Last year, I began the long voyage that is One Piece, starting with the anime that began airing in 1999. As someone who has had my fair share of Shonen anime, where there is a formula that is successful if repetitive, One Piece felt different from a writing standpoint. From the characterization to the world-building and expanding upon the adventure narrative, it felt reminiscent of early Dragon Ball. Whilst the ongoing anime is enjoyable, given some noticeable flaws, it is only when I started reading the manga by Eiichiro Oda, I was witnessing a masterpiece that has been consistently good since 1997.
Through my new fandom, I wanted to write something about One Piece, but couldn’t think of a subject, given the many articles that have dissected the layers of Oda’s story. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Netflix has produced a live-action TV series based on the manga, and that opens a whole can of worms.
So, what is One Piece? It is set in a fantasy world that is going through a great pirate era after the public execution of legendary pirate Gold Roger. He became King of the Pirates after claiming the mythical treasure known as the “One Piece.”
Twenty-two years after Roger’s execution, the young, energetic Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), who is made of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit, sets off on a journey to form his own pirate crew and find the One Piece to fulfill his dream of becoming the Pirate King. Although One Piece would be defined by its extended arcs that tackle themes like corrupt governments, war crimes, slavery, racism, etc., the eight episodes of the show adapt the East Blue arc that is really about the formation of the Straw Hat Pirates.
When it was announced that Netflix was producing a live-action show back in 2017, there were certainly concerns, not least in the wave of live-action anime adaptations that have not entirely respected the source material. Although there are positive exceptions, such as Robert Rodriguez’s Alita: Battle Angel, Netflix has been the home of not-so-great adaptations like the Americanized Death Note and the short-lived Cowboy Bebop series. So, does this new take on One Piece break the curse or is it just another live-action anime adaptation?
While Oda served as executive producer and was involved in the making of this series, showrunners Matt Owens and Steven Maeda are clearly fans of the material due to the Easter Eggs sprinkled throughout. From the wanted posters of pirates that will become prevalent in the manga’s subsequent arcs, to even include the creepy transponder snails.
Reportedly boasting a budget of $18 million per episode, making it one of the most expensive shows ever, you can see the money spent on establishing a world that feels lived in, where humans and other races coexist, along with the Devil Fruits that can grant their eaters strange powers.
The world of One Piece is weird and although the Netflix show does not hold back on showing the ridiculousness of Luffy’s Gum-Gum abilities and Buggy the Clown’s Chop-Chop abilities, why does it always feel like the show is pulling its punches? One of the signature traits from the manga that easily transitioned into the anime was its humor, a lot of which comprising of slapstick that would please those who grew up watching Looney Tunes and/or Tom and Jerry.
While the story can get serious if it wants to, and the action is well-choreographed, if it’s not balanced with the comedy, there is something missing. As much as the makers wanted to present a somewhat grounded approach to the world of larger-than-life pirates, but in an age where Stephen Chow made Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, the live-action One Piece could have embraced more of a cartoonish sensibility.
Another sign of the show’s limitations is the many settings that the Straw Hats find themselves in. Our heroes may go from one island to the next, but almost all the action takes place with interiors. The production design may be exquisite, but the black-and-white manga is also about the open space where the sea is always at a distance, just waiting for anybody to sail out there. For a story that is about freedom and adventure, the show is oddly claustrophobic.
If there is a saving grace in Netflix’s One Piece, it is the characters. Even if I’m not entirely on board with some of the changes they made, which seem like they’re there just for the sake of adaptation. All the Straw Hats are well-cast, with each actor putting their own stamp on these characters, whether it is Iñaki Godoy maintaining the innocence of Luffy, or Emily Rudd being the standout by carrying the emotional weight as Nami.
Another tradition of One Piece is that nearly every character has a tragic backstory. We do flash back to each of the Straw Hats’ pasts, but there is never enough time, due to the limit of eight episodes. Had there been more than eight, we would have spent more time with the hardships that our heroes went through, and so the payoff would have been more satisfying.
Considering that anime/manga fans can have a toxic edge that could rival the toxicity of certain comic book fans, it would be easy to slam Netflix’s One Piece for condensing the long-form storytelling of Oda’s manga, as well as never capturing the bouncy nature of his art that balances strange power fantasies and slapstick comedy.
And yet, during these eight episodes, there are flashes of what this show could have been, from the animated wanted posters that introduce the villainous pirates, to the variations of the show’s title card. One Piece deals with excess, and whilst you can applaud the makers for not going so hard on fan service, go even bigger and wackier, should a second season get made, would do justice for this new take on one of the greatest manga of all time.
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