Posted by I am not a fan of the One Piece anime. Between the character designs, 1000+ episodes, and rabid fanbase, I just have no interest in it. The live action Netflix show, however, was a different story.
I remember seeing ads for the show and thinking that it looked ok. I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially because Netflix originals tend to be hit or miss, and their live action anime adaptations usually fall into the miss category. One Piece did not. I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed the show, though I won’t be able to compare the live action and the anime in this review.
First and foremost, the show is manageable. Briefly comparing it with the anime, it looks like it condenses the first 45 episodes into 8 one hour long episodes. One of my biggest reservations about the One Piece anime is just how absurdly long it is. The live action does not have that problem, and while I’m sure it skips all sorts of details, I don’t think much is lost. I really enjoyed the pacing of the show and it kept me interested for its entire duration. From what I’ve seen, the live action looks pretty faithful to the anime, even if it changes things here and there.
I also enjoyed the story more than I thought I was going to. It’s a fairly predictable first season in that while it does set up the overarching plot, it’s primarily episodic and focused on introducing the main cast of characters and their backstories. To briefly summarize the plot, it follows Monkey D. Luffy and his crew (Roronoa Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji) as they sail around the East Blue before traveling to the Grand Line in search of the one piece treasure trove. The first season focuses on the formation of this crew, ending with all of them accepting their place in the crew and preparing to leave for the Grand Line. I know that it follows the manga and anime, so the story is already there. Nevertheless, I have to give the show credit for actually following and respecting the source material.
Turning to the characters, another reservation I have about the anime is the character designs. Some of them are just a little too ridiculous for me. The live action show keeps the character designs accurate, but also makes them more realistic. I appreciate that while the show uses CGI, a lot of the costuming uses practical effects. The show looks really good and keeps the spirit of the anime in this new live action adaptation. Aside from the character designs, I also just really like the characters. I have heard One Piece praised for its characters, and I definitely understand why now. All of the characters are very well written. One of my favorite characters is Garp because he’s an antagonist that isn’t a bad guy, his perspective is just different from Luffy’s. Garp is a Marine, and also Luffy’s grandpa, and he spends the entire season trying to track down and capture Luffy. They eventually face off at the end of the season, and Luffy loses their fight, but he refuses to give up on his dream to find the one piece and become king of the pirates. Garp respects Luffy’s dreams and lets him go. Garp is only an antagonist because his perspective is different from Luffy’s, and it makes him a very compelling character who’s fun to watch. Other antagonists, such as Arlong and Buggy, are more typical in how they go about causing chaos and hurting people, so watching Luffy and the Straw Hats defeat them is very satisfying as well.
Overall, I think that the live action One Piece show is a really good adaptation of the source material. It respects the original anime and manga as it tells the same stories in the live action medium. While it makes changes, I don’t think that the changes detract from the show. As someone who hasn’t watched the anime, I was able to follow along and understand everything just fine. Plus I thought it was paced very well. But above all else, it made me enjoy One Piece. Like I said at the beginning, I am not a One Piece fan. The live action adaptation changed that somewhat. While I don’t know if I’m going to watch the anime (1000+ episodes is a lot after all), I definitely hold the franchise in more esteem than I did previously. The story is fun and sometimes pretty fun, the characters are interesting and compelling, and the action is pretty solid. If you’re a fan of One Piece, I’d definitely say give it a watch. And if you don’t like anime, you’ll still probably enjoy it because it is live action. I look forward to seeing how the show develops in its second season.
Broad Scope Entertainment 