Before the One Piece live-action was released on Netflix, I’d never engaged with any One Piece media. The extent of my knowledge was that the story followed a pirate named Luffy who went on goofy adventures, while my friends in year 7 absolutely ate up the manga, I never really got into it.
I probably wouldn’t have watched the live-action series if it weren’t for my boyfriend, Harlen, a One Piece fan who reads the manga and watches the anime. He was the one who told me that a live-action was being made, and I agreed to watch it with him when it came out.
Read on to hear my thoughts on the live-action as a casual viewer, and Harlen’s as a One Piece fan.
The Plot
Via Netflix
Amelie
My initial impression of One Piece was that it was just a silly little cartoon with a storyline void of any real emotions. While there are plenty of humorous moments throughout the live-action, there are also many heartwarming and emotional moments that I was pleasantly surprised, and sometimes shocked, to see. One particular sequence involving Sanji and Zeff stranded on a rocky island had me absolutely shook (iykyk). Moments like this made me realise the extent of One Piece’s emotional depth and made me want to click straight to the next episode.
Harlen
To fit the anime’s 17-hour runtime into an 8-hour Netflix series, major changes were made. Adding Garp as the main marine antagonist to Luffy’s journey was a welcome change, providing a deeper look into the characters of Koby and Helmepo, which happens 200 episodes into the anime. Using familiar villains the whole time allowed for them to be fully fleshed out instead of hot-swapping between them like in the anime. All of the major story changes made sense and kept the integrity of the original story while condensing what didn’t fit in.
The Characters
Via Variety
Amelie
I really loved the characters. They all had distinct and uniquely lovable personalities that brought something interesting to the show. While I had questions about why characters behaved a certain way, they were all answered throughout the course of the show, through the use of flashbacks and plot lines. Learning about each character showed me how much depth they had, and was able to restore my faith in my most disliked character (*cough* Nami). My favourite characters were Koby and Sanji.
Harlen
All of the Straw Hats were perfectly cast, with each actor understanding the nature of the character they portrayed. While there were major changes to some of the Straw Hats' visual attributes, like Usopp’s long nose or Sanji’s curly eyebrows, they assisted in selling the realism of the crew. Having these attributes would’ve been way too invasive and distracting.
The Effects
Via ONE Esports
Amelie
I didn’t think too hard about the effects while watching. I thought they were good for the most part; the prosthetics of the fish-men were convincing and effectively creeped me out. The only thing that sometimes got to me was Luffy’s stretching ability. It looked a bit weird at times - but then again, how can you realistically portray limbs stretching tens of metres?
Harlen
All of the devil fruit abilities remain true to their goofy premise without looking too out of place. Clever tricks such as using low lighting and fighting at night effectively hid imperfections while selling the look. On the other hand, taking a screenshot of any frame of Luffy's stretchy limbs starts to crumble any semblance of reality, looking like something out of 2001’s Shaolin Soccer. This takes you out of the immersive experience that the rest of the production builds.
The Costumes
Via Slate
Amelie
It was a bit disconcerting that bright green and orange hair was considered normal in the One Piece universe, especially as I was used to watching more ‘realistic’ shows. I felt the same about the characters’ outfits; why would pirates roughing it at sea have near-perfectly clean clothes? I soon got used to it as I continued watching. After all, One Piece isn’t meant to be realistic; it has its own charm and the costuming contributes to it.
Harlen
All of the costumes were extremely true to the source material - almost too close. In the realistic and lived-in sets of the show, some of the costumes looked a little too clean. Directly using the outfits from the show brought a feeling that these were all cosplayers instead of actors playing the characters. Throughout the different arcs, instead of staying in the classic blocky colour outfits the anime characters wear, they swapped between more complex outfits adapted from the cover chapters of the manga. This gave a feeling of a lived-in world.
The Sets
Via TV Guide
Amelie
I was really impressed by the sets. My favourite was Baratie, the floating restaurant where we met Sanji. It felt so full of life and added colour to the world of One Piece, contributing to the world-building of the universe. I also enjoyed seeing The Going Merry ship come to life, after helping Harlen build a mini-figure model of it. After doing some research, I was impressed when I found out they actually built the sets in real life.
Harlen
The sets were all amazingly well done, bringing a feeling of a lived-in world. Hundreds of easter eggs and secrets are sprawled across the walls of the taverns or marine officers' chambers, paying homage to the smaller details only found on the wikis. This visual cross between Pirates of the Caribbean and Hook fits right at home with the gritty and goofy cross that the One Piece world is presented in.
Final Verdict
Via Netflix
Amelie
While this is something I wouldn’t normally watch, I honestly loved it. Everyone should give it a go! Rating: 5/5
Harlen
The production team and actors presented the amazing story of One Piece in a way I couldn’t have ever dreamed of. Rating: 4.5/5
Amelie Ritchie is a second year UNSW student who started off studying Science and Engineering, but joined the dark side by transferring into a Bachelor of Media (Comms. and Journalism) to engage in her affection for writing. She loves to read and write, finding the most enjoyment in fiction and personal essays. It is likely you will find her sitting in the gentle light of her bedroom, listening to music as she burns a candle.
