Image by: Crunchyroll
The One Piece anime series, a show part of the big three due to its worldwide popularity and length, based on the manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, is set to receive a remake.
Its popularity is off the charts, not only does the series have multiple movies, but it also has a live-action show, which has a No. 1 title globally on Netflix with 37.8 million views amassed in less than two weeks since its release. The series reached the Top 10 in 93 countries. Now, it has been rumoured to have a remake. Netflix is really stretching out its success with One Piece.
If you don’t know, the series focuses on Monkey D. Luffy—a young man made of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit—who sets off on a journey from the East Blue Sea to find the deceased King of the Pirates Gol D. Roger's ultimate treasure known as the "One Piece” and take over his prior title. Many have constructed theories about what the magical treasure, ‘One piece,’ truly is.
One Piece is available on Crunchyroll and, the platform describes the series as follows:
“Monkey D. Luffy refuses to let anyone, or anything stand in the way of his quest to become the king of all pirates. Charting a course through the treacherous waters of the Grand Line and beyond, this captain is determined to claim the greatest treasure on Earth, the Legendary One Piece!”
This new adaptation will be animated by Wit Studio and will allegedly be streamed on Netflix. Studio Wit is a well-known company, known for animating Attack on Titan seasons 1-3, Ranking of Kings, Spy x Family, and Great Pretender.
During the Jump Festa 2024, at the One Piece stage by Netflix, it was announced that the remake of the anime series will start from the East Blue Saga, which is the first arc of the manga. It’s currently in production and they haven’t revealed a release date.
Also, an announcement video was released along with a teaser visual, creating excitement among fans.
As for the release date of the One Piece remake, the production committee (Shueisha, Fuji Television Network, and Toei Animation Co.) has indicated that it is still some time away in order to focus on creating entertaining episodes which will captivate the audience and also have excellent animation quality, far greater than the original episodes.
They have emphasized that the project will indeed be a long-term one, and that it will require additional time to complete, foreshadowing how it will have excellent quality. The fantastic animation quality was proven through the recent arcs of the show.
The ‘ALL ONE PIECE’ team is committed to delivering this remake not only to current fans worldwide but also to future generations who will discover One Piece, who will want to watch it.
One Piece is known for being intimidatingly long, adding more episodes to that ever-growing roster makes the decision appear all the more unusual. That said, the series remake promises to be different from the original and has the potential to fix One Piece's often-complained-about pacing issues while also drawing in new fans who may have migrated from the live-action adaptation who could be put off by the older animation.
Unfortunately, no information about who will edit the show, the cast, and the staff for the One Piece remake has been revealed.
The original One Piece manga, also written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in July 1997. As of November 2023, the manga has been compiled into 107 volumes and the series spans over more than 1000 chapters.
Toei Animation adapted the manga into an anime series that started airing in 1999. The franchise also includes multiple anime films and spin-offs. The anime series has surpassed 1000 episodes.
The One Piece is like the famous Naruto remake, as part of the series’ 20th Anniversary. Studio Pierrot did little to disprove any rumours regarding the remake of the original series. They launched Road to Naruto, a ten-minute recap of some of the best Naruto and Naruto: Shippuden moments, with completely remastered animation.
However, what Studio Pierrot and the fans are collectively referring to as a Naruto Remake is actually an upcoming miniseries announced last year and not a complete remake of the original manga adaptation.
This means that the new episodes won’t introduce any changes, but possible expansions to the already established storyline, throwing the idea of a remake, at least in a traditional sense, out the window.
But this does not discredit the fact that One Piece is doing something similar. One Piece is the first anime out of the big three to get a second adaption. In fact, One Piece may be the first ever anime series in history to receive a second adaptation while still airing. This is a historical movement for the anime industry.
Edited by: Vicky Muzio