One Piece showrunner explains why Nami and Zoro romance is a “hard no” (2024)

No romance aboard the Going Merry.

By Charlie DuncanPublished: 04 September 2023

One Piece spoilers follow.

A romance between Straw Hat Pirate crew members Nami and Zoro won’t be happening.

Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the One Piece manga series debuted last week, following the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) and the Straw Hat Pirates as they search for the mystical One Piece Treasure.

Accompanying Luffy on his trip to the Grand Line as part of his motley crew are Emily Rudd as enigmatic thief Nami and Mackenyu as bounty hunter and swordsman Roronoa Zoro.

While the pair have palpable chemistry on screen, the show’s co-showrunner Steven Maeda has put a swift stop to speculation that Nami and Zoro could have something more than a friendship blossoming.

“One of the mandates from [manga creator] Eiichiro Oda was against romance on the crew,” Maeda told TVLine. “That is a hard no, as far as the manga and the live-action show are concerned.”

Maeda went on to say that theories of a potential tryst between Nami and Zoro are “just because they had great chemistry together”, commenting that any actual romance “certainly wasn’t the intent”.

He added that although this one particular storyline won’t be coming to fruition any time soon, viewers are welcome to take whatever they want from the series, which currently sits at number two on Netflix’s TV Programmes chart.

“One of the fun things about watching television is what you read into it and what you bring to the table when you’re watching a show,” he said.

As for any other love stories aboard the Going Merry – the ship of the Straw Hat Pirates – viewers are set to be similarly disappointed.

Maeda said it is just a “bromance” between crew members Koby (Morgan Davies) and Helmeppo (Aidan Scott) in One Piece, rather than anything more substantial.

“I wanted Koby to have a relationship that grew and changed as they went along becoming unlikely allies after being hardened enemies at the beginning," he clarified.

Although One Piece is dominating Netflix’s charts with its rubbery charm, there’s no news of a second season – yet.

One Piece is available to stream now on Netflix.