J. J. Abrams directing Your Name?

[MithrandirOlorin]

Chuck's fanbase has a few Anime aficionados now. What do ya'll think?

Digibro on on YOuTUbe thinks it's a good thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhqX8niUasQ

[SabreMau]

I spent roughly $125 to import the collector's edition box of this thing just so I didn't have to wait for the eventual domestic release.



And I just preordered the domestic limited-edition box that's coming out next month as well. So, yeah, I was into this movie.

My primary reaction to hearing that this could be a thing that's happening is disappointment that so few people managed to see it in theaters here because A) it's animated, B) it only came out in a select few arthouse theaters, and C) basically zero advertising or way to hear it was even coming unless you were online and already tuning in to anime things. My second reaction to this news is to wonder, "Okay, how much will you be changing?" I'd personally be fine with a complete straight-up remake, keeping it set in Japan, just rotating it over into live-action, but that's not happening. Musubi is gone, Kuchikamizake is gone, the whole Shinto angle is gone, the setting is gonna come stateside, etc. And while "it's different" doesn't automatically infer "it's terrible", I personally liked those things about it.

In summation, currently being somewhat wary of this and wishing more people could get around to seeing the original.

[Admiral X]

Given the way adaptations have been handled lately, I wouldn't get your hopes up that this particular one will be too faithful. Personally I'm always kind of confused and annoyed whenever a live-action version is made of something, because to me all that should be needed is a dub to localize it, and the existing work should be able to stand on its own. Well, not that confused, because I know most people here look at animation and assume it's for kids, or don't take it as seriously for whatever reason, but people are never going to get over that if they keep getting live-action versions of things. I mean, if it's good, most people aren't going to bother seeking out the original, and if it's bad, they definitely aren't.

[SabreMau]

Your Name (the original) would have been severely hamstrung by being anime in the first place, thought it might have had a shot at a some decent word-of-mouth if only it had gone nationwide in actual casual-moviegoer multiplexes instead of debuting in a total of 311 theaters total with not even crossover trailers shown on other things. Unfortunately, this one was held by Funimation and they don't have Buena Vista's marketing backing. Even with Disney-Ghibi, the only time they ever took an anime film to over 1,000 theaters was The Secret World of Arrietty in 2012, and that run only earned $19.2 million.

There have been only four times ever where an anime film has gotten a full nationwide release in over 2,000 theaters, and it hasn't been done in over thirteen years. Those four times were Pokemon 1, Pokemon 2, Pokemon 3, and Yu-Gi-Oh, all of those coming with built-in fanbases off of their TV series. For a standalone film with no preexisting base and a licensor with relatively limited resources, there's no way they were going to spend the money to push for a fully-marketed launch. So they just released it quietly, it sat in minor off-the-beaten-path cinemas for a month or two, then left with most of the country unaware that it existed at all.

So in steps Hollywood to see if they can make some money out of the story doing it the Hollywood way. Whether they can be successful at it financially and/or artistically is still unclear.

[MithrandirOlorin]

I know people won't watch Animation at all, even Western.

I'm all for re-imagining the story in America, they can make the Disaster like Katrina or something. I just want to it be all White people, inf act with that suggestion them em be African Americans. And the Shinto aspect could be replaced with Pentacostalism easy enough. I'd already determined that's what I'd do in an American set version of Sailor Moon for Rei.

Digibro's main point was that Abrams is a more accomplished director then most who's done Hollywood Anime adaptations. besides the Wachoskis doing Speed Racer, and in the long run that movie is now viewed pretty well.

[The Romulan Republic]

Abrams is a decent director. Just please tell me he's not writing the screenplay.

Edit: I mean, I'm not much for Anime, and I probably won't ever see this film. I just take the view "Keep Abrams in the director's chair, and away from the scripts" as a general principle at this point.

[MithrandirOlorin]

I think the Screenplay is being adapted by the guy who wrote some other movie.

[Darth Wedgius]

Well, that's one step closer to that Michael Bay-helmed version of Kiki's Delivery Service I've always wanted.