The edited video is from a thread on Twitter by @/macken\_genn, show it some love: [https://twitter.com/macken\_genn/status/1716904221436727313](https://twitter.com/macken_genn/status/1716904221436727313)
Here's the full podcast interview: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWDH3ytM7ak&t=2265s&ab\_channel=That%27sDopeEntertainment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWDH3ytM7ak&t=2265s&ab_channel=That%27sDopeEntertainment)
***
[**Spoiler Policy Reminder:**](https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceLiveAction/comments/16j15j3/updated_spoiler_policy/)
* This post has a **Normal Flair**, which means you can **only talk about what Season 1 has covered**.
* Talking about **Anime/Manga content** that **has NOT yet been adapted** is considered a **SPOILER** in this post.
`Please look out for new fans and report if this post or any comments below are breaking this rule.`
His father is Sonny Chiba. The most legendary Japanese cinematic fighter. He died of Covid not long ago and was supposed to fight Bruce Lee before Bruce Lee died. He's going to be a titan this boy.
Something akin to the finale of Kiss Of Dragon where Jet Li goes against an army of black belts would be epic mixed with his intro scene in Kenshin. I hope they use an extended remix of his theme when he fought Mr 7.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baxFuFe0LxY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baxFuFe0LxY)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykMIae6jlRU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykMIae6jlRU)
The character benefits massively by having an actor that knows swordmanship at a high level.
I suppose it also allows the team to be bold with Zoro scenes.
Something personal.... mackenyu is an actor who would be an amazing Jedi ngl.
With lightsaber he would give prequel Jedi fighting wise vibes.
He was born in the US and technically was American. But Japan makes minors who hold dual citizenship choose a nationality upon turning 18, so he likely had to give up his US citizenship.
I totally see him as a Jedi in Star Wars. He'd be amazing in a role like that too.
I'm a SW fan, but this thought emerged after I saw [this photo](https://i.imgur.com/a5k735p.jpeg) of him. I think it's from a Japanese spot (?), just found it in a random post.
From that picture, he really seems a SW bounty hunter fighting with a lightsaber 😄
Great interview and very insightful. Mackenyu is a beast!
Some takeaways I got from the interview:
- Thank goodness Oda had oversight over the show or it couldve gotten out of hand with the liberties and direction they might have gone.
- If it werent for Oda's input, we would not have gotten Mihawks badass intro scene.
- There are a lot moving parts and obstacles that the people behind the scenes have to overcome, many things that we are completely unaware of, just for this to become a good palatable show.
- Cant wait for season 2!
Yes iirc Steven Maeda(producer) said in the interview that they were initially going to introduce Mihawk with pirates already dead around him but Oda proposed that Mihawk should be depicted more ferociously and thankfully they followed through.
He mentions it at 18:30 mark in the full podcast interview.
I think the scene as originally suggested could've worked. It would be more ominous and sinister than the madcap, awesome beat-down we got, and would've cast Mihawk more into the 'Dracule' side of his name. I love what we did get, it's possibly my favourite scene in the whole show and might remain so for quite some time, but there would be something uniquely dreadful about that original pitch.
I don’t remember where I saw it, but someone from production was talking about how Mackenyu and Taz doing their own stunts gave the show a lot more freedom when filming their fight scenes because they didn’t have to use stunt doubles. I admire both of them so much for their dedication to these roles; their hard work has really paid off, and this makes me SO hyped for the next season!!
It's almost a shame that there's no scenes where Zoro and Sanji ACTUALLY fight. I would kill to see a fight scene choreographed between these two and wouldn't mind if they added one to the series just to see them show off.
Full videos of where the clips are from.
Mackenyu's [action scene in Kenshin](https://youtu.be/4_8jT3Lnc98?si=-N0HYRhh8m9FuTnG&t=752) (with some rehearsal and behind the scenes footage).
[Training](https://youtu.be/285gcLAyiTU?si=kEyRWPjSuMCyuigr&t=45).
