Rating: 4/5 stars

Live-action anime adaptations have a notorious reputation for being bad. So when Netflix announced the production of the beloved series “One Piece” in July 2017, fans quickly had low expectations of the show. However, six years later, Netflix shows audiences that an anime adaptation can be done right. 

“One Piece” was originally created by Eiichiro Oda in 1997. The series was first published in Shonen Jump, a weekly Japanese comic magazine, and soon became an iconic anime in 1999. The anime was known for its length as it currently has 1,076 episodes. With the series still ongoing, many are intimidated to put that much time into a series. However, Netflix entices viewers with its amazing adaptation.  

Developed by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda with close creative direction from Oda, Netflix’s “One Piece” breaks free from the bad anime adaptation curse. Released on Aug. 31, the show has stayed at the top of Netflix’s top 10 for three weeks now and for a valid reason. The show is a fun adventure that makes anyone want to follow their dreams. 

With Oda’s executive direction, the adaptation makes a few changes to the source material, but in the best way possible. The pacing and story direction allows for a more casual watching experience, condensing most of what was 50 episodes into eight, 40-minute segments. These segments follow all the important beats of the series but change from the original upbeat tone to a more serious one, something that the adaptation pulls off well.  

The cast is the biggest appeal of this series. Consisting of fairly new-name actors, they all do a good job of making their characters come to life. The best performance has to go to the main lead, Inaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy. His energy on screen is infectious as he perfectly captures Luffy’s naivety, determination and kindness. This was Godoy’s English-language television debut and he certainly has made a name for himself after this production. 

The set design was also impressive as designers were able to take Oda’s creations and make them a reality. Each location and set seems to have a lot of time and effort put into it to closely resemble its fictional counterpart. The most impressive design was the Going Merry, the crew’s ship. The original design of the ship is very simple, a ship with a cartoon goat’s head at the helm. Instead of making a simple set, designers created a very intricate ship with the helm resembling more of an ancient statue of a goat with more details that make the ship feel more majestic. 

While everything about this show seems positive there are some critiques. The main ones include the costume design and CGI. Both of these aspects are not terrible for a show like this, but they can distract the viewer and draw them out. For example, Emily Rudd’s character, Nami, suffered the most. Her orange hair was hard to get used to as it was obviously a wig. The brightness of it also made her design feel cheaper compared to the others. The devil fruit powers also felt off at times. Each one suffering from the uncanny valley. 

Ultimately, Netflix’s “One Piece” is a great introduction to the series and will have fans scrambling to watch the anime before season two of the live-action is released. The cast, writing, and set design will impress both fans and general audiences alike.

Image from Casey Crafford via netflix.com