“Oh this is really big”: One Piece Director Didn’t Even Know the Anime is a $20B Empire, Called Luffy a ‘Rubber Pirate’

One Piece Director Didn't Even Know the Anime is a $20B Empire, Called Luffy a 'Rubber Pirate'
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The Straw Hats are prepared to embark on their journey!

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Despite being one of the lengthiest-standing anime and manga series globally, it took nearly ten years for One Piece to ultimately receive a live-action adaptation.

One Piece Anime Adaptation
One Piece Live Action

One Piece Live Action Adaptation is set to arrive on Netflix earlier than anticipated, hitting the platform on August 31, 2023. Earlier, the streaming service had indicated that the live-action adaptation of One Piece would premiere in 2023.

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With the official release date in place, fans can now mark their calendars and get ready for this eagerly awaited adventure.

Even though, One Piece is so popular anime/manga series and has millions of dedicated fans all over the world, its live adaptation director didn’t even know about the big $20B domain of One Piece anime.

Also Read: One Piece Chapter 1091 Confirms Luffy’s Gear 5 Will Fight Admiral With One of the Strongest Devil Fruit Powers

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Director Emma Sullivan Wasn’t Familiar With One Piece Before

In an interview, One Piece‘s director Emma Sullivan asked if she was familiar with it before she started working on the live adaptation. She replied that it was her son and nephews from whom she first got to know about One Piece.

I wasn’t familiar with it at first, but what I found out when I spoke to my son about it was that he had read the whole thing in lockdown. So when I said to him there was a show coming up about a rubber pirate he was like “One Piece” and that reaction that face made you realize “Oh this is really big, this is really big!” And then all my nephews are huge fans. So I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that I was not allowed to mess it up.

Rubber Pirate Luffy
Rubber Pirate Luffy

In the above excerpt, she answered that she never was familiar with the One Piece anime and Luffy, whom she described as a “Rubber Pirate.”

Also Read: Not Luffy, Wild One Piece Theory Claims Shanks Wanted Another Member of the ‘D’ Lineage to Eat Gomu Gomu Devil Fruit

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I wouldn’t test me on a thousand chapters though One Piece‘s Director Emma Sullivan Said

Director Emma Sullivan
Director Emma Sullivan

During the interview, she was asked how hard it was to catch up with such a long-running series to direct the live-action adaptation.

It is hard and obviously I have to understand the episodes that I was doing. But we has Matt Owens and Steve Mader who are huge One Piece fans as our show runners and obviously you know Oda’s looked at the scripts and I just went back to the manga. 

She replied.

I just kind of had to look at how he writes how he draws his amazing frames and I loved his I loved the front pages they always have these beautiful images of all the Straw Hats hanging out together and then you’ve fan questions at the back. So I absorb as much as I can. I mean I wouldn’t test me on a thousand chapters though.

She also explained the things she loved about the One Piece manga but she can’t read the thousand episodes of the One Piece manga.

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Also Read: One Piece: Forget Zoro and Sanji, Franky Proves He is Luffy’s Biggest Asset Among His Notorious Straw Hat Pirates

Source: Youtube

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Written by Tanmay Jha

Articles Published: 312

Tanmay writes about anime for FandomWire. He's currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. With a passion for animation and graphics, he has authored over 240 articles on anime, sharing insights and reviews with fellow fans, seamlessly combining his love for animation with journalism.