Many fandoms can hold their IP of choice a little too close to the heart and take even the slightest affront with the utmost seriousness and offense, but it’s not difficult to see why a bold claim comparing Netflix’s incoming episodic adaptation of One Piece with Harry Potter has ruffled so many feathers.
The former is quite literally the best-selling manga series of all-time and has carved out a sizeable army of supporters dotted all over the world, so it’s not as if the streaming service is doing people a favor by introducing an obscure property to the masses with a coat of very expensive paint.
On the other hand, the Wizarding World has been run into the ground by both the disappointing Fantastic Beasts spin-offs, Max’s in-development reboot, and the aftermath of anytime J.K. Rowling opens her mouth, never mind the fact they’ve barely got anything in common other than being fantastical.
With that in mind, ratcheting up the hyperbole to mention the two in the same sentence has achieved the impressive feat of offending One Piece die-hards and Potterheads alike, who refuse to let them be stuffed into the same soundbite.
It’s apples and oranges, really, but you can understand why the respective backers of each beloved franchise are so aghast at having them pitted against each other. One is a TV series based on a manga that inspired a TV series, while the other is being rebooted for the small screen after being spun off on the silver one, which came after it originated as a string of incredibly successful novels.
People do love to argue on the internet, though, so maybe we should just let ’em have at it.