Emily Rudd, the actress who plays the role of Nami in the popular anime live-action series One Piece on Netflix, has been a huge anime fan since her childhood. There have been many instances where Rudd has explained her love for anime and how it helped her understand the story and the character overall.
Rudd’s performance in One Piece’s live-action adaptation series made her one of the most popular actors on the cast and fans truly appreciated her acting skills and are eagerly waiting to see her performance in the second season that will majorly focus on the Alabasta Saga of the original One Piece anime and manga.
While Rudd has had a keen interest in the One Piece anime, there are two other anime series that have had a huge impact on her and turned her into an actual anime geek. In an interview, she talked about how she grew up watching these anime series and how these series solidified the importance of anime.
Anime Series That Turned Emily Rudd into an Anime Geek
During an interview with Netflix on their YouTube channel called Still Watching Netflix, Nami actress Emily Rudd talked about how she grew up geeked about anime. She explained the importance of anime in her life and how she grew up watching two famous anime series: Dragon Ball Z and Pokémon.
She stated:
“I grew up on Dragon Ball Z. I grew up on Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! I saw Spirited Away in theaters when it came out here in the States. So all of the anime stuff, that made me into who I am, 100%. Sailor Moon, I made my parents rent the Sailor Moon movie all the time and they were so sick of it, but I was just like, “Oh my gosh. Women are so cool and so powerful and they can do anything.” And it also just really solidified anime in my life.”
While talking about how she grew up watching these iconic anime series, she also explained how other anime series and movies impacted her life in a big way. She talked about Sailor Moon and Spirited Away too.
Emily Rudd Remembers Her Childhood Love for Anime
While talking about how anime changed her life, Rudd also stated that she is constantly searching for new anime series that she hasn’t watched already. She also said that she had a collection of Pokémon cards when she was a kid and she wished that she hadn’t gotten rid of them.
She stated:
“I’m just constantly on the hunt for more animes that I haven’t already seen. I wish I hadn’t gotten rid of my Pokémon cards and my Game Boy Color with all of the original Pokémon Games. I have beat myself up over that so much because I’m like, “Why? Why did I do that?” That was amazing. Like, I wanna play them now, you know? I wanna have those cards now. But, you know, live and learn, I guess.”
Rudd stated that she would love those Pokémon cards and her Game Boy Color with all of the original Pokémon games and she wants to play with them even now.
These statements from Rudd explain her love for anime during her childhood especially Pokémon, as not only she watched the anime series but also played with their video game and cards. Rudd’s love for anime turned her into a total geek and later she got to play one of the most important characters in an anime live-action.
You can watch One Piece Live-Action on Netflix.