The live-action adaptation of the highly popularized manga, then anime series, One Piece, has been in the works for some time now, with a sneak peek being released this week on what the sets currently look like. One can’t talk about live-action anime adaptations without looking at one of its predecessors, Cowboy Bebop, which did not achieve the levels of success that it wanted.
One Piece is about a young man, Monkey D. Luffy, whose body has become like rubber from eating a Devil Fruit. With the help of his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, they set off on a journey to find a treasure called the One Piece. It was originally a manga, written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda and published in Weekly Shōnen Jump in 1998. The series was praised for its unique characterization, storylines, humor and artwork. It has since become so popular that it is regarded as one of the best mangas of all time, with an equally popular anime. It is now getting its own live-action remake to the excitement of many fans, with most of the characters already cast. However, history shows that not all live-action adaptations are successful. This was especially the case for another hugely popular anime series that got its own adaptation, Cowboy Bebop.
Cowboy Bebop is a sci-fi noir anime that follows a bounty hunting crew of anti-heroes who struggle to make ends meet aboard the spaceship, the Bebop, in the year 2071. Like One Piece, Cowboy Bebop was hailed as one of the greatest anime series of all time. The announcement of the live-action adaptation was met with much anticipation from fans, who were looking forward to seeing how they would translate the show's flashy style, characters and story arc. There was particular excitement after the casting announcement of John Cho as Spike Spiegel. However, just a month after its release, the series was suddenly canceled.
It is speculated that the show was canceled because of the low critic reviews and ratings, but there were a couple of other elements that contributed to the show's mixed reception that One Piece can learn from. The first of which is the drastic changes from the source material. The biggest and most shocking change was when Julia shot Spike in the season's finale. In the original anime, Julia died, and Spike had an ambiguous death. This ending change has significant repercussions for Spike's character, with Julia, who went into hiding in order to protect Spike from Vicious, now betraying him.
After this and a couple more changes, the series ended up almost being a completely different story. The series is also criticized for having awkward dialogue and bad writing, where even the villains like Vicious came across far less menacing than they were in the anime. The crew of the Bebop, which in the anime is filled with unique and eccentric characters, also had changes made to their personalities and motivations that were not well received. It ultimately failed to capture the spirit of the anime, which at its heart elicits existential feelings of loneliness from running from one's past while highlighting the importance of friendships.
Already, One Piece has a lot that it can learn from this failed series. If it manages to stick to the source material where it matters and not change it completely, while also making sure that the characters are accurately represented, then it will likely get more seasons than Cowboy Bebop did. Though it all comes down to making sure that the essence of One Piece gets translated into the live-action series to ensure its success.