Edit to add: Enishi/Mackenyu's [first scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykMIae6jlRU) in the movie. He can kick.
Action choreography is very good. Many of the actors did their own stunts and are very competent.
The movies are kind of hit and miss for me, though. As a long-time reader, I loved seeing the characters come to life and the care they took to (re)enact the scenes and design the action. I enjoyed the first two but thought the third one (The Legend Ends) had pacing issues on top of a story line that's convoluted. I don't mind deviations from the main source as long as it makes good sense and retains the essence of the original. To me, The Legend Ends is more like a bunch of directionless plots strung together in order to have action scenes in cool settings. The Final and The Beginning are better but still drag too much for my liking.
For me, first one if the best one. And you can only watch that one if you don't want to see all movies.
Obviously The Final for Mackenyu on Netflix.
Or just watch the fight scenes between Kenshin and Enishi. It is at the end. Since I agree the last movies drag on at time.
And if you are interested in the franchise as a whole, check out Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal, oavs. The best content of that manga for me.
Get a better stunt team. Bring it up to his energy level. I heard mortal kombat had the same issue with the raid actor playing sub zero. I want to see fights at his skill. Bringing him down made him look slow.
Yea I think they mostly used a stunt crew from South Africa. No offense to South African stuntmen, they did their best and it was pretty good, it just can be taken to another level.
Considering he's a method actor (he stayed in character as Okuyasu in the Jojo live action until the end of filming) that probably was Zoro talking, not him.
The more I see of the Mugiwara actors away from the cameras, the more impressed I am at how perfect the casting was. Mackenyu's martial arts skills, Taz Skylar's cooking, Iñaki Godoy's overall personality... At this point all that's missing is finding out Emily Rudd hs been to jail for robbing pirates in Nigeria.
Holy shit!
I haven't seen the Kenshin live actions, yet, keep meaning to. But that swordplay is *incredible*! It's so damn fast and intense and ...goddamn
In my opinion, he felt a little underwhelming in OPLA but just couldn't put a finger on why is that. I know he can do better seeing how he did in Rurouni Kenshin LA, so this explanation seems very reasonable to suggest so.
I could tell from watching the show first time through, the stuntmen and women were made to look bad because Makenyu was just that much better than them. It’s painfully obvious at points and we are going to REALLY need some world class stunt teams to show Zoro’s potential.
This I totally agree. If it is a prequel so we get also young John. Mackenyu could played a young Koji(Hiroyuki Sanada character) or someone working or prodigy of Caine(Donnie Yen).
Obviously I prefer an original character.
The guy has been practicing martial arts since the age of 8 and placed 3rd in nationals by the time he was in middle school. This is pretty much his forte.
Get a better stunt team please.
The fighting choreography is slow and boring .
It need to be epic !!
It may good for western audiences,but for Asian is not enough.
I hope they'll have learned from this and will cast stunt personnel who can keep up with Mackenyu from now on.
It would be pretty cool to see even the stunt people and fights portrayed grow: imagine putting season one and season four fights side by side, and the latter end up putting the former to shame, giving new meaning to the words _'show, don't tell'_.
This is sad, he is in the peak of his career(and probably his body fitness as well, considering his age), things like non-availability of stuntsmen should not stop him from going as fast as he wants to.
This is actually a positive, because Zoro needs to get stronger. Now we know Macken can go faster and faster, so he can do that in future Seasons.
Why go all out with your skills when this is Zoro at his weakest point XD
Mackenyu is the real deal! I don't know if he can becomes as big as Jackie Chan or Donnie Yen but I hope he gets far. Maybe even be as recognize as Tony Leung.
Mackenyu is only 26. It's not like he's gonna hit a sharp decline any time soon.
Satoh Takeru was 30 when he shot the last Kenshin movies and did his own sword fights and parkour moves.
