Blood: The Last Vampire Live Action

This movie is significant for three reasons: Firstly, it is one of the first anime live-action films to be produced entirely for an English Voice track. Secondly, it's also one of the first films to be completely digitally animated. And thirdly, it promises, in my opinion, to be one of the closest films to be adapted to it's original Japanese counterpart.

So while I have not yet gotten to see the movie, the live-action adaptation of Blood the Last Vampire hit select American theaters on July 10th brought to us by Sony. As of now the Critics on RottenTomatos.com have it as a 19% and the community has it as 39%. Since the release the 'R' rated movie has a box office at $192,005.

I see this as an important distinction, given the release of Dragon Ball Evolution within the past year. And well, in my opinion that movie was amusing, but a horrible bastardization of the original series. Yet, Dragon Ball Evolution only got a 13% on the RottenTomatos.com critic meter, and a 33% from the community. Yet, despite this it grossed a whopping $9,353,573 in the Box office.

What this shows, to me, is something that should've been obvious from the beginning. Better known animes, especially ones which ran in America at one point will do better in the box office. What I do not like that these numbers seem to say is that the quality of the product means little to the American viewer, only how well known it is. My fear is not that more Live Action Anime Movies won't be made. But they'll be made poorly but with big names by companies with no vested interest in the spirit of the medium or stories and end up being very poor representations of their animated counterparts.

With more live action movies like Akira, Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell announced they have the big names they need, but I am hoping to see the quality that those stories deserve come with it.

-Chiaki