One Piece

I have to admit that I've never watched any of the animated show One Piece or even heard about it for that matter. I'm really not a big fan of anime. Then after watching the trailers for this I thought it looked like a show for children. I was wrong. I kept reading about how good this show is and how it's #1 on Netflix so I thought I'd give it a chance. I'm glad I did because I couldn't have been more wrong. This is a show where people of all ages can enjoy. If you can just turn off your brain and watch I promise you'll have a good time. If you're looking for a new show to binge then give One Piece a try. You won't be disappointed!

Parenthetically I don't know anything about the source material in particular or anime in general.

The series is compulsively watchable for several reasons.

The first is the world-building. The setting is fantastical but the show makes it effortlessly understandable and relatable.

The second is the characters. The characters here are mostly tropes but they're so likeable and well-realized by the performers that you can't help getting invested in them.

The third is the sense of light-hearted positivity that pervades the series. It touches on some pretty dark issues but the show and its irrepressibly-optimistic protagonist always have a positive outlook. People's faith in one another is actually rewarded rather than being mocked or denigrated. Image that in 2023.

Every live action anime that I've briefly seen has been nothing short of a disaster, and considering how many times Netflix tried to bring Anime's to life I thought One Piece was about to receive the same fate. But to my surprise I was wrong.

Just 3 episodes in you could tell the care the creators put into this show. The set designs, the action sequences, and even to my surprise the actors bring so much.

Iñaki Godoy as Luffy is to my surprise holding his own in this role. Luffy is such a love or hate character and imagining a live action for him seems like a recipe for disaster. But Godoy somehow is able to maintain the goofiness within the character without making him unbearable, and that deserves some applause. I think Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, Morgan Davies, and Jacob Romero are great as well.

And as someone who's only watched the first 10-15 episodes of One Piece, I love the route they went with Buggy in episode 2 compared to the beginning of the Anime/Manga. Jeff Ward made him extremely terrifying in the show and the way they used the crowd as prisoners, forcing them to clap was slightly terrifying.

I wasn't even sure if they'd do the iconic Shanks moment early on for budget reasons, but they did it and it was actually great. Not to say everything is perfect because at times the show can get a little too cartoony for me, but my low expectations were blown away. I'm glad to see the awful live action anime stereotype take a hit and potentially make room for other people who aspire to bring an anime to life, and even with a very small chance, potentially do it justice like we saw here.

It's only season 1 and there is plenty of room for error, but I'm glad to say I've been proven wrong and I actually have hope for this adaptation.

I've never watched the anime or read the manga before, and honestly, wasn't fully sold by the trailer, but after I started watching it, I was hooked. I did not expect to enjoy this show as much as I did. The actors were well cast and the story was fun and compelling. You really get to like the characters, both heroes and villains, and want to see what happens to them. There's also a lot of heart to the story that goes beyond cliches. It was probably tricky to adapt an anime series into a live action format, and I feel it struck the right balance, and succeeded where other adaptations didn't.

Now I'm going to have to start watching the anime series, and it's a good thing Netflix has them.

Netflix had better renew this for more seasons or I'm canceling my subscription. After I watch the anime series, though.

Despite the negative reviews from some people who judged the series before watching it, I decided to give it a chance and watch the first episode. I was really surprised by how well they adapted the story from the manga, even though they made some changes to the plot. The changes did not affect the overall narrative and actually added some depth and complexity to the characters and the setting. The production value was impressive, with realistic costumes, props, special effects and PRACTICAL SETS. It felt like I was watching a movie rather than a TV show.

The first episode left me wanting more and curious about how the series will progress. I hope they will keep up the quality and the faithfulness to the source material.