Netflix’s One Piece show has all the tools to break the live-action anime adaptation curse. Here’s why the live-action One Piece series can succeed.
Netflix’s One Piece has the opportunity to end the anime adaptation curse. Multiple anime and manga have been adapted into Hollywood movies or TV shows over the years. For example, Netflix released a Cowboy Bebop live-action show in 2021 and a live-action Death Note movie in 2017. Unfortunately, both Death Note and Cowboy Bebop joined the list of flawed live-action anime adaptations, which One Piece will now have to avoid.
The live-action One Piece show was announced to be in the works at Netflix on January 2020. Netflix’s One Piece release date has yet to be revealed, but the show is confirmed to drop in 2023. Similar to how Arcane and The Last of Us ended the video game adaptation curse, One Piece has all the tools to deliver one of the first great anime adaptations based on a popular shonen.
8. Eiichiro Oda Is Involved In The Live-Action One Piece Show
According to Netflix executive Ted Biaselli, the team behind the show is working directly with One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda. Biaselli explains how Oda has a vision for One Piece, which the show is trying to honor. One Piece has been one of the most popular shows in the world for years, and there have probably been several attempts at bringing it into live-action. No one knows the One Piece characters better than Oda, which is why having the mangaka involved is so important. If Oda believes in what Netflix is trying to build with One Piece, then the live-action adaptation is off to a great start.
According to Biaselli, Oda will tell the One Piece show’s creators whenever they are “missing the point” of a scene. Biaselli recalls how Oda would say, for example, “That’s not what this scene is about,” if something needed to be changed. Finding the balance between what works in a live-action TV series and what doesn’t is difficult. However, having One Piece’s creator so close to the process behind the live-action show can make it a lot easier.
7. Netflix’s One Piece Creators Are Fans Of The Anime
According to Netflix’s One Piece showrunner Matt Owens (via REVERIE XI), “everyone who works on the show” is a fan of One Piece. While a writer or a director does not necessarily have to be a fan to create a good story, adapting such a beloved manga requires an appreciation of the original work. Respecting and acknowledging Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga and its anime adaptation is key to bringing Luffy’s story into live-action. After so many disappointing live-action anime adaptations, Netflix’s One Piece has to nail what makes One Piece so good. Having creators who are fans of the anime involved in the live-action adaptation can help.
6. Netflix’s One Piece Has A Diverse Cast
When asked about the One Piece characters’ nationalities in SBS Volume 56 (2011), Oda revealed where the main One Piece characters would be from if the story was set in the real world. For example, according to Oda, Luffy would be Brazilian; Robin would be Russian; and Zoro would be Japanese. Despite not following exactly what Odo described in that particular interview, the live-action One Piece adaptation is honoring the plurality of One Piece‘s characters. Netflix’s One Piece is also avoiding the capital mistake made by anime adaptations like Dragonball Evolution and Ghost in the Shell, in which none of the main roles were given to Japanese actors.
5. One Piece’s Popularity Can Make The Live-Action Adaptation’s Job Easier
One Piece has been one of the most popular shonen anime, if not the most, for several years now. The animated One Piece series premiered in October 1999, and the series has been on the air ever since. No anime series runs for 24 years without building a legacy. One Piece’s absurd popularity can make the live-action adaptation’s job a lot easier. Netflix’s One Piece already has an audience, those who are familiar with the One Piece universe and are curious to see how it will look in live-action. At a time when streaming services and movie studios compete for the biggest IPs, Netflix has a treasure in One Piece.
Many popular anime franchises have led to unsuccessful adaptations. However, should Netflix’s One Piece deliver a somewhat solid adaptation, the show will have almost 30 years of One Piece legacy to back it up. If the East Blue arc adaptation works, then those who are familiar with the story will begin to anticipate Netflix’s One Piece season 2. Likewise, those who have never watched or read One Piece will have plenty of One Piece stories to consume after the live-action adaptation. One Piece is already a successful franchise, of which the live-action adaptation can be a part.
4. Netflix’s One Piece Can Be A Starting Point For New Fans
As of the writing of this article, the One Piece anime has aired 1060 episodes. Considering that the usual anime episode has 23 minutes, One Piece has aired 406 hours of content considering the anime only. To put things in perspective, it would take 20 days for some to watch all One Piece episodes in one sitting. Even skipping the fillers, which account for a bit more than 100 episodes, catching up on One Piece takes quite a while. That is not to mention the dozens of OVAs and the 15 One Piece movies.
Getting into One Piece through the manga also takes quite some time. As of March 2023, Shonen Jump has published more than 1000 One Piece chapters. There is also no solid estimation as to when One Piece will end. No adaptation is supposed to replace the original work, but the live-action One Piece show can be the perfect starting point for new audiences. It could become much easier to get into One Piece through a 10-episode season than through the anime, for example. Viewers who enjoy Netflix’s One Piece will then have the opportunity to check the original work or continue to follow the story through the live-action.
3. Netflix’s One Piece Is A Show, Not A Movie
An argument can be made that most live-action anime adaptations would work better as shows than as movies. Some of the worst live-action anime adaptations wrongfully tried to condense dozens of hours of story into a 2-hour movie. For example, Dragonball Evolution saw Goku meeting Bulma and defeating Piccolo in less than 90 minutes. Likewise, Netflix’s Death Note movie introduced and wrapped up L and Light’s stories in less than two hours. Adapting One Piece as a movie would have been a major mistake, as way too much would have to be changed or skipped over. The serialized format is perfect for live-action One Piece.
2. Netflix’s One Piece Can Have Better Pacing Than The Anime
In addition to the number of One Piece episodes, getting into the story of Luffy and his friends through the anime encounters a pacing problem. Shonen anime adaptations from the late 1990s and early 2000s had a much different pacing compared to recent hit anime series like Attack on Titan or Demon Slayer. For many reasons, including but not limited to budget and avoiding catching up with the manga, the pacing of early One Piece was not always great. Netflix’s One Piece does not have to fix the anime, but it can offer a better-paced experience compared to early One Piece episodes.
One Piece’s East Blue Saga lasts for 60 episodes or 58 hours. Netflix’s One Piece season 1 is expected to cover the entirety of the East Blue arc in 10 episodes. Assuming that each live-action One Piece episode will have a runtime between 40 and 50 minutes, the series could adapt the East Blue arc in around 19 hours. Obviously, Netflix’s One Piece’s 10-episode format means that a few storylines will be either streamlined or skipped over entirely. However, One Piece’s story can still work.
1. One Piece Can Prove That “Unadaptable Animes” Can Work In Live-Action
One Piece is often listed as one of the “unadaptable animes,” shows that are just too difficult to be brought into live-action. One piece features a quite stylized world, and neither its time period nor its setting is quite clear at first. Unlike Death Note or even Dragon Ball, One Piece is one of the most difficult shonen animes to be adapted into a live-action series. Therefore, Netflix’s One Piece show has a huge task ahead of it. However, if the live-action One Piece adaptation works, then other “unadaptable animes” can also receive adaptations in the future.
One Piece could be a groundbreaking anime adaptation if it works. Apart from Dragon Ball, no shonen anime with so much franchise potential has been made into a Hollywood movie or show yet. Series like Naruto, Bleach, and My Hero Academia, if correctly adapted, could each create a decade-long franchise either on television or on the big screen. Hollywood’s track of anime adaptations plays against this, but something like One Piece working in live-action could change the game forever. As one of the most popular anime of all time, One Piecemight be the key to ending the live-action adaptation curse.
Src: screenrant.com
