend itself well to being adapted by people. That or there’s people making crappy selections on what to adapt. Either way, the current state is not very good, and unless the people working on the Hollywood version work closely with the creators and staff, this will be yet another failed attempt and once again, we’ll be hoping Hollywood stays far away from touching anything from Japan. That’s quite a shame.
Other Interests:
- Somehow, a legal way to play region locked 3DS games thanks to RegionThree.
- WORST. POST. EVER!!!
- I ended up making 10 manga predictions over at Manga Bookshelf. Go give that a read or laugh at my predictions.
- Oh hey look, an interview with the person who did the Anime Encyclopedia. That is a good way to start the year off Erica!
- I don’t know how Kyubey entered Cinderella Girls, but Neomo made it so!
Tweets That’s Good For Your Health
"japan is so weird" we have a cartoon about a sponge that lives in a pineapple on the ocean floor and is bad at driving
— Onee-sama (@PrincessPochi) January 12, 2015
Wut pic.twitter.com/avkSdnwzs7
— Tina Amini (@TinaAmini) January 16, 2015
Extremely helpful advice to newer VAs asking favors of established VAs. (Kudos to Laura Post on the find). http://t.co/noKH6V79sD
— Kyle Hebert (@kylehebert) January 13, 2015
God FUCKING help us http://t.co/ir7SaTGBET pic.twitter.com/7ReDvcqIxK
— Bambi II: Now on DVD (@RusselBuck) January 15, 2015
If Rolling Girls is how hentai writers do things usually, holy shit hentai writers need more jobs.
— himeshit (@himeshite) January 17, 2015
VIDEO!!!!
Patrick Klepek, nooooooooooooooooooo
