Is It Worth Your Time to Watch Netflix's "One Piece" Live-Action Adaptation?
The live-action TV series adaptation of One Piece came ashore in North America on August 31, 2023. Its eight-episode first season received highly favorable reviews from critics, fans, social media influencers, moms, dads, dogs, cats, and many others!
It was distributed globally with 84 countries loving the series as number one, truly making One Piece the pirate king of Netflix.
Netflix has announced that they will be releasing five more seasons, with the newest season airing in 2024.
On the back of this news, Netflix has also revealed that they will be creating another anime adaptation based on the live-action adaptation, which was in turn based on the anime adaptation, which itself was based on the manga. Whew!
Do we really need another adaptation so soon? I’m having trouble keeping up with all of them!
The biggest question of all; is it any good? Would it be worthwhile for you to revisit a 20-year-old title, or if you are already invested, would it be worthwhile to reinvest in a newer version?
THIS IS A QUASI-REVIEW, KIND OF
I would like you, my fellow shipmates, to remember that I am using Google translate. There will be many mistakes concerning honorifics, pronoun abuse, and more. I must ask for you to please forgive my poor translations.
This is not a review, well, it kind of isn’t. I am the last person you would want to review things because I like pretty much everything. I am also not a journalist nor experienced as a film critique. I am just a humble ESL teacher with some opinions. However, I feel that these opinions would help you come to your own decision to watch this series or not.
MY RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE PIECE PRIOR TO THE NETFLIX ADAPTATION
I was already living in Japan when ONE PIECE sailed to Canada. Apparently, the American publishers delayed its release by six years. So, I was unaware of what it was from the Canadian perspective.
However, once I started teaching English in Japan, ONE PIECE was pretty much everywhere. As a teacher, it is important to stay current with trends, and I love anime.
It should not be a surprise that I decided to see what it was all about. Besides, living abroad as an expat, I need some English entertainment.
I believe I watched the first couple of seasons of the anime and then forgot about it. ONE PIECE had all the characteristics of anime I don’t like: loud, ugly artwork, excessively elongated fight scenes, uninteresting characters, and more.
It was definitely made for a hormonally charged young man, not for an older mature man, like myself, already showing male-pattern baldness.
So why should the Live-Action adaptation of One Piece interest me? I’ll give you a hint. SMI-LE
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS (SMI)
It wasn’t long ago that my YouTube feed was filled with reviews of ONE PIECE. Men aged 20+, and some women, posted their thoughts about the series. It wouldn’t be surprising that most of these influencers grew up watching it.
They wrote things like: “This is the best anime adaptation ever!”, “It’s great!”, “It has no right to be this good!”, and more.
These posts kept filling my feed, page after page. There were, of course, negative reviews, but they were likely intentionally creating division.
The SMI intrigues me. Now that I have become one (Kind of) and know their practices, I couldn’t help but watch NETFLIX’s ONE PIECE to see what they are talking about.
I’m sorry, perhaps you might not know what or who is an SMI. Let’s address that now.
A Social Media Influencer (SMI) is a term for people who want to earn money from the social media. It is a new kind of career/job that has become popular. Anyone can do this, but the successful ones are the ones who know the tricks. It can be a lucrative side job and also a very high paying career choice.
Who are they? They are everyday people, like you or me, giving their opinions hoping for “likes” and feedback via email or just simple responses. They are for the most part, untrained, undisciplined, and have a scary power to influence everyone.
A journalist undergoes rigorous training and has to adopt a professional standard. They need to refrain from giving their opinions and just state the facts so the audience can formulate their own opinions. If they didn’t, the audience wouldn’t believe in them.
The SMI is now a new form of journalist, one without barriers. What training have they undergone asides knowing how to video edit, or learn how to create a business model? None.
Who are they? That is the ultimate question, isn’t it? They are nobody but they could get you to like this article. They could also intentionally manipulate you to dislike something “thumbs down”, in order to get a response. Any response feeds their system.
When a SMI is saying something is great, I need to question it. It is possible that a big company like NETFLIX could pay some SMI’s for a favorable review here and there to start the hype engine rolling.
The SMI’s have all agreed that this is a faithful adaptation to the original source material. The original source material is the manga, and sadly I can’t read Japanese so I can’t address it. However, I can work with the anime. Let’s see how accurate they are.
What NETFLIX's Adaptation of ONE PIECE is not.
To get back to my take on why this series might be for you, let’s start by saying what it is not. The Netflix adaptation is NOT the following:
- it is not full of characters that excessively whine or scream at the top of their lungs.
