To celebrate Luffy’s birthday, One Piece Creator Eiichiro Oda has written a letter to update fans on the live-action One Piece series that will be premiering on Netflix.

In the new letter, Oda-Sensei says that the teams at Tomorrow Studios and Netflix have “been hard at work this entire time”. He also says that the production crew is “brimming with love for One Piece” and “burning with passion” as they are now finishing all eight episodes of the season.

Here is the full letter written by Oda if you would like to give it a read:

The Netflix adaptation of One Piece will adapt the beginning of the series to the Arlong Park Arc (at least if the casting has been any indication), introducing the first five members of the Straw Hats.

One Piece is currently the best-selling manga series of all time, and the Netflix series will be the franchise’s first live-action adaptation. The original manga follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, an enthusiastic young man with the singular aspiration of becoming “King of the Pirates” and his loyal crew, The Straw Hats by finding the legendary treasure known as The One Piece.

The Netflix adaption of One Piece will premiere on the streaming service in 2023.