It’s been 26 years since the One Piece manga began and six since its live-action adaptation was announced at Netflix.

Author Eiichiro Oda is an executive producer on the show, which debuts on the streaming service this Thursday.

Earlier this year the creator confessed to “frustrating” moments during production of the new show.

Oda wrote: “It felt like, ‘We’re all trying to get to the same place, so how come we’re not on the same wavelength.’”

Nevertheless, he admitted that he and Netflix eventually ended up “working in sync” and said, “they’ve promised that we won’t launch it until I’m satisfied”. It turns out this involved some changes.

Speaking with RadioTimes.com, One Piece live-action director Emma Sullivan said: “You know that [fans] are passionate about it, but they want the best for it.

“You want them to be happy, you know, but I think the only way we can do that is to make [Eiichiro] Oda happy. When he saw stuff that he didn’t like, we redid it.

“So he’s the leader really, and I think if Oda says he’s happy with it, then the fans will be happy. But you know, we just hope we did our best.”

The author also recently revealed what his biggest worry about the show was and how Luffy star Ińaki Godoy dispelled it.

During a rare interview, Oda told the One Piece Luffy star: “My biggest worry about the live-action was whether we would be able to find someone like Luffy.

“But I was watching various audition tapes, and when I saw you, I kind of started laughing. You’re just like the character I draw in the manga. I intuitively thought, ‘That’s Luffy’…

“I can’t imagine anyone else playing this role… I am so grateful that you were born to be just like Luffy.”

The first reactions have been positive and Oda has told fans “There have been no compromises on this show”, so here’s hoping the end result is nothing short of spectacular.

One Piece starts streaming on Netflix on Thursday.