One Piece (2023)

I'm ready for more adventure

Speechless.

I don't know the first thing about One Piece. I've never watched an episode in my life and knew nothing more than Luffy. So essentially, I went in blind, and I'm so glad I did. I heard about this a while ago. Naturally, with the string of failed live action adaptations of anime, I was highly highly skeptical, but I decided to watch for Mackenyu anyway. Even from the first episode, it blew me out of the water (no pun intended).

It's so obvious how much love and passion they put into this project. Everything from the detailed sets, the costuming, the fight choreography, the personalities, the story arcs, and it acting, it all felt so genuine. Even as a non-OP fan, I couldn't help but smile at the world they were able to bring to life. I felt Luffy's passion. I felt their deep bond as they went from strangers to family. I felt their struggle to survive in the dangerous world. It took me on a rollercoaster of emotions as I went from laughing to tearing up within a few minutes.

I was so intensely invested in the crew's journey, I nearly forgot it was an 8 episode remake of a 1000+ ep anime. Now I think I can see why it's so popular and gone on for so long. Personally, I think Inaki did a fantastic job. Though I don't know Luffy's character, I can tell how much love he gave to his portrayal. In my case, he played such a lovable lead. His portrayal never felt overexaggerated or cringey to me. Whenever he showed up, I actually felt relieved? Zoro was certainly a standout too (or maybe i'm biased). Funnily enough, he had some of the best one-liners in the show. I also really couldn't ask for anybody else to play him. I think he's portrayed more seriously in this, which I personally thought fit with the overall atmosphere more. Buggy was fantastic as well. I'm excited to see more of him if they have future seasons.

In general, I adored the serious tone the show carried throughout. One of the things that always stopped me from watching One Piece was the comedy aspect, which I'm not a fan of. And this adaptation captured the more serious, realistic tone perfectly. Overall, it was just a splendid show. I'm in awe. I never would've thought I'd be as invested as I got. It created such a vibrant world, with addicting arcs, and likable characters. All in only 8 eps. I seriously highly recommend it to anyone a fan of action and adventure, even if you're a One Piece fan. It's honestly nearly perfect. I can't think of a single glaring fault.

Now I'm ready for season 2.

Read More

Beginning of an EPIC journey

Wow! This live-action series really justifies the most popular and greatest manga of all time.

We tend to have this negative idea about the live-action series. They are based on the manga/cartoon/anime series that we all like. As a fan, we want to like them. But they can never meet our expectations. It is not easy to translate the manga/cartoon world into a live-action world. Most of the live-action series fail terribly. BUT, let me tell you, the one piece live-action successfully translated the magic of the One Piece manga/anime series. It is no doubt the best live-action series of all time (till now).

Questions & Answers:
1. What is this story about?
-This is a story about adventure, friendship, dreams, inspiration, reaching one's goal.
2. Is this series mainly for kids and young people (as many mangas and cartoons are targeted at young people)
-No, this is a series for all audiences. Especially for adult audiences. Anyone, kids, young and old people can watch and enjoy this series
3. Should you watch Manga/Anime before this?
-No, you don't need to watch. If you like this series, maybe you can start Manga/Anime after finishing this.
4. Does it feel unrealistic and manga/anime like other live-action series?
-One piece world is a fantasy world. It does feel unrealistic sometimes, but unrealistic in a good way. You get used to the world very quickly.
5. How is the pacing?
-It is fast-paced, and not many unnecessary events happen. Most of the events are important and have a meaning.
6. You don't like manga/anime, will you enjoy it?
-Yes, of course
7. Is it like other pirate series, i.e. Pirates of Caribean?
-No, only a few similarities. But overall it is different. It shows the pirates and pirate world in a totally different way that you never watched before.
8. Is there romance? (MDL viewers like romance)
-No, it is about friendship and adventure. It is full of emotions.
9. Is it better than the manga/anime?
-No, but almost the same. This series only covers the first part of the manga/anime series. Manga/anime gets far more interesting in the later part. If you only consider the first part, this live-action series is almost the same as Manga/anime.
10. How are the main characters and side characters?
-Very good! Very much likable. One of the best things about one piece manga/anime is its characters. The characters are some of the best in the entire book/TV industry. The live-action was only 8 episodes. It couldn't explore the details of the characters like the manga/anime did. But, still it did a pretty good job.
11. Should you watch it?
-A big yes. You should at least give it a try. There is a reason one piece is the greatest and most popular manga of all time.
12. You never liked other live-action series before, in fact, you disliked those. Will you like this series?
-Yes, this is unlike other live-action series. This is good.
13. Is there comedy? Will it make you laugh?
-Yes, yes. The humor is good, It will make you laugh in certain scenes.
14. How are action, and cinematography?
-Very, very good.

My Ratings:
Story: 10/10. One piece manga story will get a 10+ from me. Live action story gets a 10.
Acting: 10/10, just perfect. All the actors did a pretty good job
Music: 9/10, Very very good. All original tracks. All were good, but just wished they used some of the music/songs from the anime.
Rewatch Value: 9.5/10. Very high rewatch value. This is the kind of show that you enjoy no matter how many times you watch it.
Overall ratings: 10/10

Read More

THIS IS AMAZING

UM YES this is an AMAZING series. This was extremely well done.

