Goku - Justin Chatwin
Played Jeremy Creek in Smallville.

Piccolo - James masters
Played as spike in Buffy the vampire slayer.

Chichi - Jamie Chung
played in Veronica Mars

Sensing a theme here? It looks like Wong drafted the entire Teen Idol awards for '02. alright, alright, I'm being a little over the top here but I've got the right to be critical. this was my favorite anime of all time. Ok, so where are we? Ah, right. What about the effects? well not too surprising, the movie effects produced by Amalgamated Dynamics, Ollin Studios, Zoic Studios, and Imagin Engine will keep the Energy blasts and auras we all know and love. My only hope is that the graphics are more like "The Matrix" and less like this guy:

So what do we know about this already? Bulma will not have blue hair, We won't hear anything from our pals oolong, Puar, and the Turtle, and a good portion of the movie was filmed in a Mexican jeans factory... Look, I'm not going to condemn the movie right here and now. I'll give it a fair and balanced (like fox's fair and balanced) review when I go check it out in 2009.

But while there are plenty of anime-based properties on the way to sate fans' curiosities, there are plenty more anime titles out there that could get the live action treatment, provided a proper script is written and the right director chosen. So here's a list of some of those titles that deserve an adaptation, along with how they should be done and who should do them. Hollywood, take notes so you can do your jobs.

TRIGUN

The Anime:

Far into the future, on the distant planet of Gunsmoke where a “Wild West”-style civilization has risen up, the most wanted and dangerous man alive is Vash the Stampede, a gunslinger so dangerous that he has a 60,000,000,000 double-dollar bounty on his head for destroying the entire city of July. But in reality, Vash is peace-loving goofball who refuses to kill, no matter how dangerous things get. With bounty hunters after him and insurance agents Meryl and Millie and gun-toting priest Nicolas D. Wolfwood at his side, Vash travels the land looking for Knives, a man with a mysterious connection with him, while Knives sends his own agents, the Gung-Ho Guns, to either kill Vash or make him do the one thing he doesn't want to: kill.

The Movie

Making a “Trigun” movie would be rather easy, providing the story takes its primary basis from the anime, which told a more straight-forward story as compared to Yashiro Nightow's original manga. The movie itself would actually be a trilogy of films, which many sci-fi, fantasy and westerns are done best as. Each film would focus on a different act of the story. Film 1 would, of course, introduce Vash and the rest of the cast as he tries to survive a bounty hunter's plot to take him down. Film 2 would start to get into the main part of the story, introducing the Gung-ho Guns as they attack Vash and endanger those around him. The third and final film would reveal Vash's origin and his connection to Knives, leading up to their final confrontation.

As for directing this project, who better and more qualified than Robert Rodriguez? He's done western-style films with his “Mexican” trilogy, which also sported tricked out and hidden weapons, which “Trigun” has aplenty, such as Wolfwood's giant cross that contains a small arsenal of guns and later converts into a massive machine gun. He's done sci-fi comedy with the “Spy Kids” films, and he's done comic book adaptations with “Sin City”. He could even film the “Trigun” movies the same way, with the actors on a green-screen soundstage and the backgrounds added in later with CGI. Given some of the odd visuals of the original story, this might be a necessity.

GUNSMITH CATS/RIDING BEAN

The Anime:

This is actually two different anime, but both feature similar characters and were created by Kenichi Sonoda. “Gunsmith Cats” focuses on the adventures of bounty hunter Rally Vincent, as she hunts down dangerous criminals with her almost-unmatched skill with a gun and her bomb-toting partner, “Minnie” May Hopkins. “Riding Bean”, a one-shot OAV Sonoda created earlier, featured wheelman-for-hire Bean Bandit using his tricked out muscle car, the Road Buster, to outrun police and clear his name out of a kidnapping plot. It also featured an early version of Rally, who was Bean's partner in the OAV, while the “Gunsmith Cats” manga has Bean as a recurring supporting character who Rally and May frequently butted heads with. While its not sure how the two are connected (especially since Rally in the “Bean” OAV is blond and white while in “Gunsmith Cats” she has dark hair and skin), both are enjoyed by fans.

