Summary
RewatchingOne Piecelive-action one year after it premiered on Netflix reveals some interesting truths about the Netflix show and the future of the adaptation. After being the highest-selling manga year after year and releasing over 1000 anime episodes,it was time forOne Pieceto receive a live-action adaptation.With fans of the source material working on the project and Eiichiro Oda’s involvement as a producer,One Pieceseason 1 was a pleasant surprise and performed much better than previousNetflix anime adaptations.
From the accurate and inspired cast to the attention to detail,One Piecewas arguably as faithful to the manga as an adaptation can be.Netflix had high hopes for the project considering the noticeable production value and the marketing campaign leading up to the release. It paid off, asOne Piecewas one of Netflix’s most streamed shows of 2023.One Pieceseason 2 is confirmed, and the future of the live-action franchise sounds promising one year later.
Netflix’s One Piece Season 1 Ending Explained (In Detail)
One Piece season 1’s ending may bring the first chapter of Netflix’s live-action adaptation to a close, but it’s only the beginning for Luffy.
8One Piece Live-Action’s Manga Changes Worked Surprisingly Well
One Piece Was Going To Have To Make Big Changes
One Piecemade a lot of changes to the source material, from the pacing of the story to the exclusion of multiple characters and storylines. However, strangely enough, most of those changes worked. Turning the East Blue saga, which refers to the first 60 episodes of the anime, into an eight-episode live-action series was a very difficult task. It was unreasonable to think that Netflix’sOne Piecewas going to be completely faithful to Oda’s manga, yet the live-action show did a great job of balancing what should and should not be removed.
For example,Don Krieg only appeared in one sceneof the live-action adaptation instead of being the main villain of the Baratie segment. Likewise, Arlong had a bigger role in the live-action show, serving as the overarching villain and appearing as early as in episode 2 instead of just joining the story during Arlong Park.One Pieceseason 1 is not the most manga-accurate version of East Blue when compared to the anime or theEpisode of East Bluemovie, but it was a solid adaptation of Luffy’s first adventure.
7One Piece Live-Action Could Have Gone Wrong Badly
One Piece Being This Good Was Surprising
Fans of theOne Piecemanga or anime had all the right to be concerned about a live-action adaptation of Oda’s work. A live-action version ofOne Piececould have gone wrong in many ways, from the casting to the visual effects and everything in between. If Hollywood had already failed relatively grounded anime andanime likeDeath NoteorGhost in the Shell, there were not many reasons to believe thatOne Pieceof all shows was going to be the one to break this adaptation curse.
One Pieceis set in a very particular worldwhere giants, demons, sirens, and flying cities can be found. Additionally, it features a rich set of characters, each of whom feels like they belong in a different anime. That is not to mention the complexity of the story and how important the backstories of each character are, particularly the Straw Hat pirates. EvenLuffy’s Gum-Gum powerswere a point of concern considering that stretchy powers are difficult to convey in live-action. However,One Pieceseason 1 made it all work.
6One Piece Live-Action Might Never Cover The Whole Story
One Piece Has Way Too Many Chapters Left To Be Covered
One Pieceanime has 1115 episodes as of the writing of this article. Considering that only 60 or so of them have been covered in the first season of Netflix’s live-action, there are still over 1000 episodes left to be tackled. Even when disregarding filler, there are still countless storylines and characters forOne Piecelive-action to cover.Netflix’sOne Piecewas very well-paced for an eight-episode series, yet it still only covered East Blue. One Piece live-action can’t realistically adapt the whole story, which hasn’t even been concluded in the manga yet.
One Píeceseason 1 skipped over Loguetown, which will now be covered in season 2.
Netflix’sOne Pieceis a great way to get into the story of Monkey D. Luffy, but it might not ever be a definitive adaptation of the manga simply because of logistics. EitherOne Pieceruns for 10 seasons or more, which seems unlikely given that even other Netflix titans likeStranger ThingsandThe Crowndidn’t last that long, or the show will never get to the most recent arcs. Another option is thatOne Piecerushes through most arcs and cuts a lot of them, which would not be ideal either.
5One Piece’s Success Makes Previous Anime Adaptation Failures Worse
If One Piece Worked, Other Adaptations Could Have Too
One Piecewas so good that it made me reconsider my opinion on previousHollywood live-action adaptations. IfOne Piece, a very convoluted story set in a fantastical world where every character and location has an extensive backstory, could make for a great live-action show,there is no reason why the likes ofKnights of the Zodiac orCowboy Bebopcould not have workedeither.One Pieceis a great reminder that having a strong creative vision and honoring the source material goes a long way for adaptations.
