The Reason One Piece Anime Is Getting a Remake Is Simple, But Kind of Silly

The One Piece anime is getting a reboot on Netflix thanks to Wit Studio, but its reason for existing is a bit silly.

Have you ever come across someone who says they don’t watch old movies just because they’re in black and white? I’ve always found that reasoning weird, since there’s so much good stuff out there that happens to be old enough to be shot on black and white film, why would you limit yourself to that? Well, it seems I’m old now, and some people would even say that it’s difficult to watch old anime in that classic, boxy, 4:3 format because everything is widescreen now. It’s another equally stupid argument, but it’s also the reason why the One Piece anime was remade.

In a recent interview with Japanese media Real Sound, Wit Studio (the studio behind the upcoming One Piece remake) and Production IG President Takeshi Wada talked about their upcoming One Piece adaptation and why it might be difficult for younger viewers to watch the old shows (via machine translation from GamesRadar). “For young people who are used to watching today’s anime, due to technological innovations, it might be difficult for some to watch the graphics when One Piece started airing 25 years ago because the graphics were different. [ratio] “I think 4:3 is the most popular video format right now,” Wada says. I’m not sure that’s entirely true, especially when you consider the wave of young anime fans on TikTok posting about classics like Lain and similar shows that also use the 4:3 format.

Still, Wit Studio at least has the support of original One Piece anime studio Toei Animation, as Wada said: “Toei Animation told us, ‘Please do your best, we will continue to work hard on the latest episodes.’ I imagine that as we continue to move forward and expand One Piece, the manga, anime and live-action will overlap.”

The One Piece anime remake was announced last year and is currently set to be released on Netflix. No release date has been confirmed yet, but at least you can watch the original on the streaming service in the meantime.