First Glimpses Of Live-Action One Piece Have Fans Cautiously Optimistic
Expanding from the original, iconic "One Piece" manga series by Eiichiro Oda, the subsequent "One Piece" anime television episodes from Toei Animation debuted all the way back in 1999. Flourishing to become one of the most eagerly followed anime shows ever — and with the original manga even nabbing a Guinness World Record, per Anime News Network — it's fair to say that "One Piece" has endured for all these years. Part of the lasting appeal may be the deceptively simple plot line: teen Monkey D. "Straw Hat" Luffy sails off in a search of treasure, eats a decidedly unusual fruit, becomes ... well, rubbery, and gains numerous wacky pals who join his quest for the fabulous, well-concealed booty of legendary Pirate King Gol D. Roger.
As noted by Deadline, the wildly popular manga was picked up for production as a live-action series in 2020 by Netflix, with filming in South Africa starting up in February of 2022 (via NetflixGeeked). Not surprisingly, a live-action version of such a seriously beloved series could be awesome — but it could also leave disappointed fans wishing it never happened. Adapting an anime series to live-action is always risky. That said, a recent peek at some newly revealed elements of the live-action production has many fans hoping for the best.
A first look at the One Piece set has fans pleased, but wary
With the release of a behind-the-scenes YouTube clip from the streamer's Netflix Geeked Week, fans are getting their first-ever look at some of the truly spectacular elements being built to bring this all-time favorite manga to life. The clip is hosted by Inaki Godoy, the actor slated to play series' lead Monkey D. Luffy, along with showrunners Steven Maeda and Matt Owens, and takes viewers on-set in South Africa for an up-close inspection of some of the many fantastical pirate vessels of "One Piece."
Commenting on the clip, YouTuber Vailskibum94 isn't optimistic, but still has high hopes saying, "I have low expectations for the overall series because live-action almost never works with these kinds of stories, but DANG the sets looks incredible." Meanwhile, Umer Farooq is more upbeat about the series' prospects, writing, "I can't wait for this Live Action adaptation! It honestly looks very promising!" Fellow YouTube commenter TuxBear, on the other hand, just wants Netflix to avoid interfering with the creative work of the showrunners and cast, writing, "Fingers crossed this goes well I don't want yall to ruin this ... just hope Netflix keeps [their] nose [out of it] and only provides the money."
One thing everyone seems to be impressed by, though, is the hard work of everybody involved in the producer. As Twitter user @HeidiMalagisi1 wrote, "The level of detail is astounding. This makes me so so happy!"