Project One Piece

Why One Piece?

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda has been in my life for about 22 years; I remember having lunch in front of the tv and watching the anime. That was my favorite part of the day. Also, when I went to Japan in 2018, I made sure to go to the One Piece exhibition in the Tokyo Tower and loving every single minute of it.

I am just one of many fans out there, with One Piece being the best-selling manga in history; and Oda is one of the best-selling fiction authors. This is an incredible achievement, testament of how One Piece really speaks to many generations and provides entertainment with deeper themes being recurring in his narration.

In the last couple of years, I have been toying with the idea of a One Piece related project. Yet, what was the right format? It is also a pretty popular story to discuss on social media - at least in the BookTube space - so I was struggling a bit with the lack of originality of the project.

And then Netflix came to save the day, releasing the first teaser trailer for the live action adaptation of One Piece (hear my reaction and hear my break down!).

Project One Piece

Suddenly the project developed its own identity. First, with its name: Project One Piece, aka POP!

So what do I want to cover with POP? There are really two elements to it: live action adaptation and manga!

Live action adaptation

Netflix’s live action show will release on the 31st of August 2023, apparently (at least according to wikipedia, as of the date of publishing this post) making all 8 episodes available on the same day; this season (and hopefully there will be more) will cover the East Blue story line. I assume there will be differences with the manga (I think I spotted something in the trailer, in relation to when Nami joins the party but it is pure speculation) and I just cannot wait to see a, hopefully, first great adaptation of manga! This is a lot to ask from a series and I am rooting for the success of this endeavor!

My goal will be - assuming I like the show - to react and comment each episode (and then probably wait no less than 2 years before the next season) comparing it with the “original” source material and what knowledge I have so far about the story, the characters and their adventures.

I am also personally looking forward to the soundtrack; I am already obsessed with the remixed (is it even the right term) of the original “We are” performed by Hiroshi Kitadani, composed by Kohei Tanaka and with lyrics by Shoko Fujibayashi. Let’s see what the series will have for us!

The manga

I referred to the “original” source material for One Piece before and I really was talking about the manga! I refer to it as the original source material mostly because it is the first medium to publish most of the Straw-Hat Pirates’ stories. So indulge me on this.

There are, as of the date of this post, more than 1000 chapters (yes, you read it correctly, 1 with three 0 afterwards) and, at my best, I think I read until about chapter 600. I want to take this opportunity to push myself and make sure that I experience this world to its most updated chapter.

The content that will derive from this re-reading and reading experience will be to cover story lines: East Blue, Baroque Works, Skypeia, etc. I just cannot wait to return to this world of water, sails, incredible powers and willpower.

Do you have plans to read or re-read One Piece? Are you excited about the live action adaptation?