In “One Piece”, young star Mackenyu as (ex-)pirate hunter Lorenor Zorro wows the audience above all with his sword skills. And it’s no coincidence that the 26-year-old is the son of a great Japanese martial arts legend…
As in the manga of the same name and its anime adaptation, the pirate hunter Lorenor Zorro, who eventually becomes a privateer himself, also dreams of becoming the greatest swordsman in the world in the “One Piece” series. But he is already damn good with a blade (or rather with his three blades) in season 1, as he demonstrates again and again in fights.
The fact that these sequences have become so rousing is not least due to Zorro actor Mackenyu, who did most of his stunts and action scenes himself. He was practically born with a talent for martial arts. Mackenyu is the son of the Japanese actor and martial arts guru Sonny Chiba.
EVEN TARANTINO IS A FAN: THIS IS SONNY CHIBA
Sonny Chiba became one of THE defining faces of Asian martial arts cinema over the course of a career that spanned six decades and over 200 film and series productions. With films such as “The Streetfighter” (also known in Germany as “Sonny Chiba – Der Wildeste von allen”) and series such as “Kage no Gundan”, he fought his way into the hearts of numerous fans – even beyond his native Japan.
One of his biggest celebrity admirers is undoubtedly cult director Quentin Tarantino, who already paid homage to Sonny Chiba in 1993 in his screenplay for the crime classic “True Romance”, thus drawing the attention of a larger Western audience to him in the first place. Ten years later, Tarantino went one step further and cast Chiba in his “Kill Bill” films as the legendary sword master Hattori Hanzo (in reference to the historical samurai and ninja of the same name, whom Chiba had embodied in the aforementioned “Kage no Gundan”).
Fittingly for his Tarantino connection, the actor was then part of the ensemble cast of 2012’s “Sushi Girl”, strongly reminiscent of Tarantino’s masterpiece “Reservoir Dogs”. Blockbuster fans might also know him as the Yakuza boss from the PS actioner “The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift”.
Until Sonny Chiba’s death, he and his son unfortunately never had the opportunity to appear in a film together. However, as a gifted martial artist, sword artist and actor, Mackenyu will continue his father’s work in some capacity, in a second season of “One Piece” and surely in many more projects to come.