The Movie:

It wouldn't be too hard to adapt this one for American audiences, considering both stories are already set in America, Chicago, to be precise! Hollywood's best bet would be to first make a “Gunsmith Cats” movie, perhaps adapting the first volume of Sonoda's original manga with Rally and May chasing dangerous brother and sister gunrunners Bonnie and Clyde and Bean Bandit involved as the hired wheelman, but playing a bigger role than he did in the original manga. And while sequels for “Cats” would be a must depending on the first film's success, there could also be a “Riding Bean” spin-off, with Bean on his own solo adventure, either doing an original story or even adapting and expanding the original OAV. And to direct a film that has lots of guns and plenty of fast cars (Rally drives a tricked out Shelby GT Cobra), there's no better man qualified than Rob Cohen, director of “The Fast and the Furious”. And before anyone suggest Vin Diesel or Jason Stratham to possibly play ultra-cool badass Bean (a role both men are qualified for), bear in mind Bean has hair, and both actors look their best bald, not to mention there's Stratham's rather heavy British accent.

BUBBLEGUM CRISIS

The Anime:

In the year 2032, ten years after a devastating earthquake, the city of MegaTokyo is all but run by the powerful Genom Corporation with its humanoid robots known as “Boomers”. But sometimes Boomers go bad, rampaging through the streets, and no one, not even the AD Police, can really stop them. No one, that is, except the Knight Sabers, a group of four women in advanced hi-tech armor. Led by Sylia Stingray, daughter of the murdered creator of the Boomers, the Knight Sabers -- consisting of tough biker-rocker Priss, athletic Linna and cute computer hacker Nene -- fight to take down Genom and its leader, Quincy, while doing the occasional mercenary jobs and fighting other enemies who threaten MegaTokyo. A hit OAV series that helped launch the anime invasion, it was recently followed up with a TV series remake, “Bubblegum Crisis 2040", which sported new character designs and a few new mysteries.

The Movie:

Dystopian, high tech future societies are a common theme in Hollywood, and the “BGC” anime takes a lot of cues from one of the best, “Blade Runner”. Naturally, Ridley Scott would be considered the best choice to direct the movie version, as would maybe James Cameron. But Scott may not want to rehash what he already did with “Blade Runner”, and fans may want Cameron to finish up his adaptation of “Battle Angel” first. So that leaves perhaps another good choice in Alex Proyas, director of “The Crow” and the recent “I, Robot”, the latter of which also took place in a future society where robots are commonplace. For effects, there's only one man to do it, and that's Stan Winston, who did the effects for both the “Terminator” movies and the upcoming “Iron Man” and can tackle humanoid robots and powered armor in one movie. The story itself would mainly take its cues from the original OAV, satisfying a lot of the purist fans, but still mix in some stuff from the “2040" TV series. Perhaps the first in a series of films, it would focus on the Knight Sabers being assembled and their first missions, with their clashing personalities threatening to drive the team apart at the worst possible time. Casting would be a bit difficult, especially for the part of Priss, as we'd need an actress who do tough and also sing. Though as long as they don't get Lindsay Lohan, it'd be good.

COWBOY BEBOP

The Anime:

In the not-so-distant future, man has spread out across the solar system, terraforming and colonizing the other planets and using hyperspace gates to travel about in ships both commercial and private. One such ship is the Bebop, whose crew work as bounty hunters, hunting down criminals and collecting the rewards. The jobs are hard enough, and the interactions of this bunch -- ex-mobster Spike, gruff ex-cop Jet, sneaky and greedy Faye and quirky computer hacker Ed -- don't make them any easier. Especially since Spike would like nothing more than to find his missing love Julia and settle an old score with his former friend, Vicious. Sporting a jazzy soundtrack and lots of intrigue and gunplay, the series was a hit in both Japan and America and is still considering by many to perhaps be the best anime of all time.

The Movie:

A live-action movie seems like a no-brainer for this title, especially if John Woo were to be involved as either the director or even as a producer to help guide the action. Given the episodic nature of the series, it would be tough to adapt any particular story, but rather instead to more or less do an original tale that focuses on a job started by Spike and Jet that also gets Faye and Ed involved and the group forced to work together. Since there's only so much you can get into a couple of hours, the subplot involving Julia and Vicious would not be a focus, but could be hinted at and/or even referred to in flashbacks to set up for sequels. Effects, of course, would be done by Industrial Light and Magic, who made their niche doing sci-fi effects involving space ships and the battles that follow. Casting for this one would also be a tough one, save of course for Ein, the Welsh Corgi that serves as the show's mascot.

DEATH NOTE

The Anime:

Bored genius Light Yagami finds a Death Note, a tool of the shinigami (“death gods”) that can end the life of whoever's name is written in it. Quickly discovering its power, Light goes to work killing off the criminals of the world, but soon attracts the attention of the police and the mysterious detective known only as L, who is determined to prove that Light is the killer. What follows is a twisted game of cat-and-mouse as Light and L try to outsmart one another, and it soon becomes clear that there are others who have Death Notes of their own. A huge hit in both manga and anime form, currently enjoying a successful run on the late night Adult Swim line-up.

