One Piece remake unveils the main staff and concept art

Modified Aug 11, 2024 11:34 GMT

Luffy as seen in the One Piece anime (Image via Toei)

On Sunday, August 11, 2024, which is being celebrated this year as the One Piece Day, fans were treated to some exciting news about the upcoming One Piece remake, titled THE ONE PIECE. The series was confirmed to be directed by Masashi Koizuka, who is best known for his work on seasons 2 and 3 of Attack on Titan.

Along with this announcement, fans also got some more information, including details about the rest of the production team and a sneak peek at the character designs and key moments.

The ongoing weekly broadcast of One Piece by Toei Animation has received heavy criticism till very recently for being excessively long, with an abundance of fillers, recaps, and pacing issues, as well as subpar animation in the initial episodes. On top of that, the series has seen major changes in animation style over time.

In contrast, it is believed that the WIT Studio One Piece remake will be much better paced. This remake is expected to attract a new group of viewers who may have been put off by the length of the original series, which has run for over a thousand episodes.

The One Piece remake boasts a number of key staff also involved in some of the most popular anime series in recent times

THE ONE PIECE staff information

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The One Piece remake which will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the anime is being produced by Wit Studio and directed by Masashi Koizuka, with Hideaki Abe in the role of the assistant director.

The character design and chief animation direction are handled by Kyoji Asano and Takatoshi Honda. Yasuhiro Kajino is responsible for the image board and creature design, while Eri Taguchi is taking care of prop design. The series scripts are being looked after by Taku Kishimoto. Ken Imaizumi and Shuhei Fukuda are the action animators, Tomonori Kuroda is the art director, and Ryoma Kawamura is the animation producer.

All the staff members who have been officially announced are highly talented and experienced in their respective fields.

One Piece remake character designs

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The artwork that has been revealed so far has a dreamy, storybook-like charm, reminiscent of illustrations found in children's picture books. Fans get a first look at some of the Straw Hat members, including Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji as well as other key characters from the East Blue saga, which the animation team has chosen to adapt ahead of other storylines. These include Koby, Buggy, Kaya and Kuina.

In this story, viewers will witness Monkey D. Luffy, the slap-happy protagonist of the series, will encounter Shanks and the Red Hair Pirates during his childhood in East Blue. He will make a vow to become the next Pirate King, inspired both by Shanks and Gol D. Roger. A decade later, he will finally embark on his epic journey.

If this One Piece remake is well-received, the creators intend to progress to subsequent story arcs. It is worth noting that the character designs have remained largely unchanged, staying close to Oda's original style. Some fans might be disappointed, though, because Oda's art style has seen a lot of changes over the course of the manga.