One Piece (2023)

Loved it! Finally a great Anime-adaptation. Highly recommended

I loved it. I wholeheartedly recommend this adaptation. I started watching One Piece in 2003 and am still a fan to this day. I never thought there would come a day where I would love an anime-adaptation (after the epic fail of Dragon Ball and Death Note) but I am happy to be proven wrong. It was obvious how much love went into this production. So many great details to bring this world alive. I am so thankful that Eiichiro Oda kept the final say and made them re-shoot scenes where he thought it was done wrong/not good enough. I do not know which scenes were the ones he asked to be redone but as the final result is so amazing, I am really really thankful that he did, otherwise I am sure they would have butchered his masterpiece as well. There is finally hope again for anime-adaptations.... if it gives us such great results, the creators should always have so much say in their work's adaptations.

They chose great actors, their resemblance to the characters was wonderful. They dressed as in the manga/anime. They acted as in the manga/anime. That was what I wanted from an adaptation and this is what we got. Therefore it was so good. Obviously there are some changes between the manga/anime and the drama adaptation but they kept it as close as possible.

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absolutely in love

i haven't watched the anime yet, to be honest. i started watching it just after finishing watching the live action.
so, from my perspective as someone who doesn't really know the story it was an amazing experience. everything is so fantastic, a whole new adventure in from of my eyes. the main characters are so cute and i love that we can see everyone's goals and why they're who they are. i love their friendship. can't deny i have a gigantic crush on Zoro and Sanji but i'm pretty sure i'm not alone in this hahaha also, can someone explain why almost every character in this show is so hot? you know, the two i mentioned before and buggy... mihawk... shanks... i needed to rewatch some scenes if you know what i mean but yeah, everything was amazing. i loved the experience of watching it without knowing the story, i didn't even read the synopsis. i started watching because of Mackenyu haha
i'm very excited for the next season <3

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A step in the right direction!

Netflix has being trying to adapt to live action manga/anime stories for a while and after the incredibly mild version they released of cult classic Cowboy Bebop, I was unsure if I should give One Piece a chance.

Based on the long-running story by Japanese mangaka Oda Eiichiro, the first season is a somewhat faithful version of the first 100 chapters of the original work. We meet most of the main characters, their backgrounds and motivations, as they come together to become the Straw Hat Crew.

This “new” version of the beloved series is primed to be a commercial success, make fans happy and bring a new audience. The story is entertaining, the characters incredibly charming, their chemistry off charts, and the world building super interesting.

The show it’s not perfect but you can see they did their darnest to make it fun for everyone. Overall, I think it‘s a step in the right direction of live action adaptations.

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Better Than Expected

LIKES:
CAST: all well selected for their respective roles/characters.
Cinematography, colour palette, all perfect.
Sets, filming locations, all suited the episodes.
Wardrobe & set pieces were well done, even paying attention to the weirder things in the anime like the snail phones.
Production: had the budget to give the viewer the feel of the manga/anime.
Music/sound: all of it appropriate, added to the scenes. Voices of the actors never overpowered by the surrounding sounds or the music.
FX: creating Luffy’s stretch ability, blending the green screen into the settings, even simple blood from wounds all looked great.
Writing/Plot: the past of each crew member of the Straw Hats was well accomplished, even using flashbacks. I like how Sanji’s womanizing ways were more subtle, so he didn’t come across as creepy.
Directing:
Fighting choreography was great, including Usopp’s bombs.

DISLIKES:
Production:
Zooming in way too close to character faces, when it wasn’t necessary; to the point I could see their clogged pores from the makeup, etc.
Writing:
They crammed a lot of story arcs and incidents into just 8 episodes, causing some of the impact to be lost. It doesn’t follow the manga/anime format for everything, but managed not to stray too far from the main plot. Some of the characteristics of certain characters were left out, (probably due to time management and pacing), maybe it will show up in future episodes (Season 2).
Acting: not the best, but it will do, especially if you haven’t watched the anime or read the manga. [I have learned not to have high expectations for live adaptions.]
FX: I miss Usopp’s nose and Sanji’s eyebrow, both which could easily have been done. 'Lots of blood loss' wasn't really shown, probably so the children can watch it. Makeup was normally well done, but they caked it on a little thick for Nami sometimes. When they zoomed in too close on her, it was so obvious.

