Fans are celebrating One Piece Day today, July 22, to mark the anniversary of the “One Piece” Japanese manga series.
To mark the occasion, Netflix has released the official trailer for the “One Piece” live action series and a letter from Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the global phenomenon.
"One Piece" live action series (Netflix)
“One Piece,” a high-seas adventure starring Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji, will be released on Netflix on Aug. 31.
In his letter, Eiichiro Oda talked about the “One Piece” Netflix series and declared that “I’ll say this. There were no compromises on this show!”
“There was so much that went into it–all of the efforts by the actors, the building of the world and the costumes, presenting things in a way that can only be done in live action, the dialogue–and the entire process of so many people putting their heads together was a festivity in and of itself. The producers and the crew are pros at live action, and frankly, they’re ONE PIECE superfans too,” he said.
Here is the full text of Eiichiro Oda’s letter:
“So, the live action One Piece!
“The teaser and the trailer are now out, and the launch date for the show itself is set for August 31. I'll say this. There were no compromises on this show!
“And the festivities have already begun! It's already fun seeing the flurry of reactions after each release of information. And the very fact that adapting One Piece into live action was conceived 7 years ago is wild!
“How will this world be brought to life?! There was so much that went into it--all the efforts by the actors, the building of the world and the costumes, presenting things in a way that can only be done in live action, the dialogue--and the entire process of so many people putting their heads together was a festivity in and of itself.
“After the launch, I'm sure I'll hear about some people pointing out how this character is missing or that scene is omitted, or this bit is different from the manga. But i'm sure they'll come from a place of love, so I intend to enjoy even those comments! Lol The story will span 8 episodes and take us up through you-know-where!!
“Even after the shoot was over, there were numerous scenes the production agreed to re-shoot because I felt they weren't good enough to put out into the world. On the other hand, there were also some lines that I thought didn't feel like Luffy on paper... but when I saw the filmed scenes, I went, ‘It works when it's Inaki performing it as Luffy! As a matter of fact, it works great!!’ (Inaki is the actor who plays Luffy.)
“There were so many things that had to be done to keep things from looking too unnatural in live action.
“The producers and the crew are pros at live action, and frankly, they're One Piece superfans, too. The more knowledgeable you are about One Piece, the more you're likely to notice the love they poured into this.
“It was June when we made the final decision to go ahead and launch this show. My editor who'd worked so hard on this actually cried as he said, ‘It was such a long journey…’ Lol. Not that working hard on something guarantees success, of course.
“By now I just love this production team and the cast so much that I can't wait for them to get the acclaim they deserve from everyone around the world. And if by chance people have some gripes, I'll be there to receive them together!
“Now, whatever feelings you choose to harbor in the meantime, it's still going to be one month, so please have some tea as you wait!”
