Alright! Today I'm reviewing the live-action Netflix adaptation of the manga series One Piece, an ongoing story by Eiichiro Oda about a fictional world where Gold Roger, King of the Pirates and recently executed criminal, left his entire collection of treasure in one piece and in an unknown location. With every pirate in the world now looking for the One Piece, the enigmatically cheerful Monkey D. Luffy puts together a crew in order to find the treasure and achieve his childhood dream of becoming the new King of the Pirates.
Part of the likability comes from the energetic cast. Within the first ten minutes, you meet the protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, who is played by such a cheerful and strange Iñaki Godoy that the series goes from "the latest Netflix show" to a genuinely fun watch. He's enthusiastic and unabashedly heartfelt, always seeing the best in people and telling them to follow their dreams. The youthful optimism of the character is ingrained into the show's DNA and changes everyone he meets, making the entire series irrationally hopeful.
The Straw Hat Pirates, the crew Monkey puts together, also worked brilliantly off each other. I love it when a comedy remembers that not everyone can be the quipster and that a well-balanced ensemble is more engaging than a team of stand-up comedians. My favorite of the crew was easily Mackenyu as Roronoa Zoro, a master swordsman who lacked patience for tomfoolery. Not only were his fight scenes engaging, but Mackenyu brought so much natural comedy to the stoic lead who was always enjoyable to watch.
I also rather liked Emily Rudd as Nami, a master cartographer. While she wasn't as consistently funny or interesting as the other members of the crew, her role as the emotional focal point of the season finale was beautifully done, and I always love the Mr. Incredible-type trope where the strong lead realizes they're not strong enough to do it alone. However, I question the decision to have Luffy be the one to defeat Arlong, who is clearly set up to be her archnemesis.
Taz Skylar was absolutely hilarious as Sangi, the master chef who wants to find the All Blue (Some magic sea that provides meals for all - don't question it). I'm always a big fan of a guy who looks great in a suit, and Skylar had such a classy and professional appearance when placed in a line-up with his pirate coworkers that it was inherently funny. My least favorite was easily Jacob Romero Bigson as Usopp, who brought the least to the comedic ensemble and was generally less interesting than everyone else around him.
The non-episodic villains of the show were all fabulous and well-written to the point where calling them villains is only somewhat right, as they only oppose the heroes of the story on the basis that it's their government-backed job. Enter Monkey D. Garp and Koby, who were both sentimental old souls who were fantastically acted and whose scenes were always morally interesting. Buggy the Clown, the other recurring villain, was also so hilariously grotesque that he can't help but be a standout (Especially with an epic leitmotif). The only villain that was a bit bland was Arlong, and that's mostly because thinly veiled metaphors for our own race relations are such a well-worn theme at this point that "this time they're fish!" doesn't provide a fresh enough twist on the subject.
In general, I also loved the direction that seemed to be given to the actors. It feels like a live-action adaptation of an anime - not in the sense that it literally is, but in the sense that the over-the-top costumes, hair colors, designs, finishing moves, powers, and odd vernacular seemed suited for the biggest stage possible, and they were somehow able to capture that energy on a camera. It's almost funny that such a grounded live-action adaptation like Cowboy Bebop failed while One Piece, with its stretchy powers and inherent silliness, was able to succeed. Maybe it's a testament to the benefits of not taking yourself so seriously, especially when the source material is inherently ridiculous.
Speaking of which, one of the best parts about One Piece is the accessibility. While anyone outside the weebisphere will likely look at the manga, with 106 volumes, and anime, with 1074 episodes, in neither of which they have found the One Piece, and make the decision to never even get started, an approachable eight-episode and buzzy Netflix show? It's a far shorter time commitment and emotional enough to ground its over-the-top origins. I mean seriously, this is probably the first time since Pirates of the Caribbean that Western audiences have been remotely interested in pirate media. This does come with the caveat that it has Netflix's signature cliffhangers, which were cool back in 2013 but are otherwise annoying and tacky endings for people who can't immediately binge eight hours of television.
I also greatly admired the general production design the show exhibited. Unlike Amazon or Disney, who seem to only be capable of producing television shows that look expensive, One Piece must have had a sizable budget as the scale, musical score, visuals, costumes, choreography, and CGI are all impeccable without ever feeling big for the sake of big. I especially loved the musical score (Particularly the Clown theme) and the visual effects, which made me do a 180 on my bias against live-action stretchy powers. My rule of thumb is that it's impossible to make it look good, but whatever they did here looked fantastic. Luffy - whose arms and legs are bare - extends and stretches in a way I hope the next Fantastic Four movie is taking notes on.
At the end of the day, I enjoyed One Piece more than I was expecting. While I'm not going to go out and watch the anime (Again, 1000+ episodes), I would openly recommend and commend this interpretation The cast was fun and energetic, it was violent enough to have PG-13 grit but not be indulgent, and it perfectly encapsulates what makes the best comedies last: the beating heart. As much as I was entertained, the final scene of the season, where they finally join together as a crew amid emotional flashsbacks, was what made me a fan actively waiting for a second season.
Comments
Post a Comment