Even the original One Piece anime by Toei Animation continues to improve in quality year after year, to the point where it's often hard to believe it's even the same series anymore. It's safe to say that One Piece as a franchise is finding success across all avenues, and there's one thing in common across these various adaptations that's secretly responsible for their success.
Eiichiro Oda's Involvement Is The Secret To One Piece's Success
Volume 115 of One Piece's manga was recently released in Japan on July 3, 2026, bringing with it a new SBS section wherein Eiichiro Oda answers select questions from fans. This time, the SBS of Volume 115 came with some interesting insight into Oda's involvement in the anime, specifically the casting of voice actors.
The SBS revealed that Eiichiro Oda personally picks the voice actors for important characters in the series after reviewing the audition clips. And, most recently, Oda even personally requested that Urara Takano voice Joyboy, as she had originally voiced Luffy in the 1998 One Piece OVA by Production I.G., which was the first animated adaptation of the series.
Reader: I've heard Joyboy's voice actor is Urara Takano-san, right?! The one and only first person to have ever voiced Luffy!!
Oda: Correct. For important characters, voice actors are chosen after I review the audition recordings. But this time, I asked for a personal request. Urara Takano-san had voiced Luffy in an OVA made for a special event prior to the creation of the One Piece anime by Toei. So I bet you'll never guess why I thought she'd be a good pick for it!
This appears to have been a deliberate casting decision, likely to further the parallels between Joyboy and Luffy. That said, this SBS response also reveals just how heavily involved Oda is in the anime adaptation, even over two decades later, and this is precisely what makes the series so intuitive and immersive at all times.
One Piece Proves Adaptations Need Their Original Creators to Succeed
Oda has similarly been closely involved in the production of the Netflix live-action One Piece series, be it supervising the story, script, casting, or any changes to the series. This is arguably a huge reason why the live-action continues to be well-received by existing fans of the franchise. One Piece's creator has also been quite closely involved with the Wit Studio remake, and it's likely this adaptation will also end up exceeding expectations, just like the live-action.
As such, One Piece's continued success might just be a sign that involving a series' original creator can indeed impact the success of any adaptation. Over the years, several anime have failed due to not involving their original creators or straight-up rejecting feedback from them. Some of these adaptations even ended up being hated by their original creators, whether that's the Bleach: Hell Verse, the 2001 Hellsing anime, or even the 2001 Fruits Basket series.
All that said, while One Piece should arguably be the gold standard, it might be unreasonable to expect every mangaka to be as exhaustingly involved down to the most minute details like Eiichiro Oda. However, adaptations of any kind do need to be receptive to feedback from their original creators, at least to a certain extent, in order to succeed. If anything, after spending decades working on their respective series, every mangaka deserves that any adaptation of their life's work lives up to their standards and vision.
First Film
One Piece: The Movie
Cast
Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, Hiroaki Hirata, Ikue Ôtani, Yuriko Yamaguchi
English (US) ·