Warning: Spoilers for One Piece live-action and manga!
Summary
- The showrunner of Netflix's One Piece Live Action series, Steven Maeda, successfully adapts the beloved manga series with a talented cast and faithful storytelling.
- The casting of Iñaki Godoy as Luffy was vital, as his relentless optimism and sincerity captured the essence of the character.
- The adaptation made some structural changes, like bringing forward characters such as Koby, Helmeppo, and Garp, to create a satisfying television experience while hinting at concepts like haki.
The showrunner of Netflix's One Piece Live Action series, Steven Maeda, has accomplished the impossible. He's not only proven that the live-action anime adaptation can work, but he's done it with one of the world's most popular (and some say greatest) manga series of all time. His previous credits involved writing and producing for shows like X-Files, LOST, and CSI: Miami, but his most recent series has skyrocketed to the top of Netflix charts and remained there weeks after its debut.
One Piece is regarded as possibly the most successful live-action anime adaptation in media history. Season 1 adapted Eiichiro Oda's highly beloved story about super-powered pirates while maintaining the emotional storylines, epic action, and charming humor the franchise is known the world over. Anxiety was high among the passionate fan base because Netflix's track record for adapting beloved anime series has not been great in the past. Thankfully, with the help of series creator Eiichiro Oda, showrunner Steven Maeda and his team have dramatically raised the bar for adaptations while also introducing millions of new fans to One Piece, one of the greatest stories of our time.
Steven Maeda was joined by Matt Owens as showrunner and writer for OPLA's first season. The first eight episodes were released on August 31 and became Netflix's most popular show in more than 46 countries. A special video was released on September 14 from Oda himself announcing that Netflix has greenlit season 2 of One Piece Live Action. Hours before the official announcement Steven Maeda joined Screen Rant to discuss cut stories from OPLA's first season, his favorite character, Tony Tony Chopper, and the One Piece series' biggest mystery that Maeda is also excited to uncover along with fans.
Editor's Note: This interview was conducted during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and the show covered here would not exist without the labor of the writers and actors in both unions.
Steven Maeda Talks One Piece Season 1 & Beyond
Screen Rant: In previous interviews, you've spoken about how everything felt like it would work out after actor Iñaki Godoy was found in your search for your Luffy actor. What did Iñaki do during his audition that helped him stand out so much to earn the Luffy role?
Steve Maeda: Yeah, Iñaki was a real find for us and our casting directors. We literally scoured the earth, trying to find the cast and particularly for Luffy, because he's so important. If Luffy fails as a character, I think the entire show goes down with him because he is such the central driver of everything that happens. Iñaki was such a great find that I honestly don't know who we would have had as a backup that could have worked.
The thing that he did that he embodied Luffy was this kind of relentless optimism that didn't feel grating or irritating or like he was trying to sell us something. Because a lot of the actors who read for us come from a little more sharp and cynical place perhaps, and they came across as salesmen, as opposed to someone who genuinely believed in what they were saying. The key to Luffy's performance is Iñaki's absolute sincerity, which works because Iñaki is an absolutely sincere young man.
When [Luffy] talks about his dreams, we didn't want it to feel juvenile or like something that everybody would like to believe. [The actor] really has to buy it, and he has to get you to buy it. He has to get those characters, very cynical characters like Zoro and Nami, to believe in what he is saying without feeling like he's selling something. So that was, I think, what came across within Iñaki was just that wonderful sense of sincerity.
Notably absent from One Piece's first season are animal characters like Richie the Lion, and, most notably, Shushu, the dog that guarded the pet store during Buggy's assault that was very missed by fans, including me.
Steven Maeda: I'll tell you a story about Shushu that I have not told anybody else yet! We had a fully broken Shushu story. It was slightly different than the manga story. At the end of the day, we ended up separating it out of this version of the story, and we never actually shot it. We had a scene and an arc with Shushu and Zoro, and it was very different. And ultimately, we decided it was too different.
