General & Others What’s Wrong with the One Piece Live Action

[Gaimon The Pirate]

I for would say cast the actor that performed the best.Then the next step is ask myself does this actor resemble the character looks?

For example the life action little mermaid. Do we know what real mermaids will look like? No.. therefore the director can choose what ever race to choose as Ariel and who performed the best.

Now a bad example is the life action snow white. Does Rachael resemble Snow white? Heck no. And with other reasons.. the movied bombed so hard that disney is in panic mode.

So dont set the actor for failure no matter what is what i trying to say. Cough cough a black Snape from the life action Harry potter series.WTF were they thinking. Still salty.

Next step is age, will they be young or old enough to continue playing this character?

So i dont really think race should be a big negative until it goes against what the author envision of his or her story. Therefore no washing of the character or doing something for an agenda..

And iirc Oda is the one that choose all the mains actors. So he envision that these people are the best actors for the show.

Wrong example as the little mermaid is a Danish fable, so she should look danish.

 

[ArturCantSpeakJapanese]

When it comes to the One Piece live action, before the first season aired, we were all on edge because there was a long history of failed anime adaptations, and we feared One Piece would suffer the same fate. So expectations were low. And since expectations were low… we ended up liking it! The adaptation was fairly faithful to the manga, and the few changes they made—many of them (though not all)—were actually improvements. (For example, I liked Usopp’s arc more in the live action than in the manga.) Plus, there was very little "woke" content.
But now, with season 2 on the way, expectations have risen! So it’s not guaranteed that the audience will enjoy season 2 the same way they did the first.


— Another criticism people originally had about the project was that adapting One Piece’s wacky world from manga to live action would come across as too silly and childish. And the further the story progresses, the more that’s going to be the case! It already started happening. For example, Kuro’s two henchmen in the live action looked like Team Rocket! That made everything feel a bit too childish. Wouldn’t it have been better to take advantage of the change in medium (from manga to live action) to create a more mature and realistic version of One Piece? That would’ve been awesome! But I guess Shueisha wants the live action to serve as promotion for the manga in America, so maybe that’s why they want it to stay faithful… who knows.


— Another issue is the casting! Take the actress who plays Vivi and the actor playing Cobra. Nothing against them personally—they seem fine. I actually think the actress playing Vivi is a very beautiful girl. But hiring Indian actors to play characters who clearly represent Egypt or North Africa is just wrong! It’s not the same ethnicity! Vivi is not Indian!
Another potential issue with the casting is that, given the long production times (not just for One Piece, it’s now common for modern TV shows to take 2 or 3 years between seasons, just like movies), the main cast might end up looking too old within just a few seasons. So if the story goes on for too long, several roles might need to be recast over time—and there’s no guarantee those new castings will work. The current main cast works pretty well, but who knows what the future holds! The only one who might be able to keep their role forever is Chopper’s voice actor, I guess! Haha


— Finally, as mentioned before, the long production times. If it really takes two to three years for each new season, the timeline will drag on, and we’ll have to wait decades to reach the juicier parts of the story! The audience might lose interest (for example, with a three-year gap between season 1 and season 2, there's a real risk that general viewers may have forgotten about the show and won’t return for season 2—but we’ll see!). Also, given how expensive this series is, who knows how many seasons it will actually get! I think season 3 is probably guaranteed—otherwise, they wouldn’t have cast a big name for Crocodile. But what happens after season 3? Maybe we’ll reach season 5 or something like that? Or maybe the story will end right after Alabasta, and we’ll see the original ending Oda had in mind back when he thought One Piece would only last five years? Who knows!
Anyway, that’s what I think is wrong with the One Piece live action.

P.S. Another thing i forgot to mention,is the change of showrunner for season 3! As we know,Matt Owens stepped down,and they hired a new showrunner,but i guess just to take care of the post-production (he didnt have a rich resume as a writer,if i remember correctly) so maybe they will have to choose a new showrunner for season 3. Hopefully they will make a good choice,and hopefully this wont make the works for season 3 even longer than expected! We'll see.

it's not hard to find out the real reason why Alabasta became Indiabasta in the live action. Tomorrow Studios, the production company, is owned by a far right racist named Marty Adelstein. He does not want to allow Arabic people, much less Arabic freedom fighters, to be portrayed in a positive light on a show he runs. He's one of 150 people who signed a petition by entertainment industry Zionists to take a Palestinian's Emmy award away. It won't just be Vivi and Cobra, all of the "good" characters in Alabasta will be indian or white, and if any Arabic actors are in the production AT ALL they'll be villains. This shitty show should be boycotted.

Post automatically merged: Aug 8, 2025

 

[RiShin]

Wrong example as the little mermaid is a Danish fable, so she should look danish.

But there are many versions of the little mermaid and Disney did their spin on it because in the original tale, the mermaid dies.
We dont know what a danish mermaid would look like too.

 

[ArturCantSpeakJapanese]

No we did not. I didn't even watched it and by the little takes I have no will to do it. The changes in story were absurds. And I definitely can't stand how the protagonist says Gomu Gomu No...

Post automatically merged: Aug 7, 2025

It is absurd to hire an actor because of their ethnicity just like it is absurd to complain about the ethnicity of an actor. Zoro's actor is not a swordsmen real life, should we look for one? Sanji's actor is not a cook. Etc. Etc. Acting is exactly to play someone you are not.

who gives a shit? should Zoro be a fat chinese woman? no. Should Luffy be a crippled native american guy? no. Should Nami be an ugly man? no. If you're casting actors to play characters they should look like the characters. also mackenyu literally is trained as a swordsman in real life, that's why he's doing his own stunt scenes half the time lmao. thats why keanu reeves actually knows how to shoot guns, actors learn these skills to portray them on film. you actually DONT WANT TO CAST a guy as a swordsman if he doesn't know how to hold and swing a sword and won't learn. Sanji's actor has learned to cook as part of his role. This is what actors do.

Post automatically merged: Aug 8, 2025

This is very dumb strawman argument, im so tired see this deflection anywere. they not making a mermaid documentary, they making a live action little mermaid by disney starring by ariel, she has red hair ,white skin ,blue eyes, green fish tail, and purple shell bra, is that hard to follow that? No, it just them want the good press for inclusivity point.

Cmone, we all now about arab and holywood.

This also another industry practise, oda would not directly saw the whole casting process, they just give oda the currated option and make the choice from that list, they get the good deflection "if you dont agree then youre not real fans because oda hand picked the talent!" While oda get the illusion of choice.

people act like it's all Oda controlling everything but it's Marty Adelstein's show. If he doesn't want Arabs in it he's not going to put Arabs in it.

 

[RiShin]

This is very dumb strawman argument, im so tired see this deflection anywere. they not making a mermaid documentary, they making a live action little mermaid by disney starring by ariel, she has red hair ,white skin ,blue eyes, green fish tail, and purple shell bra, is that hard to follow that? No, it just them want the good press for inclusivity point.

Cmone, we all now about arab and holywood.

This also another industry practise, oda would not directly saw the whole casting process, they just give oda the currated option and make the choice from that list, they get the good deflection "if you dont agree then youre not real fans because oda hand picked the talent!" While oda get the illusion of choice.

Yeah, no. And very shallow of the point. The director had the final say and he said her vocals and energy fits Ariel the best. So unless you wanna say im a racist, so be it.Skin color does not matter when we dont know what a real mermaid looks like.

There are many famous Arabs actors and unknown ones. So i dont see your point.
Now you gotta bring out evidence of your claims for why Oda was subjected to a multiple choice pick between actors...

 

[Gaimon The Pirate]

But there are many versions of the little mermaid and Disney did their spin on it because in the original tale, the mermaid dies.
We dont know what a danish mermaid would look like too.

We know what a Danish in the 1800 or whenever it was written looks like.

 

[Kizaruber Eats]

Don't let a certain obsessive user see this thread.

Post automatically merged: Aug 8, 2025

Season 1 was good. For live action standards it was superb.
Season 2 is up for judgment once it releases. All I know is I'll give it a shot.

Completely agree. I have a lot of high hopes for season 2 after the Chopper reveal top, despite Matt and Steven both quitting though.

 

[RiShin]

We know what a Danish in the 1800 or whenever it was written looks like.

