On August 31st, Netflix revealed the live-action take on the Straw Hat Pirates with the streaming service’s One Piece series. Focusing on the East Blue Saga, Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hats assembled for the first time in live-action and has gained serious success in a short amount of time. One Piece was always going to have an uphill battle with its live-action adaptation but the television series has proved that fans have fallen in love with this new take on the Grand Line.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Shortly following the first season’s release, Netflix confirmed that a second season was on the way thanks to none other than franchise creator Eiichiro Oda. Alongside the second season confirmation, Oda also hinted at the arrival of Tony Tony Chopper, the reindeer doctor who is the sixth member to join Luffy’s crew. Should the live-action series continue to follow the source material, it won’t just see Chopper join the cast, but will see new locales such as Loguetown, Drum Island, and Alabasta make appearances. With the show creators keen on adding Jamie Lee Curtis to the cast as Dr. Kureha, season two might just ramp up the stakes for the live-action Straw Hats in more ways than one.
One Piece’s Skyrocketing Popularity
This past week, One Piece is sitting at number eight on Netflix’s top-watched series. In its eighth week, the live-action adaptation received 1.4M views and 10.9M hours streamed. Since debuting this past August, One Piece has seen a total of 63.6M views and 480.3M hours streamed so far, and will most likely receive quite a bit more in the future.
2023 has been a massive year for One Piece not just thanks to Netflix’s live-action take, but thanks to the events of both the manga and anime adaptation. The anime saw the arrival of Luffy’s Gear Fifth transformation, winning him his fight against Kaido in the War For Wano Arc. In the manga, the final saga is playing out to follow the Straw Hat Pirates as they aim to set sail into the sunset.
What do you think of One Piece’s live-action success? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line.
Via Netflix
