One Piece Day 2024 delivered us our first look at Netflix's The One Piece, an anime adaptation of Eiichiro Oda's beloved pirate saga. The highly anticipated reimagining of Luffy's adventure through the East Blue Saga was first announced by Netflix back in December 2023.
The series is being produced by the renowned WIT Studio (SPY x FAMILY, Seasons 1-3 of Attack on Titan) in collaboration with Shueisha, Fuji Television Network, and Toei Animation Co. This weekend's update, however, finally revealed some of the major anime veterans involved with the project. Staff from Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen, and other popular anime are all on board.
The One Piece is being directed by Masashi Koizuka (Attack on Titan) with Hideaki Abe (Jujutsu Kaisen) serving as assistant director. The two are joined by Taku Kishimoto (Haikyu!!) for series composition, Kyoji Asano (Spy x Family) and Takatoshi Honda (The First Slam Dunk) as character designer and chief animation directors, and Ken Imaizumi (Boruto) and Shuhei Fukuda (Call of the Night) as action animators.
Netflix shared a lengthy 20-minute video featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the production of The One Piece. Throughout the video, we are shown the production process of the anime while hearing from key members of the team, which is repeatedly described as "young."
Others involved in the staff include art supervisors Tomonori Kuroda (A Certain Scientific Index) and Ryoma Kawamura (Attack on Titan, also animation producer), creature and image board designer Yasuhiro Kajino (Rinne), and prop designer Airi Taguchi (Vampire in the Garden)
More excitingly, the video gives us our first look at some of the concept art for The One Piece from WIT Studio. The studio is dedicated to maintaining the spirit of Eiichiro Oda's original art style, while also incorporating some modern animation techniques. In the video, we can see character design sheets, pre-production sketches of scenes from the East Blue arc, and even a detailed 3D render of Shells Town.
"The One Piece hopes to provide viewers with a fresh yet familiar experience, utilizing cutting-edge visual technology to reimagine Luffy’s adventures through the beloved East Blue Saga," Netflix said when first announcing the series back in 2023.
Based on Eiichiro Oda’s bestselling manga series, THE ONE PIECE follows Monkey D. Luffy, an aspiring pirate who sets sail with his Straw Hats crew in search of the mysterious One Piece treasure. Luffy isn’t just like any pirate, however. With limbs that can stretch like rubber, his unique skills help him take on the dangerous villains and rivals that he and his gang encounter at sea.
The One Piece will cover the East Blue Saga, which encompasses the first couple of arcs of both the manga and the 1999 anime series. This includes the Romance Dawn Arc, Orange Town Arc, and Syrup Village Arc. Not only will this give new audiences a chance to experience the early moments of the beloved manga, but it will also allow fans to witness the redesigned characters of the Straw Hat Pirates.