Eiichiro Oda confesses about the One Piece series for Netflix: “Considering my expected life span, I believe this is the last chance”

We have been in the dark for a long time about the One Piece live-action that Netflix is working on, and the platform has decided to put an end to that silence with a letter from Eiichiro Oda himself, the manga’s author, revealing where they are in production and how long it will be before it sees the light of day. A somewhat melodramatic letter (all things considered) in which the mangaka explains that although there were moments when it was difficult for him to make himself understood, everyone was on the same page in the end, and confirms that nothing will come out without his final approval.

Oda opens his heart and confesses that he sees this One Piece series as the last chance of his life to make One Piece known all over the world. But no one should be afraid for him, who is only 48 years old. Simply put, Oda has already made it clear that we are in the final saga of the manga, that the final war is coming and that he wants to retire and travel and discover the world in the short to medium term. In his note he assures that he only allowed this adaptation because he was allowed to get involved and it was a now or never. In addition, the author states that there will finally be 8 episodes and that we will set sail sooner than we thought.

The first season will contain more than 100 chapters

At the moment, only one season of eight episodes has been confirmed for the live-action, but Netflix will try to adapt the entire East Blue saga, which consists of 12 volumes in the manga (100 chapters) or 61 episodes in the anime. And although the arc of Nami and Arlong Park is the crown jewel, this saga also contains such iconic moments as the fight between Zoro and Mihawk in the Baratie, the first encounters with Buggy the Clown, the brave defense of Kaya by Usopp or the execution of Luffy. Will he really be able to synthesize so much in such a short time?

The doubts about how it will turn out are quite logical, considering the curse that haunts live-action manga and anime, and the fact that One Piece is one of the most popular manga and anime in history. But there is also a glimmer of hope surrounding the series. And that little ray of light has a first and last name: Eiichiro Oda. As he says in his letter, the author of One Piece has been overseeing the entire project, has personally chosen the cast, and recently, after watching the first season’s beasts, assured that things are going quite well. “The One Piece Live Action is making progress. So much went on behind the scenes, but if I’m being honest, the most worried person in the world that this will turn out good is me LOL... but it actually looks amazing!!!” the Mangaka explained.

Source | Netflix