We would have loved to have the Shushu story in there, but it's more important to have Zoro be with Luffy and Nami when they are encountering Buggy as opposed to being off on a separate side story. I love Shushu, and I have three terriers of my own. So, I definitely have a soft spot for the Shushu story
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The One Piece world is filled with many anthropomorphic characters that seem very challenging to adapt realistically. Like a certain sentient reindeer doctor who I've heard is your favorite One Piece character, Tony Tony Chopper. What about him makes Chopper your favorite character?
Steven Maeda: First off, it's just such an out-there larger-than-life creation. He's a talking reindeer who also wants to be a doctor and can change sizes. It's like, who could come up with that? Only Oda-san and be able to make it work in the context of the story.
I also love his backstory. The backstories are so much a part of who these characters are so that you understand where their pain comes from, where their anger comes from, where their goodness and their sweetness come from, sometimes. I just love the Chopper story so much and the idea that you have all these human characters, and oh hey, by the way, there's a talking reindeer. And he's so damn cute, too. So it's just a nice combination for me.
I know you can't talk about how Chopper will be adapted, so I won't press you too hard on that. But I am wondering what your stances on computer-generated characters versus animatronic characters for larger series, and what are some series that you think have nailed that challenge?
Steven Maeda: It's always very tough. For example, one of the things that we were dead set on was trying to do as much practically on the show as possible for budgetary purposes. CG is very tough, and very expensive. We wanted the show to feel as grounded as possible, given that the world is so large, wild, and wacky.
One example is the Fishman characters. We made a very early decision not to do them as CG characters, not to make them eight or twelve feet tall. It would have required too much time and money to do so. So it was like, "Let's do these characters right, but let's do them practically as much as possible." And then, if we need to, we can embellish some gill movement or something like that to make it feel more lived-in and real. It's always a huge challenge.
As far as shows that I've seen do it well, I think the Pogo character in Umbrella Academy is a great example of a character who, I believe, they had an actor who was in that physical space when they were shooting then they designed a CG character right over the top of them. But that's an example of it done right, and I'm sure it's insanely expensive. We haven't gone down that road yet with these characters, but the visual effects are a huge, huge part of this show. How to apportion the visual effects money for the show is a tough series of discussions.
There were minor improvements to the source material, like Zoro being more infamous around East Blue than in the anime or manga. This might lead to spoilers for later One Piece story stuff, but the reference of what I like to call "a hint of haki" felt teased during the scene where Shanks scares off Sea Beast, who got his arm. Were there any other revisions to the source material you and the writers were tempted to add that Oda could have introduced sooner in the story, like haki or any mention of the Pirate Emperors?
Steven Maeda: I think that in just focusing on the first season, we didn't want to get into haki. We knew it existed, obviously and wanted to hint at it, which I think is absolutely right. You know, when Shanks says, "Get lost," and you see the Lord of the Coast's eyes contract, we had a lot of discussion about how much should something pass between them. What does that look like? To get the sense that yes, Shanks is really powerful, and something is going on there, but not to give away the farm as to what that was.
The big things that changed from the manga to the live-action adaptation were mostly structural changes like bringing forward Koby, Helmeppo, and Garp. So, there was an actual pursuit with teeth coming after the Straw Hats, in addition to the pirate antagonists and the other folks they meet along the way. Bringing them forward was really important. When Oda-san wrote this, it was 100 chapters of a manga that go on to well over 1000. We have to take those 100 chapters and say, how do we structure that in a way that feels like a really satisfying episode of television? The East Blue saga seemed like the way to do that.
We brought forward Garp, Koby, and Helmeppo so that we could tell that story and put Koby on a parallel path to Luffy, who wanted to be a Marine as opposed to wanting to be a Pirate. Then, in also taking Arlong and pulling him forward, introducing him a little bit earlier at Baratie, and not having Don Krieg come was an endless series of conversations because obviously [Luffy vs. Krieg] is such a wonderful fight. Don Kreig is a really cool character. But in those eight episodes, we wanted to emphasize the Arlong character more because it felt like we were heading toward a big showdown with him. Let's introduce him early and bring him to Baratie.
