One Piece live-action series review: A joyous sail through the seas

❘ Updated: 2023-08-31T07:03:00

Netflix

Live-action One Piece may struggle with the tone of its mediums, but that doesn’t stop it from being a fun-filled and heart-warming ride.

Get ready to sail the four seas, because Netflix’s One Piece is finally here!

The live-action series has officially premiered on Netflix, telling the tale of the manga and anime of the same name by Eiichiro Oda, which follows a young boy named Luffy sailing the seas to become the Pirate King, and making plenty of friends and enemies along the way.

The manga and anime has built up a loyal following in the 20 years since the franchise has been out, so there’s a lot for the live-action series to live up to. Thankfully, while die-hard fans may have some stuff to nit-pick, and non-anime lovers may find themselves confused, there’s still a lot to love with this live-action series.

One Piece makes live-action feel animated

Arguably the biggest hurdle for One Piece to overcome is translating the energetic tone of the manga and anime into the more grounded medium of live-action. This new series arguably succeeds in this area, though not perfectly.

The imaginative use of split-screens and Dutch angles certainly evokes that manga feel, which is reportedly what the live-action series took more as inspiration rather than the manga. Despite live-action rarely being as fast-paced as animation, no episode feels slow, despite all being just under an hour.

There’s lots of practical sets, which is sadly a rarity these days. Some may not care for the theme-park ride style of sets and costumes – and makeup and prosthetics in many a villain’s case – but if you’re willing to buy into it all, it makes the aesthetics of the show just as fun as the plot.

The same can be said of the special effects for the series, which fail to match fluidity of the anime’s 2D animation. However, while the effects, such as Luffy’s rubbery arms, can be very touch and go, there’s a cartoonish-ness to them that may allow you to overlook said faults.

The fight scenes are much stronger though when focusing on real stunt choreography, which blends in well with the dynamic cinematography and energised score to make for some majorly exciting set pieces.

The real pirate treasure was the friends we made along the way

Each major character gets their moment to shine, and considering how long and dense its source material is, this live-action series manages to pace the development of its characters very well. This is helped by the cast’s acting, as they are able to play up their wild and wacky characters without going too silly. There’s arguably a sort of theatrical farce to many a scene, but like other aspects we’ve discussed, it does work for the most part.

These sentiments even include most of the side-characters, for example one pompous bully begins a path to redemption fairly quickly, to many an audience member’s relief. Though this is arguably more of a testament to Eiichiro Oda’s original writing; by building such a intricate world he has allowed for lots of interesting character interactions.

Though some characters of his may not have aged that well; Arlong feels like a rather poor attempt to address race relations, which arguably comes off as more offensive.

Furthermore, some of the character dialogue and motivations, such as Nami’s mother’s big stand against Arlong, which makes sense in the medium of manga and anime, comes off a little too ham-fisted and counter-intuitive in realistic live-action. There’s also often a tendency to tell rather than show, which undercuts a few moments that would have otherwise been silently impactful.

One Piece live action series review score: 4/5

While we wouldn’t be surprised if the live-action series got hit with criticism from One Piece fans and haters alike, we can’t bring ourselves to say the same. This cast appears so heartfelt that you can’t help but smile with every scene they’re in. The characters care, therefore we care. They whoop, we whoop.

A lot of this care stems from just how long this show has been in the making, primarily due to Oda’s desire to get it exactly right. And just like with the characters, you can’t help but feel the care put into this show. While many anime live-action adaptations often feel like soulless recreations, One Piece at least seems like its trying to create something new out of what has come before, and it’s doing so with a passion just as infectious as Luffy’s.

If we were to describe this series in one word, it would be joyous. And wasn’t that joy part of what made One Piece so special in the first place?

The live-action One Piece is now available to stream on Netflix. In the meantime, check out our other One Piece coverage below: