Danica Davidson
November 10, 2021 
Netflix only just announced the main actors for their live-action adaptation of One Piece, but that’s long enough for people on the internet to give their opinions. The announcement came with wanted posters of the actors, plus a video of the actors (not in character) introducing themselves.
So what do Japanese fans think? SoraNews24 translated some of the Japanese responses to Netflix’s announcement tweet. This is not an official survey, so take it for what it is, but so far the (online) response in Japan has been mixed.
Some fans aren’t going for it at all:
“This looks terrible.”
“Ca-tas-tro-phe.”
“They should have just gone with the live-action One Piece cast from the Indeed commercial.”
“Usopp seems like he’s really going to get on my nerves.”
“Mackenyu doesn’t seem like he’s into it at all.”
One fan pointed out that original creator Eiichiro Oda is involved: “This has me feeling really worried, but if Oda is giving it his blessing, I’ll trust him.”
To which another person said, “Yeah, and people trusted Toriyama with Dragonball Evolution.”
But don’t let this give the impression everyone was unhappy. Others were optimistic.
“Nami looks cute.”
“I give them 120 points out of 100 for the Usopp casting choice.”
“Right now, this looks feasible. This is just the cast announcement, after all, not how they’re going to look in-character.”
“So many people are treating the cast announcement like it’s an in-costume reveal, but it’s not.”
“I wasn’t sure about the still photo, but in the video, Luffy’s actor really seems like a good fit for the character! He’s cute!”
Along with having Oda involved, the head writer for the live-action One Piece, Matt Owens, has also said that he’s been a longtime fan of the series and it’s gotten him through some rough times in his life.
Source: SoraNews24
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, and its sequel, Manga Art for Intermediates, with professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
