Netflix’s One Piece Isn’t Its Biggest Adaptation Test – My Hero Academia Is

Netflix’s One Piece live-action show will take a lot of effort to be pulled off just right – but the My Hero Academia adaptation is its true test.

Netflix’s One Piece live-action anime adaptation is sure to require much care and effort to make work – but the streaming platform’s My Hero Academia live-action movie will be its biggest adaption test. Netflix’s One Piece adaptation has naturally turned a lot of heads, in no small part because the series is so popular and long-running in both its anime and manga formats. Given this, many have wondered if One Piece is set to be Netflix’s most ambitious adaptation project.

However, Netflix’s One Piece has some real competition in this category. Said competition arose in late 2022, when Netflix was announced to be co-producing the impending live-action adaptation of My Hero Academia alongside Legendary Entertainment. While both series present unique set ups for adaptations – and will require a careful hand to remain authentic to the source material while being their own thing – the superhero anime adaptation looks to be the biggest adaptation challenge for Netflix going forward.

Related: Why Netflix’s One Piece Must Change The Manga’s Ending

Why Netflix’s My Hero Academia Adaptation Is A Bigger Test Than One Piece

The main thing that separates My Hero Academia and One Piece in terms of their respective Netflix live-action adaptations is that the former is currently scheduled to be a feature film. This means even more care has to be taken with elements of the plot and characterization. While Netflix’s One Piece could run for many seasons if its initial run is successful – allowing for things like less focus on specific characters with the understanding they can be explored more in potential later seasons – the live-action My Hero Academia movie needs to provide a more complete feeling narrative arc in the shorter timespan a film provides.

My Hero Academia follow up movies are possible if the first does well, but also present more of an issue in terms of needing to streamline the story so that it works as longer individual sit-down viewings. This is entirely possible – if not probable due to the strength of the original source material – but certainly provides a risky potential adaptation issue. While Netflix’s One Piece will also certainly be dealing with the delicate scenario that adapting a beloved anime and manga series inevitably is, the long-form format gives it opportunities to adapt certain moments that would otherwise likely be cut for a time in a movie setting.

Netflix’s My Hero Academia & One Piece Adaptations Hint At Its Anime Future

The impending releases of Netlfix’s One Piece and My Hero Academia live-action adaptations hint at a potential big avenue in its future: namely, adapting more major anime, and adapting larger anime series, too. Series like Alice In Borderland seeing successful live-action installments proves that adaptations can have strong success – but Netflix hasn’t delved into the water of more long-running series, likely because testing the waters with these shorter adaptations holds lower stakes.

More: Netflix Can’t Cancel One Piece Before Season 3, Right?