At a certain point, while watching Netflix’s One Piece Live Action, audiences notice two characters being a bit too warm and fuzzy with each other. Being influenced by numerous rom-coms in this generation, most of the audience will get ideas about those characters. However, they must know that not only was that unintentional, but it will never happen in the series, ever!
The cast of the live-action recently spoke on this topic and directly responded to those shipping some characters together in the series. Eiichiro Oda, the mangaka of One Piece, was firmly against any sort of romance between the members of the Straw Hat crew.
What was Eiichiro Oda against during the production of Netflix’s One Piece?
Eiichiro Oda was hardly against any sort of romantic interaction between the characters, specifically among the members of Straw Hat. His aversion to romance wasn’t just limited to Netflix’s One Piece. The mangaka was firm with his ideology and consistently maintained the storyline without any romance because its target audience is young boys.
Oda Sensei was questioned by a fan during the Jump Festa 2009, “Who does Nami like (in a romantic sense)?” To which the mangaka reiterated, “Hmm, in a romantic sense? I don’t think there will be any romance among that crew. Nami probably sees all the good aspects or qualities of those guys, but One Piece isn’t a romance.”
“Maybe a lot of girl readers ask this kind of question,” Oda bluntly continued.
“Boys are not interested at all. One Piece is a shonen manga, manga for boys, so romance isn’t depicted.” He added. This statement was supported by a transcription of his appearance provided by Viz Media.
What did the cast of Netflix’s One Piece say about Oda’s instructions?
Also Read: 5 Crimes Netflix Committed in ‘One Piece’ Live Action and 5 Things It Did That Won Fans’ Approval
Maeda was speaking to TVLine’s Andy Swift about the strict standards Oda had for the One Piece live-action. Audiences have been reading a bit too much into the relationship of Emily Rudd and Mackenyu in their respective roles as Nami and Roronoa Zoro. Maeda stated bluntly that perceiving their relationship as anything more than companions wasn’t wise and it was not intended by Netflix.
“One of the mandates from Eiichiro Oda was against romance on the crew,” he told Swift. “That is a hard no, as far as the manga and the live-action show are concerned.”
“[If fans are seeing hints of a romance between any crew members] it was because they just had great chemistry together,” he added. “But that certainly was not the intent. One of the fun things about watching television is what you read into it and what you bring to the table when you’re watching a show.”
Maeda was quick to stop Swift’s train of thought. Assuring him that the interaction between those two characters shouldn’t be perceived in any other light than a true companionship. Even though the live-action story was slightly expanded from the source material, romantic feelings between the characters will never ever happen.
Source: TVLine