OVERALL:
I was pleasantly surprised at how well they made this adaption to live action and I’m glad they had the budget to pull it off. The cast was perfectly selected. I followed the manga, watched the anime and was initially biased, but now I want to see season 2. It will be a while before we get more, so I will definitely rewatch this. I recommend it, even to other One Piece fans, give it a chance. Anyone can watch it. It has made it as my second favourite live action adaption!

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Netflix One Piece is really good, they did it justice

Ever since the trailer arrived, I knew this Netflix One Piece series had done something amazing.
I saw it on August 31 - September 1, 2023 all over night till daybreak in one sitting. It was truly worth it.
The cast was Soo perfect in their roles especially Mihawk felt like he came straight out of the anime with the exact same English voice, Mackenyu was so cool and badass as Zoro, and Emily is so pretty and hot as Nami! Buggy was Soo funny, crazy and perfect as well! Inaki brought a lot of heart as Luffy. The locations and setpieces were very fun, vibrant and accurate. The action was amazing! The dialogue was beautiful and badass especially for Zoro!

The story is modified to fit the series structure with some events happening drastically earlier or differently probably to inject some more drama or "important stuff" earlier in the story, which honestly didn't sit right with me, but I can let it go since everything else was so well done. I started One Piece on June 15, 2021 but regardless I became a big fan of One Piece, it may even have been better than Naruto at times which changed my life, and truly enjoyed how they brought the characters to life.
And soon as I finished the series, I knew Season 2 was all but confirmed. Because it was it was just that good and had great confidence in itself and it's crew. 3:37am

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Casting is Key

The track record of popular anime/manga series being adapted into live action film and tv shows is a checkered one at best. The odds are that of a lottery when an overseas production team puts its hand to the plough and do their “remakes”. So when news spread that this iconic, long-running manga story was being adapted by Netflix, I couldn’t summon much enthusiasm for it. A tiny bit of curiosity perhaps but not a lot of confidence. Still the official trailer gave me the impression that it might not be quite as appallingly awful as Cowboy Bebop was and might even *shock, horror* capture the essence of the source material. Moreover the technology is certainly available in this day and age to do the series justice.

It might be a bit of a stretch to say to say that I belong to a One Piece family. But it’s not far off. My offspring follow the manga conscientiously and they’re all up to date with both the manga and the anime. I’ve seen hundreds of episodes of the anime (lost count) and I think the other half is far more ahead of the game than I am. All that to say, we pretty much know the characters and the lore. And maybe I might have something worthwhile to say.

My initial thoughts about this adaptation is that it’s a solid effort. It does a better than serviceable job in adhering to the spirit of the original. It's unabashedly whimsical, goofy and cheesy. And considering the terrible remakes on Netflix of late, this is surprisingly faithful. The casting has to be absolutely one of the highlights. The main characters like Luffy, Zoro, Nami and Usopp are well cast. Everyone in my clan loves the actor, Mackenyu, donning the bandana as Zoro. He couldn’t be more perfect for the role. More than that he seems to know his way around a katana. Or three. Inaki Godoy is rather good as Luffy, capturing his boyish enthusiasm and occasional cluelessness about the realities of life. Sanji is a little on the bulkier side than his anime counterpart but I'm not complaining too much.

One Piece at its core is a superhero-martial arts story where the characters sail around from place to place recharging, making new friends and battling powerful villains to level up. In that regard it’s not unlike a video game. I suspect that Eiichiro Oda was partly inspired by Marvel’s superhero Reed Richards when he designed the original concept of Luffy. In the anime he’s my favourite because he keeps me reliably amused. Furthermore the series demonstrates that it is well-acquainted with the golden age of piracy. As the Straw Hats’ notoriety reach newer heights, the greater the bounty on their “wanted” posters. It has a strongly libertarian streak running right through it and the pirates are the epitome of that spirit of freedom, for good or ill. Not all are ambassadors of goodwill like the Straw Hat crew and certainly not the dubious World Government which is the arbiter of law and order in those turbulent waters. Part of what the Straw Hats do is help inhabitants of these islands and villages regain their autonomy from minor and major tyrants taking a leaf out of the book of twentieth century dictators.

