Seiji Mizushima, director of the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist anime series - which had an anime original ending (and is not to be confused with 2009's Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood that more closely followed the manga) thinks the upcoming live-action film adaptation is severely flawed.
Attending a round-table panel at the Japanese festival Nikufes with anime producers Hiroshi Kanemaru (Popin Q) and Tomoki Misawa (Urawa no Usagi-chan), Mizushima thinks the film's cast should have been more diverse and not entirely comprised of all Japanese actors. This statement is likely in reference to the fact that several key characters in the manga and anime are not Japanese.
"It was a bad idea to only use Japanese actors. If you asked me whether I think the cast could pull it off, I'd say that no, they can't. It's hard for actors to capture the look and feel of the original manga."
All three panelist agreed that manga illustrations allow more freedom than what actors can convey. For emphasis, Mizushima singled out the recent Gintama film, which he said "just looked stupid."
They also pointed a finger at the much-derrided Terraformars movie as another example of a live-action film failing to capture the greatness of an exceptional manga.
However, the trio stated that they can't deny the increased media attention and mainstream appeal anime is garnering thanks to the recent influx of live-action adaptations. Despite his comments above, Mizushima said he hopes the live-action Fullmetal Alchemist film performs well at the box office.