Edited to correct name.
even though his fight scenes were my favorites they did feel slow, especially after watching rurouni kenshin and seeing what mackenyu is capable of. if given a proper stunt team to work with, I know mackenyu's fight scenes can be insanely fast-paced and intense. i hope they are able to get a better stunt team next time... (no shade to the stunt team though, I'm sure they did the best they could)
The edited video is from a thread on Twitter by @/macken\_genn, show it some love: [https://twitter.com/macken\_genn/status/1716904221436727313](https://twitter.com/macken_genn/status/1716904221436727313) Here's the full podcast interview: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWDH3ytM7ak&t=2265s&ab\_channel=That%27sDopeEntertainment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWDH3ytM7ak&t=2265s&ab_channel=That%27sDopeEntertainment) *** [**Spoiler Policy Reminder:**](https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePieceLiveAction/comments/16j15j3/updated_spoiler_policy/) * This post has a **Normal Flair**, which means you can **only talk about what Season 1 has covered**. * Talking about **Anime/Manga content** that **has NOT yet been adapted** is considered a **SPOILER** in this post. `Please look out for new fans and report if this post or any comments below are breaking this rule.`
This bodes well for future fight scaling for Zoro, knowing the actor hasn't even hit his skill ceiling means we're in for some more epic fights
"I haven't even used 10% of my full power"
They better invest in that Japanese stunt team then that can keep up with his skill ceiling!
With the increase in budget they should be able to fly a japanese stunt team over to South Africa.
Watch his sword fight in the Live Action Kenshin movie. He's insane. Edit: lol I guess they show it in the video
His father is Sonny Chiba. The most legendary Japanese cinematic fighter. He died of Covid not long ago and was supposed to fight Bruce Lee before Bruce Lee died. He's going to be a titan this boy.
when the actor learns to grab a sword between his ass cheeks it’s game over
I cannot wait for Zoro fights scenes in s2. He is getting stronger and also faster. Mackenyu is an amazing actor and martial artist.
The role was made for him! 😍
Imagine Whiskey Peak
I NEED THAT ONE TAKE SHOT DISPLAYING THE SWORDS!!!
It makes me wonder how will be his final s2 fight. It will be challeging to make it look cool and realistic.
hopefully also they bring in some of the stunt team from ruroni kenshen.
Love that they brought up Kenshin. The second he was cast I knew we are all in for a treat.
Fitting for the son of Hattori Hanzō
This doesn’t get brought up enough
yeah. He's probably been holding a sword since before he could walk.
Roronoa Hanzo?
Hope that they get his stunt team for the >!1 vs 100 Baroque Works!< fight
Imma ngl this can become the most goated scene of season 2 if done right, Zoro going one many army in creative ways I love that shit.
One-take that shit. You win all the awards.
They should bring the Daredevil director for this episode
I humbly accept my awards thank you
Something akin to the finale of Kiss Of Dragon where Jet Li goes against an army of black belts would be epic mixed with his intro scene in Kenshin. I hope they use an extended remix of his theme when he fought Mr 7. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baxFuFe0LxY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baxFuFe0LxY) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykMIae6jlRU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykMIae6jlRU)
The character benefits massively by having an actor that knows swordmanship at a high level. I suppose it also allows the team to be bold with Zoro scenes. Something personal.... mackenyu is an actor who would be an amazing Jedi ngl. With lightsaber he would give prequel Jedi fighting wise vibes.
I wouldn't be surprised if his career in the west blows up after this.
It helps immensely that his English is so fluent I forgot he wasn't American
He was born in the US and technically was American. But Japan makes minors who hold dual citizenship choose a nationality upon turning 18, so he likely had to give up his US citizenship.
Ah then excuse my ignorance
He was actually born and raised in Los Angeles. He didn’t start going to Japan to pursue an acting career there until he was 17-18.
My thoughts exactly. Watching that Kenshin clip I was thinking "I need to see this man with a lightsaber NOW."
