Netflix’s One Piece live-action series sets sail on 2023: first poster and pictures

Before series like The Last of Us or Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, we often complained about the sort of curse that seemed to plague every attempt at adapting video games. But there’s always been something much more dreaded: anime and manga live action adaptations. It seems like there’s an endless list of names that have been absolute failures, like Death Note, Shingeki no Kyojin, or Cowboy Bebop. Anyone remember Dragonball Evolution? Given our previous experiences, we’re a bit careful when approaching these kinds of productions. So the One Piece live-action series that Netflix is working on is a bit of a topic.

The streaming giant hasn’t revealed a release date for One Piece’s live action series, but they did go ahead and confirmed that we’ll set sail on a pirate adventure alongside Iñaki Godoy, Luffy’s actor, this very 2023. Netflix also revealed the first poster for the series, as well as another image that shows the backs of the straw hat crew: Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji).

The first season will cover over 100 chapters

As of this moment, the live-action has only confirmed a ten episode first season, but with it Netflix will try to tell the entire East Blue story arc, which is comprised of 12 volumes in the manga (100 chapters) and 61 episodes in the anime. While Nami’s arc and Arlong Park are probably the highlights of this saga, we can also see iconic moments like Zoro and Mihawk’s fight in the Baratie, our first encounters with Buggy the Clown, Usopp bravely defending Kaya, or Luffy’s execution. Will it really be able to cover everything with so little time?

Doubts only grow in number considering the previously mentioned bad history of anime adaptations, and with One Piece being one of the most beloved manga and anime in history it’s fighting an uphill battle. However, Eiichiro Oda, One Piece’s author, is still supervising the entire project, with him taking part in the final casting call, and assuring fans that after seeing the raw footage of the first season, the whole thing is looking great.

Source | Netflix