The long-running manga and anime series One Piece has been adapted into live-action and will stream on Netflix on Aug. 31, 2023. But given the streamer’s past failures with their live-action adaptations of anime like the short-lived Cowboy Bebop series and the Death Note movie, many are now fearing One Piece will end up a similar failure. Live-action re-imaginings of anime don’t exactly have the best track record of living up to fan expectations and paying respect to their source material. Ironically, Speed Racer (aka Mach GoGoGo in Japan) seems to be one of the very rare exceptions.
While the Wachowskis’ film adaptation of the classic manga and anime franchise from 2008 was a box office disappointment, it has garnered an impressive cult following over the years. It is now considered by many fans to be the gold standard for live-action takes on anime. In the current age of live-action reboots of animated properties, Deadline reported in 2022 that another Speed Racer live-action adaptation from J.J. Abrams is in the works for Apple TV+, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. But when faced with the more recent failures of anime adaptations, does Speed Racer have what it takes to avoid a similar fate?
Speed Racer Has All the Right Qualities to Translate to Live-Action
Speed Racer is considered to be one of the most groundbreaking anime series for its time. The original Mach GoGoGo manga by Tatsuo Yoshida and its subsequent anime adaptation in the 1960s carried all the dangerous action and excitement one would expect from a series about automobile racing. It also had highly entertaining and memorable characters, along with an equally captivating narrative that made the show worth keeping up with. While the anime is certainly dated by today’s standards, it helped introduce an American audience to anime and played an important role as a stepping stone towards its popularization. It also provided Hollywood with the blueprint to create a bizarrely unique big-budget action film.
The Wachowskis’ live-action Speed Racer adaptation managed to keep the cores of the characters, as well as the humor and drama between them. The Wachowskis successfully made the characters just as compelling as the anime first did. It was in the look and visuals of the film, however, where they truly pulled out all the stops. The film’s overly stylized visuals and cinematography were not appreciated nearly as much at the time. Even more so with the attempt to modernize the anime’s campiness while providing just enough heartfelt emotion to still be taken seriously.
J.J. Abrams’ Speed Racer Series Must Avoid the Pitfalls of Adapting Anime
The Wachowskis’ film has gained overdue praise and cult status over the years. However, a return to television — especially in live-action — could mean trouble for Speed Racer’s revival. Despite the controversy behind many of Netflix’s live-action anime-based productions that have resulted in the cancelation of any planned continuations, there are lessons that Abrams and Apple TV+ can learn from them. Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop, for example, faced heavy amounts of criticism for the changes it made to its characters and how it seemingly put style ahead of substance. Thus, it failed to find the proper balance between the two.
Unlike Cowboy Bebop, however, Speed Racer has already proven itself capable of translating well into live-action. Like most adaptations, it would need to make some necessary creative changes for it to properly function and stand out as its own thing. But much like the film, it would need to find a way to update the material enough for modern audiences while still keeping in touch with the charm and storytelling strengths of the anime.
Of course, the series would also need to avoid directly copying the Wachowkis film if it wants to succeed on its own. It would need to understand and capture the elements that made both the anime and live-action film work while also developing its own voice and identity. If it manages to impress viewers and carry the same amount of heart, humor, and over-the-top excitement as its predecessors, Abram’s live-action Speed Racer series might just live to see another season.
