It is the best-selling manga in history. For twenty-five years, the pirates of One Piece keep millions of readers spellbound. The saga has already been adapted into anime, series and film, and all that was missing was live action. This is now done with Netflix. The platform is not at its first attempt on Japanese animation: what is its strategy? 20 minutes interviewed on video Alexis Orsini, journalist and author of One Piece: Oda’s Will.
It is difficult to describe the typical profile of the fan of One Piece, so much the series lasts in length and is consumed from generation to generation. The manga is a shonen, intended for young boys or teenagers who have grown up with the work. Its live action adaptation by Netflix is primarily a commercial strategy, according to Alexis Orsini: “The franchise and its derivative products sell in the millions, both for the author and for the platform. There is a possibility of extending this empire,” he explains.
The manga “Pluto” soon on Netflix
In addition to capitalizing on a well-known brand, Netflix is also positioning itself in a “quite particular and somewhat niche” entertainment segment, according to the author, which is Japanese animation. “It wishes to become a reference platform in this field, whether with its own creations, its adaptations or those of the Japanese studios that it makes available to the general public”. As proof, the anime adaptation of the manga Pluto by Naoki Urasawa will be released on Netflix on October 25.
Watch our full One Piece video at the top of this article.
The 8 episodes of One PieceNetflix’s live action, will be available on the streaming platform from August 31, 2023.