Fans of the One Piece anime and manga know that Luffy’s grandfather, Garp, doesn’t play a big role in the early chapters. It’s only much later that we see more of Garp as a Marine officer.
However, in the One Piece live-action series, Garp takes on a more central role, even appearing at Roger’s execution—a scene not in the original anime or manga.
In the live-action adaptation, Garp is portrayed as a looming threat who is constantly chasing the Straw Hat crew. This alteration received mixed reactions, especially among dedicated fans active in online One Piece communities.
Many feel that the time spent on Garp’s storyline could have been better used to develop other characters like Usopp or to include fan-favorite characters who were left out of the live-action series.
It turns out that Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, was also hesitant about giving Garp such a significant role in the live-action adaptation. Steven Maeda, one of the people responsible for the live-action series, revealed this in an interview.
He said, “There were a couple of things that took some persuading, and if there is something that Oda san was really unhappy with, we found a way to change it. But there are some things that we tried and got into the show that initially he was gun-shy about. One of them was bringing up Garp as more of a present character in the first eight episodes”
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On the flip side, giving more screen time to characters like Koby and Helmeppo has been well-received by fans. Maeda explained that having these characters actively pursue Luffy from the start added necessary tension to the series.
One of the key issues with Garp’s expanded role in the live-action series is the early revelation that he is Luffy’s grandfather.
This information, coupled with Garp’s orders to capture the Straw Hats alive, diminishes his effectiveness as an antagonist. Because the audience knows he’s not really out to harm Luffy, the sense of threat he’s supposed to represent is weakened.
