release date, cast, plot, all about the live action series

One Piece is coming to Netflix as a new live-action series. When will season 1 be released, who are the actors, what part of the story will tell this adaptation… Here is everything you need to know about it.

On January 29, 2020, Netflix created a surprise by announcing a live action series based on the famous One Piece manga, the most read in the world, far ahead of other big names like Dragon Ball, Golgo 13, Naruto, Detective Conan or Doraemon. Arousing between fear and excitement, this adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s work questions and is inevitably expected at the turn as the license is popular and intergenerational. We have checked the information made official by Netflix and the production as well as the rumors of the corridors which seem to us the most reliable in order to offer you a summary of everything you need to know about this American One Piece series with Netflix sauce.

📅When is One Piece released on Netflix?

The intention to create a live-action series for One Piece has been in the cards since 2017, but it was not until early 2020 that the news broke: Netflix will be the broadcaster and will be involved in the production. “The project takes time. Preparations are progressing slowly behind the scenes”then explained Eiichirō Oda.

The crisis linked to the COVID-19 epidemic has slowed down the stages and shifted the calendars of the audiovisual industry and One Piece has not escaped this. It will finally be necessary to wait until February 2022, more than two years following Netflix’s announcement, for the filming of the series to begin. According to the streaming platform, the live-action series One Peace will be available from on August 31, 2023.

🔢How many episodes for season 1 of One Piece on Netflix?

Season 1 features ten episodes, the duration of which has not been disclosed. It’s likely that the goal is to make more seasons in the future, but ratings and audience reception will dictate whether or not to go ahead with an expensive project. Each episode of One Piece has a budget of $10 million, making a total of $100 million for the first season. A hell of a bet.

🤠 Casting: who are the actors of One Piece in live action?

A good part of the cast of the series is now known. The role of Monkey D. Luffy, the protagonist, has been attributed to Iñaki Godoy, a young unknown Mexican actor. His faithful traveling companions will be interpreted by the Japanese Mackenyu Arata (Roronoa Zoro), the American Jacob Gibson (Usopp), the American Emily Rudd (Nami) and the British Taz Skylar (Sanji).

For antagonists or secondary characters, we also have:

• Morgan Davies: Koby
• Ilia Isorelys Paulino: Alvida
• Aidan ScottHelmeppo
• Jeff Ward: Buggy
• McKinley Belcher III: Arlong
• Vincent Regan: Garp
• Peter GadiotShanks
• Sven Ruygrok as Cabaji
• Len-Barry Simons: Chu
• Richard Wright-Firth: Ukkari
• Jean Henry: Full Body

🎞️What is the plot of the One Piece series?

Netflix presents this adaptation as a “live action remake” manga. The only element made available by the SVOD platform and which may look like a synopsis for the moment is this: “Prepare to weigh anchor to accompany Luffy and the Straw Hat crew on their quest for the most fabulous treasure in the world”. So it looks like we should just pick up the manga story from the beginning with this season 1.

The characters present in the cast give us a fairly precise clue about the events that we will tell in season 1 and those that will be left out for possible future seasons. We will first get to know Luffy, who will meet his fellow adventurers and build his crew. We will go at least to the arc of Arlong since this character has already found his interpreter.

Here is a (very) quick reminder of the story for those who would have completely missed One Piece:

Luffy is very attracted to the ocean, but he is unable to swim, as he ate a Devil Fruit, which gives him the power to make his body elastic. But that doesn’t stop him from wanting to become the next Pirate Lord. To do this, he must find the treasure hidden by the first Lord of the Pirates, Gold Roger, the famous One Piece. To reach it, he will have to cross the Road of All Perils.

There should still be differences with the original material. For example, the character of Shanks would be credited in all of the 10 episodes of the season of the series, while he is ultimately not very present in the manga. This may mean that we could learn more about Luffy’s past as soon as hostilities begin.

📄 Is Eiichiro Oda included in the project?

Matt Owens and Steven Maeda are the two showrunners of the series and are therefore in charge of the production of Tomorrow Studios. But they had to convince Eiichiro Oda of the merits of their project, who finally validated this adaptation in live action image capture. The creator of One Piece also participated as an executive producer (alongside Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements) and took part in the creative process by working closely with the teams. What you have to remember is that if Netflix’s One Piece will necessarily take small liberties with the one we know, these have been approved by Eiichiro Oda.

And since we are talking about the production, know that most of the filming took place within the Cape Town Film Studios, in South Africa. At least three pirate ships were built there. It would be the biggest Netflix production on the African continent to date.

Finally, and if you’re curious to get a taste of the final product, Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for the live-action One Piece series. The opportunity to see that the aesthetics of the manga has been respected. Enough to bode well for the show to come this summer.