16 votes

One Piece creator hopes to defy a history of failure

10 comments

  1. [8]
    Eji1700
    Link
    I wish them luck and expect them to fail hard. Not only is this a questionable task to begin with (live action anime adaptations is a "who's the market?" thing for sure), but something as wacky...

    I wish them luck and expect them to fail hard. Not only is this a questionable task to begin with (live action anime adaptations is a "who's the market?" thing for sure), but something as wacky and large as One Piece is tailor made to fail.

    Bluntly this reads to me as the usual marketing blurb because no one is going to say "look it's going to be a dumpster fire but we're betting the name recognition will outpace production costs"

    10 votes
    1. Apos
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Actually, based on early reviews / reactions this is looking like a success. (Embargo on spoilers was lifted on (nvm it's on Thursday) so be careful if you want to avoid them. Some people have...

      Actually, based on early reviews / reactions this is looking like a success. (Embargo on spoilers was lifted on Monday (nvm it's on Thursday) so be careful if you want to avoid them. Some people have already seen the whole thing and have been posting clips online.)

      Non-Spoiler Reactions:

      Spoiler Reviews

      Edit: nvm looks like the embargo lifts on the 31st. I guess some people didn't feel like waiting.

      10 votes
    2. [6]
      yosayoran
      Link Parent
      I think the market is pretty clear for one piece, people who heard about it and are interested, but feel daunted by the sheer amount of content in anime/manga form. Also, there are a ton of people...

      I think the market is pretty clear for one piece, people who heard about it and are interested, but feel daunted by the sheer amount of content in anime/manga form.

      Also, there are a ton of people who straight up refuse to watch any anime (or even any animated show) and obviously won't read the manga.

      It's honestly the same as super hero movies, and we've seen how successful that can be.

      7 votes
      1. Eji1700
        Link Parent
        I think it's a bad comparison. Superhero stories have literally decades of stories with a variety of themes/genre's/ideas to pull from, almost all of them in the form of still images. Further...

        I think it's a bad comparison.

        Superhero stories have literally decades of stories with a variety of themes/genre's/ideas to pull from, almost all of them in the form of still images. Further outside of marvel (which is EXTREMELY expensive and leveraging and insane amount of star power on top of good writers) and the occasional movie like Dredd, the vast majority of good superhero content that isn't comics, has been animated. It's just simply cheaper and easier to do the various stories and ideas of fantasy and the like in an animated setting where you're not stuck trying to CGI everything or find ways to make magic look like practical effects. All of this matters a ton when you're chasing the "marvel crowd" money of the standard family.

        One piece is a Manga with an Anime adaptation. Despite it's obscene length, it's one story telling mostly one genre of story. You can't have a "demon in the bottle" arc or suddenly shift to noir (and yes I realize there's a "well actually..." response to that given later reveals, but I think most of you get my point). There's not a bunch of people dying to see a specific chapter in motion, because it already has that.

        Now granted, One Piece Kai/Brotherhood/whatever would be hailed as wonderful given the obscene stretching they have to do to accommodate the manga's pace and show's required output, but most One Piece fans aren't dying to see a specific arc re-imagined with budget CGI/practical effects.

        For the people who "just never got into one piece" i'm still extremely skeptical this will be a useful (or profitable) on ramp. It's a ton of money and effort for a story that ultimately is extremely slow to start, very very tropey (arguably a selling point), and hellish to adapt into live action (your main character is literally the CGI team's nightmare).

        I still think cowboy bebop had the best shot at this, mostly because it was already written in a genre/style that was appealing to the kind of person who isn't already watching anime, and they failed miserably (in part because they just had to fucking meddle with the script). I feel one piece has less of a chance because they just can't stick to the material. Much like comics it's going to need a going over to adapt it, and while things like marvel prove it can be done well, it's not something i'm betting on.

        1 vote
      2. [4]
        thefilmslayer
        Link Parent
        If someone doesn't like anime, I highly doubt they'd be into something like One Piece even if it was live-action.

        If someone doesn't like anime, I highly doubt they'd be into something like One Piece even if it was live-action.

        1. [3]
          yosayoran
          Link Parent
          Why's that? Many people were never into comics/superheroes before the MCU

          Why's that?

          Many people were never into comics/superheroes before the MCU

          2 votes
          1. [2]
            thefilmslayer
            Link Parent
            I'd argue the majority of those people aren't even familiar with the comics, just the movie canon. Also, superheroes are more palatable for Western audiences than the majority of Japanese media.

            I'd argue the majority of those people aren't even familiar with the comics, just the movie canon. Also, superheroes are more palatable for Western audiences than the majority of Japanese media.

            1 vote
            1. yosayoran
              Link Parent
              Ok and? Why shouldn't people get into only the one piece anime. GoT was a huge hit and most people haven't read tge book. One piece is a story of a pirate trying to get freedom. If that's not...

              Ok and? Why shouldn't people get into only the one piece anime. GoT was a huge hit and most people haven't read tge book.

              One piece is a story of a pirate trying to get freedom. If that's not palatable to american audiences, I don't know what is.

              2 votes
  2. Apos
    Link
    Here are some other interviews that I found: Emma Sullivan Talks Episodes 3&4 of ‘One Piece’ Tessa Verfuss Talks Editing ‘One Piece’ Marc Jobst On Adapting ‘One Piece’: Complement, Not Replicate...
    3 votes
  3. Minty
    Link
    Don't we all?

    Don't we all?

    3 votes