One Piece creator rules out romance between fan-favorite characters
Netflix The live-action Netflix series One Piece has gained immense praise from the original manga and anime fans, with many having kept their eyes on Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu) and Nami’s (Emily Rudd) intense chemistry on screen. But the original One Piece creator had one clear guideline for the live-action and romance.
As Lufy (Iñaki Godoy) begins his quest to become the King of Pirates, he meets two outlaws by the name of Nami and the renowned pirate hunter Zoro. Throughout the manga and anime, the characters are known for getting on each other’s nerves and having playful banter. But fans couldn’t help but notice sparks between the characters in the live-action.
It’s no secret that fans have gone gaga over Mackenyu’s portrayal of Zoro in One Piece, and rightfully so. But there were a few key moments of vulnerability between Zoro and Nami in Netflix‘s One Piece that casued a few blush-worthy moments.
One Piece’s Eiichiro Oda was revealed to have asked co-showrunner Steven Maeda to stick to one key mandate. It may leave Zoro and Nami shippers disappointed.
Eiichiro Oda refused to develop a romance in the One Piece live-action
A romance between Zoro and Nami in the One Piece live-action was never meant to happen due to Eiichiro Oda’s request, despite the immense chemistry between the characters.
Bringing manga and anime to life is not necessarily easy. Even director Marc Jobst knew he was asking a lot for the cast to do a lot of physical stunts. Going into production for One Piece, Maeda told TVLine that Oda set down one major ground rule that couldn’t be broken.
“One of the mandates from [manga creator] Eiichiro Oda was against romance on the crew. That is a hard no, as far as the manga and the live-action show are concerned,” explained Maeda.
Even Maeda realized the subtle romantic inclinations fans were getting from the characters. He explained, “it was because they just had great chemistry together. But that certainly was not the intent. One of the fun things about watching television is what you read into it and what you bring to the table when you’re watching a show.”
Fans hope may have dwindled just a bit. But the live-action is keen on staying true to the source material, which means no romance between Nami and Zoro. No matter how good they are at flirting, even Sanji (Taz Skular).
One Piece fans saw the heartwarming connection between Zoro and Nami
Fans on X/Twitter gave high praises to the One Piece crew for developing an emotional and growing relationship between Nami and Zoro that needed to be explored.
During the Baratie dinner, fans couldn’t help but feel a little flustered when Sanji openly flirted with Nami. But the real focus was on the impeccable dialogue between Nami and Zoro. Val D. Cage on X commented, “Ay man, ALL’S I’M SAYING is that the one piece live-action writers knew exactly what they were cooking with all that extra Zoro x Nami dialogue.”
Another fan commented that they appreciated why Nami and Zoro’s relationship needed to unfold the way it did. “It makes complete sense that #OPLA Zoro & Nami has a special connection because they’ve been living a lonely life as a bounty hunter & a thief for years, killing & manipulating people. They’ve seen how brutal the world is & understood each other’s darkness,” said the fan.
Others praised the bickering sibling dynamic between the two just like the manga and anime. Audiences couldn’t help but swoon when Zoro cracked a smile all because of Nami.
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