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Netflix's live-action One Piece really works, and here are seven anime shows that could follow in its footsteps. After its release, it quickly became apparent that many viewed the Netflix One Piece show as a surprisingly good anime-to-live-action adaptation. No one really expected the show to work in live-action, due to the over-the-top, incredibly vibrant, dense world of the anime and the sheer length of the original story. Somehow, though, Netflix defied expectations even with One Piece season 2, only further making the show an unexpected success.
One Piece even returns to Netflix in three months, solidifying the popular anime's resurgence on the streaming service. However, not every anime adaptation has worked in live-action, with only recent attempts somewhat turning things around. Thanks to One Piece, studios are learning exactly how anime stories can work in live-action, and there are seven that could prove to be the copy of One Piece's lightning in a bottle.
7 Gurren Lagann
Gurren-Lagann-Opening-Gurren-Lagann-Forms
Gurren Lagann would work as a live-action show primarily due to its premise. The anime is set in a world where humans live underground, with two characters finding their way to the surface using a mech suit. Upon doing so, they use this mech to fight against enemy forces. If anything translates well to live-action, it is huge mech fights. From Transformers to Pacific Rim, mech fights can look great and be viscerally exciting in ways regular action movies or shows aren’t. Combine this with solid characters and a fun tone, and Gurren Lagann could be the next One Piece.
6 Death Note
Netflix has already tried and drastically failed to adapt Death Note into live-action, but One Piece showed the streamer, and any others, how to fix its past effort. After all, Death Note is not suited to a movie runtime, which is what Netflix opted for. A live-action show, instead, could properly translate the beloved anime's compelling story. Moreover, a live-action Death Note show could better translate the tone of the anime, instead of what Netflix went for.
Netflix made Death Note more of a Westernized "teen scream" movie, leaving behind the thriller elements of the source material. If a Death Note live-action show were made, it could be a cerebral, psychological, supernatural thriller. In doing so, it would propel itself into a different stratosphere from the last Death Note adaptation, offering something very different, but equally excellent, from the live-action One Piece.
5 Attack on Titan
Eren in his Attack Titan form in Attack on Titan: Final Season
If one anime is considered better and more popular than One Piece, at least concerning general audiences, it is Attack on Titan. Attack on Titan is a mystery-box show that slowly unravels its plot over time, offering medieval settings, fast-paced action, and excellent character arcs in the process. In terms of anime with a tight story and mature, grounded themes amid otherworldly fantasy elements, Attack on Titan is widely considered the best. For this alone, a live-action adaptation done well could top One Piece.
4 Vinland Saga
Thorfinn holding his dagger.
Vinland Saga does not contain many of the fantastical elements of the other anime on this list, making it a perfect candidate for a live-action show that could be better than One Piece. Perhaps the most difficult part of the latter is bringing its fantasy aspects to life, skyrocketing its budget. While Vinland Saga is big in scale, it is a medieval epic rather than an otherworldly pirate story. If modern TV gets anything right, it is medieval epics.
From The Last Kingdom to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Vikings, medieval epics work when effort is put in. Vinland Saga's Viking story could provide exactly that, complete with excellent characters. If it were provided with enough budget to translate the beautiful locations and big battles of the anime, too, Vinland Saga could be a grounded show that transcends being just another live-action anime.
3 Pokémon
A closeup of Pikachu in Detective Pikachu
Pokémon has already proven it can work in live-action with Detective Pikachu. The movie was a great time, with the unique Pokémon location from the game of the same name being translated beautifully. What truly made it succeed, though, is how well the Pokémon themselves were depicted. That was arguably the most difficult part, and the movie nailed it. If that can be replicated, a live-action TV show could be excellent, especially if it follows the format of the Pokémon games.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood
Another highly-ranked anime, like Attack on Titan, is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The latter would need a substantial budget to be translated well, but not too much more than One Piece. With the latter proving it can be done, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood could make an excellent live-action show. With an excellent magic system, great characters, and a tight, concise story to tell, the show, with the right budget, time, and care, could be even better than Netflix's One Piece is.
1 Haikyuu
Taking a different approach from the list of action-heavy, fantasy anime, Haikyuu could make an excellent live-action show. Recent success stories like Off-Campus and Heated Rivalry have proven that audiences desire well-crafted sports dramas. Haikyuu just so happens to be exactly that and could thus be translated to live-action relatively easily, especially where budget is concerned. If depicted faithfully, Haikyuu could occupy the sports drama niche and become mainstream, even more so than One Piece.
Release Date August 31, 2023
Network Netflix
Showrunner Matt Owens, Steven Maeda, Joe Tracz
Directors Tim Southam, Marc Jobst, Josef Kubota Wladyka
Writers Tiffany Greshler, Diego Gutierrez, Allison Weintraub, Lindsay Gelfand
Iñaki Godoy
Monkey D. Luffy
