Netflix's One Piece

So, it's finally here. Netflix's live action adaptation of one of the most beloved mangas ever created. 8 hour plus episodes detailing the "East Blue Saga"

I'm at Usopp's introduction episode. So far it's pretty good.
It is *very* truncated. It just has to be considering all the material. And there are some changes that people are not going to like. But, overall it seems to cleave fairly close to the manga.

Not going to go into spoilers or anything like that but I would like to touch on a few things.

First off, the cast.
This is, by far, the biggest plus going for the series. The casting here is just excellent. Absolutely perfect. Inaki Godoy absolutely embodies Luffy. The energy, the attitude, all are just spot on perfect. Likewise Makenyu makes for a spot on perfect Zolo. Really, the only difference in characters compared to their manga counterparts is the occasional ridiculous proportions. There's just no way to create the proportions that line up with the art. This does the best they can.

The action sequences are exciting and fun. The special effects with the devil fruit powers are pretty well done overall. Hopefully this bodes well for a Fantastic Four movie if we get this good of CG with Luffy.

The settings look good. They do capture some of the more interesting and weird characters in all their glory. Some people have animalistic features, like ears and horns and all look good. Merry Go is also just spot on.

In my view, this is just about the best adaptation I've seen for a manga/anime.

I've always appreciated One Piece having a recognizably unique art style rather than just looking like every other anime out there, but I lost interest when it became clear that it was turning into one of those series that just gets stretched on into infinity, on top of the typical anime problem of the 52-episode-a-year anime running out of source material within the first season and having to pad itself out with filler, filler and more filler. So, yes, on a fundamental level, I think a lot of people are going to find this re-adaptation more tolerable than the anime that's stretched 100 issues into 1000 episodes so far.

And hey, in looking up the exact numbers for that snark, I read that Oda is planning to end the comic in another year or two, and even if that's a conservative estimate, it sounds like this adaptation might actually be able to hold out until it's done and won't have to resort to pulling a Game of Thrones.

This is what happens when you get the original creator involved. Oda put a lot of time and effort into every aspect of this series to make sure they got it right; even putting the manga on multiple hiatus' to do so.

A lot of what I like are some of the small details, like the first episode being 'Romance Dawn' which was the proto-type name for the series; or how we can hear Bink's brew/sake playing in the background in one of the flash backs.

I always expected this to be truncated; since the manga has over 1000 chapters, there was no way it could ever be 1:1 but they keep the majority of the major beats and characters.

Having never seen the anime, I’m liking this so far. They did a good job selling the setting as its own world. One of my biggest gripes with Cowboy Bebop was the scenes that were filmed in contemporary locations with minimal set dressing. That really broke the suspension of disbelief. One Piece seems to keep up the stylized look throughout and it just works.

Only two episodes in but I really do like the dude they have for Luffy. Dunno about Zorro or Nami yet but really feeling Luffy. Also the dude they got for Buggy was great.

Its been probably a decade since I've watched the start of one piece so no idea how faithful it is, but at least it doesn't seem bad like cowboy bebop was.

I FINALLY got around to watching all of this. And...yeah, this is good! FAR better than I was expecting, honestly. I have my quibbles, but they are JUST quibbles, not full-blown problems. This is just a very well done show, in my opinion. Some people are saying this is the best live action anime adaptation of all time and...yeah, maybe! This just feels solidly done.

You gotta love all the details. The posters in the background. And the fact that they change up the titles and ending credits for every single episode. Just really nice attention to detail on all of this stuff. It's fun to pick out. And I WANT that official map from the ending credits!

Casting wise...I think they actually did a amazing job finding people who fit into these roles. These actors fit these roles really well. No notes, whoever was in charge of casting knew their stuff and found some great people. Buggy's great. Mihawk's great. Nami, who I was worried about from the trailers, is great! Everyone fits the characters and did a great job acting.

