Summary
One Piece’s head of prosthetics, Jaco Snyman, teases Tony Tony Chopper’s appearance in season 2 as he explains how he would design the character. One Piece, a live-action adaptation of the anime and manga of the same name, was officially renewed for season 2 by Netflix after its successful debut. The rich source material means a few more One Piece characters will be adapted into live-action for the first time. Chopper may be one interesting character to adapt, considering his popularity and the fact that he has become a mascot for the franchise.
In an interview with GameSpot, Snyman teased how Chopper might appear in One Piece season 2. He revealed that Chopper was one character he was excited to potentially design for the series.
Chopper would be a fairly difficult character to adapt to live-action, considering he most frequently takes on the unique form of a reindeer-human hybrid. His design may mean he’s made chiefly of prosthetics. However, Snyman indicated wanting to take a similar approach to how One Piece adapted Arlong (McKinley Belcher III) through a mixture of prosthetics and practical effects.
What Tony Tony Chopper’s Season 2 Appearance Means For One Piece
At the time of his interview, Snyman didn’t know that One Piece would be renewed for a season 2. However, the renewal dropped last week, and it focused specifically on Chopper’s impending entrance. The renewal suggested that the Straw Hat crew might need a Doctor for their season 2 adventures; Chopper isn’t just a loyal friend to the crew but also serves as the team’s doctor. Hence, One Piece showrunner Steven Maeda’s favorite character, Chopper, is making his way to live-action.
Chopper’s arrival in One Piece season 2 should work quite well, considering that he is one of the early recruits to the team, forming its sixth member. As a result, his entrance should occur quite naturally. Meanwhile, he’ll fit into the show’s themes quite well and highlight Luffy’s (Iñaki Godoy) accepting nature and desire to help everyone achieve their dreams. In the manga and anime, Chopper has been an outcast his whole life. However, Luffy recognizes his skill as a doctor and readily accepts the little guy, with Chopper finally feeling supported for the first time.
While his story should fit neatly into One Piece season 2, Chopper’s appearance will be challenging. Maeda has previously expressed wanting to avoid CGI, thus making characters as faithful and as practical as possible. This resulted in the Fishmen, for example, being regular-sized humans but having a much more realistic appearance than if they had been CGI. While Chopper is 15 in the anime and manga, a younger actor may be needed for his signature short stature and cute appearance. Chopper may be challenging to adapt in Netflix’s One Piece, but what he will add to the series may make up for the difficulties.
Source: GameSpot/Twitter
