Inside Set Sail: Netflix Production Reveals How One Piece Beat The Live-Action Adaptation Curse

Conquering the world of comics and animation may at one point have been the domain of superheroes, but this has historically never slowed down one major competitor, anime and manga, with One Piece leading the charge. With nearly 29 years of regular installments, a globally-popular anime, and a vast multimedia empire spanning cards, video games, and merchandise, and 600 million copies of its manga sold, One Piece is sailing past every superhero who once ruled the realm. But one curse more deadly than the Devil Fruits that sinks adaptation momentum has been that of middling live-action treatments.

Fortunately for a series as popular as One Piece, its fan base is so widespread that, decades later, longtime readers and viewers are increasingly taking charge of production roles in the live-action world. Superfans like Matt Owens helm the ship, alongside an armada of production staff bringing the series to life with specific attention to Eiichiro Oda’s vision. A dedicated cast portrays its characters in mind, body, and spirit, and it’s become undeniably clear for everyone watching. Netflix and Tomorrow Studios’ One Piece is beating the live-action curse.

Now, courtesy of VIZ Media, this impressive journey is expertly chronicled in a brand-new release for every fan to enjoy, Set Sail: The Art and Making of One Piece. Provided an early copy of this gorgeous 208-page art book by Mike Avila, ScreenRant is proud to discuss the secrets to One Piece’s live-action success in this upcoming new release.

Bringing One Piece To Live-Action Was A Colossal Quest

Courtesy Viz

From the foreword by Joe Tracz, who joined as showrunner ahead of One Piece season 2, to the multitude of behind-the-scenes stories and details by its immense production crew, it was clear that One Piece’s live-action series was a labor of love.

Bringing the story to believable life, such as creating an intimidating duck figurehead for Alvida’s Miss Love Duck, meant treating even inanimate objects like props and ships as potential supporting characters in One Piece. Perhaps the most ambitious indicator of sheer size and scope was in the case of Dorry and Brogy from season 2, whose outfits were quilted with sand to help simulate the illusion of mass, teased by costume designer Kerry Barnard.

In adapting the massive world of One Piece, such examples prove the undertaking can include conveying characters who are literally larger than life. But it also includes nailing down smaller-scale yet equally-ambitious details, like making Wapol’s metal jaw move with Rob Coletti’s mouth movements, or a 3D-printed, hair-coated replica of Mr. 3’s hair for David Dastmalchian’s character to look authentic. The devil’s in the details, and that includes the details of the Devil Fruits, which were engineered to look accurate and be edible with respect for all dietary preferences.

Everything about One Piece’s live-action series is created with authenticity in mind. Enormous sets are constructed with immaculate and ambitious details like Kaya’s dining room being lined with porcelain plates, to create a lived-in illusion, with particular attention given to weathering details on costumes. An entire world is crafted, despite much of it not appearing beyond a given episode, because they’re created with the intent of feeling alive in and out of the shot.

Like Every Faithful Adaptation, Netflix’s One Piece Found Its Bible

Courtesy Viz

One Piece’s production included clearing multiple hurdles which would have been seen as “prohibitively expensive,” with one such obstacle being creating its immersive world loaded with distinctive ships. Set Sail details how One Piece was able to offset production costs while adhering to Oda’s vision by gathering expertise and insights from the team behind Showtime’s Black Sails, as well as refurbishing its distinctive ships. But beyond impressive lateral problem-solving to otherwise costly production, a more abstract challenge existed: capturing One Piece’s aesthetic.

One Piece’s crew swears by the One Piece Color Walks, which contain the blueprint to capturing Eiichiro Oda’s world and adapting its movie palettes accordingly. The result was striking: staff like Barnard would note the incredible satisfaction of seeing an actor “walk onto set looking like they had busted out of the page of a Color Walk or the manga.” This presented recurring challenges and revisions in costume designs, such as giving Helmeppo’s hairstyle an origin story, creating new wigs for Emily Rudd’s Nami, and more.

But one distinct advantage of creating a live-action series based on a nearly 30-year-old franchise is that it can more confidently incorporate details only surfacing later in the original manga. This includes Bartolomeo and Sabo’s cameos in Loguetown, and doubling down on easter eggs to be spotted with increasing frequency through season 2. Owens in particular highlighted the Twin Cape Lighthouse, including details about Crocus, in terms for diehard fans to scour every frame for details.

Designing sets for One Piece has frequently involved overcoming hurdles of both feeling loyal to the wild source material and operating within the realm of possibility. Cases like the Drum Island Arc were inspired by the combined geographical and climate landmarks of Canada like Mount Asgard and the scenery of Alberta. Filmed in South Africa, Netflix’s One Piece didn’t exactly have a natural advantage, but overcame the challenge in creating an immersive simulation of a wintery blanket over a real-life territory very much not known for such weather. Above simply clearing the challenge, One Piece did it because the staff knew who was watching.

One Piece’s Staff & Cast Strive For Perfection

Courtesy Viz

Everybody on the team, from costume designers handling intimate details, to hairstylists capturing the energy of beloved characters, to makeup and prosthetics nailing scars like Luffy’s and Crocodiles, knew what was at stake. More specifically, showrunner Tracz reminds readers that One Piece’s production intended to even clear scrutiny over the most meticulous YouTuber analysis. They knew moments like Zoro’s iconic fight scene against 100 Baroque Works agents would need to settle for no less than exactly how that sounds.

As social media impressions indicated, One Piece understood the assignment, passing with flying colors. Its cast was equally committed, too, with Taz Skylar embracing the challenge of creating an engaging fight scene in his introduction, beating down enemies all while gracefully keeping food on a level plate in his hand. Moments like these across the series would be especially impossible without One Piece’s exceptional stunt actors, naturally.

Even its careful implementation of CGI elements, such as creating an emotionally-engaging Laboon, did so by focusing on eye movements with the aid of ILP’s creature work. Characters felt believable in ways no amount of enthusiastic line-reads or costumes alone could ever manage, especially crucial in non-verbal roles like Laboon, and the delicate CG-to-practical effects balance of nailing Chopper’s forms.

All this and more is collectively the magic of One Piece, with Set Sail capturing it across virtually all aspects of its production across seasons 1 and 2. It’s easy to focus specifically on the actors shown on the screen and the wonderful casting news of upcoming roles like Portgas D. Ace or Bon Clay. However, the production’s most faithful elements craft and enhance a living world for these same characters to inhabit, with its concept art, photos, and key locations thoroughly laid out in this new release.

Set Sail: The Art and Making of One Piece is available in local bookstores and online. Get your copy here.

This article is part of a paid partnership with Viz.