One Piece: 6 Lesser-known facts about the live-action Netflix adaptation

The live-action adaptation of the hit manga and anime series One Piece premiered on Netflix last week. Much to the delight of its faithful fans the series received plaudits, unlike previous anime adaptations such as Death Note and Cowboy Bebop which received divided reviews. The live-action tale of Luffy and the Straw Hat pirates offers a compelling story, stunning visuals, scintillating action sequences, and the franchise’s trademark humour. For this episode of Now You Know, we take a look at lesser-known facts about the latest adaptation of One Piece.

1. The Japanese manga series One Piece was created by Eiichirô Oda in 1997. The manga series was initially planned to run for just five years, but the manga’s popularity and Oda’s knack for creating more captivating tales and new characters led to a Tankōbon or standalone book with 106 volumes, and it is still an ongoing manga series even after 25 years. The manga led to the creation of the critically-acclaimed animated series in 1999 as well as the new live-action series. Did you also know that the franchise creator Eiichirô Oda gifted prominent cast members with custom shirts to commemorate their casting announcement? Each shirt features illustrations of their respective characters.
2. As one would expect from any significant anime or manga adaptation, the live-action version of One Piece is also available in Japanese. The original Japanese voice cast of the anime reprised their roles for the latest Netflix adaptation, including Mayumi Tanaka as Luffy, Kazuya Nakai as Zoro, Kappei Yamaguchi as Usopp, Akemi Okamura as Nami, and Hiroaki Hirata as Sanji among others.
3. One of the best and most significant storylines in the new series is set at the mansion of Kaya in Syrup Village on the Gecko Islands. Eagle-eyed viewers would have noticed the trompe-l'œil murals in the hallway of the mansion showcasing ships for people to purchase from Kaya’s shipyard. Did you also know that most of the ships including Going Merry, Miss Love Duck, Baratie, Red Force, and Garps’ ship were actually built in Cape Town, South Africa? Cape Town was also among the primary filming locations for the series.
4. The character Uta, a rival and childhood friend of Luffy, was originally part of the script for the live-action adaptation. However, a fan who was present on set pointed out that a younger version of Uta was not part of the original storyline when her adoptive father, Shanks, gave his iconic straw hat to Luffy. Her character was therefore cut from the first season of the Netflix series.
5. Sanji is one of the most popular characters in the One Piece franchise, and the character is played by Taz Skylar in the Netflix adaptation. Did you know that franchise creator Eiichirô Oda originally named the character Naruto? Oda decided to change the name to Sanji when he discovered that Naruto would be the name of another manga series and its titular hero. It appears that Oda may have acted decisively as Naruto would go on to become one of the most recognisable names in manga and anime.
6. Another fan-favourite character who underwent last-minute alterations is Roronoa Zoro. Played by Japanese-American actor Mackenyu, Zoro was originally supposed to be an antagonist who is part of the Buggy Pirates, as the personal bodyguard of their captain Buggy the Star Clown. Considering Zoro’s tragic backstory, this possible character arc could have also proved to be compelling. However, Eiichirô Oda decided to make Zoro a pirate hunter who would eventually go on to become the second-in-command in Luffy’s crew.

Well that's all we got for this episode, until the next time it's your host Nikhil signing out.

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• Written by Ryan Gomez

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