Netflix as a streaming service has explored the world of live-action anime adaptations in the past. With Cowboy Bebop being one of their prime examples, Netflix is seeking to expand not just with upcoming takes on Avatar The Last Airbender and Yu Yu Hakusho, but with the first live-action television One Piece series. Now, a new poster featuring Luffy and his Straw Hats’ first vessel has found its way online, promoting just how close to the source material the upcoming adaptation will be.
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At present, Netflix’s take on the world of the Grand Line is slated for eight episodes, covering the East Blue Saga that saw Monkey D. Luffy assembling his Straw Hat Pirates thanks to meeting the likes of Zoro, Nami, Sanji, and Usopp to name a few. Netflix’s One Piece live-action series would be the first time that a television production brought the characters into this new horizon. While anime fans might be hesitant when it comes to a live-action portrayal of Luffy and company, series creator Eiichiro Oda is working as an Executive Producer on the series and has stated in the past that the series will only be released if it is able to hit his high standards of quality.
One Piece’s Going Merry
Hitting Japan, the new poster focuses squarely on the Going Merry, the first vessel that Luffy and company sailed into the Grand Line. Clearly, Netflix is taking the opportunity to stay true to the anime franchise’s roots by sticking to the design of the vessel that first got its start in Weekly Shonen Jump. With fans anxious to see if Netflix’s One Piece can live up to the source material, this poster is sure to turn a few heads.
Shockingly enough, One Piece’s Netflix series isn’t the only live-action platform that the Straw Hats will receive this year. In Japan, the ice-skating show, One Piece on Ice, will see Luffy and the Straw Hats taking to the rink to re-create the Alabasta Arc. While the show isn’t slated to hit North America, it’s clear that Eiichiro Oda’s creation is finding numerous avenues to tell its swashbuckling story.
Do you think Netflix will manage to nail the live-action adaptation of One Piece? What has been your favorite live-action anime adaptation to date? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line.
