You want to avoid cartoon dyed hair as much as possible since it does not look well irl.
If they do Zoro's hair like it is in the Manga, he will look like the Joker. At max they should do a green shade on black hair, fitting the idea of moss head.
What they should never do is dyed facial hair. It looks terrible. So yes, I think Shanks is a character who is limited by default.
Live action anime adaptation? When has this ever gone right?
Witcher is probably the only good thing to come out that's based on something animated, and even then its based on the books and has a lead that knows the stuff inside out.
Anything anime to live action tends to have too much going against it. Unless the budget us extremely huge, which I doubt it will be.
The backlash most character will receive from the western audience will be unimaginable. The depiction of Nami and Robin will have to align with the current views of feminism. Sanji is probably the easiest to cast but then again, it will be said to promote "toxic" masculinity. The whole swordsman plot would drive a lot of alt feminists against the wall because it doesn't play to the narrative that all human beings are equal (we aren't) and therefore should achieve the same goals.
Maybe they could include the Kuina flashback to placate this section of the feminist group but there is just too much OP takes the piss out of to really be successful in this era.
Keep OP to animation where not everyone will want to participate in, and at the very least, you can laugh at anyone trying to take a piece of manga to court or against cultural values... Reason why South Park and American Dad can take the piss out of anyone because they are animated.
I think it will fail. You either have an unnecessarily diverse cast or a lot of what makes the characters who they are significantly diminished.
Besides the whole diversity cast and whatnot, I'm more worried how they will animate Luffy/s rubber powers; and that's just him. The other members eill get pretty flashy with their attacks eventually. Zoro makes giant whirlwinds, Sanji with his Diable Jamble which pretty much shoots fire and almost flying, Ussop with his Dials and Pop Greens, Franky...well just Franky alone will probably look ridiculous in live action. Obviously they could make changes to make the characters look more normal...but then, why make a live-action One Piece in the first place?
Live action anime adaptation? When has this ever gone right?
Witcher is probably the only good thing to come out that's based on something animated, and even then its based on the books and has a lead that knows the stuff inside out.
Anything anime to live action tends to have too much going against it. Unless the budget us extremely huge, which I doubt it will be.
Meh.
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The backlash most character will receive from the western audience will be unimaginable. The depiction of Nami and Robin will have to align with the current views of feminism. Sanji is probably the easiest to cast but then again, it will be said to promote "toxic" masculinity. The whole swordsman plot would drive a lot of alt feminists against the wall because it doesn't play to the narrative that all human beings are equal (we aren't) and therefore should achieve the same goals.
Maybe they could include the Kuina flashback to placate this section of the feminist group but there is just too much OP takes the piss out of to really be successful in this era.
Keep OP to animation where not everyone will want to participate in, and at the very least, you can laugh at anyone trying to take a piece of manga to court or against cultural values... Reason why South Park and American Dad can take the piss out of anyone because they are animated.
I think it will fail. You either have an unnecessarily diverse cast or a lot of what makes the characters who they are significantly diminished.
The West is hardly just the US, and there won't be any backlash from Europe for sure.
American production or not, they would be pretty dumb if they mainly target this at the US market. One Piece has been a commercial failure in the USA for decades and has only recently gained popularity.
I also don't know how any feminist could take offense from East Blue Nami. Or Nami in general. Isn't she a classic heroine with her only negative attributes being greed?
Same for Robin but she won't be in S1.
Sanji's entire backstory is meant to defy "toxic masculinity" while still clarifying that he is a normal man. Still I agree that Sanji is going to be too much for anything that is shown in the US. Openly showing sexual drive is only allowed for evil characters, after all. The American prudery is unfortunately real.*
I also don't know why feminists would watch an adaptation of a Shonen Manga. Shonen is by definition targeted at boys.
*Still Game of Thrones, the most popular show ever, completely avoided it and showed lots of nudity. However "medieval/antique" fiction seems to be some kind of loophole.
