On August 31, 2023, Netflix did something that MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiß didn’t think possible: The streaming provider released the first season of the new real adaptation of the legendary manga and anime epic One Piece. The impossible about it? She’s really really good.
Live-action manga and anime adaptations come in all quality levels. On the bottom half of the scale we have our Dragonball Evolutions, 1993’s Super Mario Bros. and the Western Death Note.
On the other hand, films like Rurouni Kenshin and the two Japanese Death Note movies hold the scales. In between there are Ghost in the Shell, Ouran Highschool Host Club or the Sailor Moon-J drama.
With that in mind, it’s absolutely amazing that Netflix of all people, and One Piece of all people, has produced the best live-action adaptation yet.
The live-action announcement made me unhappy
One Piece has been with me for a very long time. The story felt like it was always there:
I watched One Piece on Tele 5 after school, read the manga on the train to uni, and devoured the latest chapter during my lunch break at work. During my year abroad in Japan, I always dutifully bought the new Shonen Jump, the magazine in which One Piece appears weekly, and watched the stunt show at Universal Studios Osaka.
Long before the announcement, rumors of a live-action adaptation were circulating on the internet. I discussed the subject at length with my friends. Under what circumstances can this be good? What must not happen? Do we even want that?
The conclusion was: One Piece is the one anime that doesn’t need a live-action adaptation and would also be the hardest to implement. How could one be able to represent such an imaginative and twisted world well in real life?
For those of you who don’t know One Piece:
Monkey D Luffy. is a young man who dreams of becoming the “Pirate King”. His special distinguishing feature: a straw hat. He sets sail in a sloop to pursue his dream. The special thing about him is that he ate a so-called devil fruit as a child. Although he can no longer swim through these, he can stretch and deform his body like rubber.
The trailer gives you a feel for the world
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That alone is difficult to portray “in real” in such a way that it doesn’t look silly. When I then think of people with axes for hands or living snails that serve as telephones. That can only look good in an animation.
So it’s not like I was on cloud nine when Netflix announced it. In fact, rather the opposite. I was even convinced that it would be cruel. I was particularly uneasy about many of the recently released adaptations: Netflix itself is responsible for the rather difficult adaptations of Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach and Death Note.
The hype is slowly but surely building up
Then came the announcement that One Piece artist Eiichiro Oda himself would be pulling the strings. The cast was introduced. It didn’t sound as bad as feared.
And then Netflix showed the first trailer. I was not thrilled. Until the second trailer. That turned my skepticism into cautious hope. Some iconic scenes could already be seen in the trailer. And they looked good.
The final nail in the coffin of my rejection was the message from Oda himself:
If Oda-san himself is happy with the series, what else do I have to worry about as a fan?
With the announcement of the release date, the evening on which I would devour the series was firmly fixed in the calendar.
That’s what attracted me to the series
Here I give you the points that ultimately convinced me of this adaptation.
The casting is terrific! Episode one opens with the execution of Gol D. Roger, the reigning Pirate King, 20 years before Luffy’s departure. His speech is as epic as it needs to be to spark a 20-year treasure hype. The tracking shot through the crowd makes me particularly happy because you can see familiar faces everywhere.
Luffy’s actor Iñaki Godoy manages to capture the One Piece spirit in his first scene: This is Luffy. This is Luffy’s sloop. And yes. He becomes the Pirate King.
The locations of the series were modeled on the template to the best of our knowledge and belief. Be it cities like Shellstown or the ships. Especially the Going Mary and Garp’s warship – she has a dog’s head galleon!
The series doesn’t overload you with all the “peculiarities” of its world right from the start.
But most importantly, the special effects are good. When Rubber Man Luffy stretches, it doesn’t look weird. Buggy’s split-split abilities are as comical as they are spooky, without being out of place. The battles at sea easily keep up with modern Hollywood productions.
Of course, there are also things that strike me as negative: Some characters do look a bit distorted and strange, such as the fish people of the Arlong pirate gang. But overall, that doesn’t matter too much. But it is a matter of taste how you find the costumes. They are colorful and fit the characters and the world, but in some places seem like cheaply bought cosplays.
I recommend everyone to give the series at least a chance
In conclusion, I can say that One Piece on Netflix is a dream come true for me. And when last night at the end of episode four there was even an orchestral version of the legendary Japanese opening “We Are!” played by Hiroshi Kitadani, I was finally home.
Our Editor-in-Chief Leya also reminisced today as we chatted about One Piece on Netflix.
But One Piece on Netflix works even if you don’t know the anime or manga at all. In the end it’s a good adventure story that shows you a wonderfully wacky world, but which is surprisingly profound and touches the heart again and again.