Netflix's One Piece live-action series has given fans a glimpse of what is to come by releasing a teaser trailer recently and it can be safely said that the series appears to be in good hands for now. Everything that the fans have seen so far has made them optimistic for what is to come and while they know that it is incredibly difficult to do justice to Eiichiro Oda's masterpiece in live-action form, they also recognize that the showrunners are doing their best to bring the vibrant world of One Piece to life.
Of course, there are going to be some changes both with the world and the characters, and one such character that fans noticed some major changes about is Sanji of the Straw Hat Pirates, who is played by none other than Taz Skylar.
6 The Eyebrows
The most apparent change that Netflix's One Piece Live Action adaptation has made to Sanji is the eyebrows. This is a rather strange change and while one aspect of this can be understood, it also raises quite a few questions. Sanji has swirly eyebrows in One Piece but in the live-action adaptation, he doesn't. His eyebrows appear completely normal in the Netflix version of the show.
It is likely that the showrunners of the One Piece Live Action adaptation thought that the design would look weird and wouldn't translate well into a live-action series and while that is accurate to an extent, this isn't simply a design change. Sanji's eyebrows have a certain significance attached to them. His eyebrows are connected to Devil Fruits themselves as well as to Lineage Factor. Oda himself hinted at this on several occasions and, recently, fans have seen how his eyebrows are an indicator of his power-ups. Why Netflix's One Piece Live Action series made this change and how they will cope with it later on in the story remains to be seen.
5 The Introduction
It is highly likely that Sanji's introduction in Netflix's One Piece live-action series will be very different from both the anime and the manga. In the anime and the manga, fans see Sanji appear as the sous chef taking on the role of a waiter because all the staff of Baratie jumped board the previous night. He embarrasses Fullbody and when the latter disrespects his food, he beats him up. In the short teaser trailer for Netflix's One Piece Live Action series, fans see Sanji breaking up what appears to be a fight between Fullbody and Crescent Moon Galley.
How Galley will fit into all this remains to be seen, however, Sanji's introduction, which will be around midway in the series, is going to be very different here. That certainly doesn't mean that it's going to be bad. Fans should go into this with an open mind and careful optimism. One Piece is in safe hands and the changes in regards to his introduction shouldn't matter much.
4 The Age
Of course, a big concern that fans might have regarding the many actors who played the Straw Hat Pirates is their age. When the Straw Hat Pirates start their journey in One Piece, they are quite young. Sanji, in particular, is 19 before the timeskip. Compared to that, Taz Skylar, the actor who plays Sanji, is 27. It is possible that Sanji in the Live Action adaptation is simply older as well which would make it quite different from its manga counterpart.
It is also possible that Taz is going to pose as a 19-year-old, however, this raises the question of how Netflix will cope with it later down the line. The filming for the upcoming seasons is going to take years upon years and Taz will certainly be into his 30s by the time the story reaches the second half of the series. Sanji is supposed to be 21 by that time. So, the safest course of action would be to simply age up Sanji in the live-action version of the story.
3 The Fighting Style
Sanji is known for his unique fighting style that he developed while training with Zeff, called the Black Leg Style. This martial arts style sees him make use of just his legs while fighting. It is very important for his character to adhere to this fighting style and not use his hands or any weapons while engaging people in combat. To Sanji, his hands are sacred and he does not want to use them for anything other than cooking for his friends and, sometimes, even his enemies. It must be remembered, however, that all the techniques that Sanji performs in the manga are not going to translate completely to the live-action adaptation.
The manga allows Sanji to do things that a normal human cannot do with their bodies. Taz Skylar's Sanji will stay true to character when it comes to adhering to principles that Sanji holds beloved to his heart, however, there will be some restrictions placed on his fighting style which will make it slightly different, although still focused entirely on kicking.
2 Fewer Suits
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Netflix's One Piece Live Action series has made a genius change where it sees the characters wear different outfits that are taken from volume covers or color spreads. This is an incredible change and very subtle at the same time. Sanji often wears suits in the main story, however, given that they have made this change, it also means that Sanji will be seen in more casual outfits more often throughout the story. Of course, that doesn't mean Sanji won't wear his suits. Fans already saw him don his perfect outfit in the teaser trailer, however, it would be a breath of fresh air to see him wear the more incredible outfits that he wears across the many color spreads that Oda has drawn over the years.
Both the showrunners for Netflix's One Piece Live Action adaptation and Taz Skylar are very familiar with the character and fans can only hope that they bring this brilliant character to life in the best way possible.
1 Less Of A Pervert
One change that every fan of One Piece would unanimously agree on when it comes to Sanji is for the Netflix version of him to completely cast aside the perviness. This aspect of Sanji is very irritating in the original series and is probably one of the worst gags that Oda has written in his story.
Of course, Sanji can still be the love cook and treat ladies with love, care, and respect, however, at times, he shouldn't be crossing the line which Oda passes off as silly jokes many times. All fans hope that this part of Sanji's character doesn't appear in Netflix's One Piece Live Action adaptation.