Part of what made One Piece Live Action so successful is the involvement of Eiichiro Oda in the production. It was public knowledge among fans that Oda was heavily involved in everything from the casting to the narrative changes. This helped the live-action gain the confidence of fans. However, Mackenyu’s statement during an interview proves that this was simply not the truth.

According to the actor, Oda could have been more involved in a specific way. By not doing that, the mangaka made his role as Zoro more challenging as well as helped him perfectly portray it.

Eiichiro Oda Made Mackenyu’s Job Harder

A still from Zoro’s introduction in the live-action | Credits: Netflix

Out of all the actors who were a part of the One Piece Live Action, Mackenyu bore the closest resemblance to his character counterpart. From the face-cuts to the physique, Mackenyu was the embodiment of Zoro. Furthermore, when an actor is supposed to play a character as popular as Zoro, the expectations of fans are quite hefty.

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But Mackenyu didn’t struggle because of the expectations as much as he struggled from the lack of instructions from Eiichiro Oda. In an interview (via Cosmopolitan), Mackenyu shared that Oda didn’t specify what he wanted from the actors. 

It would have been a lot easier if he gave me specific tips and details about what to do with Zoro, but he didn’t. That made it hard.

From his statement, most fans would assume that Oda probably wanted the actors to bring their own interpretations of the characters to life. Mackenyu believed that to be the case as well. He shared that it was probably because Oda wanted the actors to do their own versions of the characters. That’s exactly what ended up happening as well. Mackenyu’s portrayal didn’t seem like a caricature of Zoro. His portrayal of Zoro was brighter and more serious. 

Zoro smiles at Nami | Credits: Netflix

The scene in the live-action where Nami plans to save Luffy from Buggy, Zoro smiles after hearing Nami’s plan. That is something hard to imagine from Zoro in the manga. He would not wait around, rather storm right into a fight with Buggy. Such instances made his character more fitting for a live-action, as realism plays a huge role in live-action opposed to anime and manga. 

Mackenyu’s Hopes for One Piece Live Action Season 2 

Roronoa Zoro | Credits: Netflix

During season 1, we saw Mackenyu effortlessly handling the swords. As Zoro, he had to wield a sword with his mouth, which is insane, even as a thought. The actor managed to do that without making it seem like a big deal. A lot of training and effort must have gone into the fights. However, according to Mackenyu, he was expecting things to be harder. 

It wasn’t that hard. I was expecting a lot more challenging fights for Zoro, but it’s still season 1. 

With that, he’s hoping season 2 will be more challenging with better action sequences. Considering how the upcoming season will adapt arcs like Little Garden and Whisky Peak, there are lots of comic bits that involve Zoro. There are some action sequences but nothing too stretched out for Zoro. As the story progresses, Zoro becomes more involved and expressive in the story. 

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So, rather than swinging his swords, as Mackenyu is hoping for, we’ll see him evoking laughs with his life-threatening antics (something only Zoro is capable of). Or maybe we’ll see him doing both! We shall see as One Piece Live Action Season 2 shapes up during production for its anticipated release. 

One Piece Live Action is available for streaming on Netflix. 
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