One Piece creator promises Netflix adaptation ‘won’t launch until I’m satisfied’

Eleni Thomas
One Piece Netflix

Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the original One Piece series, has revealed that Netflix have vowed to not release their live-action adaptation of the beloved manga until he is “satisfied” with the final product.

One Piece is an extremely popular manga – largely owing to the global success of its animated series – one that was first created back in 1999 and still to this day has new content coming out. Adding to this long line of content is the upcoming Netflix series that is set to adapt the iconic franchise.

However, when it comes to live-action adaptations of beloved Japanese anime and manga, history doesn’t always offer the most promising start. The likes of Dragon Ball, Death Note, and many others all received live-action movies and series that have been panned by both critics and fans alike. In particular, Netflix recently struggled with its live-action version of Cowboy Bebop.

For One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda, Netflix is seemingly committed to making sure that their adaption does justice to his work and is willing to hold off on releasing until Oda gives the show and the service the all-clear.

Eiichiro Oda says Netflix won’t release One Piece adaptation until he is “satisfied”

In a brand new tweet from Netflix Geeked, Oda updated fans on the development of the show and explained just how closely involved he is in the project.

“Considering my expected life span, I believe this is the last chance to bring One Piece to the entire world. If we’re going to do it, I want to be able to supervise things while I’m still active. That’s why I agreed to the live-action adaptation of One Piece back in 2016.”

Oda then added, “Since then, Netflix has committed enormous resources to the production. It was announced that the show will launch in 2023, but they’ve promised that we won’t launch until I’m satisfied.”

As well as this, the One Piece creator did mention how tricky it can be to adapt a medium such as manga and anime to live-action, calling the push and pull of the process “frustrating for both sides.”

Netflix Geeked captioning the tweet, “We are in this together. Thank you Eiichiro Oda, for your trust. We can’t wait for the world to see what we’ve created.

Time will tell if the One Piece Netflix series is able to live up to the original series. However, Oda’s close involvement in the process is a positive sign.

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About The Author

Eleni is a Melbourne-based journalist. Having completed her Bachelor's in communication (Journalism) at RMIT University, Eleni is now a Senior Writer for the Dexerto Australia team. A big Nintendo fan (with a Triforce tattoo to prove it) and a lover of the zombie genre, Eleni covers gaming, entertainment as well as TV and movies for the site. She is also passionate about covering Queer and female representation. Contact Eleni at eleni.thomas@dexerto.com