Netflix on Sunday said that it has ordered a remake of the immensely popular and long-running anime One Piece — even as the original series still hasn’t wrapped up.
The streaming giant on Sunday announced the anime reboot on X, formerly Twitter, called The One Piece, and said that WIT Studios, which produces the critically acclaimed Spy X Family anime, will be in charge of the upcoming production.
The new order represents an even bigger bet on One Piece by Netflix, which this summer released a live-action version that pulled off the rare feat of appeasing hard-core fans and casual viewers. While remakes aren’t unusual, what is different is the original show, which premiered nearly a quarter of a century ago, is still running but heading into its final story arc. It’s unclear if the reboot will premiere before the original wraps up its story.
Fans on social media sounded receptive to the reboot. The original series, which spans more than 1,100 episodes, is filled with “filler” content that isn’t taken from the original manga source, and is typically inserted into anime to buy time for the source material, which is also ongoing to come out with new stories.
One Piece follows Monkey D. Luffy and the crew of the Straw Hat Pirates, who embark on a quest to find the mythical “One Piece” and lay claim to the title as the next “King of the Pirates.” It’s one of the most popular and well-known anime in the world and is also one of the longest running manga series.
A reboot, which presumably would come out as the manga wraps up, could offer a tighter pace and stay truer to the original story’s vision. It could also provide an entry point for fans of the One Piece live action show who are intimidated by the original anime’s massive length.
Remakes of anime series aren’t that rare themselves. Full Metal Alchemist, one of the most well-known anime series, got a reboot called Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood that better stuck to the manga source material and is regarded by fans as the best way to view the story.
Image credit: Netflix