Live-Action One Piece Lives Up to the Amazing Manga

I should start by saying that I am far from a One Piece expert. Heck, before the summer of this year, I'd never watched or read any of One Piece before; the franchise was just such a gargantuan, imposing monolith of the industry that I had become resigned to the fact that I missed my time to hop onto the bandwagon ages ago. Then, a funny thing happened. The trailers for Netflix's mysterious live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda's magnum opus finally dropped, and the show looked… good. It looked damned good, in fact—so much so that, after putting it off for literal decades, I finally became inspired to start catching up on the manga.

About a hundred-and-fifty chapters later, I'm still the furthest thing from a One Piece expert. I have just…so, so many chapters left to go. I can confidently say that I get One Piece now. I understand why it is so popular and enduring. I have fallen in love with Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Chōpper (my boy!), and I am incredibly excited to see all of the new heroes and villains I'm going to be able to meet as the Going Merry sails the Grand Line. I have also at least read all of the chapters being adapted in the eight episodes of the live-action One Piece's inaugural season, so you can bet your bottom Berry that I was excited to dig into the new show to see how this new version of the Romance Dawn Arc compared to the source material.

From the very start of Episode One, I can offer one reassurance to longtime fans: The vibe is spot on. Sure, creative Chōices are being made in this production that irks me a little, but as we first bear witness to the execution of the legendary Gold Roger, it is hard to deny that Netflix's One Piece is going for it, no holds barred. The sets feel lush and hand-crafted, the costumes and character designs are just as outlandish as what you'd find in the anime, and most importantly of all, the show doesn't feel ashamed to be the buck-wild fantasy adventure that One Piece is. So far, it seems to be striking a balance between the cartoon goofiness of the source material and the necessary concessions that you have to make when filming real people on (mostly) real sets that are performing (kind of…sort of?) realistic feats of human strength and agility.

I wouldn't mind if they cooled it a little on all the fish-eye lens close-ups, though.

Here's the other thing that this adaptation has nailed so far: The casting. Critically, Iñaki Godoy is an almost uncannily perfect Chōice to play Monkey D. Luffy. The character's infectious and logic-annihilating joy for adventure comes through in each of Godoy's smirks, sideways glances, and exuberant cries of “I'm gonna be king of the pirates!” He's almost preternaturally likable, which is the exact quality that Luffy's actor needed to pass muster for the fans of the franchise (and Oda himself, who took a very hands-on approach to his role as producer when it came to casting the Straw Hats).

This is especially good because, if I'm being honest, the opening twenty minutes of “ROMANCE DAWN” is a little clunky, both due to the script's speed in introducing the two other crewmembers that Luffy has to rope into this adventure before shoving off for the end credits, and because some of the staging of Luffy's initial encounter with Kolby and Captain Alvida is a little rough—a significant percentage of these early scenes are shot in the dead of night and confined to the cramped quarters of Alvida's ship, for some reason, which limits the spectacle in this very first salvo of Luffy's journey. However, those nitpicks are easy to overlook when Luffy himself is a delight. Besides, once Luffy makes Landfall and starts to connect with his future pirates-in-arms, the premiere really starts cooking.

If any fans were worried about how the show would handle Zoro and Nami, it's safe to say we're in good hands. Outside of a fascinating new scene that introduces Zoro and foreshadows some developments for much later down the line, the way Luffy rescues him from the clutches of Helmeppo and Captain Morgan plays very close to the source material and actor Mackenyu acquits himself quite well as the sword-Chōmping badass. Outside of some of the unfortunate lighting issues that marred the Alvida fight, almost all the action in this first episode is Chōreographed and shot with expert skill. Mackenyu gets the lion's share of the flashy beats to show off.

It was Emily Rudd's take on Nami that I was the most curious (and anxious) to see more of, though, since Nami is easily my favorite Straw Hat crew member of the ones I've met so far in the manga (except maybe for Chōpper, of course). Netflix's Nami also gets the most new material to work with here since the live-action show smartly decides to get her into the story earlier than her manga counterpart while also taking some time to set up story elements that will likely pay off big time once Luffy and Co. make their way closer to the Grand Line. I'm happy to say that Rudd does a great job at embodying this version of Nami, though I think she'll get to have even more fun once the gang's dynamic starts to settle in as the season progresses. Plus, the crew gets to go toe-to-toe with Buggy next, and Buggy looks sick as hell.

I know plenty of folks hesitated to get on board with this take on one of the industry's most beloved and sacred icons. After how badly Netflix burned us with the Cowboy Bebop debacle, I don't blame anyone for having their reservations. Heck, I was on record for saying that I didn't think a good live-action One Piece was even possible to make within the confines of the Netflix model.

I'm so glad to have been proven wrong. Yes, many of the quirks of modern streaming television productions have also made their way into this series. The inconsistent and sometimes shoddy lighting is a bummer, especially for any scenes that take place at night. I'm still wondering why these modern cinematographers have become addicted to the medium shot. I do not doubt that the pacing will continue to be wonky in places, as well, given that this series is hell-bent on cramming a hundred chapters of material into a scant eight hours of television.

You know what, though? I'm still dying to watch more. Netflix's One Piece may not be perfect, but it's a hell of a lot of fun so far, and it is being made by a team of artists, writers, and actors that freaking love this story. That love is infectious, just like Luffy's big, dumb grin, and I hope the rest of the season can keep those good vibes coming.