Netflix’s One Piece Showrunner Explains Why Its the Perfect Story For Our Times

One Piece’s live-action adaptation is almost considered a miracle among many anime fans. Bucking the trend of live-action adaptations being unable to hit the same heights as their source material, according to fans, Netflix has struck gold with its new take on the Grand Line. Recently, we here at ComicBook.com had the opportunity to chat with showrunner Steven Maeda about the story of the Straw Hats and how now is the perfect time to follow Luffy and company. 

In our exclusive interview with showrunner Steve Maeda, the creator who helped bring One Piece to the “real world” talked why the Straw Hats weaved a perfect tale for our time, “I think that One Piece is, as I said, a perfect story for our times, but also technologically, it was possible to do One Piece now the right way, spending a good amount of money, but not to have it be ridiculously expensive or unmakeable because of the level of effects, because there is so much that needed to be done. And it’s also a travel show, which means it’s very unlike a lot of television where you go back to the same sets for an entire season or even multiple seasons. So in order, it had to be the right place, the right time, the right studio and network and the right people being involved with it as well from all levels. So the writers, the directors, the cast, everything. I feel like it was some good timing.”

How One Piece Set Sail

Maeda then hashed out how long it took to create this new take on the Straw Hat Pirates, attributing some delays to the COVID pandemic that can still throw monkey wrenches into some productions to this day, “We also had some bad timing with COVID, with the show being pushed several times. I mean, it probably should have been a two-year journey. It ended up being a four-year journey or for me personally. But it felt like the right story to tell at the right time. And with other anime and manga adaptation, I think there was bad luck, honestly, it was just not the right shows to make. The choices to stray from original source material. I think maybe we’re somewhat ill-advised. It’s hard. These shows are alchemy, trying to tell the right stories, get the loyal fans excited about it, and then bring in new fans as well so you can actually have a hit is a really tall order for any adaptation, but particularly for manga and anime, where there’re also cultural differences. And so fans in Asia may totally understand why a character is doing something fans in the West may not. It’s about again, finding that balance, which was again, many, many discussions with Oda-san.”

Do you think One Piece’s live-action series arrived just in time? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Grand Line.