I do have to admit that somehow in 24 years I have never seen any of the One Piece anime, so I came into this show only knowing that Luffy had a straw hat. So of course, my viewing experience will differ from anyone who is coming in with expectations. But my nephew who has seen 600+ episodes of One Piece said it was one of the best live action adaptations that he has seen. And I completely believe it.

I LOVED THIS SERIES. It's a quick watch that gives backstory to all of Luffy's crew. All of the casting was so well done (though I felt a few of the child performers were a little on the less natural side) but overall the main cast's acting was great. Highly recommended to anyone who is thinking about watching this. 10/10

Read More

Broke the Curse

I am a One Piece fan and also have also grown up watching some of Mackenyu's movies and shows. When the cast was announced, I had high hopes that the drama would deliver and it did! Zoro, is my favorite characters in One Piece and I hope he would be in the live action. I have to say Mackenyu definitely does plays Roronora Zoro's character well. From his fighting scenes, to his dialogues and even the emotions he plays, is all accurate. I do not think they could have chosen anyone better for the role. The same could be applied to each cast member, Inaki portrays Luffy so well and is such a fun cast, in my opinion. I think he embodies what Luffy represents and what he wants to represent as a pirate captain.

I enjoy how there is more of a serious tone presented in the show. We get to understand each characters story in a more serious light. Some key differences that the show has from the anime is that:

1. Garp is introduced very early on. He is introduced in the beginning of the show, but in the anime he is introduced a lot later one.

2. It is way less comical compared to the anime and falls more on the darker more serious side.

3. In the show Luffy steals the grand line map from Captain Morgain, but in actuality he stole it from Captain Buggy.

4. Luffy see's Zoro's fight at the bar with a Marine and that is how he gets introduced to Zoro. he later meets Zoro officially when Zoro voluntarily surrenders and is tied up to the post. There Luffy unties him and asks him to join his crew. Zoro rejects his offer. In the anime. Luffy first hears about Zoro through the girl who made him the riceballs.

5. Coco village is introduced to the reason why Nami's works for Arlong, but in the anime the villagers never knew why Nami left to work for Arlong. Genzo's fatherly love for Nami's was not shown at all.

Again, there are ofc going to be difference in the live action versus anime because they are trying to tell a 1,071 episode show in 8 episodes. Overall, in my opinion I think it was an amazing watch. I loved the cast/ crew and the acting was stupendous. I think the one thing I noticed is the costumes seemed kind of cheap. But again, my favorite character in the live action series has to, ofc, be Zoro. But, I also like Sanji and Nami a lot! Zoro (Mackenyu) was hot! I couldn't take my eyes off of him! LOL oooookie that is enough of my fangirling! LOL haha Definitely recommend it if you have not seen it yet!

Read More

at a loss for words

Here to give the cast & crew of the One Piece live action their flowers because WOW. I don't even know where to begin. First of all, many congrats to One Piece for finally breaking the anime live action curse. Many doubted the opla's ability to bring One Piece to life (reasonably so) but I am sure watching a few minutes of the first episode will change their minds. Covering the majority of the east blue saga within 8 episodes (most that don't even reach the 1 hour mark by the way) is a feat in of itself. In order to do so, the show-runners and writers did have to tweak some things to adjust to the short time frame, but god did they do it so well. Nothing felt unnatural. In fact, the new additions to the show (ie. more strawhat interactions & dialogues, marine involvement, and buggy content) brought more life to the One Piece universe. As I was watching, I felt so immersed in their world; almost as if I were a strawhat myself. The fight scenes were epic, the soundtrack was beautiful, and the backstories hit just as hard as they do in the animanga. If i could rate this show an 11/10, I would. It is just too damn good.

As a diehard fan of One Piece for 13 years, this live action adaptation exceeded my expectations and made me fall in love with the story all over again. Don't let your strong bias against live action adaptations stop you from finding hidden gems; you might be surprised with what you'd find.

Read More

A pleasant surprise

So this show being announced was actually what kick-started to me start the anime in the first place. I'd just finished the Arabasta Saga when this came out and even then there was a little spoiler that I got — they revealed something a little earlier. It's not a deal-breaker, but this is just a note for someone who wants to start this but isn't all caught up on the source material and other adaptations.

Other than that, this was actually a great watch, but I wouldn't recommend it as someone's FIRST venture into the world of One Piece.

The plot moves super fast compared to the anime. On one hand, it's great because I'd definitely felt like fight scenes were too drawn out in the anime. But the downside of condensing them in the LA and leaving out a lot of side characters resulted in the opposite: I don't think all the battles had the emotional weight and physical stakes they were supposed to.

I also think a lot of character development was lost because of it; sometimes characters would change their minds or have motivations that weren't fully explained, or character relationships to each other wouldn't be too clear. If I hadn't already known the details, I probably would've been a lot more confused.

