One Piece is a strange series and adapting the anime to a live-action TV show has definitely proven that. From Luffy’s stretchable everything to Transponder Snails which have now taken over the internet – One Piece fans can’t wait to see more when the show debuts on 31 August.
The latest bunch of craziness to come from the show are these Transponder Snails. These adorably grotesque creatures are used in many ways throughout the One Piece series and the live-action version isn’t leaving them out.
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Netflix released some screens of these Transponder Snails. One image seen below shows Garp using his Transponder Snails during a speech and the creature is just downright hilarious-looking.
Netflix says these Transponder Snails are about the size of house cats and were actual physical objects on set. While it is easy to assume these little critters were just CGI models that is not the case. In fact, each Transponder Snail was handcrafted to look like its owner and actual physical puppets on set.
First look at Transponder Snail!! #OnePieceNetflix pic.twitter.com/iCcLHgkytL
— ONE PIECE NETFLIX FAN (@OP_Netflix_Fan) August 23, 2023
Writer and showrunner Matt Owens says that these puppets were incredibly fun to create and play around with. They had an animatronic device that plugged into the side of each one and the animator could use knobs and buttons to move certain features. One could make the eye stalk bend and rotate.
These Transponder Snails also had detachable eyeballs which allowed the set team to customize them with different expressions. There are four of these snails in the show so be sure to look out for them.
“Four fully animatronic transponder snails that are roughly the size of house cats were created for the show as well… The snails were also customized to like their owners. Garp’s snail, for instance, sports a row of pearly white teeth and a beard. We had this cool opportunity to make puppets and it was just so much fun to play with them. We have an animatronic device that plugs into the inside of the puppet that can make the eye stalks bend and rotate. They also have different detachable eyeballs so we could give them a variety of expressions and add a little bit of movement to the face. Sometimes they’re sleeping, so the little eye stalks droop. They were so much fun.
The One Piece live-action Netflix series releases on 31 August. Catch up on the behind-the-scenes look from the show here.
