Could Eren Jaeger and his Attack on Titan friends finally break the long-standing live-action anime adaptation curse? Anime's global popularity only appears to be growing, so it's unsurprising that western studios consider properties such as Dragon Ball, Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop ripe for live-action. More surprising is why those studios keep making anime adaptations despite a long, grim history of abject failure. Virtually every attempt has been met by a wave of negativity, often for straying wildly from the source material, misunderstanding the source material, or picking source material that's nigh-on impossible to adapt.
One of the most celebrated anime TV shows in recent history, Attack on Titan is never far from the adaptation conversation. In fact, a live-action Attack on Titan movie already happened, premiering in Japan during the July of 2015. Japanese-produced anime adaptations generally tend to fare better than western remakes as a rule, but reception to the two-part Attack on Titan film proved distinctly patchy. Not that Hollywood was deterred - It and The Flash's Andy Muschietti was still attached to a Warner Bros. Attack on Titan movie as recently as 2019, though the project's lack of mobility since has been reminiscent of Connie Springer's Titanized mother.
Maybe a Muschietti movie happens, maybe Netflix ultimately steps in - either way, Attack on Titan possesses all the weapons necessary to slay that anime adaptation curse. A frequent foul-up made during the switch from animation to reality is choosing properties that shouldn't be switched from animation to reality. Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball, for example, lies so far beyond recognizable normality, translating Goku into live-action authentically would require a mammoth CGI budget and a visionary director behind the camera. Attack on Titan is considerably better suited for that change. Aside from the Titans themselves, Hajime Isayama's world exists largely within the audience's sphere of realism... compared to a talking panda battling invisible monsters, or a stretchy pirate punching a drunk dragon, at least.
Make no mistake, though, any live-action Attack on Titan project must get its Titans right in order to succeed, but therein lies another reason this particular anime could break the curse. So often, anime delves into the so-called "uncanny valley" - a creepy phenomenon whereby something looks human, yet palpably isn't. Attack on Titan's Titans are obviously a great example, and though animation does a fantastic job of exploiting the uncanny valley to make its monsters creepy and unsettling, a live-action environment could lean wholeheartedly into that sensation. Assuming the designs and CGI can avoid drifting into unintentionally comedic territory, seeing those lumbering, human-esque giants within a live-action context could prove even more horrifying than in animated form, where everyone slips a little into the uncanny valley because of proportions and exaggerated facial expressions.
Another depressingly common pitfall (seen in Dragonball Evolution, Death Note and numerous others) is the practice of either westernizing or mainstream-izing anime franchises mistakenly deemed too niche for a casual audience. Invariably, this results in a final product that leaves existing fans and total newcomers equally sour. When the Attack on Titan anime premiered in 2013, its overnight international crossover appeal was staggering, almost unprecedented. The breadth of its audience already proven, there's no reason - creative or business - to fiddle with Attack on Titan's formula as extensively as we've seen in live-action flops of yore.
Although Attack on Titan feels suited to a live-action adaptation (a TV series more preferable than a movie, perhaps?) that's hardly a guarantee of success. Death Note fell into that same category once upon a time, and look what happened there. But with Akira's chances of getting a live-action adaptation disappearing faster than a potato within a 10-meter radius of Sasha Braus, Attack on Titan may just represent our best hope of breaking the anime curse.