With One Piece Day 2024 taking place this weekend in Japan, we're expecting some sort of update on The One Piece, Netflix and WIT Studio's reimagining of the East Blue Saga of Eiichiro Oda's beloved manga. Although casting announcements are unlikely to be revealed this weekend, we have had one of the original voice actors from the One Piece anime series express his desire to return to the same role in WIT studio's remake.
Japanese voice actor Toshio Furukawa recently attended the anime convention Otakuthon in Montreal. For those unfamiliar Furukawa voiced Portgas D. Ace in the original One Piece anime series. Ace is the biological son of the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and Portgas D. Rouge, as well as the sword older brother of Monkey D. Luffy and Sabo.
As reported by Ohime Tenshi (via Comicbook.com), Furukawa said he would "love" to voice Ace again in WIT Studio's The One Piece remake, although he doesn't know if he'll be called for the role. Ace doesn't exactly have the largest role in the manga, for reasons I won't explain to avoid spoilers, but it's possible that The One Piece could deviate from the shonen's story.
Toshio Furukawa is one of the industry's most prominent voice actors. In addition to Ace, he is perhaps most famously known for playing the part of Piccolo in Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball GT. He has also taken on the roles of Ataru in Urusei Yatsuru, Asura in Soul Eater, Kai in Mobile Suit Gundam, and Suguru in Ultimate Muscle. With that kind of resume, WIT should seriously consider casting him as Ace again.
WIT Studio and Netflix's The One Piece as announced last year. The upcoming remake aims 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."
"The East Blue is the introductory saga of the manga and 1999 anime series, where fans first meet Luffy," Netflix explained when the remake was first announced. "Named after an expansive ocean, the East Blue is the birthplace of the infamous pirate Gold Roger, who inspires Luffy to become a pirate himself and find the One Piece treasure. It’s in this chapter where Luffy meets his ragtag pirate crew, dubbing them the Straw Hats.
Unfortunately, we haven't heard much about the remake since its initial announcement, but that could change this weekend. As reported by Comicbook.com, One Piece Day 2024, which takes place this weekend, will include a new update on The One Piece series, along with other exciting announcements and reveals.
The One Piece was vaguely detailed as "in production" back in December 2023, so hopefully we get a more detailed update on the show's status. One Piece Day takes place in Japan from August 9 through August 11, 2024, but the One Piece YouTube channel will stream several hours from the event. The Exhibition Area Open Stage will be streamed all weekend from August 9 at 7:00 PM PDT to August 10 at 1:30 AM PDT for the Saturday event day and from August 10 at 6:00 PM PDT to August 11 at 1:55 AM PDT for Sunday’s events. Details on The One Piece anime are scheduled for the stage events, although it's unclear if this will be included in the stream.