The Movie:

“Death Note” has already been made into not one, but TWO hit live action movies in Japan, both of which will be released in America by VIZ Media. So it wouldn't be a surprise if Hollywood were to do an Americanized remake, given its recent habit of doing such. There is, of course, too much of the original story to cram into one movie, so perhaps a short series of films would work, chronicling different acts of the story from Light's discovery of the Death Note and L's involvement and so forth. Main characters Light and L would most likely be cast by unknowns, a trick that more than often works, while the shinigami, in particularly Light's guide Ryuk, would be done using motion capture CGI in the same vein as Gollum or the Silver Surfer. As for a director, a Japanese one would work, but perhaps one who is experienced in doing suspenseful, psychological cat-and-mouse thrillers would be best, such as David Finch of “Seven” fame.

GUYVER

The Anime:

While walking through the woods one day, teenager Sho Fukamachi discovers the Guyver unit, an alien bio-booster armor that bonds with him and grants him extraordinary weapons and abilities. Now Sho must use those powers to protect himself and his friends from the Chronos Corporation, who will stop at nothing to get the Guyver back and use it in their plans to take over the world using their genetic creations, the Zoanoids. The original twelve-part OAV series helped launch the anime invasion, and it recently got new life by being made into a new TV series.

The Movie:

“The Guyver” was made into a live-action, direct-to-video film back in the "90s that most anime purists avoid but still has a cult following, enough to get a sequel that sported improved special effects and action. And given Hollywood"s knack for rebooting franchises that desperately needed it, it wouldn't be a stretch to start fresh with “Guyver” and create a film that stayed closer to the original story. Both CGI and old-fashioned prosthetics would help bring both the Guyver and the Zoanoids (which would resemble more their anime counterparts rather than the goofy-looking anime hybrids of the previous films) to life in a way that would both amaze and frighten audiences. Special effects whiz Rick Baker would be the best choice for this, having proved his talents in such films as “The Thing” and “Men in Black”. For the director, who better than Guillermo del Toro, who fought long and hard to make sure “Hellboy” stayed true to the original comic and would do the same for “Guyver”, and has a knack for films that feature freaky and fantastic monsters?

READ OR DIE

The Anime:

Substitute teacher and book fanatic Yomiko Readman is more than she appears. She's also an agent for the Special Operations Division of the British Library, whose job it is to protect literacy and to make sure certain books don't fall into the wrong hands. Codenamed the Paper, Yomiko uses her ability to manipulate paper into any shape she wants to battle terrorists alongside Nancy Makuhari, aka “Miss Deep” for her ability to move through solid objects, and tough-as-nails commando Drake Anderson. The group fought against clones of famous historical figures such as Beethoven and Matta Hari in the original OAV, while a spin-off TV series featured the Paper Sisters, a group of girls with powers similar to Yoriko.

The Movie:

It would be “James Bond meets the X-Men” in a live action version of this popular title. The plot would be rather simple, more or less adapting the OAV in the plot of using a rare book that has plans to conquer/destroy the world, but maybe leaving out the ideas of historical clones. The movies could also adapt the original light novels written by Hideyuki Kurata, perhaps even Yomiko's first mission when she's recruited by the British Library Special Ops Division. Naturally, CGI would be used for Yomiko's paper manipulating abilities, from either simple flocks of birds to paper airplanes the size of an F-18. With such crazy action and effects, this sounds like something the Wachowski Brothers could do following “Speed Racer”. Casting would be tricky (especially for the part of Yomiko, as we'd need an actress who's both cute and kinda mousy), but the part of Drake could be done by Dolph Lundgren, who has more than enough experience playing bad-ass soldier types and could get his career a jumpstart with the role.

BLACK LAGOON

The Anime:

When average joe salaryman Rokuro Okajima heads to the city of Roanapur in Thailand to deliver a disk for his company, he ends up kidnapped by members of the mercenary group known as Lagoon Company, who are after the disk as part of a job. When his boss abandons him to cover up the company's criminal activities, Rokuro (nicknamed “Rock”) joins Lagoon Company, proving himself as a translator and negotiator. Of course, he's still a bit overwhelmed by the fights the group gets into all the time and the methods used by Revy, the sexy but deadly muscle of Lagoon Company. A recent hit from Studio Madhouse (“Hellsing Ultimate”) with plenty of action and gunplay that made it a fan favorite in America.