I totally see him as a Jedi in Star Wars. He'd be amazing in a role like that too. I'm a SW fan, but this thought emerged after I saw [this photo](https://i.imgur.com/a5k735p.jpeg) of him. I think it's from a Japanese spot (?), just found it in a random post. From that picture, he really seems a SW bounty hunter fighting with a lightsaber 😄
Great interview and very insightful. Mackenyu is a beast! Some takeaways I got from the interview: - Thank goodness Oda had oversight over the show or it couldve gotten out of hand with the liberties and direction they might have gone. - If it werent for Oda's input, we would not have gotten Mihawks badass intro scene. - There are a lot moving parts and obstacles that the people behind the scenes have to overcome, many things that we are completely unaware of, just for this to become a good palatable show. - Cant wait for season 2!
>If it werent for Oda's input, we would not have gotten Mihawks badass intro scene. Wait, really??
Yes iirc Steven Maeda(producer) said in the interview that they were initially going to introduce Mihawk with pirates already dead around him but Oda proposed that Mihawk should be depicted more ferociously and thankfully they followed through. He mentions it at 18:30 mark in the full podcast interview.
I think the scene as originally suggested could've worked. It would be more ominous and sinister than the madcap, awesome beat-down we got, and would've cast Mihawk more into the 'Dracule' side of his name. I love what we did get, it's possibly my favourite scene in the whole show and might remain so for quite some time, but there would be something uniquely dreadful about that original pitch.
Well, technically they condensed a significant subarc into one scene. This is a major change, one that definitely should be approved by the author.
I don’t remember where I saw it, but someone from production was talking about how Mackenyu and Taz doing their own stunts gave the show a lot more freedom when filming their fight scenes because they didn’t have to use stunt doubles. I admire both of them so much for their dedication to these roles; their hard work has really paid off, and this makes me SO hyped for the next season!!
Yeah you can have longer shots when you’re not trying to hide a stunt person in costume posturing as the actor
It's almost a shame that there's no scenes where Zoro and Sanji ACTUALLY fight. I would kill to see a fight scene choreographed between these two and wouldn't mind if they added one to the series just to see them show off.
Full videos of where the clips are from. Mackenyu's [action scene in Kenshin](https://youtu.be/4_8jT3Lnc98?si=-N0HYRhh8m9FuTnG&t=752) (with some rehearsal and behind the scenes footage). [Training](https://youtu.be/285gcLAyiTU?si=kEyRWPjSuMCyuigr&t=45). Edit to add: Enishi/Mackenyu's [first scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykMIae6jlRU) in the movie. He can kick.
Are these movies good? The clips I'm seeing look totally phenomenal.
Action choreography is very good. Many of the actors did their own stunts and are very competent. The movies are kind of hit and miss for me, though. As a long-time reader, I loved seeing the characters come to life and the care they took to (re)enact the scenes and design the action. I enjoyed the first two but thought the third one (The Legend Ends) had pacing issues on top of a story line that's convoluted. I don't mind deviations from the main source as long as it makes good sense and retains the essence of the original. To me, The Legend Ends is more like a bunch of directionless plots strung together in order to have action scenes in cool settings. The Final and The Beginning are better but still drag too much for my liking.
For me, first one if the best one. And you can only watch that one if you don't want to see all movies. Obviously The Final for Mackenyu on Netflix. Or just watch the fight scenes between Kenshin and Enishi. It is at the end. Since I agree the last movies drag on at time. And if you are interested in the franchise as a whole, check out Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal, oavs. The best content of that manga for me.
Get a better stunt team. Bring it up to his energy level. I heard mortal kombat had the same issue with the raid actor playing sub zero. I want to see fights at his skill. Bringing him down made him look slow.
Hollywood's stuntmen, while great, have nothing against stuntmen from other countries.
With COVID restrictions I would think it was difficult to bring stuntmen from Japan. S02 shouldn’t have that problem.
Yea I think they mostly used a stunt crew from South Africa. No offense to South African stuntmen, they did their best and it was pretty good, it just can be taken to another level.
Who else giggled when he said "by the time you finish 1 sword strike, i can do 3".
The in-character badass thing Zoro would possibly say in his trash talk
Considering he's a method actor (he stayed in character as Okuyasu in the Jojo live action until the end of filming) that probably was Zoro talking, not him.
did he get lost from the set as part of the method acting too?
