One Piece director Emma Sullivan reveals the creative team’s main priority during the production of Netflix’s live-action adaptation.

One Piece director Emma Sullivan addressed how the live-action series of Eiichiro Oda’s beloved manga was able to avoid making the same mistakes as other remakes such as Netflix’s failed Cowboy Bebop and Death Note adaptations.

For the past several years, adapting an anime into a live-action has been a hit-and-miss endeavor in Hollywood, due to important factors that didn’t meet fan expectations including casting and production quality. Speaking with Screen Rant, Sullivan explained what makes Netflix’s One Piece series different from other live-action adaptations, revealing that making actors copy their anime counterparts’ big expressions and animated actions would be “really awkward.” Through a grounded approach, the creative team were able to first prioritize perfecting the characters’ personalities and stories in order to establish connection with the audience.

“I’ve watched a few of these shows and lots of different anime. I’m a big Studio Ghibli fan, but you can’t make actors do those big actions and faces that we can get in the anime, so it wouldn’t work,” Sullivan said. “And if we tried, it would be really awkward, and I think it would throw everybody out of the story. I think what we had to do is we had to find a grounded approach, and we had to find an emotionally real approach to it. We have to kind of tap into these characters, and feel what makes us relate as an audience to them. I think we can all relate to just following our dreams and the positivity of Luffy, especially now, at all times.”

The live-action One Piece series is based on the long-running manga and anime from famous mangaka Eiichiro Oda, who has been hands-on throughout the whole production of the project. The Netflix adaptation follows the epic adventures of the Straw Hat crew, portrayed by Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Taz Skyler as Sanji, and Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp. Season 1 centers around Luffy’s quest to recruit key members of his pirate crew, who’ll help him navigate the treacherous Grand Line and search for Gold Roger’s legendary treasure in order to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming the King of the Pirates.

Live-Action One Piece Was Influenced by Shaolin Soccer

Oda previously confirmed that seeing 2001’s iconic sports comedy Shaolin Soccer made him realize that there’s a way to bring One Piece into live-action, which was something he initially thought was impossible. “When I first started, I didn’t think there was any point in drawing a manga that could be remade in live-action,” he revealed. “But when I saw the movie Shaolin Soccer, it felt like a manga-esque world brought to life. I changed my mind. I realized times had changed, and there was technology available that could make a live-action One Piece happen.”

Following the well-received series debut of One Piece, showrunner Steven Maeda opened up about its potential Season 2 renewal, confirming they have already mapped out their plans for the next installment. Fans who have already watched all eight episodes of the live-action adaptation were treated to a mid-credits scene during the Season 1 finale, teasing the Straw Hat crew’s next destination where they’ll encounter a fan-favorite Marine captain.

Src: cbr.com