One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda was uncertain how fans would respond to having the Going Merry speak.
A reliable One Piece news source, who goes by Sandman, (or@SandmanAP) on Twitter, recently shared Oda’s statement from a 2007 interview addressing the iconic vessel. “The Klabautermann of Going Merry was pretty fantastical even in OP. If readers said, ‘Ships don’t talk,’ it would be the end. I did the best I could, but I didn’t know how attached readers would be to the ship. The response I got was far better than I expected.”
Towards the end of the manga’s Enies Lobby arc, the Going Merry speaks to the Straw Hats via a Klabautermann, a water fairy that inhabits seafaring vessels and serves as a personification of the ship’s soul. According to legend, the fairy gains more power over the vessel according to how much it is loved and cared for by the sailors. The Going Merry speaks to its crew after sustaining critical damage in a fire, apologizing for not being able to carry them through more adventures. The Straw Hats bid a tearful farewell to the ship as it burns to ash in the growing blaze.
The Growing One Piece Franchise
One Piece fans who wish to see the Going Merry sail again will soon get their chance, as the debut of One Piece’s first live-action series is slated for Aug. 31. Produced by Netflix and Tomorrow Studios, the series will cover the early arcs of Oda’s beloved manga. In May, the production team unveiled the series’ version of Going Merry, which appears to be a near-exact replica of the original design. The ship was also featured in the live-action One Piece’s first trailer, which Netflix released last month.
Netflix’s upcoming One Piece series stars Inaki Godoy (The Imperfects) as Luffy, Emily Rudd (Hunters) as Nami, Mackenyu (Rurouni Kenshin live-action) as Roronoa Zoro, Taz Skylar (Boiling Point) as Sanji and Jacob Romero (Blairsden) as Usopp. Anime Expo 2023 also announced that the Japanese VA cast of the One Piece anime series will return to reprise their character roles in the Japanese dub of One Piece. This news reached the fanbase via a promotional video featuring Godoy’s first meeting with Mayumi Tanaka, who has voiced Monkey D. Luffy in the anime since its 1999 debut.
The One Piece manga is available in English from VIZ Media. Toei Animation’s popular series’ adaptation is available on Hulu, Netflix and Crunchyroll.
Source: Twitter
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