Emma Sullivan, the director of Netflix’s upcoming live-action anime series, One Piece, has opened up about working with its original creator.
Eiichiro Oda, the author of the One Piece manga, was heavily involved in the production, being vocal about his aims to keep it as close to the source material as possible.
In a recent interview with Radio Times, Sullivan said keeping longtime fans of Oda’s happy was always the priority, and that sometimes required reshoots and script rewrites.
“You want them [the fans] to be happy, you know, but I think the only way we can do that is to make Oda happy,” she said. “When he saw stuff that he didn’t like, we redid it.”
Fans too were vocal about treating the 1997 manga with respect, and while they were happy about an adaptation, they did want the series to be true to Oda’s vision.
The director said: “You know that [fans] are passionate about it, but they want the best for it.” Incorporating Oda’s changes was fundamental to this, with Sullivan calling him the “leader” of the show.
“I think if Oda says he’s happy with it, then the fans will be happy,” she added. “But you know, we just hope we did our best.”
One Piece is already it’s own phenomenon, with over 1,000 chapters and episodes of the manga and anime to its name, and the Netflix adaptation will bring the much beloved stories to an even bigger audience worldwide.
One Piece will be streaming on Netflix from August 31st, 2023.