The decision to make the look and feel of this enterprise quirky in the manner of Tim Burton pays off here. Though Eiichiro Oda draws on historical events and figures, the One Piece universe is still a fantastical world where good versus evil is centrestage to some familiar locations populated by a parade of mythological races, bizarre personalities with the most unlikely abilities. There’s a sense that Alice has fallen down the rabbit hole one more time and it’s a brave new world that seems inviting on the surface but harbours a foreboding savagery in its underbelly.

Aside from the pacing, my other nitpick with this is the lack of spectacular rubber Luffy moves. While they’ve kept his personality more or less intact, his fight scenes don’t seem as exuberant or hilarious as they are in the anime. This is always my biggest beef with adaptations — the humour and action sequences don’t always transfer over well. That said, Luffy’s most important asset as it were, is his ability to inspire loyalty and affection everywhere he goes. Despite being on the naive side, he also has an uncanny ability to surround himself with the right kind of people and see past the facade. It is an achievement in and of itself that he is able to bring an arrogant loner like Zoro and an untrusting cynic like Nami into the fold despite all their protestations. The fact that the live action is able to bring that crucial factor to the forefront does check off a very important box.

Obviously the fact that the mangaka onboard is a producer on this is why this project hasn’t been a disaster. The most illogical thing they could do in the current climate is to disrespect a beloved IP and antagonize generations of fans worldwide in order to appeal to a politically correct crowd. No production house in their right minds would do that, surely?

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a light and fun watch :-)

good show. the making, the mood is not my type in a lot of ways (basic comedy, no exceptional dialogues, average acting, big production vibes, grand story vibes, not my kinda cinematography, etc)
but the plot, the story is great! all the characters are cool! the mains have an interesting backstory each.
the action scenes are pretty well made. nice friendships, love the found-family relationships. the casting diversity is appreciable.
almost no unnecessary drama or misunderstandings,, that i appreciate. a fun watch definitely. got me interested in the anime / manga.

i particularly like zoro & nami. (& kaya!, i wish to see more of her in the future. like, a reunion with the crew. or even active participation in the adventures as well!)

i skipped a lot of the marine grandpa & the cadets scenes, i don't think they added anything to the story, but maybe that's just me.

oh, and the major message is to follow your dreams no matter what, hmm. and "you don't get to mess with my friends", that kinda things. haha.

this is the kind of show where i wish i could rate it higher.. but i hope season 2 will be better and more aligned to my taste.

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This was fantastic

One Piece 📺:Netflix

(PG-13 for language, violence & self harm)

PROS:
◇The acting
◇The plot
◇The cast
◇The action scenes
◇ Ep 7 😭


CONS:
◇Certain scenes/choices didn't make alot of sense to me personally. That being said maybe it was in the OG and wanted to keep it that way. Not sure.
◇I honestly only have one was the use of so much language it felt force at times.

Overall really enjoyed this show and I am a fan of the live action OP. I still need to officially chexk out the manga and anime.

Rewatch? Yes when 2 season is complete I'll rewatch the 1.


#onepiece #onepieceliveactionnetflix #onepieceluffy #onepieceliveaction

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To The Grand Line, Nakama!

This is my honest take of the live action action version of my favorite shonen series, One Piece. Subjectively, this is just an 8.5 out of 10 for me. I found it highly enjoyable, don't get me wrong, but there are some stuff that don't sit well with me and I feel that changing or omitting certain parts takes away some of the heart of the story. I don't mind them streamlining the narrative and combining subplots to create more moving parts in a single episode because, honestly, early One Piece is a slow burn. By doing so, they can move things along, improving the plot progression immensely. For the uninitiated, this is actually better because it introduces the world of One Piece more fluidly and hooks you fairly quickly. But as I mentioned, some of the parts that were taken out were integral to the characterization of some of the characters and would've further explained their motivations. Some of the emotional scenes were not executed as well as the anime that they just didn't have the same effect on me. Of course, non-fans wouldn't notice these things, so hopefully, they'll feel the same way us fans did when we saw these scenes in the anime. But for an avid fan like me, those scenes felt lacking and the payoff of some of the subplots just weren't as satisfying. But I still commend the writers for doing the best they could with the material that they were given. One Piece is probably the hardest story to adapt not only because of the massive world Oda has created but also the zaniness and goofiness of the characters. I imagine the writers were hard-pressed to balance the serious and comedic tones of the story because One Piece, at its core, is a comedy with dark undertones and serious themes. So for them to actually successfully adapt One Piece and pay tribute to what makes it one of the greatest works of fiction ever written is a humongous feat. I give them props for that. Still, there's room for improvement, and hopefully, they can improve upon it in the succeeding seasons.