- It is not full of characters that pick their nose or use foul language excessively.
- It is not full of excessively long fight scenes that last for 4+ episodes.
- It is not full of excessively long posturing statements that drag down the tempo of the episodes.
- It is not full of excessively bombastic stretching scenes with explosions that light up the TV screens.
- It does not have excessively lewd innuendoes or insults being thrown around.
- It is not full of larger than life characters having ridiculously large muscles or ill-proportioned armor.
- It is not excessively ugly.
- It is not aimed towards a younger boy target audience.
I don’t know about you, but the “faithful adaptation” is not a statement I would easily be making. Seems like just an SMI “catch word” done for appeal. Were it a faithful adaptation, I would not be its target audience and I would have turned it off half-way through the first episode.
However, the storyline is seemingly faithful to the anime. So, if the critics say that the storyline is the most faithful adaptation of all previous anime adaptations, I concur. DEATH NOTE, COWBOY BEBOP, and many more have failed before because they strayed from the source material too much.
WHAT NETFLIX'S ADAPTATION OF ONE PIECE IS.
Picture, if you will, an adaptation that has been under development for over six years. Six long years of planning to perfection.
The source material, over a 100 anime episodes, is rich with world-building potential. The original story is solid, with over two decades of success.
Then let’s add the ability to erase excessive fluff, such as non-essential characters, side-stories, and fight scenes. Distill it down to its most basic form, a good story with a rich background.
Next, let’s include solid acting from actors who care about their roles and are well-cast. Additionally, let’s have inclusivity by adding diverse ethnicities to the cast. The aim is to make everyone happy!
Furthermore, there is an easy-to-follow dialogue with poignant moments of character building. (This would be good to use subtitles with to learn English)
On top of all this, add well-choreographed fight scenes that mimic those of the JOHN WICK movies without being too violent or over-the-top. It feels more “realistic”.
Of course, there are beautiful set designs that equal those of Disney, and a nice soundtrack and appealing lighting. With a budget of over 17 million dollars per episode, this shouldn’t be such a surprise.
Lastly, incorporate death. People actually die! This means there is a dire consequence and a feeling of finality that pervades each episode. It adds a palpable menace to the show in a pleasing and scary way.
This recipe deliciously all comes together. It can be viewed by any gender, age, or nationality that enjoys adventures on the high seas.
ARGUABLY THE STRONGEST DIFFERENCE IS THE MAIN CHARACTER LUFFY D. MONKEY
This is where, in my opinion, the biggest difference between the anime and this adaptation lies – Luffy is different.
In the anime, Luffy is childish, immature, rude (“You are a coward, I don’t like you!”), excessively noisy, and brash. He also relies on his powers throughout, giving him an air of superiority and confidence. He has a moronic stare that is utilized intentionally, giving its audience the feeling that he is not all there in the head (KY).
I found the anime LUFFY likable but insufferable at the same time.
Luffy in the Netflix version is something entirely different – mature for his years despite some naïve and mildly childish notions. He carries a gravitas that carries the crew and its viewers throughout every episode.
His positivity is infectious, and yet he is very human. In this adaptation, he is still learning about his powers and has fear, which makes him more believable.
I can’t help but feel that I need to find a person like this in my real life or become just like him. He is more inspiring and motivational than anyone I know. He could even become a role model of sorts for people like me to follow. I believe you would have to see it to believe it at this point.
IN CONCLUSION
One Piece live-action has become the most popular Netflix title for many reasons. When one watches it, they will find themselves in for a surprising treat in one form or another. Fans of the series will be delighted to see their favorite characters come to life in a pleasing way, and newcomers will enjoy getting a taste of what One Piece is all about (without any cow-whales thankfully).
Hopefully, this version doesn’t face the same troubles as Game of Thrones, whereas the actors age too fast, or we run out of content. Unbelievable, but possible.
As some social media influencers have pointed out, watching this adaptation inspires you to reach out and learn more about the original source material. This was true for me, and that is a success. Although, only for revisiting the first season anime to write this. However, I am excited to see the next Netflix season!
In the end, I found One Piece live-action to be a very cool, mature adaptation of the anime that is more suitable for my 50-year-old, nerdy tastes. If you are interested in watching something similar to Pirates of the Caribbean but with a whacky side, this is for you. Interestingly enough, it seems that I fit into the demographic that would influence this product to a wider audience. Hmm, I just wish I were paid.
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