The One Piece: Why Eiichiro Oda Shouldn’t Have Allowed a Remake That is Continuing a Disturbing Television Trend

SUMMARY

• The One Piece remake announced by WIT Studios has been much anticipated by One Piece fans.
• The series is going to redefine the pre time skip era of the original series by making it look better and compact.
• However, this may not be a good thing as the One Piece franchise might loose its originality.

One of the largest franchises in history, Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece has grown exponentially over the years. From starting as a simple manga series to becoming a global brand that not only represents the anime industry but also enhances it, One Piece has come a long way. The series has also expanded to other art forms like Live-Action, Video Games, Movies, Merchandise, etc.

Strawhat Pirates in One Piece | Credit: Toei Animation

The 27-year-old journey of Oda and his masterpiece has certainly lived through everything and as One Piece fans know, the franchise is once again starting its journey with the remake announced by WIT Studio. This remake is called “The One Piece” and it is a special redo of the entire series that is going to bring a new experience to the old show.

However, there is a possibility that Oda might have made a bad decision by allowing the remake of the series. This is because it is following the same trend that led to the fall of the many remakes that have been developed in the media industry over the years.

The Uniqueness of One Piece’s Remake

In December last year, during the Jump Festa 2024, WIT Studio made the official announcement of remaking the One Piece anime series with the blessings of Oda. They collaborated with Netflix to start the project and decided to test the waters by releasing only the first arc of the series.

The announcement got a lot of appreciation and love from fans as WIT Studio has had a flourishing track record in terms of adapting mangas into anime series. Plus, WIT Studio assured that the remake would enhance the anime series and take care of the issues that fans had with the original series before the time skip.

One Piece Remake | Credit: WIT Studio

The animation studio revealed that they will adapt the entire East Blue Arc under 30 episodes. The pacing would be faster and the animation quality would be better than the one fans saw during the early 2000s. But the most important thing was that the One Piece remake would be made for the global audience.

One Piece Remake Might Tarnish The Image of the Franchise

While the idea of One Piece’s remake sounds intriguing and enticing, it might very well become the cause of the franchise’s downfall. The main reason behind this is the fact that the originality of One Piece which was seen before the time skip, was the main reason the series got so much love in the first place.

The One Piece | Credit: WIT Studio

WIT Studio guarantees to enhance the old animation style and make it more current world-type. However, that old animation mixed with Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates’ goofiness was the best and most wholesome thing in the series that Eiichiro Oda gave us. It gave a nostalgic vibe to the entire franchise and even after so many years One Piece fans still talk about how great those times are.

On top of that, the animation of One Piece’s original anime series has grown along with the Straw Hat Pirates’ adventures which makes the experience even better. And the most important reason is the fact that there are very rare scenarios where a remake of any movie or TV series comes out to be better or even similar to that of the original work.

This trend has been deeply followed in Western entertainment and as of yet it has not yielded any great results. Thus, remaking a grand series like One Piece will not only affect the fandom of the original series but also most likely disappoint fans by creating confusion.

One Piece is available to watch on Crunchyroll.

Written by Tarun Kohli

Articles Published: 1665

Konichiwa! With a Master's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and a 2-year experience in Digital media writing, I am on my way to becoming one of the biggest anime content writers in my country. My passion for writing and Anime has helped me connect with Fandomwire, and share my love and experience with the world.