Netflix's 10/10 Fantasy Series Is So Good, It Could Last Forever

2 weeks ago 14

Armand Aucamp as Bogard in season 1 of One Piece

Published Feb 23, 2026, 9:30 AM EST

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When Netflix partnered with One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda to bring his sprawling pirate epic into live action, it wasn’t just another adaptation announcement. It was a declaration of intent. Oda’s manga is so vast, so ambitious, that translating it to screens in a non-animated format felt almost impossible. However, that scale is also what made Netflix’s creative gamble so thrilling.

Oda released the first chapter of One Piece in 1997, and the story has barely slowed since. Nearly three decades later, the manga has surpassed 1,170 chapters across 113 volumes, (with the One Piece anime also on over 1,100 episodes). Few fictional worlds are as expansive. Adapting even a fraction of that into live action is a monumental undertaking.

However, while even the most devoted fans doubt that the entirety of the story can be brought to live-action, Netflix’s One Piece is so strong that many want to see them try. The only real question isn’t whether the live-action One Piece can continue for more seasons. It’s how, and when, this grand live-action adventure could ever truly end.

One Piece Is A Perfect Manga Adaptation

Netflix Finally Cracked The Code For Live-Action Anime

Luffy cheering while on the Merry's figurehead in One Piece season 2

For years, live-action anime adaptations struggled to capture what made their source material special. The One Piece adaptation breaks that pattern. From its first episode, the Netflix show makes clear that it understands the heart of Oda’s story.

There are several reasons why the show works where other manga/anime adaptations have failed, and Netflix’s live-action One Piece cast is an essential one. Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) radiates the boundless optimism and reckless sincerity that define the future Pirate King. Godoy doesn’t imitate the animated version; he embodies the character’s spirit in a way that feels natural in live action.

The same is true of Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu), Nami (Emily Rudd), Usopp (Jacob Romero Gibson), and Sanji (Taz Skylar). Each actor captures the emotional core of their character while grounding them in reality. They feel larger-than-life without tipping into parody.

The pacing of the story is another reason Netflix’s One Piece works far better than it should. Across 8 episodes, season 1 adapts the East Blue saga, covering roughly the first 95 chapters of the manga. Compressing over 10 manga chapters into each live-action installment could have been disastrous. However, Netflix has operated with precision. It preserves the emotional highs of Oda’s One Piece manga without feeling rushed.

Most impressively, the live-action One Piece balances the manga’s wild eccentricity with cinematic credibility. The One Piece manga is notoriously bombastic, which was a key live-action obstacle. Somehow, Netflix overcame it. Devil Fruit powers, fish-men, and clown pirates could easily look absurd. Instead, the tone walks a careful line. The world feels heightened, but never silly.

However, above all else, Eiichiro Oda’s deep involvement ensured fidelity to the spirit of the original. His collaboration with Netflix wasn’t just a marketing gimmick, it's an essential creative ingredient. Oda's partnership with Netflix is a blueprint for how future adaptations should operate. Netflix’s One Piece doesn’t just adapt a manga, it translates the soul of an on-page story into live-action.

Netflix's One Piece Will Never Run Out Of Source Material

The Manga’s Massive Scale Guarantees Years Of Story

Emily Rudd as Nami looking up in season 2 of One Piece

Adapting One Piece was always going to be a marathon, not a sprint. With more than 1,100 published chapters and counting, the manga represents one of the longest-running serialized stories in modern pop culture.

Season 1 of the live-action One Piece tackled the East Blue saga, adapting chapters 1 through roughly 95. That’s less than a tenth of the existing material. Even if the manga ended tomorrow, the live-action series would still have years of story ahead of it.

Beyond East Blue lie massive arcs like Alabasta, Skypiea, Water 7, Enies Lobby, Marineford, Dressrosa, Whole Cake Island, and Wano. Each saga introduces new islands, villains, emotional turning points, and lore-shifting revelations about the Grand Line and the Void Century.

The sheer density of Eiichiro Oda’s story means that Netflix can continue shaping seasons around distinct One Piece manga arcs. Every saga has a natural narrative spine, making them adaptable into multi-episode seasons without feeling fragmented.

Plus, since the manga remains ongoing, the well simply doesn’t run dry. As long as Oda continues expanding One Piece, Netflix will always have fresh material waiting in the wings. Unlike most adaptations that risk overtaking their source material, One Piece faces the opposite scenario. There is always more treasure to chase.

How Many Seasons Can One Piece Live-Action Realistically Have?

The Adventure Is Vast, But Time Is Finite

The Straw Hat Crew standing in Loguetown in One Piece Season 2 (2026)

Despite its seemingly endless source material, the live-action One Piece can’t realistically last forever. The math alone makes it clear that, at some point, Netflix are going to have to find an end point for their version of One Piece and leave the rest of the manga on the page.

If each live-action One Piece season adapts roughly 100 manga chapters or just under, it would take at least 11 seasons to cover the story as it currently stands. Season 1 debuted in 2023, with Season 2 arriving in 2026. If that three-year production gap continues, reaching 11 seasons would require roughly 33 years.

That timeline presents obvious challenges. Actors age. Budgets escalate. Audience attention shifts. Maintaining blockbuster-level visual effects, large ensemble casts, and global location shoots for over three decades is an enormous commitment. Netflix may be a creative powerhouse and One Piece their best fantasy shows, but a run of this length seems doubtful.

There’s also the matter of narrative cohesion. Eiichiro Oda’s story grows increasingly complex in its later arcs. Translating that scale into live action would demand escalating resources and long-term planning on a level rarely, if ever, seen in live-action on the small screen.

More likely, Netflix and Oda will eventually identify a satisfying narrative milestone, an arc that provides emotional resolution while honoring the larger mythology. That point could serve as a carefully constructed off-ramp for the live-action One Piece.

Where that moment lies within Oda’s vast ocean of storytelling remains uncertain. However, if the show continues at its current quality, even a finite run could feel legendary. For now, Netflix's One Piece stands as a rare achievement: a fantasy epic so good, it genuinely feels like it could last forever, even if it ultimately can’t.