Netflix's live-action makes one of the most popular One Piece ships canon

For many fans, one of the most exciting aspects of Eiichiro Oda’s manga series is the various One Piece ships fans come up with or see canonically happening. Some go as far as to call it their favorite way to interact with the series, especially with how strong and constant the themes of friendship and camaraderie are between several pairs of characters.

Hence, it’s unsurprising that the One Piece live-action series, which was released on August 31 on Netflix worldwide, has sparked new discussion on these ships. Fans who often create and discuss the various One Piece ships, both canonical and fan-made, are now binging Netflix’s series for any new potential pairings.

Interestingly, many were shocked to see the One Piece live-action series not just cement a popular fan-made ship for the anime and manga but go as far as to confirm it. With this news, the One Piece ships community has began discussing what this live-action confirmation may mean for the couple’s anime and manga equivalents.

---

One of most popular One Piece ships confirmed in live-action through Usopp and Kaya’s goodbye kiss

While the One Piece live-action series is the only entry in the franchise to confirm Usopp and Kaya’s relationship, the One Piece ships community has still been excited. For one, everything in the live-action adaptation is said to have been approved by Oda himself, implicitly meaning that everything has a canonical interpretation of the original series.

The word 'interpretation' is key here, as Usopp and Kaya have yet to share a kiss or confirm their relationship in the official source in any way. While the two have always had feelings for one another in the official source material, this was never confirmed, much to the chagrin of the One Piece ships community.

Thankfully, the One Piece live-action series’ status as being approved by Oda in all aspects gives members of this community some solace when it comes to Usopp and Kaya. Although some may argue that live-action canon isn’t equivalent to the source material’s canon, this may not necessarily be true given Oda’s role in the series.

As Oda himself has stated many times, he would not let the series be released if he didn’t approve of or agree with everything he saw. The mangaka's role as executive producer on the series further supports this, suggesting him to have been in an advisory role. So, he undoubtedly was made aware of the Usopp and Kaya kiss and, in the end, chose to approve the inclusion and therefore imply the confirmation of their relationship.

While some are arguing with the One Piece ships community if this relationship is canon, it’s difficult to argue with something Oda personally approved of. Given what fans know about Oda’s involvement in the production process, it’s far from inaccurate to say that Oda in one way or another signed off on the goodbye kiss.

In any case, the One Piece live-action’s first season has certainly spawned significant discourse among the series’ fanbase in various online forums since the episodes were released. Thankfully, most of this discussion is positive and complimentary, such as the discussion of Kaya and Usopp’s relationship being confirmed. Hopefully, the series continues to age well and maintain popularity so that fans can get a second season of what appears to be a fantastic live-action adaptation.

---

Be sure to keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.