Popular Japanese manga and anime One Piece is getting a live-action television version. It will not be a Japanese TV adaptation, but a foreign one.
Earlier today in Tokyo, Weekly Shonen Jump editor-in-chief Hiroyuki Nakano announced the news. In the Natalie photo below, the screen next to him states that One Piece is being turned into an overseas (or foreign) drama.
Hollywood producer Marty Adelstein’s Tomorrow ITV Studios, which is also doing a live-action Cowboy Bebop, will be doing the One Piece TV drama. Previously, Adelstein executive produced Prison Break.
One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda is quoted by Oricon as saying he “absolutely didn’t want to betray” fans who’ve been supporting the series for the past twenty years. “That was the condition from me,” Oda added in a written statement. According to Nakano, the reason why One Piece will be a foreign TV drama and not a Japanese one is that Oda felt like it would be possible to ensure quality and not betray fans. Also, foreign TV dramas have much bigger budgets than Japanese ones.
When asked details like when the One Piece show is going to air or how many episodes it will be, Nakano said “no comment.” Expect those details to be revealed at a later date.
While this might be the first foreign One Piece live-action adaptation, back in 2015, the manga was the basis of a live-action Japanese TV drama in which a man mistakenly eats the gum-gum fruit that made Luffy all rubbery.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.