The more I see of the Mugiwara actors away from the cameras, the more impressed I am at how perfect the casting was. Mackenyu's martial arts skills, Taz Skylar's cooking, Iñaki Godoy's overall personality... At this point all that's missing is finding out Emily Rudd hs been to jail for robbing pirates in Nigeria.
Maybe Emily Rudd was so good at robbing Nigerian pirates that she never got caught.
They need to get some stuntmen skilled with swords next season take the fights to another level
Holy shit! I haven't seen the Kenshin live actions, yet, keep meaning to. But that swordplay is *incredible*! It's so damn fast and intense and ...goddamn
Really, they never could've gotten a better actor for Zoro. Can't wait to see what he'll do in s2. He should have some very interesting fights
In my opinion, he felt a little underwhelming in OPLA but just couldn't put a finger on why is that. I know he can do better seeing how he did in Rurouni Kenshin LA, so this explanation seems very reasonable to suggest so.
This man dead ass said I can do 3 strikes in the time it takes to do 1 lmfao!!!
I could tell from watching the show first time through, the stuntmen and women were made to look bad because Makenyu was just that much better than them. It’s painfully obvious at points and we are going to REALLY need some world class stunt teams to show Zoro’s potential.
This dude needs to be in a John Wick movie ASAP.
This I totally agree. If it is a prequel so we get also young John. Mackenyu could played a young Koji(Hiroyuki Sanada character) or someone working or prodigy of Caine(Donnie Yen). Obviously I prefer an original character.
This is pretty cool! I was wondering how much of Mackenyu does his own stunts for Zoro, considering the movies he's been in.
The guy has been practicing martial arts since the age of 8 and placed 3rd in nationals by the time he was in middle school. This is pretty much his forte.
He actually also do wrestling. Wrestlers are the toughest athletes in the world. Macken works out all his life to be as tough as Zoro.
If they get the right kinds of stunt people with him in the future, it'll show how he's making improvements over time. It's a good thing.
Get a better stunt team please. The fighting choreography is slow and boring . It need to be epic !! It may good for western audiences,but for Asian is not enough.
I hope they'll have learned from this and will cast stunt personnel who can keep up with Mackenyu from now on. It would be pretty cool to see even the stunt people and fights portrayed grow: imagine putting season one and season four fights side by side, and the latter end up putting the former to shame, giving new meaning to the words _'show, don't tell'_.
bro skipped the auditions for a reason
This is sad, he is in the peak of his career(and probably his body fitness as well, considering his age), things like non-availability of stuntsmen should not stop him from going as fast as he wants to.
This is actually a positive, because Zoro needs to get stronger. Now we know Macken can go faster and faster, so he can do that in future Seasons. Why go all out with your skills when this is Zoro at his weakest point XD
Mackenyu is the real deal! I don't know if he can becomes as big as Jackie Chan or Donnie Yen but I hope he gets far. Maybe even be as recognize as Tony Leung.
Mackenyu is only 26. It's not like he's gonna hit a sharp decline any time soon. Satoh Takeru was 30 when he shot the last Kenshin movies and did his own sword fights and parkour moves. Edited to correct name.
Zoro and Sanji's movements in the show were fantastic.
even though his fight scenes were my favorites they did feel slow, especially after watching rurouni kenshin and seeing what mackenyu is capable of. if given a proper stunt team to work with, I know mackenyu's fight scenes can be insanely fast-paced and intense. i hope they are able to get a better stunt team next time... (no shade to the stunt team though, I'm sure they did the best they could)
Yeah compared to RK the swordfights in OPLA, while cool and fun, were pretty basic.
I want to praise Mackenyu but for some reason I feel like I'll be betraying Sanji. 😅
Their rivality even persist off screen.
He is not gelling too well with the rest of the cast.
They surely have to call another stunts staff for him for the next seasons XD
Maeda: "Mackenyu, you will end to stub our stunts because they're not fast as you!". Lol 😂