Bringing in new fans is important, but so is pleasing audiences who already have a connection to those characters.
With aNarutolive-action moviecurrently in development, I hope that future adaptations learn fromOne Piece. Live-action anime movies and shows should not be afraid of embracing their source materials, especially if they are based on already massively popular IPs likeOne PieceorNaruto. Bringing in new fans is important, but so is pleasing audiences who already have a connection to those characters.
One Piece Live-Action Just Got Major Competition 1 Year After It Smashed Netflix’s Charts
One Piece live-action was one of Netflix’s most watched shows of 2023, but it has just gotten major competition when it comes to pleasing anime fans.
4Nami’s Backstory Deserved More Attention In One Piece
Nami’s Connection To The Village Wasn’t Explored
Nami’s backstory is arguably the most important part of the East Blue saga, which is why it is only revealed at the very end of it.One Pieceseason 1 rightfully kept the Cocoyashi Village arc for the final two episodes, but it rushed through Nami’s origin story a bit too fast. Nami’s connection to the village is not explored very well, which reduces the impact of her sacrifice and her cathartic“Help me”scene.
Although Emily Rudd and Inãki Godoy played the iconic“Help me”scene incredibly well, the rest of the Nami-centered episodes could have been better. Additionally, the fact that neither Nami’s sister nor Genzo knew the truth about why she was working with Arlong was too big of a chance. Nojiko knowing why Nami was doing what she was doing but not telling her was an important part of their dynamic that the live-action show failed to adapt.
3One Piece Live-Action Could Have Used Better Fight Scenes
One Piece Season 2 Must Have Better Fights
Netflix’sOne Piecedid not have any bad fight scenes, but the original manga and the anime set the bar too high in that regard. WhileOne Piece’s fights get bigger and bolder as the story progresses and the characters get stronger, East Blue has already featured a couple of great battles.Zoro vs. Mihawk was the best fight in the live-action series, yet it was a very brief one and did not feature any special abilities.
Moments like Luffy vs. Buggy or Luffy vs. Kuro lacked some of the energy and speed that only a comic book or an animated show can convey. That said,One Piecelive-action’s fight scenes can be improved. Assuming season 2 will have a bigger budget or perhaps more time to flesh out the story, it has the chance of focusing a bit more on the action sequences, especially the ones where Luffy and his opponents are using Devil Fruit powers.Zoro vs. the Baroque Worksshould also be a great one.
2Some One Piece Characters Were Given More To Do Than Others
One Piece Has Too Many Characters To Balance
Balancing the screen time for all characters that appear inOne Piece’s East Blue saga must not have been an easy task. In addition to the Straw Hat pirates, all of whom are iconic on their own and have millions of fans around the world,One Piece’s first saga also includes several villains and supporting characters. WhileOne Pieceseason 1 did a good job of giving everyone their moment, some characters shined more than others. For example,Garp and Koby had a bigger impact on the season than Usopp or Sanji.
Sanji
Taz Skyla
One Pieceseason 1 dedicated between one and two episodes to each of the Straw Hats, meaning that those who were introduced at the beginning had more screen time than those who only joined the crew at the end. This was expected, though, namely because it is also how it plays out in the manga and the anime. Still, for season 2, characters like Sanji and Usopp should be given a little more time in the spotlight before new faces join the crew.
1Garp’s Role In One Piece Live-Action Creates A Problem For Season 2
Garp Wasn’t Supposed To Be Important That Soon
Garp was revealed to be Luffy’s grandfathermidway through Netflix’sOne Pieceseason 1, a massive change from the source material. In the anime, Garp is only revealed to be Luffy’s grandfather after Enies Lobby in episode 314. Not only didOne Piecelive-action “spoiled” what should have been a future reveal, but it also made Garp important much sooner than he needed to. The same applies to Koby and Helmeppo, both of whom had way more screen time in Netflix’s version of East Blue than their anime counterparts did.
The problem with making Garp the one chasing Luffy in season 1 is that it removes some of the impact that Smoker is supposed to have during Loguetown and Arabasta. Netflix’sOne Piecealready did the “Marine officer hunting down Luffy and his friends” storyline with Garp, meaning that Smoker’s role in season 2 risks being repetitive. That said, whereas Garp sought to test his grandson, Captain Smoker initially wanted to capture or kill Luffy no matter what.
One Piece
Cast
One Piece follows young pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his diverse crew as they embark on a daring quest for treasure. Released in 2023, the film brings the adventurous world of the popular manga to life, capturing Luffy’s relentless pursuit of the legendary One Piece treasure.