The Movie:

Tons of military-style action and gunfights? Yep, a “Black Lagoon” movie, directed by maybe Michael Davis of “Shoot "Em Up” fame would be perfect for a live action, U.S. version. The plot would be easy to do; focus it on Rock"s (who could still be Japanese rather than American) arrival in Roanapur and his assignment, his kidnapping by Lagoon Company and the need to find out what's really on the disc that so many people want to kill for it. Naturally, you couldn't cram all the other mercenary groups, such as the Church of Violence or the Aryan Socialist Union, into one movie, so some could be saved for sequels.

As for the cast, that part might actually be easy. Megan Fox, who we already know looks good in a tank top and super-short cut-offs, would be great to play Revy, and would also give her a chance to kick ass with a pair of Beretta handguns. In contrast, her “Transformers” co-star Shia LeBeouf could play Rock, allowing the two to switch off the sidekick role this time around. Carl Weathers or Ving Rhames could come on to play Dutch, Lagoon Company's seasoned leader, while Owen Wilson could play Benny, the group's resident mechanic and computer guy. For the role of Balalaika, Natasha Henstridge could pull off playing the sexy yet scarred Russian Mafia boss.

HIS AND HER CIRCUMSTANCES

The Anime:

At school, Yukino Miyazawa is the prettiest and smartest girl in her class, but at home she's a slob who studies rather than spend time with her sisters. When new student Soichiro Arima appears to challenge her position, Yukino fights to destroy and keep her spot. Eventually, the two manage to see past each other's faults and fall in love, and have to struggle to keep their relationship against those who want to break them up, such as friends, family, rivals and even their own school, who fear a decline in the grades of their top students.

The Movie:

Yeah, its more a dramatic comedy and doesn't have any guns or explosions, but this could be something different for Hollywood to do and appeal to the “chick flick” crowd. They'd end up changing a lot in terms of locale and names to Americanize it, but a “His and Her Circumstances” movie would fit right up there with all the other high school romance comedies that are all the rage. It wouldn't be too hard to work the plot into a 90-minute movie, which would chronicle the two main characters meeting, competing, falling in love and dealing with those who want to break them up. This, perhaps, could be something Kevin Smith could do, as it is a comic-based project and he has experience with romantic comedies with “Chasing Amy”. The cast, of course, would mainly consist of relative unknowns, probably plucked from TV shows like “The O.C.” or “One Tree Hill”.

MAGIC KNIGHT RAYEARTH

The Anime:

Hikaru, Umi and Fuu are three girls from different schools and backgrounds, but are all suddenly transported to the magical world of Cephiro, where they must become the legendary Magic Knights and save Princess Emeraude, who has been captured by High Priest Zagato. But as they gather powers and weapons, gain allies and battle enemies, the girls learn not all is what it seems in terms of the situation and who the villains really are. Created by CLAMP, the girls behind “Card Captor Sakura”, this “Lord of the Rings”-style fantasy tale is one of their better-known titles.

The Movie:

Fantasy's big in America, so a “Rayearth” (they'll probably simply call it that and leave out the “Magic Knight” part) film could be easy to do. The story itself was done in a pair of three-volume stories, so a pair (maybe a trilogy?) of films could be done, the first focusing on the girls becoming the Magic Knights and their original quest, while the sequel would focus on their return to Cephiro to help rectify their actions. Peter Jackson, who's used to doing big-scale epics such as “Lord of the Rings”, would be a good choice to direct, with WETA, the effects guys for “Rings” and the upcoming “Evangelion” movie, to handle the creature and machine effects for the movie. Casting for the girls would be done by unknowns, while better-known actors could handle characters such as Zagato (Viggo Mortensen, maybe?)

And there you have it. Ten potential title Hollywood could do, right off the bat. Success of the already established and upcoming films, as well as getting the film rights, could determine their potential, but that's still plenty to work with. All fans can do is sit and wait with their fingers crossed.

It's easy to see where the interest would come from. For one thing, anime has a strong fan base here in America, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that a film studio, major or otherwise, would have an interest in making a live-adaptation of a popular title. Heck, there have already been some American-made films based on anime titles such as “Guyver” and “Fist of the North Star” even before anime became such a phenomenon. Not that a lot of anime fans would be proud to admit it, since the films were low budget, direct-to-video nightmares that many would like to forget.

But things have been changing in the last few years. Thanks to the success of American comic-based films such as “X-Men”, “Spider-Man”, and “Batman Begins”, the addition of CGI special effects and even the success of adaptations of Japanese horror films such as “The Ring” and “The Grudge”, major studios have taken an interest in making live action adaptations of popular anime titles. In the last several years, announcements of such adaptations for several titles have been made, often with big name studios and directors behind them.