Speaking of the manga, your previous interview with Screen Rant revealed that you're mostly caught up on the weekly manga. When a new chapter drops, it creates a level of excitement among the manga reading community that is difficult to find elsewhere. Emily Rudd and other members of your team have also revealed that they were fans of the series before the project. While filming, were there any events from new chapters or anime episodes that you and the crew got excited about?
Steven Maeda: Oh, sure. We would talk about the manga quite a bit, especially if something really big happened. We had a lot of discussion when Wano ended, about that arc, and about Kaido. But it's stuff that is so far down the road from where we [are]. But it's good to know what's happening.
When Oda wrote the first 100 chapters, he may or may not have had an idea of [where the story was going, but] I'm sure he didn't know everything that was going to happen 25 years down the road. But we had the benefit of knowing and being able to read that. So that allowed us to say, "Hey, maybe in a scene here or there, we should pull back on what this character's doing or saying?" Because we want to avoid stepping on something down the road in the manga. It all has to feel like it's from the canon. Even if there are changes and modifications, let's make it feel like it all exists as part of this world.
I feel that context helps add a whole extra layer to the humor. I'm rewatching the series, and I think it was episode three, where Buggy is angrily ranting about Luffy. He says something along the lines of, "That damn rubber hose kid," and I like, "Oh, the rubber hose nod could be a Gear 5 sort of reference," but I might be stretching it too far there.
Steven Maeda: I can't remember if we have that scripted or if it was actually a Jeff Ward (Captain Buggy) ad-lib. But I think that one was lucky more than anything else.
What's funny is people really read into [the series], and we knew they would too. And so we tried to make sure that we had ample wiggle room in there. But people are reading into all sorts of things. Some of which was intended, some of which was lucky, some of which were like, "Really? That's interesting!" My feelings on that is that you always bring your own set of preconceived notions and knowledge of the source material to the show. Enjoy it. If you see something that you think is really cool that you catch or think and wonder about, run with that and make it your own.
Some of One Piece's most fantastical arcs, like Thriller Bark, is an absolute zombie-filled riot, while arcs with large-scale clashes like Marineford sport Lord of the Rings scale fights. Then you have Whole Cake Island with its even more twisted Alice in Wonderland-like setting, and Big Mom generally sounds impossible to adapt realistically. Are there certain One Piece species or characters that show up later in the story that give you and the writers anxiety just trying to think how they could be adapted?
Steven Maeda: All of One Piece moving forward gives me anxiety. I can't really talk about any of that right now. But yes, it's such a wonderful, fantastical world. I think that everything will be incredibly challenging.
In the journey of watching the anime with my son, we've recently reached the end of Alabasta. I forgot how evil and methodical Crocodile was in that arc. Who is your favorite villain from the One Piece manga and why?
Steven Maeda: I have a number of favorites, but I really have a soft spot for Buggy the Clown. Buggy starts off as sort of a minor level threat, and then obviously, in the manga, grows and develops to become one of the Emperors. He's so powerful. But he also has this sense of humor and this huge, huge chip on his shoulder. So I've always loved Buggy. I think that he feels that he's misunderstood. But that, for me, is a great character. I was really glad we got the chance to introduce him and then also to add a little more to his character in later episodes.
You've been asked about the possible Crocodile cameo in the first Netflix episode, and there's a very convincing fan theory that the Alabasta villain had their gender changed in the past thanks to the Devil Fruit power from the Rocky Horror Picture Show-inspired character Emporio Ivankov. Do you have any favorite fan theories you've heard or possibly some of your own for the final saga of the One Piece story? I've heard that Oda's favorite might be the Crocodile is Luffy's mom.
Steven Maeda: I have heard that fan theory as well. There are definitely a lot of Easter eggs in Loguetown, some very obvious and some less so. So people can read into it and take whatever they like about that. The wonderful thing about a show with such a vast arsenal of storytelling and characters is that there's room for it. We could have made the whole show Easter eggs, because there's so much wonderful stuff that happens down the road.
