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if Zac Efron did end up starring in this, I'd probably not be interested in seeing it.

i can see Zac Efronator in this

Zac Efron? No way. I'm asian and I love anime but I CANNOT see him filling in that role. I would only be interested in seeing him TRY to fill in the shoes, but other than that...they need to get someone better.

Don't forget about the live-adaption of "Battle Angel". Didn't James Cameron want to direct that after Avatar? Or maybe he's changed his mind?

I found the anime excellent (especially the second season which was much more serious and darker). It had a good story in the "what if" in the way. I wouldn't exaggerate on the high school romance. Full Metal Panic had a good balance of different genres and while there is some romance, its either comedic or emotional (not heavy though). I wouldn't classify it with the stuff we see today. Theres more action than "high school romance" in the actual story. As for the live-action, I'm not getting my hopes up. While this could be potentially good, no anime turned live-action has been good thus far. They are going to Americanize it, no doubt in my mind since they can easily change this situation (Sousuke and Kaname are ethnic Japanese though Sousuke has lived outside and Kaname lived in NY previously). That and I'm not sure how diverse they are willing to go (with Mao being Chinese-American, Kurz being German, etc etc)

#3 how about the ACTING? sure, the writing and the directing may be tight, but if the actors can't act...the film isn't even worth mentioning. it would be a slap to the face of many fans if the actors wouldn't be able to depict the characters that the fans already have been exposed to and have an idea of.

#11, here's some references: 1. http://scifiwire.com/2009/04/live-action-version-of-fu.php 2. http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/00023348.html 3. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i701e5f503331aba0beae0430fe927543 Enjoy.

#9 What about acting? I'm not too worried about acting actually, it's not like they'll hire 'Joe Schmo' off the street to play the parts. If you're wondering why I have such a loose feeling on the acting here have a like at #14 Even if the acting was "oscar-worthy-good", people still nitpick anyway. "Not asian enough", "hair not blue enough", "The entire movie sucked cause a name was 5% change", "Robot was too big", "there was a black guy in it", etc...

It makes me sick to think how many good anime series that could be ruined between Zac Effron, Keanu Reeves, and Vin Diesel. You've pretty much got every male anime stereotype under 50 covered between those three clowns.

Anyway, back to my original point. The possibility that they'll mess up 'Full Metal Panic', just based on the concept of the anime alone, is very, very, very, very slim. Thusly, I have a gut feeling about this being pulled off well.

Japan, for the love of GOD, step up and protect the rights to your TV shows!

#22 example of: a) 20-year old with no social life that thinks anime is DEEP.

I don't think Efron is the worst pick ever. At least superficially he resembles Sousuke. The personality, though, that's another story. I'll see it, at least.

good thing most people here prolly dont even buy movie tickets. im not a zac efron fan but at least it looks better than dragonball evolution already. it could be worse .

I think its a wait & see thing. Though the Zac Efron ting did unwind me, it just mean he is interested, I doubt if it means he is connected 100%. Dragonball, both the movie & anime were not really the standard of Japanese anime. So we have to wait first how Hollywood treats Cowboy Bebop, or which of those aforementioned live-action adaptation will fare.

#30 Your the only idiot, what do you mean "Hollywood should think of their own stories?" Give me a break, there is nothing wrong with them wanting to turn an anime into a movie, they do it all the time with historic figures,musicians, comic books, myths etc etc, but when it's an anime's turn all hell breaks loose as if anime is the best thing sinced sliced bread and everyone should kiss it's converse. If you are so pissed about it then block it from your memory and go watch your precious anime. Goku is an ALIEN, so what if his name is son Goku, he was adopted by Son Gohan they could have made Goku latino if they wanted to, I am disguisted by the Dragonball Movie but it certainly isnt because Goku isnt japanese. As for Sousuke, first of all no one knows if Zac is playing that part for all we know he could be playing Kurz or Tessa's brother, second of all Hollywood is probably going to re-write the script and make him caucasian, they do it all the time, they recently did it in X-men Origins with Agent Zero, and they also did it Daredevil with Kingpin. Don't even go there with the names because I don't know many japanese girls with blonde hair and blue eyes (caucasian features btw) named Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon) and Minako Aino (Sailor Venus) soooo........ People like you and the majority of people posting nonsense is the reason why I CAN'T STAND ANIME at the moment, crazy fans think Japan is the best thing ever. I bet if they made a Full Metal Alchemist live action you'd want Ed and Alphonse to be japanese too right?? People are feaning for Spike to be asian in cowboy bebop when he is most likely Jewish. and also #4 No all of the characters in FMP are not asian People need to tie their damn shoe laces so they can stop trippin!

