One Piece: The Netflix series also owes its success to communication outside the cameras – jeuxvideo.com

Entertainment News / By /

News culture One Piece: The Netflix series also owes its success to its communication outside of the cameras

Published on July 10, 2023 at 7:25 am

Share:

The One Piece series is undoubtedly one of Netflix’s great successes in 2023. A success that the platform owes to its narrative decisions for the adaptation, its appropriate cast… but also its communication on the networks.

A story from perspective

This article is an opinion piece and is inherently subjective. The author’s opinion is personal and not representative of the opinion of the rest of the JV editorial team.

One Piece Netflix: Proof of the success of the series

There has been a lot of talk about the One Piece series in the last few weeks. Netflix’s adaptation was expected to be a game-changer, with many skeptics fearing that the SVOD platform would sacrifice their favorite manga at the altar of audiences. Shortly after its release on August 31st, the series evolved from a simple offering to the status of a mystical Lamb: With Her This is the end of a curse that has affected many manga artists who have tried live-action. Whether in films or series, there are many examples. Dragon Ball Evolution, Attack on Titan or even Cowboy Bebop hit a wall during their broadcast.

A success that tends to overshadow the works that have made this transition! To some extent we can mention Nicky Larson with City Hunter, the Oldboy adaptation. More recently it has been like this Alice in the Borderland which clearly shows the success of a live-action adaptation: a third season has just been officially released by Netflix.

One Piece: The Netflix series also owes its success to communication away from the cameras

One Piece therefore falls into the second category and the evidence of its success is numerous. The series has been in the top 10 most-watched English-language series on the platform for a fifth week, regaining the top spot in the three weeks following its release. When it was released, it set another record: it was simultaneously number 1 in 86 countries.. So there is real enthusiasm for One Piece. You don’t have to show it twice: Season 2 is official shortly after and there are already discussions about four more seasons.

A square and faithful adaptation

When it comes to the different qualities of the One Piece series, everyone sees lunch at their doorstep. For us there are two pillars that contributed to the enthusiasm of the audience. The first relates to Netflix and its showrunners’ decisions to adapt the manga/anime to a television format. Anyone who says small screen and series means shorter format. For a first season, 61 episodes of 20 minutes each, which correspond to 20 hours of viewing time, have to be compressed into 8 hours. Then decisions have to be made (“as Lauren S. Hissirch explained very well for Season 2 of The Witcher.”), even if this means changing or even omitting certain passages contained in the original works.

Without going into more detail, the producers, for example, have decided introduce a character much earlier in the story which we usually see for the first time in episode #313 (or volume 45). A more than relevant choice. Likewise, the Netflix adaptation constructs its story differently and chooses to do so Focus more on storytelling than combat.

Secondly, it is often the quality of casting that is highlighted on social media. The interpreters of Baggy and Kuro, Jeff Ward and Alexander Maniatis, capture their characters in a very beautiful way and remain very true to them. Of course, it is also the interpreters of the main characters that the series could rely on to raise anchor with a bang: Mackenyu’s (Zoro) family legacy is expressed naturally, where Taz Skylar (Sanji) and Emily Rudd ( Nami) seem to have given their life for this role. As shown by the intensive training of the first And the explanations of the second.

One Piece: The Netflix series also owes its success to communication away from the cameras

One Piece Netflix: an adaptation that also takes place on the networks

Did you think we forgot Iñaki Godoy, the actor of Luffy, in the blink of an eye? It is unthinkable not to mention it, especially since it is precisely one of the reasons that led us to write this article: the success of the One Piece series also took place outside the spotlight, thanks to controlled communication. Looking back, Netflix’s goal was clear today (and still is today). The platform first wants to attract early fans. In any case, they will be the ones who make the uninitiated want to watch.

