Wataru Matsumi, who has been working on the anime adaptation of “One Piece” as chief director since episode 1123, recently gave some interesting insights into the production of the series. We summarize below.
Creative freedom
In an interview with CBR, Matsumi discussed his creative freedom on One Piece, especially given the ever-growing and evolving team of artists and animators who co-create the long-running anime, which has been airing since 1999.
His goal is to convey to everyone involved that they can freely develop their creativity. In order not to limit his imagination and abilities, he always tries to bring his own ideas into harmony with those of the team.
Collaborating with international animators, who have been part of the project more and more recently, represents a particular challenge. They bring in completely new creative approaches and a different sensitivity that would not have been available to the Toei Animation studio in this form before.
The anime adaptation of “One Piece,” which is based on the manga series of the same name by Eiichiro Oda, now consists of 1,150 episodes and is available in this country on ADN, Crunchyroll and Netflix. The series will take a break from January 2026 before the “Elbaph Arc” starts in April 2026.
More on the topic:
Via CBR
©1999 Toei Animation Co., Ltd. ©Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation
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