One Piece is an anime that’s been running since 1999 and for all that time, voice actress Mayumi Tanaka provided the voice of Monkey D. Luffy. With the series set to go into live-action later this year, Netflix has released a video of their Luffy, Inaki Godoy, meeting with the original Luffy actor Tanaka.
Watch this:
It may come as a surprise to some fans that the lead of a shonen anime is voiced by a woman, but it isn’t the first time we’ve had this happen. Naruto Uzumaki is also voiced Junko Takeuchi who is also a woman. Dragon Ball’s Goku—considered to be the Japanese Superman—is voiced by Masako Nozawa.
The video isn’t just about Godoy and Tanaka meeting either. It’s been revealed that the original voice cast of the anime is also going to be providing the voices for the characters in the dub. Additionally, Godoy and Sanji actor Taz Skylar will also be providing their voices for the Spanish dub of the show.
Admittedly, Netflix doesn’t have a good reputation when it comes to anime adaptations, and fans have been cautious about them taking on One Piece after what happened with Cowboy Bebop and Death Note. Even if that is the case, I think they’ll eventually manage to stick the landing someday; and who’s to say it won’t be with One Piece?
Watch out for the Straw Hat crew when One Piece premieres on Netflix on Aug. 31.
