The story of One Piece starts with a flasback of the past execution of the pirate Gold D. Roger where he stood above millions of souls under a blade laughing hysterically because he accomplished all he ever wanted. He was known to be the greatest pirate of all time or the “King” of pirates.
Gold D. Roger was said to have a huge treasure known as the One Piece which contained treasures that were so great, it was unimaginable. A young boy, Monkey D Luffy, aspired to be the King of Pirates and wanted to follow in the footsteps of Gold D. Roger. Luffy had an impossible dream but would aspire to fulfill it.
The live-action is based on the manga which came out in 1997, and also the anime which came out in 1999. The live-action follows the same plot as both the manga and anime but has its own unique scenes as well. As a person who doesn’t watch adventure shows, this was a great show to start with, because of the different feelings you experience watching it like suspense. The overall world is split into 4 different oceans with various different kingdoms and islands. In the middle is a dangerous area known as the Grand Line, which only the strongest could seek out. Seeing the main crew go through these areas, brings a certain sense of thrill.
The characters in the show look unique to their country of origin. Similar to other adventure shows like Star Trek, One Piece live-action has its own unique storyline with characters having deep backstories, inclining you to feel emotionally touched and inspired by their stories.
For example, Roronoa Zoro dreamed of being the greatest swordsman in the world. Zoro worked day and night to combat with a close friend in sword fights, but could never beat her. One day this friendship comes to an unexpected stop, and this is a turning point for Zoro.
The message of all versions of One Piece in general is to follow your dreams no matter how difficult and big they are, as well as to never give up and keep working hard towards your goal.
The live-action was released on August 31st on Netflix with 8 episodes with a fifty to seventy minutes range per episode. It managed to adapt over 40+ episodes from the anime into 8 episodes in the live-action.
There was backlash on the live-action because the number of people in the One Piece community wanted the show’s cast to be fully Japanese but it was not. The creator, Eiichiro Oda talked on this topic saying, that in the anime the characters were never confirmed to be Japanese, and indeed the main characters were multiracial
It took just a few days for me to finish the live-action of One Piece, and it was a thrilling ride to the end of the eight episodes. The live-action is a sufficient alternative to the many hours of the anime version.
If you like any show that has its own world with a unique history and many unknown factors, this is a must-watch show.
