One Piece: how much is the Netflix series worth (when you know the manga)?

A piece : a legendary work

Since 1997, A piece has established itself as a strong franchise which crossed Japanese borders with flying colours. In fact, Eiichiro Oda’s manga today has an animated series of over 1000 episodes, fifteen animated films, four novels, more than fifty video games and a live series broadcast since August 2023 on Netflix.

As a reminder, A piece follows Monkey D. Luffy, a fiery young man whose dream is to become the king of the pirates. Setting out to conquer the waves, in the course of his adventures he assembles a crew full of daredevils who are as ambitious and determined as he is. However, he’s not the only one who wants to become the Pirate King. and conquer the famous treasure called One Piece.

In 2020, Netflix announces an American-Japanese live-action adaptation. If the news arouses curiosity as much as it scares, how much is it really worth? After the opinion of a non-specialist of the original work, here is that of an unconditional fan.

A deep respect for the original work

First big surprise watching the 8 episodes of this season 1: showrunners Matt Owens and Steven Maeda are really interested in the manga, to the point of copying certain sequences, certain dialogues and certain music from the anime in an identical way. This might be harmless to some. But let’s not forget that we are talking about Netflix which in recent years has shamefully trampled on some Japanese comics or anime such as Death Note, Saint Seiya or also cowboy bebop through adaptations, each more catastrophic than the last. You honestly can’t say the same about A piece who goes out of his way to pay homage and show respect to Eiichiro Oda’s baby. Netflix here seems to have learned from its mistakes by entrusting this series to a team passionate about its source material.

While A piece was deemed unsuitable, if only for the series of episodes, which manages this live-action series to condense 45 episodes of the anime into 8 episodes. Between flashbacks intelligently brought to describe the personality of the main characters, voluntary cutting of some elements (or characters) of the original work, and variety of decorations reproduced almost identical (we will however welcome some welcome liberties such as Arlong Park, Baggy Park HQ or Baratie), the show gets its job done by providing entertainment that quickly excites its audience. Above all, the feeling of freedom and team cohesion through Luffy’s crew are in fact present.

For this we have to thank some interpreters such as Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu or even Emily Rudd who have perfectly identified the characters they embody. Playing Luffy, Zoro, and Nami respectively, the three actors are similar to the heroes of the manga but portray it with an unexpected personal touch. Only for what, this live action is a success.

It can do even better…

Paradoxically, this desire to do well and to fully respect the manga can help him on certain points. Starting from the costumes and the design of some characters. Simply put: in the manga and anime it works. In a live action A piece, goes much less. The showrunners would have benefited from the proposal own artistic direction while making some subtle winks to the fans of the first hour. This would have prevented some characters from sometimes attending a Japan Expo full of cosplay. Disgraceful mention to the Fish-Men who sadly remind us that 20 years ago the character of Davy Jones was much more visually successful.

Another problem: action scenes and digital effects. If the series had been a fanfiction broadcast on Youtube, no one would have blamed it for anything. Unfortunately for her, A piece is a Netflix series with a budget exceeding 15 million dollars per episode. So, if the whole is anything but offensive, we still expect better choreography for the fights as well as much more acceptable special effects. However, we will say goodbye to the shots of some sequences that sometimes try to reproduce the animated scenes.

It will therefore be necessary to see if the series will be able to remedy the situation in the coming seasons. This first season of A piece is more than commendable, which is already a great achievement. However, he will have to be able to quickly increase his skills, especially in terms of action and graphics.

Series A piece can be found on netflix from 31 August.

Source: Cine Serie

Ray

Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.