Before the immense craze for the One Piece live-action series by Netflix, Inaki Godoy, the actor who plays the protagonist Monkey D. Luffy got to meet the brilliant mind behind the story of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda. In a promotional video for Netflix’s One Piece series, manga writer Oda and live-action Luffy actor Godoy had a friendly encounter. Eiichiro Oda keeps a low-key character and avoids showing his face on TV. Oda hid his face with a drawing of a fish throughout the conversation, keeping his mystery identity.
Inaki Godoy was overcome with emotion because he was about to meet a manga creator who, in his opinion, was the best in the world. Oda was equally delighted to meet Inaki. They shared a conversation and discussed the series and other aspects.
Read More: One Piece: 6 Best Storylines That Netflix Live-Action Series Must Adapt in the Future
Eiichiro Oda Revealed Why He Chose Inaki Godoy
It’s worth noting that Inaki Godoy was personally chosen by Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, to play the character. This choice shows Oda’s concept and creative direction for the live-action adaptation. Oda hid his face with a drawing of a fish throughout the conversation, keeping his mystery identity.
While conversing with each other in a youtube video by Netflix, Godoy asked Oda san why he chose him as his main character, and what he liked about him. Oda san said:
“Actually, my biggest concern was if we could find someone like Luffy. But I watched a lot of audition videos and when I saw you, I started laughing..You are exactly like the character I drew in my manga. Intuitively I thought: ‘That’s Luffy’. I can’t imagine anyone else playing this role.”
When Oda commented that he “can’t imagine anyone else” playing his beloved character other than Godoy, who charmed him with his vivacious demeanor in his audition tape, Godoy became tearful.
Read More: One Piece: 7 Characters Who Are Just Impossible to Adapt for Netflix’s Live-Action
Other Actor Who Got to Meet Eiichiro Oda
Apart from Godoy, Nami actress Emily Rudd also claimed that she got the wonderful and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the famed mangaka, which she characterized as a terrifying encounter. She explained how it was the most scary experience of her life to meet the God of One Piece itself. In an interview with Collider, Emily Rudd said:
“I also was able to meet Oda-sensei, and it was easily the most scared I’ve ever been in my whole life. He’s a lovely dude, but you know, he’s kind of like a god, you know?”
Fans regard Oda as an enigmatic figure. He rarely makes public appearances, like many of his colleague’s manga creators or mangaka, but he served as the executive producer of the One Piece live-action series and stated in a statement that he was delighted that the series would not move ahead until he was satisfied with everything surrounding the project.
