Mangaka Eiichiro Oda teased the introduction of Tony Tony Chopper in One Piece Live Action Season 2. Since then, there has been much debate on whether Netflix will use computer-generated imagery (CGI) or prosthetics to portray the sixth member of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Chopper became an instant favorite after being featured in Chapter 134. Adapting the human-reindeer hybrid’s adorable round appearance in the live-action will be arduous. Nonetheless, the man in charge of the task, Jaco Snyman, has high hopes for the character design and even hinted at the use of prosthetics for recreating Chopper in One Piece Live Action.
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Netflix Is Suspected To Use an ‘Arlong-like’ Approach For Tony Tony Chopper
Head of prosthetics of Netflix’s One Piece Live Action, Jaco Snyman was tasked with the responsibility of making Arlong’s fish-men come to life. The creature design arguably didn’t seem outlandish and neither did Arlong’s bone-saw nose, which took a significant amount of time to recreate from the anime.
Jaco Syman will now be shifting focus to adapting Tony Tony Chopper in One Piece Live Action. Apparently, the character will be made with the use of prosthetics just like the fish-men. Syman did say ‘yeah’ when Kat Moon asked him whether Chopper would be “a character that is going to be mostly prosthetics”, during an interview with Game Rant.
“I’m looking forward to working on Tony Tony Chopper. That’s going to be interesting. I hope that we are able to follow the same approach as with Arlong when we get to it.”
Chopper and Smoker are the only characters who were teased to be a part of One Piece Live Action Season 2. Given that Iñaki Godoy’s Luffy has set sail for the Grand Line, the next season is expected to be based on the Alabasta arc. One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile, and his criminal organization called Baroque Works await entry.
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Who is Tony Tony Chopper in One Piece?
First introduced in the Drum Island arc, Tony Tony Chopper is the assistant to a witch doctor named Kureha. He was initially a reindeer but became a hybrid when he ate the Human-Human Devil Fruit when he was young. The Zoan-type creature possesses remarkable intelligence, as showcased in his ability to memorize each page in Dr. Kureha’s medical books, and has special powers including shapeshifting from a short, cute reindeer to one with beast-like strength and size.
Chopper has a variety of powers, thanks to his invention of the ‘Rumble Ball’ drug. The yellow-colored capsule distorts the wavelength of Chopper’s Devil Fruit powers and gives him access to multiple forms. While under the pill’s effect, he also gains the ‘Scope’ ability, a three-minute technique in which the Zoan evaluates the opponent’s weakness.
Similar to other One Piece characters, Chopper also has a tragic backstory. He was ostracized by his community of reindeer and humans due to his abnormal form. Later, he was taken in by Dr. Hiriluk, who acted as a father figure and made him interested in the world of medicine but suffered from a deadly disease. Kureha took custody of Chopper based on Hiriluk’s dying wish until Monkey D. Luffy coaxed the hybrid human reindeer to be their sixth member.
While it will be interesting to see Chopper in One Piece Live Action, fans also await the news of whether the ‘Wapol-sama’ story is going to feature in Season 2. The former King of Black Drum Kingdom was the prime target of Tony Tony Chopper in Oda’s magnum opus.
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