Oda Doesn’t Want One Piece Anime Remake To Just Faithfully Adapt The Manga, Reveals Director

In a behind-the-scenes video released by Netflix Anime, fans were given a rare glimpse into the production of the highly anticipated THE ONE PIECE anime by WIT Studio.

The video, featuring insights from Director Masashi Koizuka, revealed a surprising directive from One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda: the remake should not simply be a faithful adaptation of the manga.

Oda’s message to the production team was clear: “I want you all to express rather than copy and paste the work.“

This instruction encouraged the team at WIT Studio to go beyond merely replicating the manga’s panels in animated form. Instead, they were tasked with creating their own interpretation of the story, adding a new layer of expression while still honoring the original work.

Koizuka explained that this approach required the team to capture the essence of One Piece while introducing fresh perspectives.

The challenge for the staff was to ensure that the anime evoked the same feelings and impressions that fans experienced when they first read the manga.

He highlighted how having a core of young staff members working on the project, who grew up reading and watching One Piece, was crucial in achieving this.

Talking about animation producer Kawamura, Koizuka said “They grew up watching One Piece at a young age and now working in this project still have the joy and excitement as a reader. They have a strong sense of what they felt when they were young because they were the target audience back then.”

The director also emphasized the importance of having a team that understands the emotional impact of specific scenes from the manga.

“I feel the strength of the project and team is how people who felt excitement, who know the passion for a particular comic frame, and who’ve enjoyed reading, are all assembled as a team,” Koizuka noted.

WIT Studio’s One Piece remake anime, titled THE ONE PIECE, revealed it’s first look and staff details during the second day of One Piece Day ’24.

Staff of THE ONE PIECE anime include:

• Director – Masashi Koizuka
• Assistant Director – Hideaki Abe
• Series Composition – Taku Kishimoto
• Character Designer / Chief Animation Director – Kyoji Asano, Takatoshi Honda
• Creature Design / Concept Art – Yasuhiro Kajino
• Prop Designer – Eri Taguchi
• Action Animator – Ken Imaizumi, Shuhei Fukuda
• Art Director – Tomonori Kuroda
• Animation Producer – Ryoma Kawamura

Wit Studio will be producing the remake anime with a completely new animation, and will start by adapting the East Blue Saga. It will be exclusively streamed on Netflix.

George Wada, CEO of WIT Studio and Production I.G, had previously said that THE ONE PIECE will address two major flaws of the ongoing adaptation in order to attract new anime fans.

Source: Netflix Anime