Straw Hats, we’ve hit another jackpot: The original ONE PIECE voice actors are returning to the High Seas for the Japanese version of the live-action adaptation.
At the Los Angeles Anime Expo 2023, audiences watched a special video from Mayumi Tanaka, the original anime voice of Monkey D. Luffy, passing the signature straw hat to Iñaki Godoy, who will take on the leading role in the upcoming series. “I’ve been voicing Luffy for more than 23 years now, and I think everyone has a little bit of Luffy in their heart. Iñaki, who performs Luffy in this live-action series, is so fun and joyful that he really makes a perfect Luffy,” Tanaka said to Netflix. “I’m very happy to be able to voice Luffy in this adaptation as well.”
Tanaka will be joined by the rest of the original Japanese voice actors, including Kazuya Nakai as Roronoa Zoro, Akemi Okamura as Nami, Kappei Yamaguchi as Usopp and Hiroaki Hirata as Sanji. “ONE PIECE is a story whose words and images can resonate with you in different ways depending on your situation or perspective at any given moment, allowing for new discoveries all the time. And of course, nothing would bring me greater joy than if people who’ve never experienced ONE PIECE can become part of the family beginning with this show,” Tanaka added. For Yamaguchi, reprising his role also means getting to share the same spirit of the anime series with new fans. “The live-action ONE PIECE is a bit different from both the manga and the anime, but the underlying spirit is the very world that everyone has wanted to see,” he tells Netflix.
The live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s beloved manga and anime franchise follows Luffy, a young adventurer who recruits a ragtag crew of misfits to join him on an epic treasure hunt across the sea. Full of colorful characters and scheming villains, Luffy and his friends — called the Straw Hats — set out to find the mysterious treasure called the One Piece. “The entire cast and crew, spanning various countries, are brimming with love for ONE PIECE,” Oda wrote in a recent letter to fans. “They’re burning with passion, and I’ve reminded everyone involved that this should be fun.”
ONE PIECE is a live action pirate adventure created in partnership with Shueisha and produced by Tomorrow Studios and Netflix. Matt Owens and Steven Maeda are writers, executive producers, and showrunners. Eiichiro Oda, Marty Adelstein, and Becky Clements also executive produce.
Ready to hunt for treasure? Watch ONE PIECE now.
