A One Piece live-action Chopper drawing by none other than Eiichiro Oda was revealed in the latest One Piece Volume 107, alongside a comment on the success of the live-action. Chopper’s design in the Netflix adaptation has not officially been revealed.
“The live-action version of ONE PIECE has been released, and it’s getting great reviews around the world, which makes me so happy,” Oda says. “It just occurred to me that the actor playing Luffy – Iñaki-kun, as well as the others are going to become big Hollywood stars. That means I’ll be friends with Hollywood stars! Isn’t that amazing? I hope the cast doesn’t forget about me (tears). Alright, time for some drawing as usual in my room!! Volume 107 is starting- yay!!“
Naturally, while Oda has a huge say in the live-action adaptation of his manga, any depiction of a One Piece live-action Chopper should be taken with a grain of salt. Filming for season 2 hasn’t begun due to the disputes between SAG-AFTRA and the studios. Therefore screen tests with Chopper and the actors have not taken place. However, scripts for One Piece season 2 are already finished, according to comments from Tomorrow Studios CEO Marty Adelstein, dated September 7.
Netflix’s One Piece live-action takes inspiration from Eiichiro Oda’s original manga of the same name that first began publication in July 1997. One Piece is the highest-selling manga of all time with over 500mn copies in circulation. The latest Volume 107 which features the Chopper drawing went on sale in Japan on November 2, 2023, and can be bought here. The Netflix adaptation first aired on August 31, 2023, and was released to critical acclaim, with Anime Corner’s Marko concluding in his review:
My overall feeling from the ONE PIECE live-action is that the differences from the source material were welcome, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the episodes. The series followed the original story with some cool variations to fit the medium, and it really felt like a quality adaptation all the way. Can’t forget the introductions of bounties, which were original and incredible, as well as the cool logo variations. The cast grew on me quickly, and I would really love to see more! Bring on Smoker!
Netflix describes the series:
With his straw hat and ragtag crew, young pirate Monkey D. Luffy goes on an epic voyage for treasure in this live-action adaptation of the popular manga.
Source: Official Manga
© Eiichiro Oda / Shueisha / Toei Animation