Netflix has unveiled how Chopper is going to look in its live-action adaptation of One Piece, and he’s amazing. The CGI artists did an amazing job transferring Chopper’s cartoon-y portion onto live-action without making it seem jarring. However, Chopper’s look in the One Piece live-action series raises some questions about how the show will handle the remaining Straw Hat Pirates, specifically Brook. After the introduction of the initial five Straw Hats, the remaining members became increasingly more outlandish. Chopper was already a ridiculous idea for a character, a human-reindeer hybrid with round features. Yet some future members of the crew would match the same craziness as Chopper.
Brook has the powers of the Revive-Revive Fruit, which resurrected him after his passing. His body had already decomposed into a skeleton when his soul re-entered his body, explaining his skeletal appearance. Fans were impressed with how the live-action series handled Chopper, giving them more confidence about how the series will touch Brook. Nonetheless, the live-action show may not even last long enough to introduce Brook, who doesn’t appear until several arcs later. Given the current pacing of the series, it’s unknown if the live-action show will remain popular enough to reach later arcs.
Will Brook Be Harder To Animate Than Chopper?
Fans were initially concerned about how Chopper would translate in live-action, given the character’s design and the amount of fur that would need to be animated. CGI fur is notoriously difficult because animators would intricately work on every individual hair strand for them to come to life. Furthermore, the hair will have to move alongside the character, meaning every strand would need its own model and dimensions for the animators to control. There are shortcuts to make CGI fur more manageable, and the technology has greatly advanced in the last several decades. Shots where Chopper will appear on screen would likely be limited to save costs.
In contrast, Brook wears a full suit, with his only skeletal features being visible on his face, neck, and hands. Netflix would only need to fill a stand-in’s face and hands, excluding any scenes where Brook shows off other parts of his body, which would probably be limited in the live-action series. Brook’s cartoonishly large afro could also be used to benefit the crew, shooting the character from behind to avoid animating his skeleton face. Netflix may choose to CGI the entire character anyway if the company wants to accurately capture Brook’s exaggerated, lanky body. Nevertheless, it’s far more practical to have a tall stand-in to represent Brook on set rather than CGI the whole character.
There’s also the possibility that Netflix would use make-up and costumes to create Brook. Filmmakers have been using make-up and prosthetics to create zombies and monsters for decades. Admittedly, what makes Brook a difficult character to create via makeup is that it would be hard to replicate a skeletal feature on a normal person’s body. It would be laborious to replicate the character’s hollow skull without the aid of CGI. However, some thin actors specialize in portraying specialized monsters and creatures under mountains of make-up, so there may be an actor out there willing to go through all the prosthetics to play Brook.
Would the One Piece Live Action Show Make it to Brook?
The first season of the One Piece live-action show only covered around the first hundred chapters of the manga while skipping plenty of content. The second season will cover the Alabasta Saga, which takes up 117 chapters from the manga, but rumors suggest the show may split Alabasta into two seasons. Either way, the Alabasta Saga ends on Chapter 217, and Brook doesn’t get introduced until the Thriller Bark Saga at Chapter 442. Two major sagas take place between Alabasta and Thriller Bark, Skypia and Water 7. The Water 7 arc is extremely vital for the series, meaning the live-action adaptation would probably want to adapt as many key moments from that saga as possible before moving on to Thriller Bark.
Even though fans are excitedly anticipating the future arcs to be adapted, Netflix isn’t guaranteed to renew the series past season 2. Ideally, the live-action series would last long enough to adapt the entire manga, yet that doesn’t seem realistic. It may be cynical, but given how rare certain streaming shows last and the age of the actors, it doesn’t feel possible that the live-action show will adapt the full 1000+ manga series. Nonetheless, Brook’s introduction is still within the live-action show’s grasp, and the creators have multiple options to make the character work. One Piece remains a vital brand for Netflix, having a standout moment for the company’s 2025 Tudum event. Netflix is putting a lot of money into the live-action series. Hopefully, the show will continue to be popular so that the full cast of the Straw Hats can appear.
The post Netflix’s One Piece Chopper Reveal Raises a Big Question About Brook appeared first on ComicBook.com.