.......Ummmm what does Zac being in top movies have to do with his acting? He's young and new, and FYI HSM is a movie, not an opinion but a fact.

LOL @ zac efron. haha, he's an ok actor, but as Sousuke Sagara - no thank you.

...Ummm there havent even been that many live action anime cartoons bought to Hollywood sooo.. oh yeah btw Speed Racer was very good. People who say that either never watched the cartoon or are just uptight otaku who don't want to admit that hollywood did well. I'm not saying this just because I'm american, but the Wachowski brothers were on point with the casting and you can tell they watched Speed Racer and did the homework. When Taejo was about to get fed to the piranahs I remember that 100% from the anime, the car explosions were not scrapped and if you watch after Speed pulls in after the Casa Cristo he jumps out of the car and he does a certain pose, that is EXACTLY what he does at the end of the speed racer intro, hell they even left the original anime soundtrack in there. If people claim they are fans of speed racer and say the Wachowski brothers raped, slaughtered or watered down Speed Racer drastically I have a hard time believe you watched the anime. I will be the first to say Hollywood butchers things like crazy and it pisses me off, but some people are just being annoying. I don't care what people say, that is what a live action anime should be like. As for non anime? Iron Man anyone? Iron Man was amazing, they also did a good live action Ghost Busters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Spider Man, I'm kinda on the fence with X-men because they raped alot of it but I'll add it in because it wasnt dreadful, Scooby Doo wasnt amazing but it wasnt awful like Josie and the Pussycats, Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman Begins, Batman The Dark Knight, and Casper. I could name more but I think I named enough to set you straight.

FYI Full Metal Panic has alot of Western Influence and if you don't think so then look up the guy who made it. People are just reaching and kissing the converse of asia tsk tsk people got some growing up to do.

I'm asian... I love this anime to pieces. And I'm also for Zac Efron as Sousuke Sagara. Just saw him on SNL... all he knows how to do is look problematic. He could definitely pull of Sousuke's stone-face. Just wait... he may surprise us. But I REALLY wanna know who Kaname will be.

WHY must you do this Hollywood? WHY? Anything you touch turns into garbage, and here you go wanting to turn a good Anime into another one of your useless and poorly constructed productions. Like hell I'll watch this shit. I'm sticking to the original Anime, thank you.

I bet no one really cared about FMP until the movie was announced now all of a sudden people are jumping the bandwagon

DON'T RUIN THE CHARACTERS' PROFILES!well maybe change it a bit.BUT IF THEY'RE GONNA MAKE SOMETHING IT SHOULD BE THE NEXT SERIES OR AN ANIME MOVIE NOT REAL LIFE!

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, NOT ZAC EFRON! I'D CRY IF HE WAS IN THE MOVIE AT ALL- AND, IF HE WAS CAST AS SOUSUKE... *LOOKS AROUND, HORRIFIED* No. Just No. If they cast the characters correctly and followed the plot...yah, I'd see it. Otherwise- it does not exist.

T_T FMP is one of my favorite anime, they should just leave it as it is, just as an anime. and to make it wores zac efron wants to be in it *cringe* no,no,no,no!!! please no. T_T i might go see it, but only if zac wasnt in it.

