Those who have already breezed through Netflix's One Piece adaptation will be surely wondering whether the pirating crew will return for season 2.

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Well, it's too early too tell, but considering the anime-turned-live-action was largely a hit among critics and fans alike, it's certainly on the cards. Which is more than the streamer's previous forays into anime adaptations can say (looking at you, Death Note and Cowboy Bebop).

One Pice's somewhat "spookier" approach to Eiichiro Oda's beloved manga series, and its accompanying anime series, saw Monkey D Luffy and his trusty pirate crew go on the ultimate treasure – earn Luffy the title of Pirate King.

"You know that [fans] are passionate about it, but they want the best for it. You want them to be happy, you know, but I think the only way we can do that is to make [Eiichiro] Oda happy. When he saw stuff that he didn't like, we redid it," director Emma Sullivan told RadioTimes.com ahead of the series' premier.

"So he's the leader really, and I think if Oda says he's happy with it, then the fans will be happy. But you know, we just hope we did our best," she continued.

Despite remaining faithful to the source material, Netflix did make a few changes, most notably the structure of the flashbacks to Luffy's childhood and expanding Chef Zeff's role.

One Piece release date

One Piece (2023)
One Piece.

All eight episodes of One Piece will be released on Netflix on 31st August 2023.

Filming on the series in Cape Town wrapped back in August 2022.

In October 2021, showrunner Steven Maeda posted a photo of himself in Cape Town, alongside the word "arrival".

After further delays to production due to the pandemic, Maeda took to social media in March 2021 to reassure fans that production had finally resumed and was going full steam ahead.

"A year ago COVID kicked us out of our offices and delayed production. But we haven’t stopped working to bring @onepiecenetflix to life. Thanks for your patience, your questions, and many great suggestions," he wrote.

One Piece episode titles

Steven Ward as Mihawk in One Piece wearing a hat with a feather
Steven Ward as Mihawk in One Piece. Casey Crafford/Netflix

Shortly after releasing its first trailer, Netflix also revealed the titles of its first eight episodes to the WGA, according to @OP_Netflix_Fan on Twitter.

The episode titles, which hint at which events of the saga the series will focus on, are as follows (though crucially not in order):

  • Romance Dawn
  • The Man in the Straw Hat
  • Tell No Tales
  • The Pirates Are Coming
  • Eat at Baratie!
  • The Chef and The Chore Boy
  • The Girl With the Sawfish Tattoo
  • Worst in the East

One Piece characters

Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece
Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D Luffy in One Piece. Netflix

Netflix has announced its stars for the live-action adaptation of the popular manga and anime series One Piece.

Starring as the pirate Monkey D Luffy is Iñaki Godoy, who is best known for his role as Bruno in Netflix’s Who Killed Sara?.

Accompanying Godoy aboard are Emily Rudd as Nami, Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, Taz Skylar as Sanji and Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp. The small crew are known as the Straw Hat pirates.

Also recently revealed is the voice of the mysterious narrator – Ian McShane. What’s interesting about this inclusion is that the narrator is present throughout all of One Piece's manga, but curiously only the first episode of the anime.

In the September issue of SFX Magazine, showrunner Matt Owens put One Piece fans at ease by detailing just how involved creator Eiichiro Oda was throughout the process: "He's read all of the scripts, he approved all of the cast members. For the creator of such an important series to have a hand over our adaptation is massive for me as a fan. I think it matters a lot to the other existing fans as well."

Owens also noted that initially, it was tricky to work with Oda just because of the long-maligned history in attempting to adapt One Piece to live-action: "But I think once he realised we were... trying to protect this series and create a new avenue for even more people to fall in love with it, he started to trust us."

Series lead Iñaki Godoy reiterated just how closely the live-action adaptation worked with Oda to create something that feels both fresh and original whilst also staying faithful to what fans love about One Piece: "We respect it, we love it, we think it's great. And the live action definitely stays true to the source material."

Additional members of the Young Straw Hats were also revealed on 15th August, proving that plenty more surprises are ready to set sail on their merry way.

One Piece plot

Sanji in One Piece wearing a striped shirt and dark blazer and tie
Sanji in One Piece. Netflix

The narrative of One Piece unfolds on an alternate version of Earth, during the Golden Age of Pirates.

Nefarious pirates rule the seas, battling it out to get their hands on the mythical treasure known as One Piece, which once belonged to the greatest pirate of all times, Gol D Roger.

A devil fruit bestows Luffy with the power to make his body resemble rubber, granting him the strength to set sail across the treacherous seas and battle to become the next Pirate King.

Is there a One Piece trailer?

There are plenty of trailers, including a final one released on 30th August.

Watch the action unfold below!

Read more One Piece:

All eight episodes of One Piece will be released on Netflix on 31st August. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage, visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight, or read our guides to the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix.

Take part in the Screen Test, a project from Radio Times and the Universities of Sussex and Brighton, to explore the role of television and audio in our lives.

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