One Piece: 5 reasons the anime is better than live-action

❘ Published: 2023-09-05T17:05:09

An image of Luffy in One Piece live-action and anime

Netflix/Shueisha

One Piece live-action becomes a global sensation as soon as it premieres on Netflix as fans compare it with the anime series. Although it is an exceptional adaptation, there are just a few things that the anime does better.

One Piece live-action rewrites the history of bad adaptations as it easily becomes a global sensation as soon as it premieres. The series is based on Eiichiro Oda’s manga of the same name. With an amazing cast, VFX, storytelling, and direction, One Piece surpasses all live-action in history.

It stays faithful to the original plot while also having a unique approach to the narrative. The first season covers the East Blue Saga, except for the Loguetown Arc, and compresses the narrative while retaining the spirit of what makes the story unique.

The plot is much more streamlined and condensed than the original. Therefore, Netflix’s version of One Piece features a lot of changes. While the adaptation itself is superb, everything has pros and cons. Here are six major reasons that make the One Piece anime much better than Netflix’s live-action.

1. Luffy’s powers seem inconsistent in the live-action

One Piece’s unique world and powers are extremely difficult to adapt to in a real-life scenario. Netflix’s version features everything close to perfection, even Luffy’s insane stretchable powers. His powers were probably the biggest challenge in the live-action. And they do turn out to be way better than expected, thanks to the modern technology.

However, in the original version, he is more in tune with his devil fruit powers and depends on them with every little thing. But the Netflix’s Luffy doesn’t even know that his body can inflate like a balloon. He had this power for over a decade and honed it to perfection before setting out to sea in the anime.

Unlike most Shonen protagonists, Luffy has been powerful from the very beginning. So it is kind of a head-scratcher why the Netflix version showed that. Luffy’s rubber scenes are sure to be expensive as he seems to use his powers sparingly.

Whenever he uses his devil fruit powers, most of them are awkward, with tight angles and brief glimpses. It almost seems deliberate that they’re trying not to emphasize his stretchable parts too much since they look kind of weird in a real-life version.

2. The anime properly features character developments

Kaya and Kuro from One Piece live-action

That’s to be expected since the One Piece anime has way too many episodes compared to the live-action. However, it still doesn’t make sense why they removed the end of Luffy’s backstory, where he sets out to the sea. In the anime, we see a 17-year-old aspiring Pirate who is all set to make a name for himself in the world. He encounters the same Sea King who took Shanks’ arm and easily punches the giant monster.

This shows how he has grown over the years, and it was the perfect way to end his backstory. It’s not just Luffy; the live-action simply removes character developments in Usopp and Kaya as well. The anime introduces Usopp, a good-for-nothing liar who only creates trouble for his village by falsely scaring them about pirates’ arrival.

It happened so often that when pirates arrived, no one seemed to believe him. The plot has the same outline as the famous children’s story, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” However, now that the village refuses to believe him, Usopp fights against the Black Cat Pirates to protect his peaceful village.

Even Kaya, who is a sickly girl sheltered inside her home, has that one moment where she stands against Captain Kuro for the sake of her village. The scene was too important to show her growth as a person and an heiress of her family’s shipyards.

3. Nami’s relationship with her village is badly executed

An image of Nami wearing Luffy's straw hat in One Piece live-action like anime

One of the most heart-wrenching backstories in One Piece is about Nami sacrificing her entire childhood for her village. As an eight-year-old kid, she has to work under the same person who killed her foster mother in front of her. Arlong recognized Nami’s talents and blackmailed her to join his crew.

The villagers were aware of all this but were helpless in front of the Arlong Pirates. This made their situation look even worse as they were forced to watch one of their own work relentlessly for their sake. However, in the live-action, the villagers all believed Nami to be greedy. Nami even had to spell out her real motives in front of her sister, Nojiko.

The entire scene where she forces the villagers to take out all their money is just too awkward. Another unnecessary change was how Bell-mère made Nami’s pinwheel while it was Genzo who did it in the anime. After Arlong’s defeat, Nami changes her tattoo to resemble the shape of a tangerine and pinwheel.

Nami’s tattoo represents her love for Bell-mère and Genzo; one was her mother, and the other was like a father to her. Genzo made a pinwheel and wore it over his hat so Nami (an infant at the time) would stop crying because of his scary face. However, One Piece live-action completely removes the father-daughter relationship from the anime.

4. Luffy’s first meeting with his crew changes for the worse

As the prelude of the series, East Blue Saga builds the foundation for the main characters, their goals, bonds, and the incredible journey that’s ahead of them. It all begins with the way they meet one another. In Netflix’s version, Luffy first sees Zoro fighting in the bar, unlike in the anime.

The first meeting between Luffy and Nami is also memorable as it’s chaotic and incredibly funny. In the anime, Nami forces Luffy to partner with her, only to lead him to a trap. This is how the entire fiasco with Buggy began, and Nami ended up traveling with Luffy and Zoro.

Then there’s Usopp, who threatened Luffy, Nami, and Zoro once they arrived at the Syrup Village. Luffy instantly recognizes Usopp as Yasopp’s son. This is how they easily bond with one another. Usopp was proud of his father, who chose a difficult life on the sea despite how people badmouthed him. It was only Luffy who told him about Yasopp’s life as a pirate and how he admired the pirate.

Luffy sees Sanji feeding Gin out of kindness and decides he wants him as a cook in his crew. As soon as he saw him, Luffy was moved by the kindness Sanji showed to a stranger. The live-action changes these moments, and while it doesn’t diminish their bonds, the scenes are less emotional compared to the anime.

5. Too many unnecessary changes deviate the live-action from the original plot

A still from One Piece live-action Netflix trailer

The live-action streamlines the vast plot of One Piece, and while it surely has its pros, these changes do more harm than good. A lot of plot changes weren’t necessary in the live-action, and they serve no real purpose in the overarching plot.

Unlike the live-action, One Piece anime features the young girl giving riceballs to Zoro after seeing he had been forced to starve for many days. However, this scene happens inside the bar, where she just comes up to him and offers him food for no apparent reason. This triggered the entire fiasco of Zoro being tied up by the Marines.

Unlike the anime featured, the fight with Buggy takes place in the circus. The battle with Captain Kuro also happens inside Kaya’s mansion. Merry was originally Kaya’s butler, who was more like a family to her. However, in Netflix’s version, he becomes her financial advisor, who dies after Kuro’s attack. In the original plot, Merry survives those injuries.

Captain Kuro’s entire crew has been removed from Netflix’s series, only leaving Buchi and Sham. Even the fan-favorite character, Jango, didn’t make an appearance. Mihawk appears in Baratie following Garp’s orders to capture Luffy. In the anime, Luffy was a no-name pirate at the time, so sending a Warlord after him is a bit over the top, even if the one doing that is his grandfather.

One Piece live-action is currently streaming on Netflix. You can also check out our other One Piece coverage below: