Like video games, anime adaptations to live-action also suffer from a curse and are usually pretty bad. Netflix has just released new visuals for the One Piece live-action show, and fans fear it might get canceled after only one season, the same thing that happened with Cowboy Bebop‘s adaptation.
Will One Piece Get Canceled Like Cowboy Bebop?
Fans’ reactions were very mixed. One Piece is one of the most beloved anime and manga of all time; if you think about shonen anime, it’s the first one that comes to mind. So, obviously, people got very excited when it was announced but also skeptical, as we have tons of examples of bad adaptations, like Death Note, also created by Netflix, and the infamous Dragon Ball: Evolution, which traumatized a generation.
After the new images were revealed by Netflix, the reaction only got louder. The hype is more than real. But fans still live with the ghost of Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop show. It initially received the same kind of reaction, and when it was finally released on November 2021, the audience hated it with a passion. It took only a few weeks for it to be canceled by the streaming service.
It’s hard to talk about One Piece because we still don’t have a trailer for the show, and even that isn’t proof of it being good or bad. One problem it’ll probably have is the budget. The One Piece anime is very cartoonish, with many goofy designs and powers. Luffy’s attacks, for example, would rely a lot on CGI, as he is made of rubber, allowing him to stretch, bounce, bend, and do various other things with his body.
Another problem is that even if the show is successful, it’d be pretty hard to adapt the entire story. One Piece has already gone over the 1000-episode mark and still hasn’t ended. The live-action will need a lot of the audience’s support and an even bigger budget if the showrunners expect to adapt the whole manga.
Should You be Excited About the One Piece Live-Action?
2023 is a big year for One Piece fans. Many things are happening, and there’s a lot to be excited about. The Netflix show will have to deal with different obstacles before it gets the chance to be renewed, and the streaming service hasn’t released many good anime live-actions to prove they are capable of doing a good job. However, the show already has a massive following, the cast seems good, and even Oda, the manga’s creator, is involved as an executive producer.
Seeing your favorite anime get a live-action might be a scary feeling, but Netflix still hasn’t given us any reason to believe the One Piece show specifically will be a disaster. It’ll probably have to change many things, but it still can be a good adaptation that will attract many new fans to the original work.
And even if there are many examples of terrible live-action manga adaptations, it’s not hard to find some good ones. Alita: Battle Angel was widely received as a very fun cyberpunk movie. Not to mention Netflix’s Alice in Borderland show, a great and tense action series that probably will receive a third season soon.