Everything was decided on this through several communications over the course of the summer. One of Netflix’s communication axes was to illustrate the solidarity between the main actors and therefore the characters. An essential aspect of remaining faithful to Eiichiro Oda’s work. One Piece also offers slice-of-life moments that lighten the atmosphere. They stand out from the heavy atmosphere caused by the adventures of the Straw Hat crew. They are literally absent from the series, but are still covered in small sequences posted on social media. Filming these activities must have also added to the chemistry between the members of the Mugiwaras.

Indirectly, this communication also helps to strengthen Netflix’s image: it shows that the company makes the right decisions through small scenes in which the actors empathize with their characters. These moments of relaxation behind the scenes are sometimes the subject of a game for amateurs that compares them with the original work. For a long time, a passage in the anime where Luffy asks for food was compared to a scene where Taz Skylar prepares food for Iñaki.

With this type of content, Netflix delights early fans while showing its knowledge of detail. Enough to reassure audiences that the characters’ personalities are well expressed in the live action. Jackpot.

Eiichiro Oda, the weapon to rule them all

But fans of “One Piece” are making demands when it comes to using the manga for an adaptation. From Netflix’s perspective, it needed more than the guarantee of a certain level of loyalty. The aim was to provide a guarantee of trust. Who better to convince this than the author of One Piece himself?

Eiichiro Oda is viewed as a guru of sorts by One Piece readers. He is praised for many reasons, but it is primarily his writing and construction quality that has brought him to where he is today. He is characterized by foreshadowing, a narrative process that consists of incorporating clues into his story that help to understand an event that occurs later. You still have to find them, and that is what the community strives for with each chapter released with one theory after another.

In short, in 2023 it is difficult to discredit Oda after what he has achieved. Today he is the author who has sold the most manga in his history, although publishers did not want to bet on him: One Piece was rejected three times by Shueisha before joining Shônen Jump, which, according to the former editor of Dragon Ball today grants the author full authority. Eiichiro Oda serves as a living god that every fan blindly trusts. It was early May, so he began by reassuring future viewers of the series. He then published an open letter taking stock

I started working with Tomorrow Studio (the production house) and Netflix (…) At some point I even wondered if international collaboration was possible. They promised me that they wouldn’t start until I was satisfied.

With this letter, Oda agrees that there is work to be done but remains hopeful. “In any case, nothing will be done without my consent.” However, if the adaptation requires the master’s consent, it is because it has already been won for fans. As the series gets closer, Oda’s interactions with the public become more numerous. DFrom the tone of his letters, we sense that he is more relaxed and, above all, more enthusiastic about the idea of ​​One Piece fans discovering the Netflix adaptation. The final blow will definitely come on August 25th and 26th, less than a week before the series release. As part of a special page that provides insights behind the scenes of the exchange between Netflix and Eiichiro Oda, the platform provides a brief overview of the discussions:

Regarding Netflix: – We have to consider the worst case scenario. – I can’t say something is good if it isn’t good. – That’s very good, but we can make it even better. – The fans trust me. So I can’t lie to her. – We found our real Luffy. I am shocked. – I am touched by the love for ONE PIECE that shines through in every picture.

Eiichiro Oda’s comments about Luffy are not insignificant as a video was aired by Netflix the next day. It’s about the meeting between Iñaki Godoy and Eiichiro Oda. At this meeting we learn that his biggest fear was not finding a suitable actor to play Luffy. A fear that disappeared with the Mexican actor he explained to “You are like the character I drew”. If Eiichiro Oda gave the interpreter of the most popular character from One Piece that title, then we can dream. That’s good, it’s one of the main themes of the manga.

One Piece: The Netflix series also owes its success to communication away from the cameras

For many fans, the dream has become reality. The majority of viewers around the world seem to have had a good time and are already excited about Season 2. A success that is due to many factors and in particular to controlled communication. Hoping that this would be enough to definitely put the boat on the right track and free it from the anchor of its demands. To continue the wonderful adventure that One Piece brings to life, at least as long as the original work.