One Piece, the Netflix series: all about the live action based on the manganime phenomenon

Epic adventures on land and high seas. Hilarious pirates, fruits that grant impossible abilities and the greatest treasure in history at stake. One Piece arrives on Netflix with flesh and blood actors and the approval of Eiichiro Oda, your Creator. A new version of the first adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and the band of Straw hat and, by extension, one of the most important adaptations live-action born from a manganime that, in addition to being well-deserved cult, preceded by unlimited success. Big words.

And it is that the incombustible phenomenon of One Piece It has captivated entire generations of fans of manga, anime; but his greatest achievement is that he not only gains more emotion and nuances with each new adventure, but how after more than 100 volumes on paper, 1,000 episodes aired and 15 films released, he refuses to lose steam. Rather the complete opposite. How to synthesize all those milestones in just eight episodes?

In VidaExtra We have set ourselves a double objective: to share everything we know about One Piece, la serie de Netflix, in the same place and, already, introduce those who come new to the crazy and colorful universe of Eiichiro Oda’s pirates with the most essential for its premiere. And that, inevitably, leads us to the first big question: when will the live action episodes be available?

Release date, number of episodes and duration

One Piece, the Netflix series, will be available from Thursday, August 31 on Netflix, being one of the highlights of the streaming platform’s summer programming and, despite being a series shot with real footage, a Exceptional claim for those who are passionate about manga and anime on dates in which all video platforms are saving a great ace with a view to the holiday period.

On the other hand, the eight episodes of which the live-action of One Piece will consist will last approximately one hour and will be released on the same day, August 31, with both the scripts and the direction of almost the entire season being officially announced.

To date, Netflix has ensured its intention to produce a second season of the One Piece live action, so it will be the reception of this first season and its system when evaluating success (based on the audience, the reception and the necessary budget) which will establish the continuity of the project.

For its part, as it is a Netflix production, the arrival of One Piece live-action on other platforms is ruled out, despite the fact that alternatives such as Crunchyroll offer the anime and the movies can be seen on Amazon Prime Video. However, and depending on the reception of the series, it is possible that, as has been seen in other own productions, editions are published on disk.

The plot: what is One Piece about?

What is One Piece? It is the ultimate treasure and the greatest mystery in history. There are lots of theories and they are all very well founded. What we do know is who was the last to find it: the self-proclaimed King of the Gold Pirates. Mr Roger. We know that he achieved gold, fame and power before he was executed by the navy. And also that his future successor must navigate through an endless sea of ​​adventures until he finds One Piece to become the new King of the Pirates.

Since then, many have tried to get their hands on One Piece with no luck. The way to cross the Grand Line is twisted, chaotic and not exactly linear. However, the ever-cheerful Monkey D. Luffy is determined to make it through. Now he only needs three things: a faithful crew, a ship and not end up at the bottom of the ocean. Among other things, because since he ate a devil fruit he lost the ability to swim and will sink like a stone in the sea.

Devil fruits are very mysterious objects and their origin is attributed to that of the Devil of the Sea. It can be said, greatly simplifying it, that each fruit produces a different and unique effect that the person who eats it acquires and, in the case of the one that took young Luffy, its effect turns his body into rubber, allowing him to stretch, bounce, and inflate at will. Very special and terribly funny abilities for a pirate.

With little more than his rubber body, an unyielding will, and the Straw Hat of a great pirate that inspired him in his childhood, Luffy sets sail in search of One Piece, recruiting companions who share his motivation, his dreams, and his enormous thirst for success. adventure. Knowing that he will not only have to face other pirates, crime syndicates and users of incredible Devil fruits, but also the Navy itself, which started its own pirate hunt regardless of the means to achieve it.

Many open fronts, a goal that is not too defined, an ocean of adventures and a single tradition that prevails between chaos, emotions and fun: after each great battle, Luffy and his gang have an anthological feast full of drink, food and laughter

One Piece: the cast and direction of the series

Despite the fact that the project to bring One Piece to small screens in Live Action format was made official in 2017, the main cast was not made official until November 2021. In part, due to the consequences of the pandemic and different reboots in the production. Thus, and facing the first season, we will see the flesh and blood versions of five of the Straw Hats led by the actor Iñaki Godoy in the role of Monkey D. Luffy.

Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, the next King of the Pirates

The young Mexican actor Iñaki Godoy has perfectly internalized Luffy’s passion for everything related to piracy. On his shoulders, the weight of the series and the responsibility of making it as exciting as it is fun.

For his part, Monkey D. Luffy is the captain of the Straw Hat gang and the user of the Goma Goma fruit, which gives his body the unique properties of rubber such as elasticity and the ability to change shape. and size. He is an idealist with an appetite without measure and a tremendous sense of justice.

Emily Rudd as Nami, the navigator (and thief)

We recently saw the American actress on Netflix in the role of Cindy Berman from the Fear Street trilogy. In One Piece, she will play Nami, a skilled thief who will guide the Straw Hats across the chaotic sea, knowing that her past haunts her as well.

Mackenyu Arata as Roronoa Zoro, the swordsman

The thing about the Japanese actor Mackenryu comes from caste: he is the son of the legendary Sonny Chiba. Something that doesn’t even come true for his Zoro character: he is the swordsman of the gang and despite originally considering himself a pirate hunter, he will end up joining Luffy’s crazy ideal.

Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, the sharpshooter

After passing through the movie Snake Eyes and the Greenleaf series, Jacob Romero Gibson will play the funniest role of the entire series: Usopp is a compulsive liar, his reactions are extremely exaggerated and in the face of his gang he is a troublemaker, but He also has a huge heart.

Taz Skylar as Sanji the cook

A curious fact: Skylar was born and raised in Tenerife, Spain and has dual nationality along with that of the United Kingdom, where his professional career as an actor began to take off. As Sanji, he will play a lovesick cook whose deadly kicks rival his own cooking skills.

The cast of One Piece, the Netflix series, is completed with McKinley Belcher III and the role of Arlong, as well as Morgan Davies, Aidan Scott, Vincent Regan, Jeff Ward, Craig Fairbrass, Langley Kirkwood, Celeste Loots, Alexander Maniatis, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Chioma Umeala and Steven Ward., offering a cast of actors in a succession of roles that anticipate that the story of the first season will conclude around the Arlong Park Arch.

For his part, Eiichiro Oda acts as executive producer of the series in a joint co-production between Tomorrow Studios, Netflix and Shueisha herself; being an international production between the United States, Japan, South Africa and the United Kingdom Shot in Cape Town and Western Cape (South Africa), the Canary Islands (Spain) and Xcaret, Quintana Roo (Mexico).

The adaptation, on the other hand, of Oda’s work has fallen into the hands of Steven Maeda and Matt Owens, who signed the script for both the pilot episode and the eighth and final episode of the season, in addition to Tom Hyndman who has participated in the writing. of the eight scripts, condensing the first five arcs of the manga into eight one-hour episodes. Quite an odyssey, look how you look at it.

On the production of One Piece, the series

The production of One Piece Live Action was announced in July 2017 during the event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the publication of the One Piece manga, confirming by Hiroyuki Nakano, editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump that the series would be in the hands of Tomorrow Studios and that would follow the events of the manga from its beginnings and throughout the East Blue stage.

Three years later, at the beginning of 2020, Eiichiro Oda himself will resume the conversation announcing that Netflix took over the project of the One Piece series and originally promising ten episodes, estimating that filming would begin that same year. However, the effects of the pandemic forced a delay in production.

A year later, the first relevant data will begin to be offered and proper names will begin to be put on the table in a cast led by Iñaki Godoy as Luffy, who will be accompanied by Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Sanji. For the occasion, Oda’s appreciations about the possible ancestry of her characters in the real world were taken into account.

The production of One Piece was carried out under the name of Project Roger (in reference to Gold D. roger) and filming took place between January 31, 2022 and July 10, 2022. For his part, Eiichiro Oda he guaranteed fans that the series would only premiere if he himself was happy with the outcome.

On June 17, 2023, during Netflix’s Tudum summer event, what will be the first trailer for One Piece, the Netflix series, was offered, along with the final date of its premiere: August 31, 2023. Confirming that all eight episodes will be available from day one.

One Piece trailer and screenshots

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