One Piece Live-Action (Season One Thoughts)

I’ll try to keep this short because most One Piece fans have already watched at least some of OPLA. If you loved it, great! I’m with you. If you hated it, great! Stick with the manga and/or anime.

Seriously, as someone who doesn’t watch the anime on a regular basis due to its slow pacing, I get it. The One Piece manga/anime is created for Japanese boys. One Piece Live-Action is made for a broader audience. It’s also tasked with fitting an entire arc into eight episodes. Entire scenes, characters, and plots had to be cut to make it work. And, I think it does work. It works surprising well. But, yeah, that all depends on someone’s personal opinions about One Piece. So, if you didn’t like the changes or what was cut, I understand why you’re not feeling it.

And, if you’re someone who’s not a One Piece fan, give it a shot. The main characters are likable. The story takes place in an visually interesting world. The plot is simple, yet engrossing. Again, all I ask is that you give it a try. I’m going to end this with a list of things I liked and disliked about the season. Let me know your thought on OPLA in the comments!

Liked:

• Cast – Great casting choices all around. You can tell the showrunners and Oda spent a LOT of time finding the best person for every important character.
• Cinematography – I love the camera angles and blocking for most scenes. It helps give the show it’s own style that I appreciate.
• Sets – Many set pieces are physical, not CGI which helps make the show look lived in.
• Story – It’s One Piece. Albeit an abridged version but still One Piece.

Disliked:

• Limited settings compared to the manga – Sets costs time and money. And, again, they only had 8 episodes to work with. Understandable, but I still don’t like it.
• Only 8 episodes – Again, it’s not the showrunners fault, but I wanted more. I’m hoping Netflix will give them at least 10 episodes next season.
• I’m not in it – Call me, Oda! You don’t even have to pay me money. I’ll do for some nachos (cooked by Taz Skylar) and one of those round robotic vacuums. They look cool. So, what do you say?