Live-action adaptations of anime tend to be universally panned, and for good reason. Most of what makes the original series so appealing is either flattened or entirely excluded from the live-action adaptation, leaving longtime fans unhappy and newcomers confused. That isn't the case with One Piece, as the second season of Netflix's adaptation of Eiichiro Oda's beloved pirate manga is continuing to conquer streaming charts a week after its release. According to Netflix's official site, Tudum, One Piece has logged a staggering 136.2 hours of view time across both seasons. It's also charting at the #1 spot on Netflix's Top 10 charts along the globe, being the only series in Japan to hit that record.

This shows that One Piece has pulled off a feat that other live-action anime adaptations struggle to do: win over longtime fans as well as newcomers. Part of that lies in how appealing One Piece's story is, which features Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) and his crew of pirates sailing the seven seas in order to find the mythical treasure known as the "One Piece". There's also the fact that One Piece manages to stay true to the source materialwhile finding new ways to streamline it for anyone who hasn't watched the anime or read the original manga. But there's one advantage that One Piece has that other live-action anime don't.

'One Piece' Involved Its Creator from the Jump

Image via Netflix

One Piece quelled fan fears when it revealed that Eiichiro Oda was going to be involved as an executive producer. This solved a problem that plagued most live-action adaptations of anime, as the creator is rarely involved or consulted; a key example is Dragonball Evolution, as Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama expressed his disappointment with how Evolution adapted his work. In contrast, Oda is able to give his thoughts on how his characters are adapted and steer One Piece in the right direction, with co-showrunner Steven Maeda even opening up about collaborating with the manga legend:

"There were a couple of things that took some persuading. And if there was something that Oda-san was really, really unhappy with, we found a way to change it. But there were some things that we tried and got into the show that initially, he was a little gun shy about. One of those was [that] we've structurally moved a couple things up that don't happen until much later chapters."

By streamlining the manga's events, One Piece tells the story in a way that appeals to newcomers while not alienating fans. It also manages to keep certain elements of One Piece intact, including the insane visuals whenever Luffy uses the stretching powers bestowed upon him by the Gum Gum Fruit. This also means that beloved characters have a chance to appear far sooner than they do in the manga. A key example involves the anthropomorphic reindeer Tony Tony Chopper (Mikaela Hoover) and the mysterious Miss Sunday (Lera Abova), aka Nico Robin; both play key roles in Season 2, and eventually join Luffy in the manga.

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The Success of 'One Piece' Has Netflix Adapting Other Anime Series

Whether due to One Piece's colossal success or the Hollywood-born desire to adapt popular IP, Netflix is going all in on anime adaptations with future projects. Chief among them are a Death Note series with Stranger Things creators Matt & Ross Duffer attached as executive producers, a live-action Gundam movie starring Sydney Sweeney, and a live-action Samurai Champloo series. Ironically, Netflix has already adapted Death Note as a feature film, though the reception was less than welcome; this new series could be the perfect do-over for the streamer. Samurai Champloo is also taking a page from One Piece's book, as creator Shinichiro Watanabe will be involved in a creative capacity.

One Piece has finally broken the so-called curse surrounding live-action anime adaptations, showing that involving the creator and staying true to the spirit of the source material can go a long way. It's the perfect weekend binge if you need something to shake up your Netflix queue or want to know what the hype's about.

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One Piece

Like

Follow

Followed

TV-14

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Release Date

August 31, 2023

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Matt Owens, Steven Maeda, Joe Tracz

Directors

Tim Southam, Marc Jobst, Josef Kubota Wladyka

Writers

Tiffany Greshler, Diego Gutierrez, Allison Weintraub, Lindsay Gelfand

Cast

See All

• 
  Iñaki Godoy

  Monkey D. Luffy
• 
  Emily Rudd

  Nami

Franchise(s)

One Piece

Creator(s)

Matt Owens, Steven Maeda, Eiichiro Oda

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