Special effect wise...look, this is ONE step above a TV budget. It looks pretty good for what it is. The Fishmen are probably the biggest sticking point, but they ARE trying to stay close to the original designs. For what they're going for, the Fishmen are...okay. I think they COULD look better, but it'd take a HUGE increase in the budget, and this show was probably already expensive enough, as is. And I DO like that they tried to adapt the manga designs as well as they could. While none of the special effects really amazed me, I didn't hate them, either. Although...I did enjoy Mihawk's introductory scene.

And story wise, while there ARE some major changes here and there...this really does a good job speed running through 11 volumes of manga. They hit all the major high points. It feels quick-paced, but I think that's to the show's benefit, overall. There are a few characters here and there that feel like a shame that they cut. And a few characters they cut who...might cause problems down the road, since they become slightly more important later. Depends on if they get that far, but we'll see.



But, now for my quibbles.

And I don't think anything quite sums up most of my quibbles more than...Inaki's Luffy. Don't get me wrong, Inaki's GREAT...at certain parts of Luffy. But, I think it's clear that this is a version of Luffy with some of his more...rough edges sanded off. There's quite a few instances in the show where Inaki just NAILS Luffy perfectly. And then there's spots where...this just doesn't feel like Luffy from the manga. This is a Luffy who would ask if you're finished eating the food on your plate before taking it for himself...whereas, manga Luffy would already have the food on your fork in HIS mouth while you were looking in the other direction. He's just too...nice...and smart...and empathetic. It's a weird thing to complain about, but it's kind of a matter of tone. It's subtle, but I think it's there. That's mostly down to the writing, though, and not Inaki's actual performance. And...I'm pretty sure this was a conscious decision by the writers who were adapting this story. Every main character is changed a *little* in this version (Zoro's a little more deadpan here than in the manga), but I think...they might have changed Luffy's "core", in this. Not in a bad way, it's a understandable take. It's just different. And part of the problem is that I think there's still revelations coming in the manga about Luffy that could change everything we think we know about him. That's the problem with doing a adaptation of a story that hasn't finished yet. Again, we'll just have to see. So, it's not bad...but MIGHT cause some problems down the road, if this adaptation continues.

And then there's the story additions. I actually really like these, in theory. Showing parts of the story that we just got hints about or got told about later is a interesting idea. The problem is, they don't really do anything really interesting with them. The Garp/Koby parts COULD be a great way to expand the story...but in this season, it mostly felt like a budget concession, since those parts all take place with characters just talking, mostly in the same room. I just wish they could go a little more "crazy" with these parts, or do a bit more foreshadowing, like maybe bringing up Dragon or the Five Elders or something. More Buggy didn't really add anything, but it was at least fun. Nami and Kaya's friendship was nice...but also kind of felt like they just wanted to pass the Bechdel Test, so they just added it in there. But, some of these are...actually a improvement on the manga, at least structurally and in theory. Having Garp be the thematic focus of this season, kind of works. And I like the tease of Baroque Works. And keeping characters like Koby and Buggy around makes sense, not only because it keeps the actors around, but because these character WILL appear later. But, in the manga, they disappear for...YEARS. So...if they can come up with more interesting stories for them, I'm okay with them adding stuff and filling in some gaps of the story.

And it's a really minor thing, but...the wardrobe changes. It's actually a really nice touch that they're all outfits from the cover pages of the manga. And I get that it's WEIRD to have characters in live action wear the same clothes for EVERY episode. But...I think they go a little too far in the other direction in this show. They're stuck out in the middle of the sea, and I'm just wondering...where are they keeping all these clothes?! They don't have money to pay for FOOD, but they can afford to buy a new wardrobe? It just brings me out of the moment, just a little. Not the worst thing, but I feel like they could have timed the wardrobe changes a bit better.



My biggest concern is...I don't know how far they're going to move forward with this. For as expensive as this show FELT...I feel like this show has to do Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, Walking Dead type numbers. In order to justify the cost, this show really NEEDS to be a cultural touchstone event. And while it's been getting a lot of great buzz...I'm just not sure it's doing THOSE kind of numbers. So, I"m not sure if THIS is it...or if we'll get to Alabasta in Season 2 (this season did foreshadow that)...or if we might even get farther than that.

