Original One Piece Cast Breaks Silence on Netflix's Live-Action Series
At this year's Anime Expo, the upcoming live-action adaptation of One Piece revealed some major news. For the Netflix television series, Japan's anime cast will be voicing the North American cast. With Luffy's voice actor, Mayumi Tanaka, meeting Netflix's Monkey D. Luffy, Inaki Godoy, each of the main Straw Hat Pirates out of Japan lent their thoughts on the live-action series and their roles in the Netflix production.
To get the ball rolling, here are Mayumi Tanaki's thoughts on Inaki and the world of One Piece overall, "I have played Luffy for more than 23 years, but I think everyone has Luffy in their hearts. This time, the live-action version played by Inaki is also fun and amusing, he is a spot on Luffy! I'm also able to voice Luffy for the live-action, I'm really happy. With One Piece, the words that resonate and the way we see them are different depending on the situation and position. We will find new discoveries over and over again. I would be happy if people who haven't touched One Piece yet, regardless of age or gender, would like to become a One Piece nakama from here on."
The voice of Zoro, Kazuya Nakai, also shared his thoughts on Mackenyu's portrayal and the live-action series, "Ever since I heard that Mackenyu is going to play Zoro in the live-action version, I've been wondering about the dubbing. What kind of format would work best for people who watch it? To be honest, I was really happy when they decided to have me. The truth is, I want to do it because it's Zoro. I'll do my best to meet the charm of Mackenyu's really cool Zoro."
Akemi Okamura, Nami's Japanese voice actor, then shared her thoughts about taking part in the live-action series, "When I heard that a live-action version was in the making, I sincerely thought I wanted to go on an adventure in the live-action world as well! I'm really happy I get to experience it again from my first encounter with the crew. Forget the adventures we've had so far and challenge the sea of adventure that spreads out in front of us with a fresh feeling."
Kappei Yamaguchi, who voices Usopp, explained how the live-action series will be different, but stays true to the source material, "One Piece live-action is a little different from the manga and the anime, but the underlying spirits is a world that everyone will want to see! A freaking awesome One Piece live-action has been made!"
Finally, the Japanese voice actor for Sanji, Hirata Hiroaki, stated that he feels "bad" for actor Taz Skylar when it comes to matching his "clumsy lines", "I feel bad for Taz Skylar, but in Japan, there have been many versions of handsome Sanjis who have worked hard to match my clumsy lines on various stages. I will do my best to dub Taz to atone for that. Taz-chan, I'm freaking grateful to you! Let's make the strongest tag team and make Mackenyu-Kazuya be rendered speechless!"