Published Jun 1, 2026, 7:30 PM EDT
Memory Ngulube joined Screen Rant in April 2024 as part of the Movies and TV team. Since then, she has written for the Perennials and Streaming team, covering a wide range of topics from new releases to old movies and TV shows. Memory is currently a Classic TV writer.
Before joining Screen Rant, Memory was a freelance copywriter who specialized in email marketing and social media management. While she enjoyed her job, her true passion was always movies and TV.
When she isn’t writing for Screen Rant, Memory can be found reading, baking (which is one of her passions), or watching her favorite K-drama.
Netflix has been steadily reshaping expectations for what a live-action anime adaptation can be, more so with its hit fantasy series that makes even Naruto look small. The success of this fantasy show is even more admirable, given how many streaming platforms, production companies, and networks have failed to do justice to their anime source material.
Among Netflix’s best live-action anime series is One Piece, a fantasy show that has surprisingly done the impossible by creating a story that not only feels vast but is an accurate representation of its source material. One Piece does a splendid job of bringing Eiichiro Oda’s manga to life with its intricate world and larger-than-life characters.
Part of why *One Piece *feels endless is how the adaptation treats exploration. In the series, travel and adventure are the backbone of its premise because it’s a narrative event in itself. Where many anime adaptations and even their source materials tend to centralize action around villages, kingdoms, or recurring strongholds, One Piece does the opposite. The Netflix series constantly expands outward, thus contributing to the vastness of its world.
Netflix’s version of One Piece naturally creates the impression of a far larger and more expansive universe than* Naruto*. At the center of this world is the Grand Line, an unstable ocean route that defies normal geography. Unlike typical fantasy maps, where continents are the primary focus, *One Piece *treats the ocean and its surrounding lands a bit differently. Every island that the Straw Hats land on, whether it’s Shells Town or Orange Town, has its own distinct style, characters, and culture, which in turn creates a universe that seems endless.
Undoubtedly, great care has been taken to bring the* One Piece* live-action series to life with every scene, fight, and location feeling grander than the last. While One Piece’s story is continuous, each episode is shot like a mini-movie due to its incredible worldbuilding. That’s not to take anything away from Naruto. After all, the anime’s world is also pretty expansive. The difference between the two shows is that Naruto is more localized because most of the anime occurs in Konoha Village, whereas the heroes in* One Piece* essentially travel around the world.
There’s also something quite dreamlike about* One Piece*. The islands, ocean, and strange ensemble of characters ranging from Buggy the Clown to Dracule Mihawk feel out of this world. Naruto, in comparison, tends to feel small because it is, in a way, a straightforward hero story. If a live-action *Naruto *series were to be created, it’s doubtful that it could be as grand as the Netflix fantasy show.
On paper, Naruto has a much bigger and more complex world than Netflix’s One Piece. This is because the sprawling anime has several nations, different clans, and a rich history. In fact, *Naruto *even included the concept of parallel universes when it featured the Kamui dimension and spiritual realms like the Pure Land. Despite this, *One Piece *still feels like the more enormous universe.
Because Netflix has confirmed that One Piece season 3 will be released in 2027, this plan also solves a problem inherent in this adaptation.
Netflix’s One Piece does not have alternate universes, at least for now. Everything from the Grand Line to the Fish-Man Island exists within the same universe, timeline, and reality. Even the strangest places that feel like they are outside the show’s world are still part of the same universe in the live-action series. Given that Luffy and his crew are always on the move and are constantly discovering new worlds, it gives the illusion that One Piece is on a bigger scale than* Naruto*.
*One Piece *isn’t likely to introduce parallel universes in the future, seeing as the creator of the story, Eiichiro Oda, has mostly centralized his premise to one reality. It actually wouldn’t make sense if the live-action show decided to go in that direction, as its story is already massive. However, **One Piece **is also a pretty strange series, so there’s no way of knowing for sure if the live-action TV show will stick to one dimension.
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Matt Owens, Steven Maeda, Joe Tracz
Tim Southam, Marc Jobst, Josef Kubota Wladyka
Tiffany Greshler, Diego Gutierrez, Allison Weintraub, Lindsay Gelfand
Young pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his diverse crew embark on a daring quest for treasure and notoriety. Kicking off with the Season 1 release on Netflix in 2023, One Piece brings the adventurous world of the popular manga to life in live-action, capturing Luffy’s relentless pursuit of the legendary One Piece treasure.