There’s around a month to go until One Piece finally gets a live-action adaptation when Netflix unveils its imaginatively titled series, One Piece. After years establishing itself among the best anime series, the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy are coming for the live-action world too.
Obviously, bringing one of the best TV series ever made into a new format is a tough job. Fortunately, the Netflix team behind One Piece have had original manga and anime creator Eiichiro Oda in their corner throughout the process of making what could be among the best Netflix series of the year.
In a candid letter to One Piece fans, released by Netflix on social media, Oda explained his excitement for the One Piece live-action release date, as well as reassuring fans that criticism is very welcome indeed. He said that even he had concerns during the shooting and editing process.
“Even after the shoot was over, there were numerous scenes the production agreed to re-shoot because I felt they weren’t good enough to put out into the world,” he said, before revealing that this cut the other way as well.
Oda said: “On the other hand, there were also some lines that I thought didn’t feel like Luffy on paper… but when I saw the filmed scenes, I went, ‘It works when it’s Iñaki [Godoy] performing it as Luffy! As a matter of fact, it works great’.”
Whatever misgivings Oda may have had along the line, he’s now thrown his weight fully behind the finished product that we’ll all get to see in August when the series debuts.
He added: “I just love this production team and the cast so much that I can’t wait for them to get the acclaim they deserve from everyone around the world. And if by chance people have some gripes, I’ll be there to receive them together.”
We’re very excited to see what Netflix has done with One Piece, bringing the best One Piece characters to the screen in a fresh way with the help of the One Piece live-action cast. There’s nothing we’d like more than to sail the seas with these guys.
One Piece joins the exciting list of everything new on Netflix this year and, for more of the best fantasy series on the streamer, you can check out our The Witcher season 3 interview. But unfortunately, we’ve got bad news about the Netflix He-Man movie.
There’s plenty of new anime on the way for fans of the medium to enjoy, so check out our guides to the Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 release schedule, the Chainsaw Man season 2 release date, and the Demon Slayer season 4 release date.