Live-action anime adaptations offer a chance to experience childhood favorites in a fresh way. These adaptations go beyond nostalgia, using Hollywood budgets to bring fantastical anime elements to life in ways animation can’t.
But Sean Schemmel (known for voicing Goku in the English version of Dragon Ball) has expressed skepticism about Hollywood’s ability to effectively adapt anime into live-action adaptations.
Despite a few successful adaptations such as Ruroni Kenshin, Kingdom, and One Piece, Schemmel believes that the essence of anime often gets lost in the transition to live-action.
Goku’s Voice Actor Dismisses Live-Action Anime Adaptations
In an interview with Bleeding Cool, Sean Schemmel expressed his frustration with Hollywood’s ongoing struggles with live-action anime. The voice actor went on to say:
“It’s weird because I’ve kind of got an insider view, and I’ve watched Hollywood try to understand anime my entire career, and they still don’t get it. It’s not until you see, and I’m not entirely sure the anime genre trends will ever translate well to live-action. I’m not entirely convinced.”
Schemmel wasn’t shy about voicing his opinion on recent adaptations. He found Netflix’s live-action One Piece “terrible,” and blamed the limitations of live-action for its failure to capture the series’ fantastical elements:
“The Dragon Ball Z live-action movie [Dragon Ball Evolution] was also terrible for a different reason, though. They had switched directors halfway through before they even started production.”
The Waterloo native clarified that his criticism wasn’t about the quality of live-action productions but about the limitations they face. Anime often pushes the boundaries of reality, which makes it hard to faithfully adapt into live-action.
While the Yu Yu Hakusho voice actor expressed doubts about recent live-action adaptations, he also provides a ray of hope for the genre’s future. He admits that his criticism of Netflix’s One Piece may seem harsh, but he admires the production team and their efforts.
Goku’s Voice Actor Cautiously Optimistic About the Future of Live-Action Anime Adaptations
Sean Schemmel believes that until those who grew up with anime take charge in Hollywood, true adaptations won’t happen. He points out examples like a Star Trek fanboy directing a successful season. He said in the same interview:
“The last season of Picard. the showrunner [Terry Matalas] was a giant fanboy who ended up growing up around Star Trek or was on set assistant Next Gen. Now he’s digested it so much you’ve got this fantastic last season of Picard – I don’t even tell people to watch the first two seasons. My point about anime is the same thing. Once you have somebody like that helming something, the test will then finally be, we’ve got the right person in the slot.”
He thinks anime’s style, with its big eyes and unique elements, is tough to translate to live-action. In the end, The 55-year-old admits he’s not sure if anime can truly work in live-action, but he’s open to being proven wrong.