I'm more interested in seeing the movie as an anime, just like the series.

I'm not against Efron, he's done ok in the movies that hes had a role in so far. I've seen worse acting by other rising stars ( I am not a Harry Potter hater, but in Sorcerer's Stone, Daniel Radcliffe's acting was BAD. Thankfully he's gotten much better ) but most of the time, people seemingly don't mind it as long as the plot, the action, the effects, etc. are better. However, Efron portrays mostly cute characters ( because there's no denying that he's got an adorable little face ) and Sousuke is not your average high school cutie. His profile is tough, serious, although sometimes shy, a genius when it comes to warfare but clueless when it comes to sociability. Zac just isnt the right guy. Even IF they found the right live cast, the movie would still be a letdown. The hyper, really funny exaggerated expressions of Kaname would be lost. Her and Sousuke are so different in attitudes and countenance, its what made their relationship so likable. No one could do it humoringly without looking like a freak ( because that's the advantage of being a cartoon ) and without it, Kaname just wouldn't be Kaname. It's totally possible that the movie will turn out good, great even, but it wouldn't feel the same. You just cant compare live and animated because there's disadvantages for both. But since FMP! has been anime it should be kept as anime so it could be another ( ultimate ) piece to the FMP! series.

i love full metal panic, but if they put zac efron in it, i will not be seeing it. he must be sucidal, to want to star in that with thousands of pissed anime fans out there. if i dont kill him, someone else will.

i think it will turn out alright i mean all he has to say is "not a problem" how hard can that be lol

Plus, the biggest challenge would be that could Efron could keep a straight face and not show TOO much emotion when Sousuke screws up in daily life? He better NOT make Sousuke too emotional because it would be WAY too out of character for him.

full metal panic is the best for me im dreamin of watchin it 6 years ago, but now ive watched it completely.. its comedy action + romance makes it the best for me, and the theme song, characters@_@ but im not satisfied tho coz i think its not yet finished.. anyway, well my point is, i was hoping that FMP will have a movie but not an american movie coz anime is best for japanese people.. pls make it a japanese actor + actress. i dunt want my best anime move all my life to go to waste like dragonball..

i'm not really totally hostile about it..i'm actually excited about it... they better not disappoint the fans (i'm one of em).. zac efron is fine... i agree that they shouldn't focus on the romance more.. it'll be good if there are explosive action and great special effects.. adding some of comedy can be great in the mix. it's ok for me if they got american actors for FMP movie, as long as they do the role really good..

i have known FMP and i am familiar and have come accustomed with the characters and their personalities. why dragonball evolution is a flop? the writers missed out the most important essence: the personalities. not only real-life goku strayed absolutely completely much from the animated goku, but must they change the race too?! the same goes for the rest of the characters!!!! but then again, if they have to keep it faithful (to the letter) of the animated version, why waste money, time and energy doing an adaptation when we can just watch the original animation?! so i guess, my premise intends to carry an objection (and feeling of annoyance) to this habit of hollywood-turning-anime-into-live-action!!!! if the studios need some inspiration, they can always look into their own heritages: Aliens, robocop, terminator:judgment day, the sound of music, citizen kane, star wars, saving private ryan, blackhawk down, enemy at the gates, contacts, crimson tide, courage under fire, bone collector anyone?!!!! better yet, they have to do some soul searching!! the audience aren't machines, they're people. so would it be better if they do a flick that concerns social issues, or to escape reality for awhile some very lighthearted flick like sound of musics (never look down upon this evergreen classic!!!!!) to ashiduree, why are you so upset if the world suddenly look up to JAPAN and belittle your beloved american. it's a FACTS of life; at one time you are at the top but there's no wonders if suddenly you find yourself at the bottom the next day!!!!!!!!! that's what they call it the "Circle of Life"!!!!!!