And ...I'm not sure if I want Oda to keep having to oversee all of this for EVERY season of the show, too. I DO think Oda's involvement has helped the show, but it's DRASTICALLY slowed down the release of the manga. We're in the final saga of the manga, and I'd really like Oda to focus on finishing the main manga story, rather than working on this side project. But, on the other hand, maybe it's helping him get some rest? And I'd like Oda to take some time off so that he doesn't exhaust himself working on the manga. But, on yet another hand, I'm not sure how much rest he's actually getting, if all these "breaks" are just so he can work on a DIFFERENT project halfway around the world. I'm split. So, while this WAS good...I'd rather have the manga...so...maybe they can take their time making the next season until AFTER the manga finishes up? Because, I think we've only got another 2 or 3 years of the manga story left. And if it takes 2 years to film a season of the show...that could be okay, right? I don't know, I'm being a little selfish, here.


But, this was clearly a work of passion. A lot of effort went into this. And I enjoyed it. This WORKS. More than it ever should have. So, it'd be nice if this could continue, somehow.




On a side note...do we just want to make THIS the general One Piece thread? Because...I DO have a lot of theories about the manga from time to time, and this would be a okay place to put them. But, I can understand not wanting this particular thread clogged up with spoilers for far...FAR ahead in the story that the Netflix show hasn't gotten to yet. So, I could just as easily keep those thoughts in the Anime thread, if everyone prefers. I'll bow to the majority's opinion on this. What does everyone think?

Yeah, if there was one thing I would have to say I didn't like; like gun to my head forced; I'd say Luffy is the weakest character adaption. He looses a lot of his brash carelessness. Like nothing is specifically wrong with him, but he's rebalanced to where that's turned down and his friendship is turned up. And like Anime/Manga Luffy already had pretty high 'believe in the power of friendship' rating. Like the biggest change that demonstrates this, and is imo weaker for it; is the parting with Koby. In the Manga/Anime Luffy roughs up Koby to help sell to the other Marines that they aren't friends. Koby understands that Luffy is doing this for the sake of Koby's own dreams. While the Netflix version we just get a power of friendship speach. I just feel the original way works better and still shows how strongly Luffy believes in others. But I feel like budget might be part of why this Luffy's brashness is toned down. He gets like one attack per episode, two if we're lucky. So I get the change, bit its still the biggest change that I feel slightly hurts the series.

Everyone else is fine, Sanji they managed to keep his ladies man attitude without him going full perv; becuase its kinda not that funny when its not a cartoon... though its kinda debatable funny at times AS a cartoon... Usoop kinda loses most his chances to shine, but they could make up for that in the future. Also I kinda wish he has some kinda long nose, just like Sanji is missing his curly eyebrows... incredibly minor stuff, but still kinda tradmarks to the characters and isn't helped when Usopp's Flag also has a kinda elongated nose. But then I loved what they did with Garp; he's a great addition and foil for Luffy starting out; and the fact that the whole thing is mostly just him wanting to make sure Luffy is really ready for what he's committing to; is great from a parenting ascept. Zaff is also really well done.

Second character I'm kinda iffy about on their changes is Buggy. Buggy in the Netflix series has a very 'Heath Ledger' Joker vibe to him; and Buggy in the Anime/Manga really doesn't lean into the psycho clown trope, he kinda barely leans into any clown trope. Again, it works for what they are going for, and he did start to grow on me the more sceen time he had where he slowly became a bit more 'Mark Hamil' Joker. It makes him feel like a bit more of a threat... but then Buggy kinda has never been a threat, outside his first and maybe second appearance. He's whole deal is that he's a terrible pirate and kinda just constantly fails upwards. No matter how badly he ***** up, he somehow succeeds.

