One Piece’s Creator Has Strict Conditions For Its Live-Action TV Show

San Diego Comic Con might be taking up conversation space in the west, but Japan didn’t let that stop it from hosting its own geek-friendly event this week. A few days ago, One Piece held a special conference to celebrate its 20th anniversary, and it was there a live-action Hollywood adaptation of One Piece was announced. And, now, the series’ creator promises fans he has strict conditions for the show.

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Earlier this week, news broke that One Piece would be getting a live-action TV show, and Eiichiro Oda has finally commented on the news. You can check out the creator’s statement below:

“In the last 20 years the conversation about a live-action adaptation has come up many times. I decided to go forward with the adaptation about three years ago. There were many twists and turns. I met a good partner. Today is the just about the 20th anniversary. The announcement of the new work is actually just a coincidence. I am very happy. Firstly, “I will never betray the fans who have supported me for 20 years.” This is my condition. There may be many who are uneasy, but please, give me your voices of hope. Please be excited for the follow up reports. Please look forward to it!!”

Looking at the statement, fans will be glad to hear the decision to move on with a live-action adaptation wasn’t a quick one. Oda stressed it took more than fifteen years for him to say agree to an adaptation, and he has been pulling over the project for three years now. Tomorrow ITV Studios will be the company in charge of bringing One Piece to life with Marty Adelstein (Prison Break) working as an executive producer.

For Oda, his most important condition for the show is that it cannot let his fans down. The creator made sure to emphasize how much he has fans on his mind, and Oda even tried to reassure those who feel uneasy about live-action adaptations of anime. After all, Hollywood does not have a stellar track record with the turnover, but Oda is notorious for his detail-centric personality. If the creator is not pleased with what is happening, the One Piece creator will make sure his voice his heard.

There are few details available about One Piece right now, but Adelstein did have something to say about the show. The producer released a statement that said One Piece would be one of the most expensive TV shows ever made, and Tomorrow ITV will have some experience with anime adaptations before One Piece goes live. Earlier this year, the studio confirmed it was also developing a TV show adaptation of Cowboy Bebop.

Viz Media’s synopsis for One Piece can be read below:

As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates. But his life changed when he accidentally gained the power to stretch like rubber—at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, Luffy sets off in search of the One Piece, said to be the greatest treasure in the world…

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Eiichiro Oda began his manga career in 1992 at the age of 17, when his one-shot cowboy manga Wanted! won second place in the coveted Tezuka manga awards. Oda went on to work as an assistant to some of the biggest manga artists in the industry, including Nobuhiro Watsuki, before winning the Hop Step Award for new artists. His pirate adventure One Piece, which debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1997, quickly became one of the most popular manga in Japan.

[HT] One Piece Podcast