‘One Piece’ Live-Action Review
The new “One Piece” live-action series came out on August 31. Fans of the animated series and others were excited about this adaptation. “One Piece” follows a boy named Luffy, who dreams of becoming the King of the Pirates, exploring everything the world has to offer, including finding and collecting the renowned treasure, the One Piece. Unfortunately, animes are known for their below-average live-action interpretations, so the expectations were low at first. Fortunately, we had faith in the adaptation.
The live-action is condensed into eight episodes, covering 61 episodes from the beginning of the show. It was a given that the directors were going to cut away a hefty amount of background information retaining some of the characters and Luffy himself. Yet, despite all the cuts they made, everything was still true to the show, from Luffy getting his powers to one of his crew, Nami’s cry for help.
The director also had the privilege of working side by side with the original creator of “One Piece” to add extra information of clarifications for plot holes in the animated show. For example, it explains what happened to Coby after he got admitted into the Marines, and why Garp didn’t go after his grandson even though he knew his exact whereabouts. These switch-ups helped characterize characters outside of the main characters and address viewer questions. Something like this is a double-edged sword because the directors and the creator purposely took out information to be able to fit the show into eight episodes. However, some characters lacked purpose and substance due to this.
Ussop, for example, is the third person to join the crew, and he is primarily known for being a liar and a coward. In the show, this fact is heavily pronounced, while that is not the case in the live-action. Because of this, when Ussop joined Luffy’s crew, it did not have the impact that it did in the anime, as in the anime he was cowardly, but when someone that he cared for was in danger he did not hesitate to save them by any means necessary. This is what drew Luffy to want to have Ussop on his crew. In the live-action, the majority of that was cut out, instead having Ussop do a single act of bravery, which drew Luffy to Ussop. This was the most disappointing, coming from a character who had the most personality.
The most refreshing and happiest part of the actual adaptation is how it was adapted. The problem with all live-action adaptations is that trying to take a 2D character and completely translate it into a living human being is impossible, and it is going to end up making the live-action cringe to watch. Many live-actions end up falling into this trope which makes them not well received from the fan bases of those shows. This is an anime live-action that was admirably adapted without the director trying to replicate how each character acts in the anime, making it the most refreshing element of the entire show.,
Each character was not obnoxiously over the top, they were instead serious and toned down, how an actual living human being is supposed to act. However, the cast was able to adapt and feel true to the characters without feeling like they were simply reading a script. This leads to one of the biggest differences between the animated show and the live-action, the diversity among the cast. The cast members that would play a key role in the show were hand-picked by the creator himself, which supports any attributes that were changed, as the creator is the ultimate authority.
Many people of color were in the cast, including Nami’s adoptive sister Nojiko who was originally an ambiguous race character who was changed to being black. Likewise, there were many characters whose implied race was played by actors of that race, like Luffy being Brazilian, Zoro being Japanese, and Ussop being African. These changes were for the best and gave representation to groups that do not get their fair share of representation. “One Piece” fans begged to differ saying “It takes away from the show,”. These changes and confirmations were for the best and gave representation to groups that do not get their fair share of representation.
One last intriguing element of the live-action action was how the setting was created for each scene. The original “One Piece” had a buoyant sheen to the world, but in the live-action, it was toned it down to fit more of the grungy pirate feeling. The primary element of interest was the ships and how realistic they looked. Instead of going for that cartoonish look, every ship was built from scratch, translating beautifully how each ship would look in a real-life version of “One Piece.”
The “One Piece” live-action, dropped on August 31, shortened the story into eight episodes while preserving the essence of the original. It brought the characters, once drawn, into life realistically with a diverse cast of actors, and even nailed ship design. Nonetheless, some characters lacked depth, and the worldbuilding and live recreation of the scenery displeased some fans. The live-action provided a unique perspective on the series, with an overall amazing execution.