Netflix’s One Piece was able to defy the odds and become a success for the streaming giant. One Piece Live-Action forges a new path that honors its source material while bringing on board the correct creative team including Eiichiro Oda himself to ensure that this ambitious live-action adaptation swims safely to success. In its first weekend of streaming, the show debuted at No. 1 in 84 different countries around the world. The series was probably the first among live-action adaptations to get such huge numbers and make it to the list of successful shows, breaking the curse of live-action failures.
There have always been disputes on the internet over live-action adaptations since, despite attempting to remain faithful to the source content, these shows or films generally fail. One Piece showrunner Steven Maeda, on the other hand, explained why Netflix’s One Piece overcame the live-action anime curse.
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Steven Maeda Explains How One Piece Live-Action Broke the Curse
One Piece showrunner Maeda in an interview with ComicBook explained how One Piece was a special project for him and how he wanted the concept of One Piece to enter the real world and how it would look like. He said:
“I think with One Piece in particular for me, I just wanted to see some of those scenes. I wanted to see those sets and I wanted to see those ships and those moments and have that emotion. The first time I saw the Shanks Luffy Straw Hat scene, which is a big part of the second episode, it teared me up, and I was like, “Okay, we’re doing something right.” At least to me, it felt like there was something really special that we had tapped into.”
Maeda stated that when he saw the Shanks and Luffy scene, he was satisfied and he knew then and there that they were doing a good job for the series and it would surely become a successful live-action adaptation and break the curse.
Steven Maeda Believes Not All Shows Demand a Live-Action
Maeda also explained how not every show demands a live-action as it feels very grounding and textural for many characters to recreate. He stated that he loves anime but working in a live-action he understands the problems of bringing an animated concept into the real world. He said:
“I love anime and I love animated shows in general, but I’ve always worked in live-action and there’s something that is very textural and grounding about seeing actual people perform the roles of characters that and love or characters that you’re just being introduced to and seeing those come to life. If there’s something I find incredibly rewarding and incredibly grounding about that, every show does not demand a live-action. That is for sure.”
One Piece was able to break the curse of Live-Actions which was a big hurdle for other anime series like Cowboy Bebop. The direct inclusion of creator Eiichiro Oda throughout both conception and production was a major factor in Netflix’s One Piece adaptation.
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