Op-Ed: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train’s #1 Box Office Run Should End Those Terrible Live-Action Adaptations

Animation is a format not a genre. Adult animation is also not a genre, it’s an industry. Look no further than the #1 spot on the United States Box Office for adult anime film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train. The feature-length film sequel to the hit anime series of the same name as accrued a box office of nearly a half a billion dollars world wide. Moreover, the film defeats that awful live-action Mortal Kombat movie, a franchise that arguably has had a much longer life span than than any anime series here in America aside from possibly Dragon Ball Z. 

Understanding this, every time I hear about a live-action adaptation of ANY animated franchise, regardless of origin of the source of said animation, I cringe. Netflix is currently working on live-action adaptations of One Piece and Cowboy Bebop, two legendary anime franchises that should stay just that. Live-action adaptations? Fuck out of here. Akira live-action film with Leonardo DiCaprio producing? Nope…not even a little bit.

Did we not learn anything from that disaster of a live-action Ghost in the Shell adaptation? The Scarlett Johansson-starrer had all sorts of problems with it even aside from the fact that the Black Widow star was terribly miscast? It’s a franchise that never should have been touched to begin with and it lost $100 million at the box office. For the same amount of money, Paramount could’ve taken $50 million, given it to me, then take the other $50 million and commission some new anime films WITH English dubs that could have had a much higher return.

Anime is an industry that’s continuing to grow in international dominance. Sony knows this, that’s why they bought Funimation AND Crunchyroll. That’s why Netflix has a studio in Japan with brilliant guys like LeSean Thomas there to continue making masterpieces like Yasuke (with the possibility of more on the way). Hell, one could even see the anime influences in Amazon’s hit series Invincible which has Rob Kirkman so excited that he’s thinking about animated adaptations of The Walking Dead and future seasons of Invincible featuring more stars from The Walking Dead. The days of considering anime a “niche” are over. The days of adult animation being considered a “genre” are over. American studios better wake up, because a Rated “R” anime film just took the #1 spot in America.

And it won’t be the last time. Keep the live-action adaptations at bay, the dawn of animation supremacy is here.