Step away Stranger Things, and Wednesday: Luffy and his crew friends might just be Netflix’s new golden goose.
Eiichiro Oda’s ONE PIECE debuted in the Weekly Shōnen Jump anthology magazine on July 22, 1997. Oda’s work has become the best-selling manga series in history. Over the years the manga has been turned into a long-running anime series, 15 animated films, and 40 video games. Now, Netflix created the first live-action adaptation. Is it worth your time?
As of now, there are over 1,000 manga chapters and anime episodes of One Piece. The first season of Netflix’s One Piece will focus only on the first saga of the series: the East Blue Saga.
The Netflix series has been developed and written by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda. Once Piece’s creator Eiichiro Oda, also known as Oda-Sensei, joins as executive producer.
Members of the fandom might get frustrated by the first episdoes, as the series starts right from the very beginning of Luffy’s tale. Beloved charachters are introduced slowly throughout the 8 episodes. This choice is quite perfect as it helps brand new viewers who are not familiar with the manga or the animated films to understand and get engaged within the series. We get to know every character and their stories thanks to flashbacks throughout the episodes.
SYNOPSIS
The fantasy series follows Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) as he gathers a ragtag crew of Straw Hat pirates-to-be: swordsman Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu), thief Nami (Emily Rudd), marksman Usopp (Jacob Romero), and chef Sanji (Taz Skylar). Luffy dreams of becoming the King of the Pirates and finding the infamous pirate Gold Roger’s (Michael Dorman) mysterious treasure, the One Piece.
Luffy is the captain of the Straw Hat pirates and a big dreamer. He is incredibly cheerful and full of joy. He is a great friend and he will fight for you and your dreams.
As a child, Luffy ate the Devil Fruit known as the Gum-Gum Fruit, which granted him the ability to stretch his body like rubber. While the fruit gave him this extraordinary power, the sea can take it away and sink him.
His goal is to find Gold Roger’s treasure, the One Piece, and become King of the Pirates. He’s fearlessly optimistic, encouraging, and empowering everyone to follow their dreams. The reason why pirates want to follow Luffy is because he lets people be who they wanna be, and he believes in them and what they want.
Nami is a fiercely independent thief who never allows herself to get close to anyone. She’s an expert navigator and cartographer whose weapon of choice is a Bo Staff. She’s cool, calm, and the smartest person on the Straw Hats crew.
Roronoa Zoro, also known as the deadly “Pirate Hunter,” dreams of one day becoming the world’s greatest swordsman wielding his signature trio of swords.
Usopp is a born storyteller, even if the tall tales he spins are of pirate adventures he hasn’t been on.
Sanji is a fashionable and talented chef who fuels his charm and flirtatious ways into his table service. Sanji’s greatest dream is to find the All Blue, which is said to be the only place in the world where fish from all four seas, East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, and South Blue, can be found.
OUR TAKE
If fantasy and action series are what you enjoy Netflix & Chill One Piece is simply perfect for you.
With a budget of roughly 18 million per episode, the latest Netflix project is perfectly executed. The CGI is simply magnificent, the numerous fighting scenes are perfectly choreographed, even the ones which are supposed to be goofy.
The cast was perfectly chosen, and their chemistry is simply perfect.
THE SERIES REMAINS LOYAL TO ODA-SENSEI’S CREATION
One Piece was filmmed between 2021 and 2022 between South Africa, Spain and Mexico. The production design team lead by Richard Bridgland created stunning multicolored sets, loyal to the manga. They even included some easter eggs, have you try to find them?
The cosume designer, Diana Cillers designed vibrant costumes trutfully to Oda-Sensei’s creation.
Story and plot aside, just by looking at the series’ cinematography and aestetics, you simply have to be in aude of the astonishing job. It’s a series simply gorgeous to look at.
ONCE PIECE IS A MUST WATCH
The 8 episodes are almost all an hour long, which might not make it the fastest bingeable series, but they are absolutely worth it. The pace is almost perfect in all the episodes.
One Piece has the perfect combination of drama, action, and goofy scenes. Owens and Maeda created an exciting, funny, and delightful series that has all the potential to compete with Netflix’s powerhouse series like Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Bridgerton.
We already know this will be just the first season of the series, Luffy’s journey to become the King of the Pirates and finding the One Piece has just started. We’re simply waiting for Netflix’s renewal announcement.
OUR SHORTS REVIEW
One Piece is a fantasy adventure series developed and written by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda. The series is a live-action adaptation of the ongoing 1997 Japanese manga series of the same name by Eiichiro Oda, who serves as executive producer.
It is produced by Kaji Productions, Tomorrow Studios and Shueisha (who also publish the manga).
Episodes: 8
One Piece drops on Netflix on August 31.
CAST
- Iñaki Godoy
- Mackenyu
- Emily Rudd
- Morgan Davies
- Jacob Romero
- Taz Skylar
- Vincent Regan
ONE PIECE OFFICIAL TRAILER
