One Piece has been hugely popular for a while in the anime community, but it seems the O.G. series becoming a massive hit on Netflix alongside the equally successful live-action series has given the franchise a boost. It's big enough that the streamer is producing a WIT Studio's animated remake, even though the original anime and manga are still in production. Fans may wonder about the value in watching a new series tackling the O.G. material in the same way, but creator Eiichiro Oda apparently gave the new creative team some advice that has me quite excited.
The One Piece is setting out to faithfully recreate the manga, which means there will be inevitable tweaks and revisions with this version that aren't in the original anime, which is currently releasing new episodes weekly for those with a Netflix subscription. A recent staff interview that took place during One Piece Day featured progress updates on the new animation, prompting creator Eiichiro Oda to offer some advice to those working on the remake(via @Sandman_AP):
Rather than faithfully reproducing the manga of One Piece, the anime staff should digest it and remake it in their own style.
It's not often you hear a franchise creator telling anyone producing a remake to exclusively bring their own unique style to it. And whenever that happens without such a blessing, fans don't usually like the result. Why I'm excited about this situation is that we have Oda giving his blessing for the changes, and that there are some elements of the original anime I think we'd rather try to forget.
In addition to filler arcs that were pointless to watch, there are some portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters in the early seasons that some may deem offensive by today's standards. It's no fault of the original One Piece, given the standard of what's acceptable shifts over time, but it's even had me wondering how characters like Bon Clay will be represented if they're introduced in Season 2 of the live-action series.
Additionally, I think it's clear to some fans watching the current anime that there were times when Oda introduced ideas or storylines that were later changed down the line. CP9 calling the commonly utilized technique of "haki" something entirely different in its introduction in the Enies Lobby arc is an example that sticks out to me, and I'm sure there are other examples to pull from.
Ultimately, I've seen the live-action show and love it as much as CinemaBlend's longtime anime fan, Alexandra Ramos. That said, I'm currently watching the first anime while waiting for the live-action to continue, so it would always be a hard sell to get me to see the story retold a third time in The One Piece. Oda encouraging the remake to find its voice gives me incentive as a fan to tune in, knowing that there's a chance I'll see some changes in how this version handles certain storylines or other aspects of the story. Hopefully, those making the series will take his advice and give fans yet another incredible entry in the franchise.
The One Piece is still in the works, but those looking to check out the anime can watch a large chunk of it on Netflix, and of course, they can also watch the live-action version and watch the differences between it and the anime.