The idea behind everything that ended up on screen was to tell the most coherent story possible. Let's really make it good, make it emotional, make it exciting. And then, in drips and drops, put in these Easter eggs and let's take a look at the Wanted posters and see who we can add there. Let's take a look at the Loguetown crowd. And because we know who was there, and let's see who we can drop into that. Then let's look at how we do signage.
There's a wealth of visual information on the screen. A big one we brought along with us was having that same barrel that they do the barrel pledge with at the end, look exactly like the one that Luffy puts himself in when he abandons his little dinghy boat at the beginning. And we had hours of conversation about "How in the hell did that barrel get to the Going Merry?" We ultimately decided, "You know what, it's a little magical realism. Let's go for it. It's really fun that the barrel figures in so prominently early and so prominently late, so let's just go for it."
Several live-action animated projects have been in development hell for years, like a Naruto movie and another Netflix anime adaptation for the My Hero Academia series. If One Piece Live-Action does for live-action anime projects what Iron Man did for superhero movies, what advice can you give future showrunners or filmmakers who want to adapt beloved series to live-action?
Steven Maeda: The advice I have gone by during this whole process, which would apply to future projects, would be number one: hire the right people to do it. Which is always a crapshoot, but there's a fine line between a show's adaptation and the audience base, and the audience is really different.
On the one side, you have people like yourself who are hardcore fans, who know all the details, who are waiting to see the show come out and are nervous about it because there's a lot of ways it can go wrong. They want it to be good but are really fearful about it. On the other side, you have folks who have no idea what the project is, and somehow you have to marry those two together.
We didn't want to make the hardcore fans unhappy, the fans who want the same emotional experience [the franchise has given them before.] This is opposed to the one-to-one adaptation, which no one wants to see, versus folks new to the story. And it has to stand on its own. It can't be so inside baseball that you don't understand what's going on because then it would only geared to the folks who have read the manga and the anime. So I would say, find that balance. It's very, very tricky. But you have to find the balance between what fans who know the story expect and what fans who don't know the story are going to be entertained by.
There's a lot of big triumphant moments in One Piece. I wrote a Screen Rant list where I ranked what I believe are the best One Piece anime fights, which revealed my love for the Luffy vs. Lucci fight at the end of Eines Lobby. The stakes, the voice acting, the score, the animation all worked for me so well that I can get teary by thinking about it too much. Another great moment was seeing Luffy hit the bell in Skypiea. What triumphant moments in the manga stick in your head the most, and what are you most excited to adapt?
Steven Maeda: I want to steer clear of any future adaptation stuff. There are so many wonderful moments in the series. And I don't want to overpromise, and eventually, that thing doesn't get shot. So I would just say that the world of One Piece is so huge and wondrous that there are any number of great moments that I'm looking forward to. I just don't want to commit to any of them at this point.
Understandable. What are your favorite moments from season one?
Steven Maeda: I have a number of them, and they tend to be the really emotional moments. I would say one that I knew was going to be special if we pulled it off was the young Luffy flashback where Shanks gives them the Straw Hat for the first time. We talked to our director of that episode, Mark Jobst, about the possibility of shooting it one-for-one as it was in the manga, which we did in a couple of scenes but not many. That was one where we wanted to set that same tableau with Shanks standing over Luffy with the hat and the tilt of the hat and all that stuff. So that was a big one.
There were a couple that caught me by surprise. I'm pleased to say that at the end of episode eight, when the sail drops on the Going Merry for the first time, Nami tells Luffy they made something for him, too. And you get to see that moment. And there's something about that sail dropping that when I saw it cut together for the first time, it got me so heavily on an emotional level because it was like, wow, Luffy's dream did come true. And look, there he is, you know, he got the Wanted posted, and now he has that ship, and the sail is coming down.
