“One Piece” was considered unfilmable for a long time – is Netflix still making it?

The manga “One Piece”, which was launched in 1997 and remains a successful anime to this day, is the most successful of its kind. As of August 2022, it set record numbers with over 516.5 million units sold and has far surpassed Akira Toriyama’s famous Dragon Ball series by about 330 million copies. «One Piece» is a cult work whose number of copies sold is a world record recognized by the Guinness Book of Records and whose author makes Eiichiro Oda the richest mangaka in the world.

Netflix had already received a lot of criticism for its adaptation of other famous anime, such as the “Cowboy Bebop” series or the “Death Note” movie, so the task of delivering a live-action adaptation was not an easy one. The adaptations of “Dragonball Evolution” and “The Warriors of the Zodiac” had drawn the ire of manga fans. However, Netflix has tried to cover itself by hiring manga author Eiichiro Oda to oversee the series.

The live-action adaptation of “One Piece” consists of eight one-hour episodes. As in the manga, it follows the quest of the young pirate Luffy, a fun-loving and somewhat silly boy, to join a crew to find the legendary treasure of the pirate king «One Piece». The action takes place in a crazy, antiquated world ruled by pirate captains who have special powers that they draw from magical fruits known as Devil Fruits.

When he was a child, Luffy also tasted one of these fruits, which made him so elastic that he could stretch his limbs. Our straw hat pirate is soon joined by Roronoa Zoro, a swordsman who wields three swords, and Nami, a seafarer as deceitful as a thief. The three of you take on different enemies and try to sail from island to island on an ocean populated by sea monsters, bloodthirsty pirates and sometimes new friends.

‘One Piece’ on Netflix, with its young cast and pop aesthetic, has everything a show for a teen audience should be. The series has kept its «Shōnen» inspirationi.e. manga, the plot of which is meant to encourage the young audience to surpass themselves and fulfill their dreams.

Iñaki Godoy, the young Mexican actor who plays Luffy, perfectly captures the crazy side of his character. It must be said that the rest of the cast gives the same impression, as each portrays his character convincingly and truthfully. Casting unknown actors for the roles was an excellent idea on Netflix’s part, as the actual stars of the series are the manga characters, who can get alienated by familiar faces.

The series does well with its visual choices, especially in terms of character design, which was already the strength of Eiichiro Oda’s work. From the terrifying fishman Arlong to Baggy the clown with his exaggerated make-up, the series has chosen to keep that burlesque spirit on screen, for better and sometimes for worse.

Although very visual humor and very free staging prevailed in the manga and anime, the editing is much more reserved. The whole is filmed with a dynamic camera system that gives the viewer the feeling of looking over the shoulders of the characters. However, the immersive atmosphere is a far cry from the ingenuity of the manga. Also, despite the pharaonic budget of 144 million euros, some special effects and decors are clearly visible.

With 105 parts and 1070 animated episodes so far, the “One Piece” series has enough material for about 20 seasons. The eight episodes of this first season cover the entire storyline of the first twelve parts of the saga.

The series remains very faithful to the original manga, with some scenes being adapted almost exactly. Although the spirit of the manga has been strictly adhered to, the creators of the series have nevertheless taken some narrative liberties for tempo reasons. The emotional moments that were otherwise relatively present are missing, as is the revolutionary rhetoric of the manga. The series chose not to get bogged down in subplots in an effort to keep the viewer engaged.

In addition, in some originally surreal confrontations, the series is much more realistic and sometimes darker than the manga. An unavoidable price to pay when moving from a cartoonish format to reality.

Eiichirō Oda’s extravagant universe is unique and rightly considered unfilmable. So it’s hard to imagine what a flesh-and-blood version would have looked like. Thanks to the cast and feel-good tone, ‘One Piece’ now proves to be an unexpected success in the Netflix version.

An “origin story” that allows to discover the contours of this vast universe, as well as its colorful characters, in an adaptation aimed at a wide audience without disappointing die-hard fans. If the success is confirmed, it will be enough for a few more seasons.

All eight episodes of ‘One Piece’ are available on Netflix since August 31.