Netflix knocked it out of the park with Season 1 of its live-action One Piece adaptation. A number of anime fans felt it was everything they wanted and hoped it would be, and it seems the actors are just as excited about what’s ahead as we are. Roronoa Zoro actor Mackenyu recently revealed the arc he’d love to see adapted from the manga. And, ultimately, I agree but have a major concern with the idea.
As the fanbase waits for more details on One Piece Season 2, Mackenyu attended Comic Con Brussels, where he spoke to viewers about the series. Amid the panel, the actor was asked about the arc he’d love to see adapted, and thanks to @Harulixie on X, we know what he said:
I absolutely love that arc… Dressrosa! Oh my God, we need to go up there.
It’s an excellent choice, and I’d die to know who the show would cast to play the villain Doflamingo. While I love Netflix leaning into anime adaptations in this new era, I do think we, as fans, will have to embrace an uncomfortable truth about how long we can reasonably expect these shows. The idea of the One Piece live-action series reaching Dressrosa is a great example, because it represents a tall order for a show like this.
Dressrosa Is One Of The Longest Arcs In One Piece And Doesn’t Happen Until Later In The Series
As much as I love the idea of seeing One Piece‘s Dressrosa arc done in live-action, the realist in me can’t shut up. As of writing, Netflix is about to send off one of its most popular shows, Stranger Things, with Season 5. That’s considered quite a good run by modern streaming metrics, and it’s very rare to see any series, regardless of success, exceed that. So do I really believe the One Piece live-action series will be around long enough to adapt an arc that begins with Episode 629 in the anime? I do not.
Not only does Dressrosa start deep into the series, but it’s also one of the longest arcs in the acclaimed manga. It took 118 episodes to adapt the manga version of the arc for the anime. Season 1 of the live-action production covered about 45 anime episodes in 8 live-action hour-long episodes. Based on that pace, it would take around two and a half seasons to fully adapt just Dressrosa and, again, this is assuming there are several seasons before it in order to arrive at that narrative point. Unless the series starts to time jump, I don’t see Netflix subscribers ever watching a live-action Dressrosa storyline.
Will One Piece’s Live-Action Skip Past Big Moments To Get To More Popular Arcs?
It seems silly to assume that Netflix’s adaptation won’t feature some time jumps as it progresses. That’s mainly because if you did the math of how long the series would last before ending at Season 5 (assuming it gets as popular as Stranger Things), the series would end before Luffy even fully recruited the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates. I’m sure some arcs, like Skypeia, will be brushed aside to get to Thriller Bark and other big adventures.
It’s also worth noting that there are differences between One Piece‘s manga and live-action series. The biggest is probably how much Luffy’s grandfather, Garp, Helmeppo and Koby are in it. While the marine army does have a presence on the latest show, those specific characters don’t show up until far later in the story after Koby and Luffy initially part ways. There’s also been mention of the warlord Jimbei, who also doesn’t factor into the story until much later.
One Piece‘s studio boss shared an update, and it sounds like the creative team is already working on Season 2 fast enough as is. And, as good as Season 1 was, I worry the rush will result in a lower-quality product. I would much rather have an anime adaptation that is as good as possible for as long as streaming metrics will allow it to last. That’s much more preferable over a choppy version that rushes ahead to try and tackle story arcs that it would have to sacrifice a lot of other plotlines to reach. In a perfect world, I wish that Netflix would just renew the series indefinitely until it’s done but, considering the anime is still going strong over twenty years after its debut, I’m not sure the streamer would want that commitment.
As such, I can only enjoy the ride while it lasts and continue to enjoy Netflix’s live-action One Piece. Give Season 1 a rewatch while waiting on Season 2, or check out the current Egghead arc of the anime, which is also streaming on the platform.