The first One Piece trailer shows that Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the record-breaking manga/anime One Piece series could be off to a great start. A live-action One Piece show has been in the works at Netflix since 2020, and a first look at the adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s world has finally been revealed. One Piece has been around for more than 25 years, meaning that the live-action adaptation has the difficult mission of working both for long-time fans and new audiences. Netflix’s One Piece premiers on August 31, 2023.
One Piece’s popularity means that the bar is high for the Netflix adaptation, at least compared to the original manga as well as the One Piece anime. Of course, Hollywood’s track of live-action anime adaptations is not very good, which is why there was a level of concern regarding the live-action One Piece show. More recently, Netflix canceled the live-action Cowboy Bebop series after mixed reviews, adding another entry to the list of failed live-action anime adaptations. That said, the first One Piece trailer is promising, and it proves some early concerns wrong.
Luffy's Powers In Live-Action One Piece Actually Look Good!
One of the biggest concerns regarding Netflix’s live-action One Piece was how to portray Luffy’s powers. Luffy’s rubber body works perfectly fine for the manga and the anime, and it is one of the reasons why One Piece's fighting scenes are so unique. However, stretching powers usually do not look too good in live-action. Not even the big-budget Fantastic Four movies could quite nail Mister Fantastic’s stretching powers, for example. How Luffy’s powers would work in live-action would make or break the live-action One Piece show. Fortunately, Luffy’s signature punch looks very good in Netflix's One Piece trailer.
If Netflix’s live-action One Piece show maintains the same VFX quality from the trailer in the entirety of the show, the series will have solved a tricky issue when it comes to adapting anime. Both manga and anime series are visual media that often create fantastical worlds and moments. Properly translating those fantastical elements into live-action is a huge challenge, and most live-action anime adaptations have failed at it. A live-action One Piece show is set to involve lots of visual effects, so Luffy’s powers looking good in the One Piece trailer is promising news for the rest of the series.
Netflix's One Piece Is Faithful To The Original Manga
In of characters, costumes, and settings, Netflix’s One Piece adaptation is so far faithful to the original One Piece manga. Even though it can be strange at first to see One Piece’s world in a live-action production, the One Piece trailer suggests that the show will avoid some capital anime adaptation mistakes. Netflix’s One Piece season 1 is expected to adapt the East Blue Saga, although the pacing and the chronological order in which One Piece’s first six arcs play will probably change. Still, there do not seem to be any major additions or removals in Netflix’s One Piece, which is a good first step.
It is difficult to judge how One Piece’s tone, humor, and fighting scenes will work in the live-action show using just the first trailer. Still, the live-action One Piece cast all look great in their roles, and the show’s aesthetic somewhat matches that of the anime. The character moments as well as the direction One Piece’s story seems to be going also match how it played out in the One Piece anime, even though there will be differences in of the chronology.
Netflix's One Piece Still Has 1 Big Problem To Overcome
The biggest problem Netflix’s One Piece has to overcome is the pacing. No matter how good the writing, the performances, and the visual effects are, fitting so many One Piece arcs in just eight hour-long episodes can play against the live-action One Piece series. To put things in perspective, it took 61 episodes for the One Piece anime to cover the East Blue Saga, which goes from the Romance Dawn arc to the Loguetown arc. Netflix’s One Piece will only have less than eight hours to cover those same stories, far less than what the One Piece anime dedicated to the East Blue Saga.
Key One Piece events will have to be cut or rushed, which is a problem. The heart of the story can be kept even if One Piece’s timeline is changed or the pacing becomes faster, yet this creates an enormous risk for the series. Netflix’s One Piece could settle whether live-action anime adaptations can work as major Hollywood IPs, namely because that are not many manga properties whose popularity can be compared to One Piece’s.