Netflix has produced numerous movies and TV shows in recent years, and they seemed to cover every genre and audience. The live-action anime adaptation is a fairly new concept and Netflix is doing everything to get ahead of the curve, including classic anime from the 1980s and 1990s along with more contemporary hits from recent years.
Live-action anime requires ample budgets while also needing to more or less follow the original anime in every way possible. Make one wrong move and the unforgiving fanbase never lets it go. There are currently several live-action anime movies and TV shows that were produced by Netflix, and there are many more that are scheduled to be released in the following years.
Updated July 31, 2023, by Kristy Ambrose: Netflix is still investing in some big live-action anime projects, even though it's not always a secure investment. Some of the most successful attempts are the sleeper hits about less-than-fantastic adventures, instead of the big-budget adaptations of epic IPs with established fanbases. Live action adaptations of One Piece and Avatar: The Last Airbender are on schedule for launch in 2023, while Pokemon is scheduled for next year. Those are the big projects that everyone is talking about, but Netflix's live-action anime has a lot more going on than the popular titles.
12 Death Note (2017)
Death Note is probably one of the best anime shows ever created and the Japanese live-action movie adaptations were also impressive. It would be safe to assume that the Netflix live-action adaptation would be good, but it wasn't. Netflix's adaptation, directed by Adam Wingard in 2017, didn't receive good reviews and was criticized for numerous reasons.
For those who watched the anime, the most visible difference would be a change in the personalities of the main characters. For example, Light isn't so cold and secure as in the anime, while L has occasional bursts of emotion, something which is not present in the anime. Regardless of the bad reception, the sequel is currently in development, and the makers stated that fan criticism would be taken into account.
11 Full Metal Alchemist: The Final Alchemy (2022)
The last installment in the Netflix live-action Full Metal Alchemist franchise wasn't much better received than its predecessors, but it did slightly worse than the previous ones in regard to critical and fan responses. Most of the negative reviews for this movie focus on the poor special effects as opposed to the acting or writing, but not even a dedicated fanbase could get past the plodding action and boring dialogue.
This one closes the story of the Elric brothers and follows the same storyline as the popular anime. For something that required this much CGI and this much body horror, it might have been too ambitious of a project to be successful without a huge budget.
10 Cowboy Bebop (2021)
As in anime, Cowboy Bebop follows a crew of a spaceship, Bebop, led by Spike Spiegel who are chasing down criminals across the solar system. Recently, Netflix announced it canceled its Cowboy Bebop live-action show after just one season, which was less than a week after its release. The primary reason for that was the cold reception by its audience and fans, but truthfully speaking, Cowboy Bebop is just an average show, far below the quality of the original anime.
While the show's writing is of low quality, which resulted in superficial dialogue and unimaginative plots, the casting of the show is good. To be more exact, the live-action counterpart actors are look-alikes of their anime characters, both in personality and physical appearance.
9 Fullmetal Alchemist: The Revenge of Scar (2022)
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Probably the most popular of all of the Fullmetal Alchemist live-action anime movies on Netflix, but it's still a link in a chain that stretches into four movies. It's interesting for those dedicated fans that are interested in watching the whole saga. Both viewers and critics saw too much melodrama and not enough investment in special effects that couldn't do justice to the anime or the manga that came before it.
The movie has some good points, such as character designs and settings that stayed faithful to the originals, and even enhanced their look for live-action. It's not enough to compensate for the low production values, but anime fans who like the Fullmetal franchise specifically or the Shounen genre will appreciate it.
8 Fullmetal Alchemist (2017)
The anime version of Fullmetal Alchemist was popular enough to spawn a whole franchise, including a Netflix live-action adaptation. The movie story is based on the first four volumes of the manga and starts in the country of Amesteris. The audience is introduced to two brothers and the main characters Edward Elric and Alphonse, who are practicing Alchemy.
The movie is not of high quality, suffering from many flaws, which is a shame considering the quality of the original anime. The not-so-good reception of the movie did not prevent Netflix from making a several more adaptations from the same IP and they were equally unsucessful.
