The live-action adaptation of the iconic anime series, One Piece, has received a lot of applause and praise from fans. The eight-episode series has gotten well-deserved praise and is currently trending on the internet. The series, like the anime, follows the exploits of Luffy, a young pirate who dreams of obtaining the legendary Gol D. Rogers’ treasure. Along the trip, he meets a number of other pirates who either help or hinder him in his quest. The show has done its utmost to stay true to the original screenplay and keep it grounded. The series’ creators, Matt Owens and Steven Maeda, worked hard and succeeded thanks to the strong influence of Oda-san himself.
But this was not the initial thoughts of the creators. Mangaka Oda himself believed that their will be a lot of fans who may have some or the other issue with the series.
Read More: 5 Best Animes of Eiichiro Oda, The Man Behind ‘One Piece’
Eiichiro Oda Knew The Series Would Be Criticized
Oda anticipated that the most passionate supporters will be disappointed with the final product before its August 31 release. He was well aware that the alterations and limits of live action would be an impediment to the success of Netflix’s version of One Piece. He penned in an open letter via Netflix Geeked:
“sure that some will point the finger at that character that is missing, or that scene that was omitted, or the differences from the manga. But I’m sure these criticisms will come from those who have love for One Piece.”
Eiichiro allegedly took great effort in bringing his fans’ favourite characters to life in the live-action version. Oda himself said that there were several lines that he didn’t think the manga’s main character, Luffy, would say, but after viewing the filmed scenes, he thought they fit. He also revealed that production consented to re-shoot some scenes because he felt they were unfit to be released for the audience.
One Piece Live Action Was Decided Seven Years Ago
In the same open letter, Eiichiro Oda explained how the idea of the live action adaptation was conceived 7 years ago, and the efforts and work that went in bringing it to life. He wrote in the letter through Netflix Geeked:
“It’s absurd that the idea of adapting One Piece to a live action was conceived seven years ago! How was it possible to transpose such a world into reality? It took a lot of work… the efforts of the actors, the reconstruction of buildings and costumes, realising the situations so that they could only work in live action, the dialogues… and the commitment of so many people who worked together was already in itself something beautiful.”
The series earned 18.5 million views in its first week, ranking first on Netflix’s TV list. The series debuted at number one on Netflix’s Top 10 ranking in 84 countries in its first weekend.
Source: NME