The cast of actors, especially the first five Straw Hats, are phenomenal. Inaki as Luffy is not the Luffy I know from the anime but he exudes Luffy energy and that's what matters. He made this role his own and I'm cool with it. Mackenyu as Zoro is legit a brilliant casting choice. He is Zoro in every way. I just wish that some of the emotional beats regarding his back story were done better, though. They've made some changes with Sanji's character, which is understandable as Sanji's “perversion” would not sit well with the western audience. But they managed to keep what makes Sanji Sanji, so I'm okay with that. And Taz is great in the role. They couldn't have picked a better Sanji to be honest. I never doubted Jacob's casting as Usopp from the moment I saw videos of him talking and joking around. He immediately gave me Usopp vibes so I'm quite happy with this choice. I just wish they kept some of Usopp's heroic scenes because those are what made me respect the character and think that he's the bravest of them all despite his cowardly facade. Emily as Nami was not convincing to me at first as I've seen her in other projects and her acting didn't impress me at all. But to be fair, she did deliver. She did make me cry in that pivotal scene, which I'm not going to mention here as it's a spoiler for those who haven't seen it. But One Piece fans would know what I'm referring to. Mihawk, Buggy, Koby, Helmeppo, and Kuro are so spot on it was like watching manga/anime characters come to life. Steven John Ward, especially, is literally the real-life version of Dracule Mihawk! I do have some complaints regarding the casting for some characters, though. Ben Beckman, for example, just doesn't scream badass to me. The guy they got is too old and overweight. Makino is supposed to be younger but they chose an older looking actress.

And to be honest, I still have a problem with some of the costumes and wigs. I get that they're trying to embrace the goofiness of the original but there's no excuse for bad costuming and wigs, man! They can be very jarring and plain cringe. The sets and special effects are so on point, they made me feel like these places and creatures do exist in another world somewhere. I especially adore the news coo and the den den mushi or transponder nails. They made me laugh every time they appeared on screen. The boats are spectacular! I'm glad the showrunners opted to use as many practical effects as they could. Luffy's stretching didn't bother me, I thought it was nicely done. Same with the Fishmen. I really didn't have a problem with them using prosthetics or the choice to make them human-sized instead of unusually large. I understand why they had to do that. Besides, the guy they got for Arlong is menacing and he even got Arlong's laugh right.

The action choreography, for the most part, is pretty dope, especially the Zoro fight scenes. However, there are parts when you can clearly see the wires and props. Some eagle-eyed viewers have caught those boo-boos. Those could've been easily edited out. This reminded me of the Starbucks cup in the final season of Game of Thrones. lol They should hire better stunt coordinators and editors to avoid these kinds of mishaps.

The music, though not as epic and iconic as the anime's musical score, is pretty good. Some of the character theme songs got stuck in my head for days, especially Nami and Zoro's themes. I'm happy that they did their own versions of We Are and Bink's Sake as these are One Piece staples. A part of me wished they also made versions of Overtaken and The Very Very Strongest, though.

Yes, many changes have been made, some I'm happy with, some I'm not. Is it perfect? No. Is it the best live action anime adaptation? No. But it's undeniably entertaining and I can honestly say that it kept the spirit of One Piece unlike most live action adaptations I've seen and I've seen an unhealthy number of those types of films. Seriously, eight episodes is not enough. I want more! And apparently, many others feel the same way. Personally, I'm excited to see what they'll do with the succeeding arcs, especially the Alabasta arc. They better get Chopper right!

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