Still, this was a really good live action adaptation. The set design, character design (especially for Buggy!), and cinematography are all fantastic. The acting was also pretty good, though I definitely needed some time to adjust myself and reconcile the LA versions with their anime counterparts.

I absolutely hope they continue making more seasons.

Read More

Pure entertainment from start to finish

As someone who’s never seen a single episode of the One Piece anime, I obviously have no idea of if this was a faithful adaptation. But in the eyes of one who appreciates exciting and action-packed shows with good storytelling, I can safely say that One Piece live-action is one of the most truly enjoyable tv shows that Netflix has ever put out.

One Piece was pure entertainment from start to finish. It felt like watching an epic blockbuster adventure movie, but for 8 hours… just how great is that?! It’s got dynamic and lovable characters, some really good and fun fight sequences, massive set pieces, and VFX that’s not only GLORIOUS but also made the special abilities not look overtly goofy.

One Piece is surely gonna be on track to become one of Netflix’s biggest series alongside Wednesday so simply cannot wait to see more of the Straw Hat Pirates’ adventures.

To the Grand Line!

Read More

Campy and extremely fun watch

Finished this and still not sure if it was the acting, writing, or directing but something is definitely not right. That being said (keeping in mind that live action is its own art form and shouldn't be compared to the manga or anime), it's still a really fun and enjoyable watch. Once you get through the first episode it becomes easier to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Despite the flaws you will find yourself loving the characters (and the actors that portray them). Yes, they changed things and if you're a hardcore One Piece fan you might not like this as much as casual fans, but you should still give it a try. The special effects are done very well, they do an excellent job covering the back stories of the characters, And the essence of what makes One Piece, One Piece is still very much kept alive.

When it comes to adaptations, I always try to follow the philosophy of parallel universe:
Manga
Anime
Live Action

If they kept everything exactly the same as the source material where would the fun be in that?

Read More

So so....

This is a good live action series of the well known One Piece manga and animation saga. The sets and the costumes are very well done, it is obvious that this is a very expensive production, but the plot and the characters are not that well done. There are countless flash backs which are a not so successful attempt to show some how the background of the characters who end up though, being extremely two dimensional. Their appearance is there but their motives dialogues, aims etc aren't. The characters seem like a fraction of what they are in the manga and the anime series. Same applies to the plot that it has been adapted to fit in a 8 episode series missing this way a lot of the side characters, plots, dialogues. I found the dialogues quite boring. The plot is a mush up of bits and pieces of the original plot that are not put together that well.
Over all this series looks like an half cooked introduction into the One Piece world. If you have read the manga and watched the anime series you are going to find it incomplete. If you have no idea about what One Piece, is you are not going to get engaged unless you are under 12 years old and you don't mind as long as the whole thing is colorful.

6,5 -7 /10

Read More

Was expecting it to be shit, but boy oh boy it blew me away

Since the live action felt mature, i really felt the family drama between garp and luffy, that was really good that it almost made me cry.

The acting of the main actors are good, but since i watched it in jp dub, there will be times where the voice acting is top tier, but the facial expressions of the actors doesn't match at all, but i didn't mind it nonetheless... but some of the side characters acting are shit.

The story felt rush sometimes, but it would slow down on important moments, but i guess that's the result of the time constraints. Like every crew gets introduced every 2 episodes and would get resolve within the span of 2 episodes as well... i don't know, but somehow it still works.

CGI is decent as well, it's honestly not bad, like it's kinda similar to dc

Lastly, a minor critique is that i cannot get used to the western cinematography. as someone who watch mostly asian shows, you know how they love trying out different kinds of camera angles, but here you can tell they love the camera angle where the subject is in the center and it's very up close as well... it's like they're filming a horror movie. And I'm kinda getting disney beauty and the beast vibes..

And of yeah, I'm kind of disappointed that they didn't show arlong's other power that he could do with his teeth's here....

All in all it's still good, would recommend it to others and I'm hype for season 2, I'm really curious how

Read More

Loved it! Finally a great Anime-adaptation. Highly recommended

I loved it. I wholeheartedly recommend this adaptation. I started watching One Piece in 2003 and am still a fan to this day. I never thought there would come a day where I would love an anime-adaptation (after the epic fail of Dragon Ball and Death Note) but I am happy to be proven wrong. It was obvious how much love went into this production. So many great details to bring this world alive. I am so thankful that Eiichiro Oda kept the final say and made them re-shoot scenes where he thought it was done wrong/not good enough. I do not know which scenes were the ones he asked to be redone but as the final result is so amazing, I am really really thankful that he did, otherwise I am sure they would have butchered his masterpiece as well. There is finally hope again for anime-adaptations.... if it gives us such great results, the creators should always have so much say in their work's adaptations.

They chose great actors, their resemblance to the characters was wonderful. They dressed as in the manga/anime. They acted as in the manga/anime. That was what I wanted from an adaptation and this is what we got. Therefore it was so good. Obviously there are some changes between the manga/anime and the drama adaptation but they kept it as close as possible.

Read More