Arab News Japan
Paris: Netflix has spent years trying to adapt Japanese manga and anime into live-action TV with little success however, their latest adaptation “One Piece” is finding great success.
The Netflix live-action series was watched more than 18 million times in its first four days, putting it at the top of the charts.
Considered the best-selling manga in history, “One Piece” is written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, which follows the adventures of protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his crew as they search for the one piece treasure so that he can become the next king of the pirates.
With over 106 volumes, the manga has been adapted into an anime series, an original video animation, and multiple video games, selling over 500 million copies in 61 countries.
Manga fans had really low expectations for the show before it comes as Netflix’s adaptations of “Fullmetal Alchemist”, “Death Note”, and “Cowboy Bebop” had low reviews.
Netflix released the official trailer for the English live-action adaptation in late July. The show was released on August 31.
The show features upcoming Mexican actor Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy. The actor previously had roles in “The Imperfects” (2022) and “MexZombies” (2022). Other roles include Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Taz Skylar as Sanji, and Jacob Romero as Usopp.
The trailer received 1.5 million views within 8 hours of being posted.
Oda shared a special message with fans on Twitter regarding the adaptation. He expressed his excitement about the live-action TV show and revealed that he played a big part in its production.
“By now, I just love this production team and the cast so much, I can’t wait for them to get the acclaim they deserve from everyone around the world,” he shared.
Here is the letter about the live aciton, from Eiichiro Oda to the world.#ONEPIECE#Netflix#実写のワンピ#ネトフリワンピ pic.twitter.com/d7rJFDn77D
— ONE PIECE スタッフ【公式】/ Official (@Eiichiro_Staff) July 22, 2023
The Japanese dub of the series features the original voice cast of “One Piece,” as Mayumi Tanaka and Kazuya Takai return to voicing Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro.
NAKAMA! JAPANESE DUBS ARE NOW AVAILABLE! Who’s rewatching? 🙋♂️ pic.twitter.com/3vv3NMv6yo
— ONE PIECE(ワンピース) Netflix (@onepiecenetflix) September 2, 2023
with AFP