Still, I don't think how One Piece can be unnecessary diverse. It's diverse by default. Everyone is crazy and the design range is huge. It's a natural part of the world design.
All I care about is that they do it faithfully to the Manga. The characters all have certain themes that they should respect and support with their casting choices. I think the themes are a major feature of how Oda tells the story, it works to a large degree via feelings, the aesthetic experience that you get, rather than plot hints, hence why there are so few hints to what the Void Century is all about for example, yet everyone has an idea what it is.
So I want an aesthetic experience that's faithful to the Manga and that's all I care about.
Oda's character nationalities are brilliant since they fit the characters so well:
Luffy = Brazil, free spirited (Samba, Carnival) Jesus (Statue), social structure very similar to Luffy's homeland, Goa
Zoro = Japan, Samurai, Asian spiritualism (Breath of all things, Flying slashes, Asura), is from a Wanoese colony.
Nami = Sweden, Hot women, progressive country, Nami parallels Vicky in the crew dynamics, especially in context of early One Piece.
Usopp = Africa, "African Prince/Prof. Dr. give Bank account pls" emails (lies), Warrior cultures centered around bravery, Rastafarian dad, plants
Sanji = France, sister country of Germany (Germa 66), representing love and the finer arts (like cooking), whereas Germany identifies with science but represents war.
Chopper = Canada, is a reindeer
Robin = Russia, hot women, mysterious women
Franky = USA, Coca Cola, supersize me, Popeye, Ace Ventura
Brook = Austria, Mozart, classical music
But for Chopper and Brook the casting hardly matters. The rest seems so much like a solid basis that they should consider these aesthethics for their casting.
@McNuss What you did is exactly what makes OP enjoyable, even if those characters were portrayed in the Manga in exactly those stereotypes, not many people would bat an eye, because you can't take animated offence too seriously. I.e. you cannot force a representation on animation (Jim Crow era aside).
You say it would not happen in Europe, I assume you mean Eastern Europe? Countries that are "enlightened" tend to have the same censorship and representation views as those in the US and Canada.
The One Piece world is incredibly diverse, one of the reasons it is so loved and feels like a living and breathing entity, it has a life outside of the crew and doesn't revolve around it. There are prejudices etc which make it a lot more believable (which isn't tied to some eye or whatever), real issues on race etc. Now, when you translate that to an audience, which as you correctly surmised as prudent, you end up getting projections etc and the call for proper representation.
Unfortunately, without a big budget, the live action is bound to follow the same trend that most japanese adaptations fall victim to... Poor acting, poor CGI etc now if a western studio takes over, it becomes the same.
OP is too provocative, the depiction of mermaids as a standard for beauty, BM being Fugly but the strongest female character, Garps parenting yet being hailed a hero etc you will kids off so many "enlightened", "progressive" and "woke" individuals simply by categorising or choosing to depict animated characters with real world counterparts.
I say keep it animated. Never ever try to adapt an animated series with such a variety of stereotypes into live action. It is a recipe for disaster.
For example, Nami isn't a great representation of what an alt feminist would see as a heroine. She is greedy, flashes her feminity on a whim, has overly huge breasts, very fit in shape and tends to rely on Luffy or the rest of the crew for help. She rarely has to stand on her own feet unless she is navigating. She has great moments yes, but her role is strictly supportive (like most of the SHs but hey, thats what would be the focus).
Robin comes closer to that idealised representation. She is aware of her beauty (similar idealised beauty to Mami) but is not her weapon, she is probably the most intelligent person we have met in cannon, has great combat ability and was willing to sacrifice her life for the safety of her friends. She has not had to rely on anyone in her life aside from herself.
I could go on but this isn't the space for an extended discussion. I hope I have somewhat summarised what I think well and makes sense.
Not saying this won't go through, just my opinion before it happens. Could definitely be wrong in all of this and it could be received very well but until then, I am extremely skeptical.
i really dont care about the casting at this point, i just hope they focus on narrating the story as well as possible. I am also for equal representation...
