Creator Eiichiro Oda is voicing his strong support for the project.
The first full-length trailer for Netflix’s live-action One Piece adaptation is here, along with a letter penned by franchise creator Eiichiro Oda intended to settle the concerns of fans.
Any scepticism is hardly surprising given the poor track record of Western live-action adaptations of anime properties, which have so far included Netflix’s Death Note and Cowboy Bebop, as well as Scarlett Johansson’s infamous Ghost in the Shell.
However, it’s hoped that One Piece can break the trend, with The Imperfects star Iñaki Godoy certainly bringing a lot of charm to the lead role of fearless pirate Monkey D Luffy.
“I’ll say this: There were no compromises on this show,” Oda’s letter began. “There was so much that went into it – all the efforts by the actors, the building of the world and the costumes, presenting things in a way that can only be done in live-action, the dialogue – and the entire process of so many people putting their heads together was a festivity in and of itself.”
You can get a look at the fruit of their labours right now in the official One Piece trailer. Watch below:
Oda seems aware that fans will be protective of the enormous source material, which spans 106 volumes of manga and more than a thousand anime episodes. Unsurprisingly, not everything could be kept for this reimagining.
The letter continued: “After the launch, I’m sure I’ll hear about some people pointing out how this character is missing or that scene is omitted, or this bit is different from the manga. But I’m sure they’ll come from a place of love, so I intend to enjoy even those comments.”
The creator also spoke to the quality control on the adaptation, revealing that the production agreed to reshoot certain scenes that he didn’t approve of, while others were elevated by the dynamite casting of Godoy.
“There were also some lines that I thought didn’t feel like Luffy on paper,” he added. “But when I saw the filmed scenes, I went, ‘It works when it’s Iñaki performing it as Luffy! As a matter of fact, it works great!’”
The cast of One Piece also includes Mackenyu (Knights of the Zodiac) as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd (Fear Street) as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson (Greenleaf) as Usopp and Taz Skylar (The Lazarus Project) as Sanji.
One Piece is available to stream on Netflix from Thursday 31st August 2023. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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