Netflix’s live action One Piece took the world by storm as it brought the Straw Hat Crew to life. During the 2nd Annual Scene Breakdown Panel at WonderCon 2024, hosted by Victoria Male, One Piece editor Eric Litman briefly touched on the ins and outs of adapting the iconic anime series. We spoke with Litman after the panel to discuss this further.

Interview with Eric Litman

When adapting a series with over 1,000 episodes that has an incredible fan-base, it is important to be sure the characters still receive the proper development. Eric Litman talked about how the crew worked closely with Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, to be sure this happened.

Litman was also one of the Editors on Marvel’s Agents of Shield. He worked closely with Matt Owens, and he was thrilled when he received the call. Litman said, “When I got the call to come and work on the show, I was just like…I gotta pinch myself! ‘Cause I know this is a huge opportunity. I know it’s going to be a huge show, and the fan-base is very, very particular.”

As with any story, there were some challenges when taking the world of One Piece from animation to live-action.

“The opening of he pilot was a bit challenging because we were blending so many genres together. We have steampunk, we have modern, we have pirates. You know, you have fish people. You have a guy made out of rubber. You want to make sure this show is grounded in reality. We can connect with our characters. There’s emotional resonance.”

About One Piece

One Piece is both a manga and an anime created by Eiichiro Oda. A young pirate named Monkey D. Luffy sets out to become King of the Pirates. In doing so, he gathers a rag-tag crew of pirates that he calls his “Straw Hat Crew.” Together, they set sail across the world in search of the legendary treasure known as the One Piece.

Netflix’s live action One Piece has eight, one-hour episodes. It has been renewed for a second season. Fans are thrilled with the direction this live action adaptation has taken and are hopeful for many more seasons.