This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s One Piece.As fans start to engage with Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the popular mangaOne Pieceon Netflix, one of the project’s showrunners has postulated what he thinks will be the most widely debated change that the largely faithful adaptation made from the source material.
One Pieceis by far the most popular manga in recent memory, holding sales records for more than a decade at its prime and consistently ranking in the top five to this day. Penned by seasoned mangaka Eiichiro Oda and published by industry giant Shueisha, the series has long been the target of discussions surrounding a possible live-action adaptation, with the consensus being that it would be too difficult to translate into a more grounded medium due to the cartoonish nature of the characters and their abilities, in no small part thanks to the Devil Fruits,a power system that is widely regarded as one of the best in all of the Shonen genre. Despite this, Netflix greenlit an adaptation with the watchful eye of original creator Oda.
RELATED:Netflix’s One Piece Live Action: Every Major Change In The Romance Dawn Arc
While its premiere on the streamer was met with a positive critical reception and general fan approval of boththe multitude of perfect casting choices made for the Netflix showand the faithful adaptation of the source material, series showrunner Steven Maeda has a prediction on which of the changes that did end up being made will be the most discussed amongst fans of the original manga series. “One that I’m sure will be debated endlessly was not leaning into the character of Don Krieg and bringing Arlong up as the Big Bad of the first season,” Maeda said in a recent interview withVariety. While the character of Don Kreig is a major part of the early adventures in the manga, the live-action series sees him dispatched in no time by the privateer Dracul Mihawk, who just so happens to be theOne Pieceworld’s strongest swordsman.
“We made these decisions, and Oda blessed it, to bring Arlong to Baratie, introduce him earlier than he is in the manga,” Maeda revealed, specifying that this was done to “really ramp up towards the last two episodes so that Arlong is our Big Bad of the first season.” The decision to bring Arlong, an antagonist that is generallyconsidered one of the early parts of the series’ best villains, forward also has the distinct advantage of allowing the series to get more done within the allotted 8 episodes for the first season. While Don Krieg is an interesting foe in his own right, there isn’t much lost in the overall picture by diminishing his role, which Oda seems to agree is the case.
In no small part due to decisions like the ones made concerning Don Kreig and Arlong, theOne Pieceadaptation has managed to disprove the notion that it wasjust as misguided as its live-action anime precursors on Netflix. While some fans will most certainly still express discontent at any changes, the green light from Oda to make those sacrifices for the sake of the adaptation must certainly factor into just how damaging the changes could be to the overarching narrative. It will certainly be a controversial change, but even in this facet, theOne Pieceseries stands heads and shoulders above the more laissez-faire approach that previous attempts at anime adaptations took to changing the source material.
With fans already looking forward towhat pirates the live-actionOne Pieceadaptation will bring to Netflix in season 2, the odds of a renewal aren’t looking too bad. With a respectful and practical attitude, Maeda and his co-showrunner Matt Owens might have the winning formula for an adaptation as long-running as its source material.
The live-action adaptation ofOne Pieceis now available for streaming on Netflix.
MORE:Netflix’s One Piece Live Action: Every Major Change In The Orange Town Arc
