Wit Studio is currently working on a remake of the anime One Piece. For One Piece Day, there were first images from the series showing what the remake will look like. This could be related to a wish from Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece.
What was his condition? Eiichiro Oda is advising the animation team at Wit Studio. He clarifies in a video that the animation studio should take its own path.
Instead of simply reproducing the original manga, the creators are expected to come up with something of their own. The adaptation must stand out with a unique style. This would ensure that the planned long-term project does not resemble the current anime too closely over time.
The studio must master the balancing act between adhering to the source material and reorientation. The animation team emphasizes that they want to focus on a reinterpretation of the settings and emotions of the characters.
Whether the team has succeeded, you can judge for yourself in the following video:
The One Piece Remake is a reinterpretation of the original
How did they want to ensure that? To meet Oda’s requirements, the animation studio hired many young illustrators. They had been the target audience at that time and grew up with One Piece. Therefore, they would have the best knowledge of the anime and manga.
In addition, a young team is still full of energy and motivation to tackle such a large project. However, the older colleagues are not far behind: Kyoji Asano, the character designer of the anime, locked himself away for two months to prepare. During this time, he is said to have simply redrawn the characters from the manga to practice.
Have they succeeded? From the first images of the remake, you can see that the drawing style and color scheme are indeed somewhat different from the original. The colors appear more pastel and the outlines are softer than in the anime.
For Eri Taguchi, the responsible staff member in prop design, it is important to capture the warmth from the original. We believe the team has done this well.
In addition to the remake, there is a live-action adaptation of the Straw Hat Pirates in the works. This is now getting its second season. A completely new character will appear in it: One Piece on Netflix is getting season 2 and a new character is joining
