In the One Piece anime, the first 61 episodes make up the East Blue saga. Debuting in 1999, the TV anime was originally broadcasted at a 4:3 aspect ratio.
Now the shows are getting remastered for a two-disc Blu-ray release in Japan, and the frame will be cropped to fit a 16:9 widescreen aspect. How will that change the picture? The Blu-ray’s official Twitter account released a short clip for comparison:
As you can see, chunks of the original image are cut out to fit 16:9.
This isn’t the first time a home release has cropped the frame so the anime fills modern screens. (It won’t be the last, either!) This sort of change is noticeable and really changes the viewing experience. I’m sure true fans would prefer seeing a remastered version in the original aspect ratio. I know I would.