Another moment was not scripted, but again, the happy accidents you sometimes find. One of our editors cut together a version of the barrel pledge at the end, where he dropped in the younger versions of the characters saying their dreams. Originally, the script was just the adult characters saying their dreams, which worked great. It was really moving and emotional. Then he dropped in those kids mouthing the words at the end of each pledge and what their dream was, and I almost fell out of my chair. I was just like, "This is so wonderful. We have to actually put this in the show because, wow!" It was just so great. It gave me chills, and it gives me chills talking about it now. It was a very wonderful find.
After hearing me and so many others sing so much praise, how do you think you could have been better, and how do you think Season 2 can improve?
Steven Maeda: A lot of things are solved by budget, and we had a healthy budget on this show. There's always more that we wanted to do and couldn't afford. And I have been bringing up, for example, the character of Hachi. Oh boy, did I want Hachi in the show. We had a whole fight between Hachi and Zorro set up and couldn't do it. And that's no one's fault. It's just a matter of time and money. It would have been so time-intensive and expensive to do. I hope those things can make it into the show at some point, the bigger ticket items like that. Still, there are always budgetary concerns that have to dovetail with creative concerns.
I had this whole idea of, and this is where my producer hat goes out the window. I'm like, "As a creative and as a writer, how cool would it be to have Hachi actually appear and climb up into the roof? Shoot inside a room and have Hachi use his tentacles to climb up and pull Zoro up and have this fight?" I had this whole idea about doing a spinning room, and it was so expensive. It was ridiculous. But it was this way to make it seem like they were fighting upside down and all that. Maybe that'll be in the feature version.
Looking forward to that. Are you willing to reveal some of the other big ideas that you and the writers wanted for the show that Oda turned down?
Steven Maeda: We pretty much got to tell the story we wanted to tell. There were always gradations: Would this character say this? Is that the right thing for them to be saying, feeling, seeing at this moment in time? It was much more subtle stuff as opposed to, "Hey, let's put this arc in" and "No, you can't put that arc in," or anything like that.
What Oda-san is always about is character truth, and no one knows better than him. That's something we listened to him hard on because we may not have always agreed, but we definitely utilized his experience and his knowledge of these characters. He created them so to be able to say, "is that a truth for Zoro? Is that something that Nami or Sanji or Luffy would say or do?" Versus something very dramatic on its own, but is that something we want to put in that veers a little bit away from the manga? That was always a very lively discussion.
There are many big plot threads that the One Piece manga has yet to unwind. Like what the One Piece really is, the events of the Void Century that the World Government has committed genocide to hide, the reunions between Luffy and Shanks, Zoro and Hawkeye, Brooke and Laboon. What One Piece plotline are you most excited to see resolved?
Screen Rant: Laboon kills me. It's like, we got to come back around to Laboon. But truly, it's what is the One Piece at the end of the day? Everybody has theories, and that's part of what I think makes the manga and the anime so successful, and hopefully, we'll continue with live-action. But that is a fascinating choice. At a certain point in time, the idea floated around that we might have a conversation with Oda-san about that and get a little information. We chose not to do so at this point because we want to enjoy the storytelling along with everybody else.
About Netflix's One Piece Live-Action
Based on Japan’s highest-selling manga series in history by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a legendary high-seas adventure unlike any other. Monkey D. Luffy is a young adventurer who has longed for a life of freedom since he can remember. Luffy sets off from his small village on a perilous journey to find the legendary fabled treasure, One Piece, to become King of the Pirates! But in order to find the ultimate prize, Luffy will need to assemble the crew he’s always wanted before finding a ship to sail, searching every inch of the vast blue seas, outpacing the Marines, and outwitting dangerous rivals at every turn.
Check out our other One Piece Live-Action interviews here:
- Director Marc Jobst
- Director Emma Sullivan
- Composers Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli
- Production Designer Richard Bridgland
- Editor Tessa Verfuss
All 8 episodes of One Piece Live-Action season 1 are currently available to stream on Netflix.
Source: Screen Rant Plus