Animeverse is a land with spectacular storylines: ones beyond our imagination, and a fan base of millions. Now if falling head over heels for fictional characters wasn’t enough, the dose of happiness just gets doubled when our favorite stories and characters come to life by outstanding actors. Here is a list of Top 10 Anime Live-action you don’t want to miss.ld
1. Alice In Borderland
Alice in Borderland invites us into a survival game with Arisu and his friends. Forcing you to play for your life, these games tested your intelligence, luck and pushed your limits to a point where you may need to leave your comrades to survive. Now, this is what we call an outstanding sci-fi thriller show, and trust me when I tell you, its Netflix live-action adaptation is even better. Conveying all the emotions, horror elements, and one’s survival instincts with perfect direction and soundtracks, this series is a 10/10. The Prince of live actions Kento Yamazaki playing our obsessed gamer Arisu along with the other incredible cast members made this show spectacular in all senses.
2. Oldboy
This is a tale of a guy who was granted freedom after being abducted and imprisoned for years only when he was virtually insane. Driven by the force of vengeance the story follows a bizarre rich man’s revenge plot that unfolds mercilessly and diabolically.
Technically there was no anime for Oldboy’s manga but this adaptation being one of the greatest and startling Korean films to come out is simply too fantastic to miss.
3. Rurouni Kenshin
Set during the early Meiji period in Japan this adventurous and romantic tale is about a wandering former assassin with a dark past and distorted sword trying to redeem himself for his actions. This live-action film series proved worthy of its fame through fierce and lightning-fast sword-fighting sequences and a winning cast.
The first part of the Rurouni Kenshin film series was released in 2012 and because of the film's favorable reviews, the fandom was happy to get a sequel made in 2014, with the aim of more in the near future. The series not only pays homage to the original anime and manga, but it also manages to live up to the high standards set by both forms.
4. Assassination Classroom
Otakus couldn’t be happier with this live-action. This outstanding story is about an extraterrestrial schoolteacher who plans to destroy the moon and his amazing dynamics with the kids of Class E: a group of misfits who are assigned to assassinate him before their graduation. Not only covering some of the series’ many assassination attempts, but this science fiction action comedy film also includes Koro Sensei’s backstory with Ninomiya Kazunari’s voice acting which is nothing short of spectacular, winning hearts with that perfect laugh.
Assassination classroom; be it manga, anime or live-action is an incredible delight to watch.
5. Detective Pikachu
Detective Pikachu is a film based on the same-named Pokémon game and anime and not having this on your list of top 10 makes no sense. When Tim discovers that his father, Harry, was killed in an accident, he encounters a talking Pikachu who was also his Dad’s companion. As Tim and Pikachu work together to investigate the murder, they wind up finding a far more sinister scheme involving Pokémon and some deadly technologies.
With Ryan Reynold's voice acting (English) for our cool and funny Pikachu, this movie is even more entertaining to watch.
6. Alita-The Battle Angel
Gunnm aka Battle Angel Alita is a Japanese post-apocalyptic cyberpunk manga series with 2 episodes of OVAs. This story is about a female cyborg with no memory who was taken care of by a cybernetics doctor who found her in the junkyard. The plot follows Alita's quest to find her history, as well as the others whose lives she affects on her trip.
Alita: Battle Angel is one of the rare outliers in the popular-media world when it comes to live-action adaptations. Many lovers of the original manga, gave the film good reviews. A unique aspect that distinguishes it from other Hollywood adaptations is how faithful the narrative is to the original material, which is reflected in the actor's mannerisms and demeanor.
7. Death Note(Japanese Live Action)
With a 2017 Netflix adaptation that wasn’t received well by the audience, Deathnote’s Japanese live-action (2015) is a league of its own, portraying the core of the suspense thriller anime by staying true to character looks and mannerisms.
This amazingly insane story of Light Yagami, a normal student playing God after finding a shinigami’s death note and a group of extremely smart people trying to solve his spotless crimes with our phenomenal L as their leader; played by the versatile Kento Yamazaki is so gripping that you will get ensnared the minute you start watching it, and its live-action with excellent performance is recommendable.
8. Blade Of The Immortal
Well, which otaku isn’t a fan of classic samurai stories? The tale of ‘Blade of the Immortal’ is about Manji, a samurai who was expected to perish in battle several decades ago, only to be granted immortality by a witch. He finds Rin after traveling aimlessly for years and decides to help her exact vengeance on a shared foe. So basically this nasty and gory rendition is very much loved by the fans, and then being gifted by an amazing live-action is just sugar on top.
Spellbinding and intense from the very beginning, this epic film is a must-watch.
9. Kimi Ni Todoke
Being one of the finest romcom anime live-action, Kimi Ni Todoke did justice to its anime. With a fitting cast, this film narrates the endearing story of Sawako a loner in school, but otherwise sweet high schooler, and Kazehaya, her classmate who couldn’t help noticing her charms and fell for her in an instant. Sawako’s journey from coming out of her shell to making wonderful friends is nicely shown in the movie. Portraying perfect chemistry between the leads and not leaving any prime details from the original anime, this live-action adaptation is lighthearted and wholesome.
10. Ao Haru Ride
This adorable story of childhood love is so sweet that a smile may not leave your face the entire time. The romance between our pretty Futaba and gentle Kou was just beginning during middle school when some ill happenings separated them. But no worries, their high school introduced them again as two changed people but with the same feelings harboring in their hearts. It’s a pity that the anime did not include the whole story from the manga, but we’re lucky to get its live-action film, covering their lovable tale till the end. With a charming cast, this anime adaptation is just beautiful.