I can see this working out IF they do it right. First of all, I am a huge fan of this series and I love novels and anime (haven't read too much of the manga), but I have to say that whenever it is adapted in America be it through voice acting or the big screen I am usually disappointed. But that's not to say that all English dubs/ American adaptations are total flops (the English dub for Full Metal Panic for example, was exceptional) and I do believe that this has real potential. That being said, there are a few things the people working on this movie will have to look out for or they're going to completely botch it. The things I would recommend are 1.) stick to the original storyline as much as possible in all ways, shapes and forms 2.) Keep the characters in character 3.) Know the characters and get actors who can play the role in both their acting and physical characteristics 4.) DO NOT just higher popular actors solely because they are popular actors. If they're going to do this (which obviously they are) they need to stick to the storyline or they will have a lot of angry or at the very least, disappointed fans. That aside, as someone has mentioned before, the storyline is solid. There's no need to deviate from it. I can almost guaruntee that if you stick with the plot as is you'll walk away with a pretty penny because everything about this story is already set. I understand that the film can't exceed a certain ammount of time and you havce creative license but as much as possible, stick with what you already have and work with it. Don't just change things for the sake of doing so. (An example of this being -though I'm not sure if this was the same group working on it, you can still learn from the epic fail - the Dragonball movie. They already had a great plot, characters and a setting to work with and yet they made major and unnecessary changes that ticked a lot of people off and ruined the original story). Stay true to the plot, stay true to the setting, stay true to the characters and what makes them who they are. Kaname, Sosuke, Kurz, Mao, Tessa, Kalinin, Mardukas, even Gauron are all great as is. Please keep them in character. A lot of the interesting events in this series play on their character traits and personalities and the decisions they make because of them. For example, a lot of the comedy aspects are the result of Sosuke's 24/7 war mentality and (sometimes) Kurz's perversness. Finally, one of the most important aspects: the acting. For the sake of not boring people to death PLEASE use actors who can play the role. I'm not talking "hey, this guy was really believable in that one gushy romantic comedy where he played the well-rounded boy next door, so let's put him in our movie -that has romantic and humorous aspects, but mainly revolves around anti-terrorism and war- as a highly-trained mercenary!" I know that there are auditions involved in casting and maybe the acting can be pulled off, but it's a major turn-off if we can't stop thinking about another role in another movie an actor you cast has played. It's also a major turn-off when you don't stick with actors that resemble (if only a little) the characters physically. The make-up can only take you so far (as with the Dragonball movie) so use people with similar physical traits. Kurz Weber, for example, is described as having blonde hair, blue eyes, and of German ethnicity. He loves the ladies, has somewhat of a potty-mouth, but is overall a fun character. Not too hard to find someone to play this role, but other characters like Melissa Mao (to add to this example) need to be cast correctly as well. Mao is described as being in her late-twenties and of Chinese ethnicity. I'm not trying to make this a racial thing, believe me. I'm just saying that you need to stay true to the characters all the way around or its not as believeable and takes away from the original story. Mithril is not directly affiliated (though sometimes it works with) with any one country and it is said in the novels that the people on board the Tuatha de Danaan are all of various races with different ethnic backgrounds. If you have a bunch of soldiers that look like they're from America with American "accents" that's not going to be very believable and people may think that Mithril as well as the plot is centered around the USA. I am a huge fan of the series and I really want this to work out. I'm not one of the haters who will automatically put it down but I do admit to having doubts as to whether this will be successfully executed. I gave it some thought and if you take into consideration the things I have said, I believe this can be a success. Sosuke is Japanese and though I would prefer that you stay true to who these characters are all the way around, I'd say that this is excusable. However, I'm assuming that Zac is being considered for Sosuke and I don't want to think of High School Musical or 17 Again whenever I see him on screen (generally, I think having popular American actors in the movie will take people out of the story ). Sosuke doesn't have Zac's baby-face or pretty boy appeal, though I must say that other than that, physically je is well fit for the role. If he can pull of Sosuke's military-mentality, and stony, expressionless face, then maybe this could work.