Why would Black Sanji be a bad thing? Black L didnt ruin Death Note, the story sucked.
Morgan Freeman played a character called RED in Shawshank, who was originally supposed to be Irish... But he played it to perfection, being Irish or red-haired had nothing to do with the story and the story was done right.
OP is based on a fictional universe and i'd like them to portray this in as accurate way as possible.
i really dont care about the casting at this point, i just hope they focus on narrating the story as well as possible. I am also for equal representation...
Why would Black Sanji be a bad thing? Black L didnt ruin Death Note, the story sucked.
Morgan Freeman played a character called RED in Shawshank, who was originally supposed to be Irish... But he played it to perfection, being Irish or red-haired had nothing to do with the story and the story was done right.
OP is based on a fictional universe and i'd like them to portray this in as accurate way as possible.
Equal representation is not accurate but a ploy to appease as many "woke", " enlightened" and "progressive" people as possible. Equal representation requires an original idea, not rehashing already existing content.
I'm for equal representation only when done right and is original. SP takes the kiss out of that idea with a character literally named Token.
We were the only black family in a school and had to appear in school magazines to promote diversity, to me, that's nonsense. But to each their own.
Equal representation is not accurate but a ploy to appease as many "woke", " enlightened" and "progressive" people as possible. Equal representation requires an original idea, not rehashing already existing content.
I'm for equal representation only when done right and is original. SP takes the kiss out of that idea with a character literally named Token.
We were the only black family in a school and had to appear in school magazines to promote diversity, to me, that's nonsense. But to each their own.
And i dont disagree... what i mean to say is that the adventure and storyline part needs to be done right and focus. Perhaps Morgan Freeman is a bad example cos he's morgan freeman... but my point is if the series is done right, dont think diversity there or absence of it will matter,
Unless the movie has a budget like infinity war, the movie is 99% going to be bad
And lets be honest, oda probavly realizes this too, but he knows either way he will still get a big chunk of money from this so he decides to just go along with it
Unless the movie has a budget like infinity war, the movie is 99% going to be bad
And lets be honest, oda probavly realizes this too, but he knows either way he will still get a big chunk of money from this so he decides to just go along with it
All I care about is the direction visuals and the acting. Everything else is secondary. Honestly if it does that and stays loyal to the subject material it could be great. Anything better than the bleach and death note live action will make me happy anyway.
Honestly, I consider this post somewhat unreal, first of all because they would hardly miss such a leak, then have not even chosen the cast and already turn the plots?
They have probably already chosen the cast, or at least casting is near done, but not made it public. The scripts are always made before casting.
While initially tuned off by this idea, I've lately warmed up to it. Due lot of small things. The fact that they chose scriptwriters that really know the source material. The multi-national casting. Showing the Zoro stuff that was just implied in the manga. The rumors that they'll be building up Crocodile/Baroque works already in from ep 2, showing the intention to make more seasons and committed story telling. This all seems really good imho.
Also, the leaked photos of Going Merry look pretty nice:
Casting is what always worries me the most about these kind of adaptations, but I have prepared myself for characters to possibly look nothing like their manga counterparts.
On the other hand, I will love it if the plot is faithful to the manga and the expanded scenes are consistent with what we know of the story. If they have a big budget and the script is good, it might turn out into a very cool series.
From what I’ve read, at least, they’ll be going for actors of the real-world nationalities/ethnicities Oda said he sees the characters as based on their appearance. I.e
I personally find inclusivity great in most cases and when it aligns with the wishes/vision of the original author then I really don’t see the problem.
From what I’ve read, at least, they’ll be going for actors of the real-world nationalities Oda said he sees the characters as based on their appearance. I.e
I personally find inclusivity great in most cases and when it aligns with the wishes/vision of the original author then I really don’t see the problem.
If they're trying to adapt the whole story, I wish they will also cast actors going by the real-life counterpart nationalities of the islands they visit. Like Egypt for Arabasta.
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