One Piece marked a massive success for not only Netflix but for live-action anime and manga adaptations in general, and the director behind some of the episodes detailed why some live-action adaptations fail when they release. There was a lot of caution leading into One Piece’s live-action series as not only was it in production for quite a long time, but it’s considered one of the most successful manga releases still running after nearly 30 years. When the first season of the live-action series was as well received as it was, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise for many fans of the original.ย
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Speaking to ComicBook.com, Marc Jobst (director behind the first two episodes of Netflix’s One Piece live-action series) was asked about what made One Piece such a successful live-action adaptation and why that didn’t always be the case for other releases. Explaining that adhering to One Piece’s playful nature while making sure to highlight the grounded emotion underneath all of the wackiness happening on screen, Jobst detailed capturing that spirit for a new medium.ย
Why One Piece Live-Action Succeeds
“It’s very playful. And one of the freedoms that you get when you see people and you talk to people who work in two dimensions is you’re not hidebound by three dimensions, which means that the originations of those stories sometimes bursts out of the norm,” Jobst began. “They’re free to use their imaginations to go into all kinds of crazy ways because they’re not hidebound by being human. And I think we respond to that as readers. I think we respond to that goofiness that kind of, ‘Oh my God,’ outside the box thinking that blue skies thinking that anime and manga can do.”
But that’s what makes adapting it so challenging as Jobst explained, “[T]hat makes it a real challenge to adapt into live action because we have to bring it back…and we have to bring it back into this human in such a way that is true to the anime and the goofiness of the manga and all the rest of it, but also grounded in some kind of truth and authenticity so that your audience says, I’ll go on this journey with these people because even though they’ve got rubbery skills and can do crazy things, or Buggy can split himself up into thousands of different pieces, somehow I believe in his emotional journey and I’m interested in his emotional journey.”
What did you think of the way the Netflix series brought One Piece to life? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!