7 Kakegurui (2019)
The original animated series was released in 2017, and viewers were impressed by the fresh idea of a school that's a casino along with all the potential for brutality and carnage that entails. It also helps that the mysterious protagonist, Yumeko, is a savage and creative sadist who prefers to settle debts with torture, pain, slavery, and body parts. The stakes are always high when Yumeko is playing, and she'll make her opponent a bet they can't refuse.
The popularity of the anime series was enough to fuel this live-action movie, a sequel, and a spin-off based on a popular minor character. Reviews are mixed for this Netflix live-action anime, with some enjoying the drama and slow burn and others criticizing the pacing and character portrayals.
6 Bleach (2018)
Based on the well-known anime, Bleach earned almost five million dollars in earnings while simultaneously receiving positive reviews. This makes it one of the more successful examples of live-action anime on Netflix.
The plot of Bleach is from the manga and starts with Ichigo Kurosaki, a fifteen-year-old high school student who is living in Karakura Town with her father and two younger twin sisters. She is special because she can see ghosts, which attracts the attention of a mysterious woman with a katana, black kimono, and a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki. The plot thickens from there, but involves the main character's battle against monstrous beings called the Hollow.
5 Rurouni Kenshin Part One: Origins (2012)
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The Rurouni Kenshin franchise was successfully making these kinds of shows before it was cool. It helped that the show already had a solid fanbase and a classic story of good, evil, fantasy, romance, and period drama that had a wide appeal. The setting in medieval Japan meant there wasn't a lot of fussing with special effects, either.
The success of this movie kicked off the whole concept of live-action anime. Nine years later, it would be remade into two movies, and the whole library is currently available as part of the live-action anime on Netflix.
4 Rurouni Kenshin 3: The Legend Ends (2014)
The other live-action Rurouni Kenshin adaptations, which were released years after this one, are intended to be prequels. It's a direct sequel to Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno, which was released in the same year. The story is part-flashback and exposition, part tying up all the loose ends as the epic tale comes to a close.
The plot is a complex one that includes political intrigue along with the usual action scenes that have a reputation in this franchise. It's the story of how Rurouni Kenshin was able to escape the identity of the Hitokiri Battosai after he's presumed dead, and returns to the dojo to live peacefully with Kaoru.
3 Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part II - The Beginning (2021)
Bringing the Rurouni Kenshin film series to a close in terms of releases, The Beginning is a prequel that depicts Himuna Kenshin's time as the Hitokiri Battosai. It is set in the Bakumatsu period in Japan and the transition to the Meiji period and covers real historical situations, such as the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the Ikeyada incident.
It was produced alongside the fourth installment Rurouni Kenshin: The Final. Since the latter movie was much more critically successful, Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning was largely overshadowed by it. Despite it, the prequel is still a good movie that was just published at the wrong time, or more precisely at the same time as the already-mentioned movie.
2 The Ingenuity of the Househusband (2021)
The anime was a sleeper hit, so it's not a surprise the live adaptation has a similar impact. What makes this title unique is that it's a comedy-drama about a middle-aged man taking care of a household. It might not have a lot of fights or explosions, but this show has a clever premise and retains its popularity in a sea of special effects and fantasy settings.
The Way of the Househusband is the title of the original anime, and it has the same plot that follows a former gangster who decides to leave a life of crime and live peacefully as a househusband. He uses his gangster ingenuity attained from a life of crime as life-hacks to make it easier to be a Househusband. It's a good thing too, because in some ways, it's just as dangerous and difficult as being married to the mafia.
1 Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part I - The Final (2021)
The already-mentioned movie was a critical and commercial success. It follows Shanghai mafia leader Yukishiro Enishai as he seeks revenge against Himura Kenshin for the death of his sister, Yukishiro Tomoe. The villain stages various terrorist attacks, eventually leading to a confrontation between the two characters and their allies.
It was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2021, and the critical reception was mostly positive due to the good acting and thrilling fight scenes that are present. Rurouni Kenshin: The Final is an example of how a live-action anime adaptation is done right.