'One Piece' creator Eiichiro Oda reveals his top 3 moments from the live-action series

It's not an easy task to adapt anime to live action, as proved by many disappointing adaptations over the years.

"One Piece," however, managed the largely unprecedented feat of impressing fans and non-fans alike. The newly released second season, "One Piece: Into the Grand Line," currently holds a 100% critics score on and a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. And Netflix couldn't have done it without the help of the original creator, Eiichiro Oda.

In the first episode of Netflix's "One Piece" podcast, Oda sat down with lead star Iñaki Godoy to discuss Season 2.

During their conversation, Oda shared the top three moments that, to him, shone the most. 

“In terms of something that changed from the manga, I love the scene where you sing to Laboon. That’s a memorable one for sure,” Oda said.

He also highlighted the final scene involving Tony Tony Chopper, saying he believes it turned out well in the live-action version.

Another thing he praised was the performance of Charithra Chandran, who plays the role of Miss Wednesday. 

Despite being the original creator, Oda also said he prefers to support the production team’s vision for the adaptation. While he handpicks the cast and sometimes makes personal requests, he would rather not impose his own ideas.

“The team does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life so I’m enjoying it,” he said.

“I enjoy seeing the team’s take on ‘One Piece.’ On this live action I don’t want to force my views. My role is to support the team who have read ‘One Piece’ and have a vision for the show and help them bring it to life.”

Oda also reflected on the positive reception to the show’s first season, noting that while “One Piece” is already widely known in Japan, he is curious about how the series is being discovered globally through the live-action adaptation.

“I’ve seen a lot of praise for it. But what I really want to know is the world’s reaction to it,” he said. 

“In Japan, One Piece is already well known, but I'm curious how many people globally learned of One Piece through this show. But there’s no way to know for sure,” he added.

Still, Oda said he welcomes the growth of the franchise through the live-action series and hopes it will also elevate the cast’s careers.

“The growth is good, but my ultimate goal is for you and the other cast to become big stars,” he said.

Netflix’s "One Piece" adapts Oda's legendary manga that follows Straw Hat Pirates captain Monkey D. Luffy in his quest to find the ultimate treasure, the One Piece, and become King of the Pirates.

Aside from Godoy, the live-action adaptation also stars Mackenyu as Zoro, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, and Taz Skylar as Sanji.

"One Piece: Into the Grand Line" is now streaming on Netflix.

We’re diving deeper into OPLA Season 2 with Oda-Sensei! Join us in the official One Piece podcast!
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