Producer of the award-winning Shogun series, John Landgraf, sat down with Business Insider to discuss the secret to its success and how the expansion of Japanese content underlies Shogun‘s success more broadly. This content includes anime adaptations, and Landgraf was asked whether live-action adaptations of Japanese novels and manga could revitalize Hollywood.
Landgraf outlined the challenge to that: “I myself have come to appreciate the greatness of Japanese manga through my son. The stories and characters are truly wonderful. The difficulty, however, is that they are already the best of the best. Anime, for example, is perfect in content, direction, and cast. It’s very difficult to make something as good as that.“
Manga and adaptations allow for a broader range of expressions and a lower hurdle to suspend disbelief through anime. The latter challenge has long plagued live-action adaptations, particularly in the West. 15 years on, one of the most cited examples of this was the Dragonball Evolution, a major flop in terms of box office and audience reviews. In October last year, James Marsters (King Piccolo in the film) himself described the film as “not good” and urged fans not to see it. As the voice of Dragon Ball Super‘s Zamasu, he revealed that he also asked to be credited under an alias to atone.
Nevertheless, attitudes to live actions overseas have changed in recent years. Netflix’s Yu Yu Hakusho and ONE PIECE, described as an “adaptation done right” in an Anime Corner review, have fared incredibly well with audiences. The latter was the most-watched TV series of the second half of 2023 and fans globally await news of Season 2’s release window.
Hollywood also seems increasingly bullish on manga live-action adaptations, capitalizing on strides in technology, budgets, and increasing openness. Live-action adaptations of Naruto, My Hero Academia, and Akira (by famed director Taika Waititi), are all in development. While the fantastical elements within many manga are a major hurdle, many don’t feature any; the numerous examples of successful K-dramas adapting webtoons also hint at manga being a viable source of adaptations.
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Fans can check out the rest of Landgraf’s comments here, where he talks about the Shogun characters that made the biggest impression, the importance of authenticity, worries about the series’ success beforehand, and more. Two more seasons of Shogun are in development. Fans can stream the series on Disney Plus, FX, Hulu, and Star+.
Source: Business Insider
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