Anyone who doesn’t pay attention to anime or manga will surely have no idea what One Piece is, although the images of its giant snails that function as telephones or its funny pirates may be familiar to them. But surely among our readers there are many who have seen one or the 15 seasons of the Japanese animated series that is available on Netflix, or the comics created by Elchiro Oda and that have been published without interruption since July 1997. The truth is that this completely imagined world that fascinates millions of fans all over the planet arrives on the same platform this August 31 in a new version with flesh and blood actors that promises to further expand the number of followers.
Shot entirely in South Africa, as a result of a seven-year process in which no expenses were measured, the new One Piece is undoubtedly one of Netflix’s strongest bets so far this year, which explains why the company held an impressive event at the Santa Monica Pier amusement park in Los Angeles a few days before the premiere, similar to the one held to celebrate the arrival of the third season of Stranger things in 2019. Thousands of fans dressed in their favorite costumes from the series were invited to attend an outdoor screening of the first episode, which was followed by an aerial display carried out by a hundred drones that drew numerous allusive animations in the Los Angeles night.
Like its predecessors, this One Piece is set in a parallel universe, with different seas and their own cities, whose inhabitants are obsessed with finding the treasure left behind by Gold Roger, the former king of pirates. Whoever finds him will become his successor. Monkey D. Luffy, an optimistic young man who feels that this is his destiny, will rise to the challenge helped by his talent to stretch himself to unlikely limits along with a group of ambitious companions, including the wonderful swordsman Roronoa Zoro, the cunning thief Nami, the emotional Usopp and the cook Sanji.
To achieve this, logically they will have to defeat all kinds of villains, including the marines led by Vice Admiral Garp and his subordinate Morgan Axehand, and also the evil clown Buggy. Undoubtedly, the tone of the series, in which computer effects abound, is set by Monkey, played by the Mexican actor Iñaki Godoy, whom we have seen in another Netflix series, Who Killed Sara? , in his first role in English.
The Japanese Mackenyu, son of the legendary martial arts star Sonny Chiba and who is in charge of the key role of Zoro, constantly reminds us of the connection that the series has with the world of anime. The American Emily Rudd, who comes from working at Hunters and is a rabid fan of the comics created by Elchiro Oda, managed to make her dream of playing Nami come true.
Another fervent follower of One Piece in its previous versions, the screenwriter Matt Owens, was in charge together with Steven Maeda that the new version was faithful to the world created by Oda, who had an important participation and is one of the executive producers.
If Netflix’s commitment to the production company Tomorrow Studios is successful, they will not lack material to continue to infinity. The animated series is going through episode 1074, while the original manga already has 106 volumes in its 26 years of existence.
