One Piece Live Action series was announced quite a long time ago and fans have been waiting in anticipation for the series to finally be released. Having been in development for years now, fans are hoping that the series lives up to the expectations, however, a lot of fans of One Piece and anime, in general, are going into the series with very low expectations and that is down to the fact that anime usually does not translate to live action all that well.
Looking at the past live-action series that have debuted over the years, there isn't much to back the statement that One Piece Live-Action is going to be anything even remotely close to its manga and anime counterparts. However, they are countless factors that set apart the One Piece Live Action series from all those that have come before it and, as such, there is a big chance that One Piecemight be the curse breaker for anime live-action series moving forward.
The Role Of Eiichiro Oda
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why a bunch of One Piece fans are very eagerly waiting for the live-action is the fact that they know Oda is involved in it in some shape or form. Oda is the author of One Piece and fans already know that he is known for the meticulous work that he has shown time and again over the years. Oda has created a massive world that is ever growing and he continues to surprise the fans even to this day. Oda's involvement in the One Piece Live Action series is extremely important and quite a lot of things hinge on it.
The fact is that Oda had several opportunities to sanction a One Piece Live Action series in the past, however, he refused on multiple occasions, simply down to the fact that he was not convinced that the opportunities that he had at the time were the right ones. The fact that Oda himself cares so deeply about his story coming to life in the best way possible means that the One Piece Live Action series certainly has hope.
In 2017, when Oda was approached with this offer and the vision to bring One Piece to life was described, he finally accepted because he realized that this was going to be something big and, at the same time, he also accepted that this is going to be One Piece's last chance to be presented to a global audience.
Oda has confirmed on multiple occasions now that he is closely working with the staff for the One Piece Live Action series. In fact, every single decision that the showrunners take actually goes through Oda first. Oda was involved in picking the cast for each and every character, as well as making the decisions for the direction that the show will take. In fact, One Piece Live Action is actually almost ready, however, the showrunners have promised that the show will not air until Oda actually loves it himself and gives them the green light. This actually means that if Oda is satisfied with his story being illustrated in a fascinating manner in the live-action series, then and only then will fans get a chance to watch the One Piece Live Action series. This in itself is an indication that One Piece is going to be a quality adaptation and that fans can rest easy.
The Showrunners
This brings fans to the next most important people in producing One Piece and that is the showrunners. Showrunners can make or break a series and when it comes to One Piece, fans are delighted to know that the showrunners are actually huge fans of Oda's work themselves. Both Steve Maeda and Matt Owens are incredibly big One Piece fans. The fact that they have invested hours upon hours into this story means that they understand the characters and they understand the direction the story needs to take. They know what to do to bring each character to life and they know how Oda wants his characters to act. What's more, the showrunners are also deeply connected to the fandom, especially Matt Owens.
Matt has already interacted with countless fans on social media, as well as appeared for extensive One Piece-related discussions on YouTube fan channels as well. This in itself is another indication that these people can be trusted and they are, at the end of the day, fans of the series themselves who, with the help of Oda, are looking to bring to life this incredible world of pirates. At the same time, they are also in touch with Oda, however, the degree to which this is the case isn't exactly clear. Nonetheless, Oda's involvement in the whole project is substantial and, given that there is nothing but love for One Piece from both sides, there is a massive chance for this to be the first massive live-action anime series.
If that wasn't enough, the cast of One Piece is also incredibly rich and diverse. In fact, most members of the cast for the live-action series represent their character perfectly and fans already love most choices that have been made for the characters. What's more, Oda himself was involved in choosing these cast members and the final decision that the group arrived at together included Oda's very own scrutiny as well. Every single member of the Straw Hat crew, as well as every character that is going to populate the world of One Piece Live Action is going to be a character that Oda has approved and the showrunners know can bring this series to life.
The actors themselves have immersed themselves into these characters and their lives and they are huge fans of the series themselves. To understand a character, one has to get inside their minds and step in their shoes to see what they have gone through and do their best to resonate with them. Looking at the actors speak, fans have no doubts that their beloved characters are in safe hands.
The Budget
Another incredibly important factor that could contribute to the success of the One Piece Live Action series is the massive budget that it reportedly has. While nothing has been confirmed, it is believed that the One Piece Live Action series has a tremendously huge budget, which is, frankly, needed to bring such a world to life. There have been rumors in the past that suggest that the budget per episode is around $100 million, while others suggest that it actually eclipses that figure. While that cannot be confirmed, what fans do know is that Netflix has invested a tremendous amount of money into the show and that, once again, is an indication that the One Piece Netflix series is not going to be just any other live-action adaptation.
This series has everything it requires to be a big success. From the involvement of the author, to caring and loving showrunners, to an incredibly wonderful cast of characters and, to top everything off, the budget to bring all that to life. The One Piece Live Action series has every ingredient to be a success and it is only a matter of time before fans can judge the show for themselves.
What can be said without a shadow of a doubt is that an incredible amount of love and effort has gone into making the One Piece Live Action series and fans should be more than hopeful for it to be a success. If Oda trusts the process, so should the fans.
Netflix's One Piece Live Action series premieres later this year.