Based on the immensely successful manga series from renowned mangaka Eiichiro Oda and serialized in Shueisha’s shōnen manga magazineWeekly Shōnen Jump,One Pieceis a live-action adaptation created for the Netflix streaming platform. Adapting the first 100 or so chapters of the 1000+ long manga series, the first season of the show introduces the boisterous Monkey D. Luffy as he sets out on a quest to become the King of the Pirates, gathering allies and coming in conflict with evil pirates and the World Government’s Navy Marines.
The live-actionOne Pieceseries began production in 2022after a positive reception to the show’s casting choice. In a recent interview, the showrunner behind the live-actionOne Pieceadaptation from Netflix revealed which of the changes made in the process of adapting the popular manga for live-action he really wanted.
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WhileOne Piecehas been received well in part due to its great appreciation for the source material, includingseveral perfect casting choices for the live-action cast of the show, there was one change that series showrunner Steven Maeda was sure was needed to make the first season work. “Obviously, Garp was not in the first 100 chapters to any great degree, other than, I think, seeing him in the beginning,”Meada explained in an interview with Variety, referring to the high-ranking Marine that chases Luffy and his crew across East Blue. “But one of the decisions that I made early on was wanting to have an antagonist in pursuit. And Garp seemed to lend himself so well to the idea of pursuers coming after Luffy and company. It was a change we made in order to keep the jeopardy up and to feel like there were big stakes.”
Monkey D. Garp, one of themost iconic and absurdly powerful old men in all of anime, also happens to be Luffy’s paternal grandfather, a fact that was not revealed until well into the series, which would have resulted in the live-action adaptation revealing this in a hypothetical fourth season. “And then exactly halfway through the season, that’s why,” Maeda said, explaining that the reveal was needed to justify the character’s motivations for chasing Luffy and his friends. “This is about trying to protect him. This is about trying to teach him, and it’s where Garp feels he has failed.”
The decision, which was also greenlit by co-showrunner Matt Owens andOne Piececreator Oda, certainly gave the first season a more spirited, flighty atmosphere, proving the value of Maeda’s thoughts on needing an antagonist in pursuit. This, alongside many other similar balancing acts between respecting the source material and making adjustments only where needed to help move the adaptation forward, has seemingly been the key to endearing the fans to the adaptation. WhileNetflix’s live-actionCowboy Bebopadaptation being canceled was supposed to not bode well forOne Piece,it’s clearly managed to shake off the apprehension.
All else aside, Netflix’s One Piece has proven itself to be far superior to all prior attempts at an anime adaptation by the streamer. With positive reviews pouring in and the fans already looking forward toall the new pirates that might appear in One Piece season 2, it seems the project might have the staying power that its long-running manga source material has become well-known for.
The live-action adaptation ofOne Pieceis available for streaming on Netflix
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