Netflix's 'One Piece' live-action series keeps setting records

CASEY CRAFFORD // NETFLIX

Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ live-action series keeps setting records

Mackenyu Arata as Roronoa Zoro, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp, Emily Rudd as Nami, Taz Skylar as Sanji in season 1 of One Piece.

Netflix is known to be highly secretive about its streaming numbers, often leaving fans in the lurch regarding whether or not their favorite shows are performing well enough to receive renewal orders. Luckily for fans of the recent live-action “One Piece” adaptation, this is not the case for all projects across the streamer, as the series was recently confirmed to have topped the charts throughout much of 2023. As Giant Freakin Robot reports, “One Piece” brought in just under 72 million views in the second half of 2023, outshining other prominent series such as “Lupin,” “Sex Education,” and even “The Witcher” Season 3.

Dominating the rankings

This feat is particularly impressive, as the data spans the entire back half of 2023, meaning it begins keeping track starting on July 1. The live-action “One Piece” series didn’t premiere on the streamer until Aug. 31, meaning it managed to produce these massive figures even after offering a two-month head start to competing series on the list. The closest any other show came to the massive streaming numbers of “One PIece” was the limited series “Who Is Erin Carter?” that brought in just over 50 million views in this time frame.

A massively successful live-action adaptation

This news isn’t especially surprising, as the “One Piece” remake served as one of Netflix’s biggest projects of 2023, with anime fans far and wide flocking to the streamer. Once word got out that Netflix had managed to do what many thought to be impossible and successfully adapt a live-action anime series, new fans of the show surely jumped on board to get invested in the narrative too. The original animated “One Piece” spans more than 1,000 episodes and counting, making the barrier for entry incredibly high for casual viewers.

Not all adaptations are created equal

Other attempts at trying to stage live-action adaptations of beloved anime franchises have famously ended in disaster, from IP like “Dragon Ball Z,” “Death Note,” and “Ghost in the Shell,” to more recent attempts such as 2021’s “Cowboy Bebop.” In fact, when Netflix first announced plans to launch its own live-action “One Piece,” fans across the world were instantly dismayed, believing it would be impossible to bring the animated antics and long-form story arcs of the fan-favorite series to life. Somehow, against all odds, Netflix succeeded, to the tune of an 85 percent certified fresh critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Plenty of room for growth

Even with all the fanfare that it received, 71.6 million views in under 6 months is highly impressive, and proves that the “One Piece” live-action series still has a lot of room to grow. With any luck, this means that the second season will have a bigger budget and more studio backing than ever before, allowing the show’s creators to go as big as they feel is necessary.

Season 2 coming soon

Currently, there’s no word on when the second season of Netflix’s “One Piece” will premiere, though insider reports suggest the show will begin production over the course of summer 2024. If that timeline is accurate, that means fans could see more of Luffy and the Straw Hat gang as early as 2025. For now, we’re just waiting for updates as the streaming numbers keep racking up millions of views.