One Piece creator says this movie made him believe live-action was possible

One Piece live-action is a global sensation currently, but it may not have been possible if the creator, Eiichiro Oda, wasn’t convinced because of this classic movie.

One Piece live-action has received more positive reviews than any other adaptation in history. The series started streaming on Netflix on 31 August and quickly became a global sensation. It’s currently the top show in 84 countries. 

The production took seven years, and One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has been an integral part of the series since then. As the executive director of One Piece live-action, he ensured that the series stayed faithful to the original story.

Oda has always been sceptical about his masterpiece getting a live-action adaptation. Judging by the bad history of anime adaptations, we can’t really blame him for hesitating. However, it’s all thanks to Stephen Chow’s classic movie that encouraged Oda to take the risk.

Stephen Chow’s sports comedy encouraged One Piece creator to agree with the live-action

Netflix

During an interview, the One Piece creator shares, “For many years, I have received different offers to adapt One Piece into a live-action, and I have rejected them all. First of all, I think that manga works are not intended to be adapted to the cinema. It is not easy to bring them to a real image. 

But visual effects and production standards started advancing to a point where I saw movies being made that convinced me that with today’s technology. It’s possible, so I changed my mind and started thinking about finding the right partner with the one to work.”

Netflix’s One Piece meets his expectations as the series becomes a global sensation. In an interview with The New York Times, Eiichiro Oda shares that Stephen Chow’s 2001 classic “Shaolin Soccer,” a sports comedy, made him believe that a live-action manga adaptation is possible if done right.

Shaolin Soccer is a timeless classic based on a popular Japanese Manga series called Captain Tsubasa. So, it goes without saying that the martial arts in the film will be similar to anime/manga and highly augmented by visual effects. They comprise CGI and physics-defying action.

One Piece live-action is currently streaming on Netflix. You can also check out our other One Piece coverage below:

One Piece anime and live-action differences | One Piece Luffy vs Kizaru | One Piece treasure | One Piece Episode 1074 | Oda’s message on live-action | One Piece strongest characters | Oda’s plans after ending One Piece | Gear 5 problem | One Piece live-action young Straw Hats | Luffy’s rise in popularity | Luffy’s Gear 5