Sanji's eyebrows are one of those things they might have to find a way to work around if this adaptation goes ALL the way. Those are surprisingly plot-relevant eyebrows.

Buggy...I like this Buggy, but again, he is a *little* different than in the manga and anime. It's mostly because of the live-action's different take on humor, overall, I think. The live action is a lot dryer and quippy than the manga/anime's more slapstick and over the top humor.

Oh. one thing I like that I don't recall it being mentioned/addressed directly in the Manga/Anime is that Usopp's father is part of Shank's crew and that Luffy probably knows him better then his son. With how strongly family can define some of these characters; its something I don't recall Luffy and Usopp ever discussing before and gives them an interesting connection to each other and could further tie into future plot points of when they clash over things.

It actually is mentioned in the manga, but, like in the show, nothing much comes of it. I think Luffy LIKED the rest of the the Red Haired Pirates, but he really was hyper-focused on Shanks, most of the time. I don't think Luffy really got that close with Yasopp, at least not as close as he was with Shanks.

www.reddit.com/r/OnePiece/comments/psf38s/did_luffy_ever_tell_ussop_he_knew_his_father/

I watched the series over a couple of days and for the most part, I say its pretty good, thou honestly, I felt the whole Usoop & Kuro story arc was wrapped up in rather a haste leaving a bunch of plot holes, like Kuro's two lackies, last we saw of them, they were tied up, the strawhats couldn't take them to the local guards, everything about that, makes very little sense, even Kuro's defeat, he could of easily come back in for another round, where's in the manga, he throughly beaten and the black cat pirates forced to flee, there is just stuff missing from that story arc to make it complete and it felt like they were rushing to get to Arlong Park, I would say that the later half of the season feels not as polished as the early part of the series in terms of writing!

Overall, its a good adaption, the main cast is likeble, Grap actually has a character arc in this series where we don't really get his main intro until after the Water 7 arc outside of the cover strips! The actor playing Luffy is defeinely a good fit for the role, he looks the part and gives a good preformance, its clear a lot of heart went into making this and having Oda involved with the production, certainly helped the series to preform and make it shine!

I'll agree that I think Syrup Island suffered the most if we're talking storylines. It suffers the most from "We don't have the budget" syndrome. We see it throughout the series with them having less locations then we normally see in the arcs, and it largely doesn't bother me; becuase they still make good use of balancing everything while not trying to go too far over budget; like apparently becuase of Oda they had to completely redo a scene shot in South Africa becuase he didn't like it; which mean going all the way back to South Africa to refilm it. But Syrup Island has the most... "bottle episode" feel to it; like they usually limit the locations and usually it doesn't hurt the show. But with Syrup Island we lose Jango, the Onion Pirates, a lot of Oolong's moments of heroism and bravery. All becuase pretty much 95% of the arc has to take place in the manor. We just lose a lot of stuff that makes the arc really good, while sticking to only the major points. I don't feel like Baraite and Arlong Park suffers nearly as much from the cuts (other then losing Hatchan, who I was kinda looking forward to seeing how they'd do him)

I have never read One Piece.

I have only ever watched the first episode of the Anime.

And I have only watched the first episode of this.

I liked it.

It was fun and well acted. The characters were likeable.


-ZacWilliam, I am theoretically planning to watch more.

Spoilers regarding Shadewing's video:

ZacWilliam1 said:

I have never read One Piece.

I have only ever watched the first episode of the Anime.

And I have only watched the first episode of this.

I liked it.

It was fun and well acted. The characters were likeable.


-ZacWilliam, I am theoretically planning to watch more.

Click to expand...

If you decide to start watching the anime again, it be a case of see you in a few months as there is OVER a thousand eps and very little actual filler

Never watched the anime, but am enjoying this show so far.

I'm going to leave this here.

TONS of spoilers, so don't click on this unless you've either finished the season, or don't mind spoiling yourself about the season.
Again, just great attention to detail by the people making this show. I didn't even notice most of these...mostly because of how dark everything is shot, but still.