The main cast of Netflix's One Piece live-action adaptation has just been announced and people claim that the young actors are all newcomers. However, one particular actor is actually a well-known name when it comes to anime films. In fact, he had previously played an important character in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable Chapter 1!
Mackenyu Arata was recently cast as Roronoa Zoro in One Piece. The Japanese-American actor also shared the good news with his social media followers, admitting that he is excited to play the Pirate Hunter in Netflix's highly anticipated live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda's beloved manga.
Mackenyu might seem like a new face to some but for fans of live-action shonen manga fans, he's already a familiar figure. The 24-year-old actor had previously played Okuyasu Nijimura in Takashi Miike's 2017 film JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable Chapter 1, which adapted Part 4 of Hirohiko Arashi's manga. (Fun fact: the film also starred Alice in Borderland actor Kento Yamazaki as Josuke Higashikata!)
Okuyasu isn't the only major manga character that Arata has played. Fans suspect that Mackenyu nabbed the role of One Piece's expert swordsman Zoro because he previously played one in Rurouni Kenshin: The Final. Mackenyu had shown off his sword skills in the live-action adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki's manga where he played the vengeful Enishi Yukishiro.
Arata is certainly a welcome addition to the One Piece live-action cast and he is sure to deliver a lot of action sequences. Fans should watch out for Zoro when the new series finally drops on Netflix.
The One Piece series will also star Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, Emily Rudd as Nami, Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp and Taz Skylar as Vinsmoke Sanji. The new show is expected to begin production before the end of the year. However, it has not yet been given an official release date. Stay tuned for more updates on this story.
Related: One Piece Netflix Series Introduces Straw Hats Live-Action Cast
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