Rating: 4 out of 5
Netflix’s live action “One Piece” adaptation does well in bringing the animated characters to life, but falls short in developing some of them.
The story follows Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), a boy who ate the Gum-Gum Fruit and had his body gain the properties of rubber, and his quest to become the Pirate King and find the infamous treasure: the One Piece. Along the way, he attempts to find worthy members for his crew, picking up the swordsman Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu Maeda), thief and ship navigator Nami (Emily Rudd), sniper and notorious liar Usopp (Jacob Romero), and ship cook Sanji (Taz Skylar).
One of the Netflix adaptations’ main caveat is how it sticks to the source material. The adaptation cuts the original material short and transforms it into a more modern show structure. With only eight episodes that are an hour long each, packing 60 of the anime episodes into the series makes it so that there is not enough time to cover the story in its entirety, leading to some endeavors the crew face in the anime and manga, such as the encounter with Don Kreig,(Milton Schorr) the “strongest man in the world,” to be cut out. However, formatting the show in eight hour-long episodes does have its benefits in appealing to a wider audience and making the show more “watchable”. One of the main critiques of the “One Piece” anime is how long it is, with there being over 1000 episodes currently. By making the show more bite-size, it allows viewers to consume the media easier and not be intimidated by the amount of episodes.
Due to cutting some of the source material, there is also a lack of development with some of the characters. In both the manga and anime, there are arcs, spanning sometimes 20 anime episodes at a time, to build these characters and make them worthy of joining Luffy’s crew. For example, the anime and manga spend time showing how Usopp is more than a liar, which is exemplified when he puts his own life on the line and gets beaten to a pulp to protect those he considers his friends. However, the live action does not expand on this side of Usopp, making his acceptance on the ship less deserving.
Live action shows cannot have the same fight scenes as an animated piece due to limitations in how a human’s body is able to move. However, the showdowns between the crew and their opponents were exceptional. The animation of Luffy’s stretching abilities and punches really showed how his body is made out of rubber, with the CGI adding a rubbery texture to his skin. Although the CGI is poor at times, such as a mannequin clearly being put in place during an explosion, the depiction of different characters’ powers which they obtained from “devil fruits” was impressive.
Because the show deals with pirates, there are a lot of shots of the crew on the open ocean. The show does a great job of highlighting the vastness and openness of the ocean, as well as the danger of crossing it. This choice of cinematography highlights the long path that lies ahead of the crew, especially with all of them chasing their own lofty goals.
Whether or not you have watched the anime or read the manga, I would recommend the live action as it delivers a feel-good story about people trying to accomplish their own individual dreams on the ocean, and navigating through life as a crew.