One Piece Trailer Has Fans Frustrated: Can Netflix Stop Ruining Anime? 

At least the streaming service's attempts at adapting anime classics seem to be getting less awful as time goes on.

Netflix has a certain history with live-action adaptations of anime classics by now, and unfortunately not a positive one.

Many fans remember such atrocities as 2017's Death Note, which for some reason took place in the United States instead of Japan, featured an American cast, and despite some talented actors like Margaret Qualley or Willem Dafoe, ended up being a complete mess that was panned by both critics and fans.

Or a more recent adaptation of Cowboy Bebop (2021), starring John Cho, Daniella Pineda and Mustafa Shakir, which was only slightly better and was canceled after its first season.

Now, the streaming service has decided to adapt another classic anime, One Piece, and after the first teaser, fans have mixed feelings about it.

The series follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, who gained supernatural abilities after eating a mysterious devil fruit and wants to become king of the pirates with his own crew.

And fans think that judging by the teaser, the live-action adaptation somehow looks "cheap and expensive at the same time" and feels like every other such adaptation, as all of them share a certain visual style that is rather hard to enjoy.

The other thing, fans say, is that the creators took the worst possible material to adapt, as One Piece has always been a bizarre story that is doomed to look silly and fake in live action.

They have a hard time understanding the point of adapting anime at all, as in this genre the visual style is an integral part of the original, which is impossible to translate to live action, and getting rid of it only damages the final product.

Fans also say that it is rather strange that Netflix decided to adapt an ongoing series, as the original manga has been published since 1997, followed by the anime adaptation, and now we are going to get a live action one, all following the same plot.

However, there are those who don't mind giving Netflix at least a chance, because for them the live action One Peace looks decent enough, especially compared to other failed adaptations.

The TV series will premiere on August 31, 2023.

Source: Reddit