One Piece Review: The Beloved Anime Makes Its Delightful Live-Action Debut
There are shows that are hotly anticipated, but "One Piece" falls into more of a "feverishly needed" category. That's no surprise for those in the know: "One Piece" is one of the biggest and most popular franchises in the world. The manga, which first appeared in 1997, is still going strong with over 1,000 chapters. The manga has sold over 516 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling comic book series ever, Japanese or otherwise. The anime series has well over 1,000 episodes, too. That's only scratching the surface of just how beloved "One Piece" is — there are 15 films and 56 (!) video games based on the series, and you can bet more of both will be coming. Heck, "One Piece" even has its own theme park in Japan.
With that in mind, it's clear that Netflix has a huge task on its hands by adapting the beloved manga and anime series into a live-action, English-language show. They haven't exactly had success with live-action anime adaptations in the past — the less said of their takes on "Death Note" and "Cowboy Bebop," the better — but "One Piece" comes with some impressive pedigree. The creator of "One Piece," Eiichiro Oda, is involved in this adaptation as an executive producer. The series has a mission to not only win over devoted fans, but to obtain brand-new fans as well.
My personal experience with "One Piece" lies somewhere in between those two realms. I used to read it religiously in the now-defunct Shonen Jump and had about 40 volumes of the manga. But then I moved to another country and never really found the time to catch up, and since I'm now 60-plus volumes behind, the task feels taller than ever. But if there's ever a place to reignite my love for a band of pirates, the live-action show feels like the ideal re-introduction.
Incredible craftsmanship brings the series to life
For the uninitiated, "One Piece" follows the adventures of one Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), who wants nothing more than to become a pirate. Luffy dreams of heading out into the mysterious Grand Line to find the almighty mythical One Piece treasure, and with it, becoming king of the pirates. He's also got a trick up his sleeve: As a child, he ate a gum-gum fruit, which has turned his body to rubber, leaving him capable of incredible feats most humans could only dream of. But becoming king of the pirates isn't something he's going to be able to do alone — he's going to need a pirate crew. He's also going to need to fight off plenty of vengeful pirates, and the Marines, who are hot on his tail.
The first season of the live-action adaptation largely follows Luffy's mission to get a crew — and ship — of his own. There's Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu), a steely pirate hunter who wields three swords at once (the third is held in his mouth). Nami (Emily Rudd) is a gifted cartographer with a shadowy past and a knack for stealing things. A man who loves a good cry, Usopp's (Jacob Romero) imagination may get the better of him sometimes, but he's a passionate friend and deadly with a slingshot. And finally, there's Sanji (Taz Skylar), a cook who can deliver a world-class meal and kick serious butt in equal measure. It's a fun group of complicated characters, and watching them begin to figure each other out, and how they can work together, is one of the series' charms. There's a lot of promise for the future, as the crew will inevitably expand over time.
The show lays an impressive foundation and the world-building is undeniably impressive. It's clear that a lot of money went into making "One Piece" look authentic. Locations like Windmill Village, Shells Town, Syrup Village, and Baratie are brought to life with rich detail; newcomers will be wowed by these worlds, and familiar fans will no doubt be excited to see the places they love come alive with such vivid color and intricate set design. Character designs and costuming are exceptional — just about everyone looks like they've stepped straight out of an anime, and they feel right at home in this heightened pirate world. It's easy for adaptations of huge properties to feel like cheap cash-ins, but it really does feel like the people involved in "One Piece" cares deeply about the show's roots, and it shows through fantastic sets and awesome costumes.
"One Piece" is no stranger to excellent action set-pieces, and I'm very happy to say this live-action adaptation delivers some really impressive effects and fight scenes. Luffy's battle with Buggy (Jeff Ward) is particularly enjoyable. The biggest pitfall "One Piece" faced was being completely unconvincing in live-action, but the spirit of the manga feels very much alive here, and the deliberately cartoonish aspects of the characters feel surprisingly at home here.
Godoy shines as Monkey D. Luffy
Where "One Piece" struggles is in its format. The manga is easy to enjoy in easily digestible chapters, and the anime is delivered in half-hour installments. With the live-action adaptation's hour-long episodes, it can feel as if "One Piece" is taking too much time languishing in small details instead of driving the plot forward. It feels especially repetitive when the entire season is basically recruiting one character after another. There is always an eye on the grander scheme of things — and the scope of "One Piece" is undeniably epic — but by squashing all these characters' backstories and recruiting processes together, there's an overwhelming amount of establishing going on for newcomers. Though each character is unique, their episode structures are far too similar, which causes different stories to feel homogenous.
What the live-action adaptation really nails is the pervading sense of optimism that runs through "One Piece." Luffy is effortlessly lovable because even in the darkest circumstances, the eternal optimist in him is always capable of making the best of things. Thanks to a terrific, spirited performance from Godoy, Luffy is every bit as delightful as he is in the manga. The actor succeeds at making the character his own while keeping the spirit of the Luffy fans will be familiar with. "One Piece" isn't afraid to deal with darkness (and there is a cavalcade of nasty characters for Luffy and company to beat up), but it always trudges through with a glowing smile and a bold thumbs up. While the show can suffer from trying to do too much, spending time with Luffy is reliably enjoyable.
All that said, the pessimist in me wonders whether Netflix is the right company to take on a series like "One Piece." It's not that the streamer doesn't make great shows; more that it has a tendency to cancel shows swiftly and seemingly without hesitation. It's widely known that Netflix loves to axe its show after three seasons, and if that were to happen here, to this enormous story with decades of backstory and mountains of source material, the live-action adaptation would likely have covered maybe 10% of this epic. If "One Piece" does make it past a third season — and it should — this could turn into one of the biggest, most swashbuckling hits the streamer has ever had.
/Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10