One Piece is catching on with audiences worldwide, thanks in part to the live-action adaptation currently available with a Netflix subscription. Whether fans of the franchise are waiting on more updates on what we know about One Piece Season 2 or they're catching the latest episode of the anime's Egghead Arc, they can appreciate this bizarre and hilarious exchange between actor Mackenyu and franchise creator Eiichiro Oda.
Mackenyu, who plays Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro in the live-action adaptation, was on hand at the One Piece Trading Card Game tournament that took place in Japan recently and talked about his experience with the game. The actor revealed during an interview (via @akigawa) that he has played the card game with Eiichiro Oda, who invited him to his house to play again after the initial time. What's hilarious is the message he sent the actor, which was translated to English by @PewPiece to read as follows:
I'm free today. You can come to my house to play. If you are going to come, please reply. If not, just leave it on read.
There's something hilarious about the idea that Eiichiro Oda wanted a reply to know if he had to prepare for visitors, but also didn't want to hear an excuse if the actor wasn't able to make it. Was there a potential fear of rejection that prompted that type of response? Personally, I would work myself into an anxious fit wondering whether or not they read my text and weren't coming, or they were busy and could see it within the next couple of hours. I don't have the mind of someone who has created one of the greatest long-running anime stories though, so Oda probably had his own reasons for this hilarious response.
Another reason for the One Piece creator's strange response could be tied to his legendary commitment to writing the manga for the franchise. CBR and others over the years have reported the creator does not sleep often, and is known to do 20-hour workdays of just writing. Perhaps that work ethic has gained the respect of peers, to the point that when he had a "hard no" for a request regarding the live-action adaptation, the showrunners listened.
While Mackenyu is texting with Eiichiro Oda, fans of One Piece are continually fan-casting more roles for the live-action series. Currently, there's a lot of interest in having anime fan Jamie Lee Curtis appear in Season 2 as Chopper's caretaker Kureha and Danny DeVito to play the big bad of that specific storyline, Wapol. Personally, I think that would be kind of amazing if it happened, even if it would be a lot of star-power loaded into Chopper's big introduction to the Straw Hat crew. Netflix, if this is going to happen, please reply, but if not, just leave me on read.
One Piece is available to stream right now on Netflix, whether you're wanting to watch the anime or live-action adaptation. As a fan who has watched nearly all of both, I'd highly recommend the dual experience, and for those who haven't read the manga or anime, but want to dive in, it'll be worth worth doing so.
