'One Piece' effect: How Netflix uses tech to bring manga to life

Advances in visual effects open door for wider use of Japanese intellectual property

20231206N One Piece

Netflix's live-action adaptation of "One Piece" had a reported budget of $18 million per episode. (Netflix)

REI NAKAFUJI, Nikkei staff writer

PALO ALTO, U.S. -- Live-action manga adaptations have proven notoriously difficult for Hollywood to get right, but Netflix aims to buck the trend by working with Japanese creators and using advances in visual effects to recreate their worlds more faithfully.

Japanese actor Go Ayano appeared early this year at the Hollywood studio of award-winning production company Scanline VFX, acting out expressions of pain and rage in a space packed with 150 cameras mounted on the walls and floor.

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