Yeah but like I said Disney took part of the tale and made it their own. Therefore it doesn't need to be a Danish mermaid.

 

[Gaimon The Pirate]

Yeah but like I said Disney took part of the tale and made it their own. Therefore it doesn't need to be a Danish mermaid.

I assume you are acting in good faith.
If I make a story about a buddah but make it my own, can I make him a bloke from London?

 

[Kizaruber Eats]

I assume you are acting in good faith.
If I make a story about a buddah but make it my own, can I make him a bloke from London?

Because the little mermaid and Buddha are relative comparisons right?

The one not acting in good faith here is you.

 

[Gaimon The Pirate]

Because the little mermaid and Buddha are relative comparisons right?

The one not acting in good faith here is you.

I am not familiar with many Asian fables/myth, but buddah is a perfect example as it can clearly be a common man, an everyday man that becomes the buddah.
Or a bloke from London cannot become Buddah?

 

[TheAncientCenturion]

My biggest worry for season 2 is that it’s entirely the Baroque Works Saga until Alabasta. While I love Whisky Peak and Little Garden, there’s nothing too explosive, emotional or big in this saga besides Choppers little story.

I think unless they juice it up a bit this season may be boring

 

[Gaimon The Pirate]

My biggest worry for season 2 is that it’s entirely the Baroque Works Saga until Alabasta. While I love Whisky Peak and Little Garden, there’s nothing too explosive, emotional or big in this saga besides Choppers little story.

I think unless they juice it up a bit this season may be boring

Giants fighting could be cool, if done properly

 

[TheAncientCenturion]

Giants fighting could be cool, if done properly

Yeah but the entire season will be build up. People really hate having to wait two years for the next season, it’s all build up and then waiting 2 more for the climax. HoD notably suffered from that.

 

[Bisoromi Bear]

Adelstein

name says it all

I assume you are acting in good faith.
If I make a story about a buddah but make it my own, can I make him a bloke from London?

Actually there's multiple movies like this but with Jesus

 

[RiShin]

I assume you are acting in good faith.
If I make a story about a buddah but make it my own, can I make him a bloke from London?

I assumed this blonde bloke is from record from ragnock? Anyway If your story can relate to what Budda is known for and did. Then manage to tied it your story, then yeah.

There are countless story's about God's. Such as Thor, loki and Jesus.

 

[Blackknife]

I honestly think the point of the live action is to lure normies to get into OP in general, similar to how the anime is there to get people to buy the manga.

It will never catch up nor will i think it will have more than 5 seasons but that's completely fine, i have seen many people get into OP because of it and by that metric i think it was a success.

 

[kurwa]

Everything.

It tried to recreate one piece story instead of creating original story with new characters and new story set in the one piece world.
-You get same boring story....but shittier and rushed and disjointed and destroyed character arcs.
-You get same visuals.... but way shittier since live action is inherently a far more limited visual medium.

With live action adapting same shitty story AT BEST you can hope it will be a little worse than the story it's adapting.
But most of the time its always way way way worse.

I cringed when I saw clips from it. Acting and visuals were cheaper than CW show.
There's no way that show was the most expensive TV show, it had to be some money laundering scheme.

 

[HerreraIsBack]

who gives a shit? should Zoro be a fat chinese woman? no. Should Luffy be a crippled native american guy? no. Should Nami be an ugly man? no. If you're casting actors to play characters they should look like the characters. also mackenyu literally is trained as a swordsman in real life, that's why he's doing his own stunt scenes half the time lmao. thats why keanu reeves actually knows how to shoot guns, actors learn these skills to portray them on film. you actually DONT WANT TO CAST a guy as a swordsman if he doesn't know how to hold and swing a sword and won't learn. Sanji's actor has learned to cook as part of his role. This is what actors do.

How can you not understand something so simple.

I'm not saying looks doesn't matter but nationality doesn't. You can have someone who looks like Egypt without being really Egyptian. Welcome to 2025 where people travel and have new lifes in different countries.

Plus Keanu Reaves is not a gunman or assassin. Sure it is important for actor to know things like holding and shooting gun or swords

 

[mly90]

Just watched the parts I was interested in didn’t care about the rest. I don’t plan to watch any of the upcoming seasons either