Netflix’s One Piece is an A+ Adaptation
There is a curse for live-action anime adaptations. It has been attempted so many times before with popular franchises such as Cowboy Bebop and Death Note, but each and every time, it has ended with disappointed fans. It seemed like you truly couldn’t recreate the magic of anime in live action. Until this one was released…
One Piece follows the journey of Monkey D. Luffy, a young man with his heart set on becoming king of the pirates and finding the legendary titular treasure, the One Piece. This first season adapts the first 45 episodes of the anime into 8 episodes, each being around an hour long.
As a stand-alone series, the show is awesome. All of the actors do a great job with their roles, and the story is very well written, giving every member of the crew their own unique, likable personality and contributions. The visuals are great as well, with the ships looking spot-on to their manga designs and Luffy’s rubber powers looking surprisingly great in live action.
As an adaptation, the show still holds up. Each arc has been trimmed down in a way that both adapts the major plot points and enhances them by adding new scenes. You can really tell that the people behind it love the series and are putting so much effort into it.
Are there downsides? Admittedly, some. While most changes made between source material and adaptation end up being for the better, there were a few that I thought slightly lessened the experience, but nothing too extreme.
Netflix’s One Piece is enjoyable to both new and old fans alike. A solid 9/10!
I love the show and loved the review. We’ll written, both the show and analysis.