02/09/2023
ONE PIECE NETFLIX LIVE ACTION REVIEW!!
tldr: 7.5/10 worth a watch for all fans, but not the best way to enjoy the source material.
It is a show I'll say that. It's not the worse live action adaption I have ever seen but I don't think that its the best either. Positives first, GOD DAMN the attention to detail with the character designs and set building really felt like a real life One Piece. For a dooffy as Arlong and the other fishmen look it actually works really well in action. Luffy's stretchiness didn't look all that bad either. The shave technique is okay but I feel like most live action adaptations struggle with showing that kind of speed. I think they found a way to make the exaggerated characters of One Piece work in a live action setting. Sanji and Zoro's choreography JESUS CHRIST they KILLED that s**t that final fight at Arlong Park with Zoro and Sanji fighting the Fishmen I wanted to watch so much more. The performances weren't nearly as cringe as I had originally thought they were going to be in fact I particularly enjoyed Shanks, Zoro, Mihawk, Zeff, Garp, and even Koby to an extent. The through-lines of Garp and Koby trying to hunt down Luffy and crew along with the mystery of Nami working for Arlong the whole time actually worked for me and felt like Nami's story was always apart of the plan story-wise as opposed to how I remember it from the anime. Final positive is the recreation of some of the iconic moments from the series the moments that I enjoyed I think that actually did a good job. When they work they freaking work.
Now on to my not so positives. MUSIC! You have Oda's blessing and helping hand why are you not using the iconic music from the show? The OST is one of the core pieces that I feel makes One Piece so great. The fact that We Are! is only used partially twice is a travesty. That song IS the East Blue arc and the fact that it doesn't play more make me sad. Even though I talked about how much I liked the costumes it still at times just felt like a high budget cosplay. I also talked about Iconic moments and plot positively before but there were a few missing moments. Luffy and Zoro's whole interaction from the anime and manga should have been cut and paste instead its kinda muddled and you have to do a little mind bending to believe that Luffy and Zoro have this bond that is instantly created due to how it plays out in the manga/anime. Nami begging for Luffy's help in the anime literally brought me to tears when it happened, here however it doesn't feel as powerful. Mostly because I don't feel like Luffy in the LA is as strong as Luffy in the anime. And that brings me to my final piece. Luffy... I tried I really did but it just doesn't work me and the problem is that his performance of Luffy feels so inconsistent there are moments where he tries to do his own interpretation of the character and those I believe but then there are moments where he just becomes a caricature of the anime/manga. And the issue with that is when I'm reminded that the anime did a particular scene better it make me just want to turn off the show and watch the anime. I legit think that Luffy is the weakest part of the show and that is due to me feeling like the actor didn't go full in on his interpretation of Luffy.
Over all I think the show is serviceable and definitely deserves a watch just from the production stand point alone, but its not the best way to enjoy the wild story that is One Piece.
Mike's Review: 7.5/10
