Since the immediate success of the One Piece live-action series, fans have been eagerly waiting for the next season, which was announced just after the first season was launched. The series and the characters were loved so much by the fans that Netflix gave it a green signal to continue the story further.
Although the series had some modifications and changes to the story, fans still loved it and appreciated it to the point where it became probably the only successful live-action series. Not only them, but the original voice actors of the One Piece anime who also voiced the characters of the live-action for the Japanese dub also loved the changes and welcomed them.
One of these changes was during Zoro actor Mackenyu’s fight against Mihawk during the Baratie arc. The change was seen in the dialogue of Zoro after he was defeated by Mihawk and almost died. This was an iconic dialogue of the swordsman of the Straw Hats that fans would remember greatly.
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One Piece Voice Actor Talk About Major Change in Mackenyu’s Fight
In an interview which was posted by Netflix, One Piece voice actors Mayumi Tanaka, Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, and Hiroaki Hirata who voiced the original straw hats in the anime discussed the live-action series. During this discussion, Kazuya Nakai, who voiced Zoro for the anime and the live-action, talked about Zoro’s line after he was defeated by Mihawk. He said:
“I’m sure you all know what happens to Zoro. He doesn’t say the last line from the original manga in this scene. His lines were cut short for this scene, but he says it in a later scene. I understood why they made the change. Zoro is becoming part of the crew, so he doesn’t say the line immediately after his defeat when he’s upset. The way they included other scenes before the line touched my heart. It was such a brilliant adaptation.”
The line in the discussion was when Zoro called Luffy the King of the Pirates and promised him that until he achieved the feat of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world and made his captain the king of the pirates. Nakai explained that as Zoro is becoming part of the crew, he doesn’t say the line immediately, which is understandable.
Mayumi Tanaka Explained the Importance of Zoro’s Injury
Mayumi Tanaka, who voiced Luffy, also talked about the scene and explained how badly Zoro was hurt in the scene and how in the manga he could have recovered in the blink of an eye. She said:
“If it were a manga, a character can be badly hurt, but will recover in a blink, and the story will go on. Zoro’s injury was carefully portrayed in a way that you could realize how close he was to death. I think that scene was important.”
She also explained how the reality of the live-action needed to be portrayed in the scene, which was brilliantly done by Zoro’s injury, which showed how close he was to death. Despite the changes, the scene not only held the emotional similarity with the anime, but the fight between Mihawk and Zoro was also adapted to the core.
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The scene was important for the storyline, and despite such major changes, it adapted perfectly and transitioned smoothly. Now, fans are waiting to see the story develop further in the second season and how the live-action straw hats sail through the seas of One Piece.
