One of the most exciting live-action manga adaptations in years is an impending Netflix horror K-drama. Although many of them failed, Netflix is not unfamiliar with turning popular manga or anime into live-action films and TV series.
Nevertheless, successes like Alice in Borderland and One Piece season 1 demonstrated that it is possible, despite the failure of films like Death Note (2017) and television shows like Cowboy Bebop (2021). Live-action anime properties typically have a lot of potential, whether they are straight adaptations of the source material or merely something based on that world.
While K-dramas based on comics have been produced in the past, this is not a common occurrence, particularly for popular series that have previously had anime adaptations. Many intriguing shows are on Netflix’s 2024 K-drama lineup, but one newly revealed program that is based on a hugely well-liked anime IP sticks out.
Though its premise sounds intriguing, it remains to be seen if this latest Netflix manga adaptation will succeed.
There will be a live-action K-dramas adaptation of Parasyte.
A live-action K-drama adaptation of Hitoshi Iwaak’s critically renowned manga series Parasyte, which ran from 1989 to 1994, is scheduled to premiere in 2024. Yeong Sang-wo is directing Parasyte: The Grey, which will be the third live-action adaptation of Iwaak’s manga; the other two were 2014 and 2015 theatre releases.
Parasyte: The Grey, an original story based on the Parasyte universe, is scheduled to debut in the second quarter of 2024. The manga Parasyte narrates the tale of Shinichi Izumi, a young boy whose hand is replaced after he contracts an enigmatic parasite thought to be of extraterrestrial origin.
There are other parasites on Earth besides Shinichi’s, and the majority of them kill their hosts by taking over their bodies entirely. A fantastic narrative with philosophical overtones, Parasyte has had an anime adaptation in the shape of the immensely popular Parasyte -the maxim-. If adapted right, however, it may make for a magical horror K-drama series.
Although Parasyte: The Grey sounds like a really interesting film, it is important to understand that it is not a manga adaptation. Put another way, Parasyte: The Grey is based on the world created by Hitoshi Iwaak rather than being a live-action anime adaptation, like One Piece or Yu Yu Hakusho.
Parasyte: The Grey won’t be set in Japan or revolve around Shinichi. Rather, and this is wonderful news, it will feature entirely new characters in a plot that is not necessarily connected to the manga’s events.
A faithful manga adaptation was already provided by the live-action Parasyte films, which faithfully recreated famous moments and chronicled most of Shinichi’s journey.
There have already been three separate media adaptations of the original Parasyte story: manga, anime, and live-action films.
A Korean TV series that is based on the idea of Parasyte but has a new cast of people in a different locale will enable this new series to differentiate itself from earlier adaptations, leading to a fresh reading of the manga. It also aids in avoiding drawing parallels between the anime and K-drama directly.
