Leave it for something anime related to get me out of my writing hiatus, but when there is a weeb activity afoot it is my job to determine if it is worth investigating. With all of the craziness that is happening in Hollywood with the writers and actors strikes, streaming juggernaut Netflix needed a massive win. I am happy to say they found their win stuck in a barrel lost at sea. Netflix’s “One Piece” is a whimsically charming adventure that gives fans of the source material a new love for the series while also inviting the next generations of fans to set sail on one of the most incredible journeys in fiction. Before I dive into the live action series I feel it’s only fair to cover some of the source material because there is A LOT.
“Wealth. Fame. Power…” for many of us in the nerd/anime community these three words have been etched into our brains. Back in July 1997, a mangaka (manga author) by the name of Eiichiro Oda released his first chapter of a new story inside Shonen Jump. The story of a boy with a stretchy body and straw hat by the name of Monkey D. Luffy who declared that he would find the legendary treasure known as the One Piece and become King of the Pirates. Luffy over time built up his crew and reputation to be known as one of the most inglorious pirate crews sailing the seas, The Straw Hat Pirates. The founding members of the Straw Hat Pirates consisted of Luffy as captain, Roronoa Zoro his first mate, Nami the navigator, Usopp the sniper, and Sanji the ship’s cook. These five met and declared their dreams as they set sail onto the Grand Line. 26 years later, Luffy’s story continues as he fights his way to becoming King of the Pirates with his loyal crew.
With 1091 chapters (and counting) of the manga, 1074 (and counting) episodes in the anime, and 15 movies (probably and counting) Oda’s magnum opus refuses to slow down. It is not only the longest running manga of all time, but is also the most successful manga of all time as it has sold over 516.6 million copies… as of August of 2022. It is second to only Superman in terms of copies sold, it is however the Guiness world record holder for “Most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author.” One Piece and Oda have dominated in almost every aspect they possibly could, and with the manga now reaching the final stretch, there was just one thing left for Oda to create. A live action telling of the Straw Hats. Back in 2017 Netflix and Oda announced that One Piece was going to be getting a live action retelling of the series, and fans, myself included, were torn.
Live action anime series are notorious for being not just bad, but horrendous. If they managed to be at least a dumpster fire that would be considered a success. After Netflix’s disastrous attempt at beloved anime Cowboy Bebop, fans became skeptical to say the least. The last thing fans wanted was to see their favorite pirates become bastardized by a shotty live action. Once COVID restrictions laxed, the show began filming in 2021. The cast was announced and genuinely seemed to fit their respected characters perfectly. Then in May of this year the first trailer dropped in, and everyone began to panic… myself included. The effects on Luffy’s powers seemed janky, the acting looked unpolished and it felt like we were getting Cowboy Bebop 2.0. With about a month before the release this last week we were given one more teaser. This trailer gave me something I wasn’t sure I wanted. A heavy dose of Hopeium. A true since that this could actually be a good adaptation, and possibly the one to break the live action curse. Thankfully I was right to hope, because the future King of the Pirates delivered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ades3pQbeh8
While only getting eight episodes for the first season, fingers crossed for a season 2, One Piece covers a lot of material while still not feeling rushed. From Luffy’s introduction all the way to Arlong Park, the show does a good job putting the focus on the developing friendship of the soon to be Straw Hat Pirates. The strongest part of this show is the cast. Casting Directors Libby Goldstein and Junie Lowry-Johnson deserve their flowers because their decisions on the cast are what make this show a worldwide hit. From Iñaki Godoy’s energetic portrayal of Luffy, Emily Rudd perfectly capturing the essence of Nami, Mackenyu bringing the cool factor to fan favorite Roronoa Zoro, but for me, the actor that steals every scene he’s in is Jeff Ward’s Buggy D. Clown. Ward’s portrayal of Buggy is eccentric, outlandish, fun, while still having a sense of eeriness that comes with being the clown pirate. He takes over every scene he’s in and steals the show, as the clown pirate should. You can tell right out the gate that the actors fell in love with this project because the cast oozes chemistry, especially when it comes to Mackenyu and Emily Rudd. When Nami and Zoro slowly lower their walls to one another as they realize though very different, the pain they’ve withstood in their lives feels familiar. Now bring in the charismatic Jacob Romero to play the great liar Usopp and a suave Taz Skylar’s Sanji to kick off the final few episodes, the cast is tied together beautfiully by Iñaki Godoy’s almost perfect portrayal of Luffy. Now I know I’ve spent a lot of time gushing over the cast and show, that isn’t to say this show doesn’t have its issues. In fact, they have a few glaring issues.
One of the major flaws of this show is its visual effects. One of the biggest concerns was how the show was going to showcase Luffy’s gom gom devil fruit powers. Making a character have a rubber body and still look reasonable is a tough act and the first introduction can be tough to get through. I will admit that though I loved seeing the first initial punch, there were instances where it was janky to say the least. The show had a much better time dealing with Buggy’s chop chop devil fruit powers compared to Luffy. Another issue I had with the show was with some of its emotional moments from the source material. I’m not going to blame the younger actors for some of their stiff acting, but some of the most impactful moments for a few of these characters just didn’t have that emotional depth. Without going into spoilers, Sanji’s backstory was one of the few that I felt hit the mark only to feel let down when his next major character moment happens. I understand this is a difficult task as these moments can be tough to recreate, especially if you’ve read the manga or watched the anime, but some of these moments felt lackluster. Speaking of lackluster, another small criticism I have is the designs for the Fishmen. Fishmen are a race of you guessed it, humanoid fish creatures. Outside of the main antagonist, Arlong, the rest of the Fishmen in this series have cringy designs. It isn’t enough for me to make a big fuss about, but it did take away from scenes they’re supposed to be menacing in. With all these gripes I have, that doesn’t mean I still didn’t love this show.
One Piece is a fantastic retelling of the early adventures of Luffy and the Straw Hats. Though there are moments of cringy designs and visual effects, the show makes up for with incredible chemistry between the cast, fun action scenes that have moments of maturity, and an appreciation of the source material. Oda sets sail with more treasure in his chest of successes while leaving behind the blueprint for future live actions.
Next stop the Grand Line.
Final Score: 7.4/10
