Greg Werner, a One Piece official collaborator, dispelled allegations that the live-action test showing performed poorly with crowds. Furthermore, as reported by MangaMonster.net, social media users discovered prior untrustworthy assertions made by the Twitter account, bringing the authenticity of any statements made into question.
According to Divinity Seeker, a well-known Hollywood news outlet, viewers responded negatively to the highly anticipated series' private unveiling, citing poor CGI quality and convoluted plotline as key complaints. Audience members who were not fans of the original One Piece series appeared to struggle with the tale. At the same time, people familiar with the source material were perplexed by the adaptation's adjustments to it. The introduction of the show's core characters is significant, with Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji all allegedly introduced in the last 15 minutes of the pilot, but the anime required 20 episodes to reach the same position. Another criticism was the adaptation's inconsistent tone, which moved from absurdly comical to ridiculously serious.
Although these reports may worry One Piece fans, test screenings only provide a tiny sample amount of reactions. There is still hope that the live-action series will succeed in bringing creator Eiichiro Oda's universe and characters to life. Oda has remarked that he believes One Piece as a franchise can succeed without him, putting faith in the One Piece industry personnel to keep the story alive, which may extend to Netflix's adaptation as well. The mangaka has previously expressed his support for the project, praising the casting and the direction taken with the material. So there's no need to panic just yet.
One Piece Aesthetics May Not Translate Well Into CGI
Given previous anime adaptations, test audience criticisms regarding the live-action show's tone, including unnatural-looking character designs and overdone sets, have some credence. Similarly, Netflix's live-action Cowboy Bebop struggled to capture the look and feel of the original series convincingly. With a tone that is even more anchored in cartoon aesthetics than Bebop, One Piece's production may confront an even greater struggle. Since the announcement of the adaptation, fans have been wondering how certain One Piece visuals, like as Luffy's Devil Fruit powers, could appear respectable with live-action CGI. Based on these test-screening results, that technical barrier may be one that even Netflix's vast resources cannot overcome.
The first season of the live-action One Piece series has a rumored premiere date of Aug. 31, 2023. Netflix is yet to confirm the date but has announced that the show will be on their platform sometime in 2023.
One Piece series now is available on MangaMonster.net
Source: Twitter
