Netflix’s One Piece: Which Character Is Best in Live Action?

One Piece fans are battening down the hatches for the arrival of Netflix’s live-action adaptation. Unlike many other shonen series like Dragon Ball and Rurouni Kenshin, the story of the Straw Hat Pirates has not officially been brought to life on the small screen before the new show’s arrival later this month. Prior to the first season’s arrival on the streaming service, the main young actors portraying the Straw Hats shared their favorite live-action characters and their choices might throw you for a loop.

If you need a refresher on the young actors that will be playing Luffy and his crew, the current roster includes the likes of Inaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, Jacob Romero Gibson, and Taz Skylar. These actors are taking on the roles of Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji respectively. With this first live-action season covering the East Blue Saga, it means that Straw Hats such as Tony Tony Chopper, Frankie, Jinbei, and Brook might not make an appearance. However, considering the original storyline, we might get a look at Nico Robin if we are able to see the roster of Baroqueworks hinted at. Crocodile might not be a main villain in this first season, but the Straw Hats are sure to have their hands full with Arlong and his Fish Men.

One Piece’s Favorite Crew

In a recent interview Inaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, and Mackenyu, the actors portraying Luffy, Nami, and Zoro shared their favorite picks for the live-action characters that were brought to life from the manga’s source material. Surprisingly enough, they showered praise not on the main heroes or villains, but rather, the two young military men in Koby and Helmeppo.

Godoy: “I love all the characters, but I really love Koby.”
Mackenyu: “I love Helmeppo.”
Rudd: “Agree. I feel like he was born for the role. Honestly, I feel like everyone was made for the characters they play.”

Koby and Helmeppo were two of the earliest characters to appear in One Piece, with the former diving head first into his dream of becoming a part of the military and the latter being taken from his cushy role as the son of Ax Hand Morgan. Including these two into the proceedings shows how close to the source material the Netflix adaptation is aiming to be, as their development was a big part of the earlier storylines. 

Via Philazora