Netflix’s ONE PIECE Live Action Review: It’s actually good and it’s better than the anime

It’s a breath of fresh air to finally see an American production that can properly adapt a manga/anime into live-action and do it the right way.

As a teen, I got into the One Piece anime for only for a short time. Until I jumped ship from it because I had no patience for any anime or manga series that keeps going on and on and on… the story has to end at some point (did it end?). I don’t remember much about One Piece’s story in depth, however you don't need to be a One Piece fan to watch it. Because, I think that anyone can enjoy the live action show if you’re looking for a fun-wacky pirate adventure story.

This show is based on a popular Japanese manga series by Eiichiro Oda. In fact, he was involved with the live action show as a gate keeper so that it stays true to the original story. Which was a really good thing and it actually paid off.

Also, as a fun bonus, Netflix’s Japanese dubbed version is voiced by the original main cast from the anime series. I thought that was really cool and it added a nice touch for the hard-core One Piece fans.

The story is about a young man named Monkey D. Luffy (Inaki Godoy) who sets off on an adventure to become the “King of the Pirates.” He is determined to find Gol D. Roger’s ultimate treasure called the “One Piece,” and inherit the deceased Pirate King’s title. He also gained a special ability from eating a Devil Fruit as a child, turning him into a stretchy-rubber man. Luffy will need a crew to help him on his journey such as Nami (Emily Rudd) the thief, Zoro (Mackenyu) the pirate hunter, Usopp (Jacob Gibson) the sniper and Sanji (Taz Skyler) the cook. As the crew set sail to the seas, they will encounter many enemies such as the pirate overlords and the Marines from the World Government who’s hunting down Luffy and the One Piece.

There’s only 8 episodes, so it's inevitable that the show will have to take short cuts and rearranged the story differently from the original. And, I’m fine by that. It still does a good job at giving you a basic subplot of the world building and character development that were digestible and easy to understand. I’m grateful for that because it cuts out the fat and gets to the point of the story. Maybe, that’s the reason why I enjoyed the live action a lot more than watching the anime.   

I had a good laugh at some of the set designs because it’s so wacky, whimsical, uncanny and ridiculous. The show is self aware of it's silliness and embraces it. They've actually built Luffy's ship the Going Merry and the Baratie restaurant. Everything looks good: the sets, even the costume designs, (they’ve spared no expenses) and it fits well with the theme of One Piece. I’m glad that not everything is a full-blown VFX mess, it has a nice balance of using real props and adding VFX where it counts. It makes it more grounded in reality and believable for the characters/actors to interact in the One Piece world. 

I’m so glad that the One Piece live action (LA) did not copy exactly like the original character design. In Oda-sensei’s manga, the art style is very wacky and the character designs are over the top. Like, the original Usopp has the long Pinocchio nose and Sanji has the sharpie pen eyebrows. The show made the right call to omit or toned down some of the quirky features that would not translate well on-screen. Comparing this to the Japanese LA movie, Fullmetal Alchemist (FMA), it made a mistake of making the characters too close to the original. It’s hard to take the movie seriously when all the cast look like professional cosplayers at an anime convention. (Mackenyu also starred in the LA FMA as Scar.) But I’m glad that One Piece LA did not go full cosplay. Instead, used their own creative senses and managed to find the right balance of what works realistically on-screen.

The most important thing of all beside making everything look good, the show does have a heart and a soul. One Piece has many comedic and goofy moments, but underneath it all, it does have a serious and sentimental character drama. Each episode showed the character's backstory on the hardships they had to face in the past and how it reflects the way they carry themselves in the present. Thanks to the talented actors, they've made their characters believable and enduring. I even cared for the minor characters like Koby (Morgan Davies) and Shanks (Peter Gadiot). I loved all of the character interactions weather it's with a villain or an ally, it's all very charming, crazy and hilarious. I loved every minute of it and I was never bored. 

Can we talk about how Skyler did an awesome job as Sanji. Like, he's so cool and hot. 😍 I'm here for it! 

Netfilx's One Piece show has set the bar high on what the fans want from their favorite fandoms. It broke the long-time Hollywood curse of making bad anime live action content. It proved they can successfully adapt a LA content in which the cast were perfect for the roles, respected the source material, and actually gave the fans what they want. Geez…what a concept! I hope that this will give Hollywood a good kick in the balls to some of its’ poorly made anime adaptations.

All of the reviews and comments I've seen online, most of it were very positive. The One Piece LA already reached #1 worldwide and it even surpassed Stranger Things, one of the top Netflix shows. That's amazing! With all the positive feedback, I hope that there's another season for the show, so I'm crossing my fingers.