Netflix’s One Piece Tops The Charts in Second Week

Live-action anime adaptations haven’t had the best track record when it comes to fans of the medium. Entries such as Dragon Ball Evolution, Ghost in The Shell, and Death Note had many anime fans believing that the possibility of breaking the “live-action anime curse” was impossible. It would seem that Netflix’s One Piece hasn’t only broken the curse amongst the fan base, but has warranted some major ratings for the streaming service in its second week. 

According to Netflix’s analytics, One Piece’s first season garnered around 19.3 million views in its second week, bringing the total number since the show’s premiere to over 37.8 million. While the show has clearly become a success, there has yet to be word on whether the live-action series will receive a second season. This might be in part due to the Screen Actors Guild/Writers Guild of America strikes currently taking place, though Netflix could still pull the trigger on assuring fans that the live-action Straw Hats will return in the future in short notice. As the original anime and manga have well over one thousand episodes and chapters respectively, there is more than enough material for Netflix to create a big future for the series.

The One Piece is Real

In chatting with Deadline, One Piece director Marc Jorbst broke down why they decided to create a live-action adaptation of the successful shonen series, “One of the very fundamental questions Steven [Maeda], Matt [Owens], and I talked about early on is, why do a live-action version of this? There’s an amazing manga. There’s a phenomenally successful anime. Why? I felt we have to be able to know that we’re adding something to it, that there’s something that live action will add to this whole fantastic world that the others don’t have and that the enjoyment of which will bring greater pleasure to the anime and greater pleasure to the manga,”

Should One Piece’s live-action series continue, it would most likely introduce characters such as Tony Tony Chopper, Wapol, Crocodile, Nico Robin, and Vivi should the series stick to the source material. Of course, the inclusion of Chopper would be the most interesting considering his status as a humanoid reindeer and a member of the Straw Hat Pirates. While One Piece has not become Netflix’s most popular series of all time, the number proves that the Straw Hats are a success in the West. 

How do you feel about Netflix’s One Piece topping the charts? Do you think we’ll get a second-season confirmation this year? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the Grand Line.