In Konbini’s Video Club, Michael B. Jordan explained why he thinks Hollywood anime adaptations don’t work.
If he is today one of the most prominent actors in Hollywood, Michael B. Jordan is also a fan of Japanese anime like the others. In full promotion in Paris of his new film Creed III (which he himself directed), the 36-year-old American participated in the famous program Vidéo Club produced by our colleagues from Konbini.
Invited to choose and comment on films that inspire him, Michael B. Jordan couldn’t resist visiting the Anime department, an opportunity for him to talk about the series that inspired his work as a director, such as example the boxing anime Hajime no Ippo, or Naruto.
But that’s not all, since the latter was also asked why, in his opinion, Hollywood anime adaptations do not work, like the infamous Dragonball Evolution. “We all wanted him to be good back then” he regrets, adding:
It’s complicated because anime is so rich in so many themes, animation allows you to do things that our technology, our cameras and cinema don’t yet allow us to do. As far as the commercial aspect of it goes, people in a room say to themselves, “We’re going to adapt this license, we’re going to choose actors and that’s going to do it.” They have yet to grasp the true essence of themes, and what makes an anime an anime.
For the actor / director, it seems impossible for the moment that good adaptations will see the light of day, although recent technological advances bring us closer to the day when someone will manage to find the right formula: “I think it takes a real fan, a person who really likes it, to make it really work (…) We have directors like James Cameron who keep changing things.”
Michael B. Jordan’s Video Club show in full:
Admitting that he is probably not the most suitable person to succeed in adapting an anime into a blockbuster, Michael B. Jordan nevertheless remains confident about the chances that this new advent of cinema will see the light of day: “I think one day or another, I don’t know when, someone is going to get there, and I want to be there to see that.”
Creed III by and with Michael B. Jordan has been in theaters since March 1st.