One Piece’s perfect Roronoa Zoro casting makes this live-action anime film even worse with 21% on Rotten Tomatoes

Mackenyu’s Roronoa Zoro was one of the best things about Netflix’ One pieceand it made another live-action anime adaptation much worse in hindsight. One piece Season 1 was a turning point for Hollywood live-action anime adaptations, as it proved that even the most fantastical fictional worlds and colorful characters can be adapted to other media with the right execution. Despite this, there are still disappointing live-action remakes of popular anime and manga properties.

What One piece Season 1 is not a given. The best-selling manga of all time, One piece has a huge fan base all over the world and has existed since 1997. In addition, previous Netflix live-action adaptations dealt with relatively down-to-earth anime such as Death notice And Cowboy Bebop, One piece set in a universe where giants and fishmen exist. Fortunately, the result was incredible. The series was one of the most watched Netflix series in 2023 and set the stage for the return of Mackenyu and the rest of the cast in One piece Season 2.

Roronoa Zoro from One Piece Live-Action shows how Knights Of The Zodiac destroyed Mackenyu

Mackenyu played Pegasus Seiya in Knights of the Zodiac.

After watching Knight of the Zodiac (2023) shortly after Netflix’ One pieceit is difficult not to notice how the former wasted Mackenyu’s talent compared to the latter. While One piece Through live action, the actor was able to accurately bring one of the most popular anime characters of all time to life, Knight of the Zodiac placed Mackenyu’s performance in the midst of a deeply flawed film that failed to live up to the source material. Mackenyu plays Pegasus Seiya in Knight of the Zodiacan iconic figure who has been the face of the franchise for decades.

Although Zoro is not technically the main character in One piece – Monkey D. Luffy is the main protagonist of the story – Mackenyu shone much more in One piece than in Knight of the Zodiac even though he played the lead role in the film. Knight of the Zodiac a poor adaptation of the source material that barely resembled Saint Seiya in some ways, but as a film it also had many problems. One piecewas both a great series and a very faithful adaptation of Oda’s manga.

Why Netflix’s One Piece is so much better than the live-action Saint Seiya film

Knights of the Zodiac is a failure both as an adaptation and as a film.

Although it was released in the same year, Knights of the Zodiac and One Piece represent very different ways of approaching an anime adaptation. The Saint Seiya The film makes little to no effort to be a worthy adaptation of the popular manga and anime series, opting instead to adapt the CG-animated Knight of the Zodiac Reboot of 2019. From questionable visual effects to strange story decisions, Knight of the Zodiac has very few good qualities, if any. The other Bronze Saints did not appear in the film and no references were made to them, the focus was only on Seiya and Athena.

One piece may have changed some aspects of the manga, including the exclusion of some characters and story arcs, but it was still a very faithful adaptation. The Netflix series was not afraid to embrace all the “craziness” of One piecefrom the costumes to the creatures. One pieceThe cast was a particularly fantastic aspect of the live-action show, with each actor bringing their character to life perfectly. Mackenyu delivers a subtle portrayal of Zoro, channeling different sides of the character and delivering a great portrayal of the pirate hunter-turned-pirate.

Roronoa Zoro from One Piece is the anime role Mackenyu should play

Zoro is by far Mackenyu’s best live-action anime role.

One piece‘s Zoro and Knight of the Zodiac‘s Seiya were not the only major live-action anime roles that Mackenyu played. The actor played Scar in the Japanese live-action Fullmetal Alchemist Films, none of which quite captured the magic of the fan-favorite anime. Scar, an older character who has experienced a lot of horror, was probably not the ideal character for a 23-year-old Mackenyu. He also delivers great performances in films such as Rurouni Kenshin And JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable – Chapter Inone of them was as big worldwide as One piece Season 1.

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Zoro actor from “One Piece” shows his transformation through workout before season 2

One Piece’s Zoro actor Mackenyu shows his transformation through training ahead of the second season and gives a preview of a new look for the next episodes.

After Mackenyu has played so many characters in movies and shows based on anime and manga properties, some of which were better than others, it is very fitting that he got to play One piece‘s Roronoa Zoro. The popularity of One pieceespecially in Japan, is immeasurable, which is why it deserves a great live-action adaptation. Zoro is a fascinating character who becomes even more interesting as the series progresses, so I can’t wait to see how Mackenyu’s interpretation of the green-haired swordsman will play out in One piece Season 2 and beyond.

One Piece (Live-action)

Based on the popular manga/anime series, One Piece is a live-action Netflix adaptation of the story by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows the exploits of a band of pirates, the Straw Hats, led by the energetic and adventurous Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy is a young man who was cursed with strange powers after accidentally eating a mysterious fruit. With his friends Zoro, Nami, Usopp and Sanji, Luffy will set out across the vast ocean to find the legendary treasure, the One Piece.

Pour

Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero Gibson, Taz Skylar

Release date

31 August 2023

Seasons

1