Netflix’s upcoming One Piece anime remake made me realize how difficult it will be for the live-action show to cover Eiichiro Oda’s 27-year-old manga. Although Netflix’s One Piece adaptation never promised to cover the entire story – which, as of now, is impossible considering the manga hasn’t ended yet – the success of season 1 got me imagining what future arcs will look like in live-action. Having enjoyed the show’s version of East Blue, I cannot wait to see what arcs like Arabasta and Water 7 will be like once they get adapted.
One Piece live-action’s premiere and immediate season 2 renewal were not the only great news fans of Oda’s work got in 2023 outside of the manga and the current anime. In addition to the live-action adaptation, Netflix is developing a One Piece anime remake from WIT Studio. The One Piece is expected to be a modern, more streamlined anime adaptation whose pacing will be closer to that of the manga. The idea is to introduce Luffy and his friends to new audiences, which is also something the live-action show was expected to do.
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"I Want to Continue This Forever": One Piece's Remake Director Hints at the Length of the New Series
The One Piece remake has a great chance of being a long-running anime, according to a recent statement by the series' director.
The One Piece Remake Is A Reminder Of How Long It Will Take For Netflix’s Live-Action To Catch Up
The One Piece Remake Will Likely Move Faster Than The Live-Action
The biggest selling point of The One Piece so far is that it will be a much faster way to get into the show. Right now, someone who wants to start watching One Piece would have to get through over a thousand anime episodes just to catch up with newer releases. While One Piece live-action is a great introduction to this world, it has only the manga’s first saga so far. One Piece season 2 is happening, but while many assumed it would cover the next saga in its entirety, the show will save Arabasta for later.
One Piece Season 2's Confirmed Arcs | Anime Episodes |
|---|---|
Loguetown | 45 and 48-53 |
Reverse Mountain | 61-63 |
Whiskey Peak | 64-67 |
Little Garden | 70-77 |
Drum Island | 78-91 |
With One Piece saving Arabasta for a potential season 3, the live-action show will have spent several years to just get through the manga’s first two sagas. Such pacing is slow even when compared to the current One Piece anime, let alone the upcoming remake. Netflix’s two original One Piece projects are very different by default, but The One Piece is shaping up to be a more welcoming jumping point for new fans than the live-action show simply because of how faster it’s expected to move.
There’s No Way One Piece Live-Action Covers All Anime Episodes, Right?
One Piece Season 2 Won’t Even Get Through Arabasta
The fact that One Piece season 1 was so good makes it quite bittersweet to ponder about the show’s future. On the one hand, One Piece getting through each arc and giving them enough screen time indicates that the show will continue to be as faithful to Oda’s manga as possible. On the other hand, even if all seasons were to rush through the manga’s arcs, it would still be virtually impossible for the Netflix show to cover the entire story in a reasonable number of seasons. At this pace, more than 10 seasons would be required.
It’s unclear when One Piece will end, but the story is heading toward a conclusion.
Even covering the entire pre-time skip era of One Piece is starting to become a very tricky goal for the live-action show. With Arabasta happening in season 3, Sky Island could be saved for season 4, whereas Water 7 would potentially only happen in a fifth season. Major Netflix originals like One Piece tend to take a couple of years to release new seasons unless they are filmed back-to-back, suggesting it will take quite a few years to even get to Enies Lobby. Depending on when The One Piece premiers, it should get ahead of the live-action show relatively fast.
There Might Be 2 One Piece Shows Running After The Original Anime Ends
Netflix Will Soon Have Two Original One Piece Shows
It’s unclear when One Piece will end, but the story is heading toward a conclusion. Assuming the manga will end in a not-so-distant future, the original One Piece anime might only have a few more years before it finally concludes. Interestingly, based on the popularity of the live-action adaptation, Netflix’s One Piece live-action might still be running by the time the original anime ends. This gives the live-action show an interesting advantage – the producers will be able to incorporate future events and hint at major twists much sooner than the anime did.
One Piece season 2 doesn't have a release date yet.
The One Piece remake might also still be running by the time the current show ends. The fact that there will likely be two ongoing One Piece shows on Netflix even after the original story concludes is a testament to how popular Oda’s work has become. Most of Netflix’s previous anime adaptations have been disappointing, but the way the streamer is treating One Piece makes me hopeful for the future of the live-action show even if it never gets to tell the whole story.
One Piece (Live-Action)
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TV-14
Action
Adventure
Comedy
Fantasy
Based on the popular manga/anime series, One Piece is a live-action Netflix adaptation of the story from Eiichiro Oda. The show follows the exploits of a band of pirates, the Straw Hats, led by the energetic and adventure-loving Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy is a young man cursed with strange powers after accidentally eating a mysterious fruit. With his friends Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, Luffy will head across the vast ocean to find the legendary treasure, the One Piece.
- Cast
- Iñaki Godoy , Mackenyu , Emily Rudd , Jacob Romero Gibson , Taz Skylar
- Release Date
- August 31, 2023
- Seasons
- 1
- Streaming Service(s)
- Netflix
- Franchise(s)
- One Piece
- Showrunner
- Matt Owens