Fans became excited when a live-action version of “Battle Angel” was going to be directed by “Terminator” creator James Cameron, as the title was right up the director's alley with its post-apocalyptic setting and cyborg main character. Much interest has been generated by the proposed “Neon Genesis Evangelion” live-action film, produced by anime distributor ADV Films with special effects studio WETA (the guys who did “Lord of the Rings”) handling the visuals, thanks in part to released production art. And then there's “Speed Racer”, “Voltron”, “Astro Boy”, “Lupin the 3rd”, “Blood: The Last Vampire”, “Akira”, “Dragonball Z”, “Afro Samurai”... The list goes on and on. So the excitement is really no surprise.

And it's starting to show. For the past several years, numerous anime titles have been announced to be in production, some of them by big name studios and with big name talent behind them. The Wachowski brothers, the boys behind the Matrix trilogy, are at work for a Speed Racer film. Terminator creator James Cameron announced his plans to direct a live action version of Battle Angel, a similar tale of cyborgs in a post-apocalyptic future with the main character being done with motion capture and CGI.

CGI versions of longtime favorites Gatchaman (“Battle of the Planets” to most folks) and Astro Boy are in the works. Anime distributor ADV Films has joined with the special effects studio WETA (the guys who did Lord of the Rings) to produce a Neon Genesis EvangelionLupin the 3rd, Voltron, Blood: The Last Vampire, Akira, Dragonball Z, Afro Samurai (starring Samuel L. Jackson!)... The list goes on and on. film. And then there's

Yeah, a lot of titles, and a lot of potential riding on them. But just because a movie has been announced doesn't mean instant results. After all, how long were “Spider-Man” and “X-Men” in the much-dreaded “development hell” before we finally saw results? It's the same thing regarding anime-based projects. “Speed Racer” was first announced fifteen years ago and was bumped around until finally landing in the hands of the Wachowski brothers, the boys behind the “Matrix” trilogy.

Now it seems to be making the most progress, with a plot, a cast that includes Christina Ricci as girlfriend Trixie and John Goodman as Pops Racer, and even a release date of May 9, 2008 announced. “Astro Boy” went through similar development hell since its announcement in 1997. It's now in the hands of Imagi Studios, who did the recent CGI film “TMNT” featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, though no details beyond a 2009 release date, the hiring of Colin Brady as director and a few promotional images have been released.

Some films, thankfully, have developed quicker than others. “Voltron” was first announced in 2005 with Mark Gordon and Pharrell Williams as producers, with a script completed by Justin Marks in 2006. The recent success of “Transformers” and its CGI-generated robots has helped pushed the project into high gear, though no release date has been set. “Dragonball” began filming last month after much hype and speculation since its 2002 announcement, with Justin Catwin as the hero Goku and James Marsters as the villain Piccolo.

Its set to be released on August 15, 2008, with James Wong directing and Stephen Chow producing. “Lupin the 3rd” was picked up in 2003 by WhiteLight Entertainment, though not much information has been released beyond a 2009 projected release date. “Gatchaman” has managed to make some quick progress since its 2006 announcement. It, too, will be a CGI film produced by Imagi Studios to be released by Warner Bros. in 2008. The same can be said for “Blood: The Last Vampire”, also announced in 2006 with Ronny Yu (“Freddy vs Jason”) as producer, Chris Nahon as director and Korean actress Ji-Hyun Jun as main character Saya. Filming is said to begin this month in locales such as Argentina and China.

But for all the projects that are on the way, there are still the ones that remain on the shelf, still in the design stages or just plain stalled. Much hype was put towards James Cameron's version of “Battle Angel”, with plans to use stop-motion CGI for main character Alita (much in the same vein as Gollum from “Lord of the Rings”). But Cameron has put the film on hold while he works on another project, “Avatar”, leaving many to wonder if production will even start by the announced 2009 release date. The “Evangelion” film has been stalled after similar hype, as ADV Films is still trying to raise funds for the project.

“Akira” had been making steam at one point, with a script in the works and Stephen Norrington having signed on to director. Norrington dropped out of the project in 2003, and things now seem to be permanently on hold. A live action version of “Afro Samurai”, with Samuel L. Jackson as the title character, was announced before the anime was even released, but production hasn't even been started on it thanks to focus being placed more on an upcoming video game for the Xbox 360.

So with all this hype and speculation and switching back and forth on production, one has to wonder if any of these films will be worth it. If Hollywood knows what it's doing and sinks good money into some quality films, then yes. But fans may not see it that way and may even be turned off by the long delays, providing they aren't the die-hard types who won't accept anything other than what meets their standards. As with any movie, it'll fall down to final products and ticket sales, and whether they'll match what fans want to see.