One Piece is the biggest and most successful manga of all time. It's a long-running but continuous adventure with many story arcs, character backstories and plenty more, all created by Eiichira Oda since 1997 (and before). So, it was inevitable that this large-scale pirate series and its animé adaptation would eventually see a western live action remake. But given how stylised the original is... is Netlflix's live action version any good?

Wealth, Fame, Power

Since it's release at the end of August, I swiftly made my way through all eight episodes of the Netflix's live action One Piece. Right from the off, it's an incredibly accurate recreation of the story that starts its all - Gol. D. Roger's execution at Loguetown. Before this 'Pirate King' is executed in public, he announces to the world that his treasure, the One Piece, is somewhere in the most treacherous ocean in the world, the Grand Line. These events spur many around the world to set sail, follow their dreams, and become the new... King of the Pirates.

Monkey D. Luffy, a boy of 17, is but one of these people. In the manga and animé, he is a happy go-lucky adventurer with endless enthusiasm, an apetite for meat, and a fighter for those he considers his comrades. Iñaki Godoy is a Mexican actor who represents Luffy in the live action adapation perfectly. In fact, any concerns I may have had were quashed within minutes of the first episode. He talks to a news coo (bird) about joining his crew, then proceeds to get in a barrel, wake up on another pirate's boat and proceeds to instantly be Luffy. He's honestly a joy to watch.

In fact, everything has been surprisingly well-realised. I normally expect a greater deal of changes and large deviations from the source material when it comes to adaptations, but One Piece actually keeps very close to the source material. There are, of course, some changes (and I'll go into those in a minute), but for the most part, it's very, very close to Oda's story. The first episode is a prime example, where Luffy meets Koby, they beat up a large pirate called Alvida, then set sail for Shells Town's Marine base to help Koby enlist in the Marines. It's all above board and all the actors give their A-game, including the apprehensive character of Koby, played by Morgan Davies.

The cast are all incredible, as shown here by Luffy, Nami and Zoro

One Piece Live Action Changes

Okay, I need to start talking about those One Piece live action changes.

The first major difference is how Nami comes into the plot. Nami, expertly played by Emily Rudd, is after a map of the Grand Line. That much is the same as the original, but this time she's actively stealing it from the Marine captain of Shells Town's base, Axe-hand Morgan. Is that a change that works?

Yes, absolutely. By having Nami come into the story earlier, she, Luffy and Zoro are all brought together in episode one, rather than saving Nami for Orange Town and Buggy, which would have been episode two.

Other changes, which all occur around the same time really, is the introduction of Roronoa Zoro, played by Mackenyu. In the original, we are introduced to him strung up in the Marine base, but here we see the actions in real-time that lead him to be strung up and left out in the sun. Honestly, it's a great change, and the same scene has Nami in, Luffy seeing it unfold, and Buggy's minion, Cabaji, clocking that Zoro is in the area. That one scene does a lot in bringing everything together and all with a lot of small changes to that all work very well together.

The sets look incredible, including the sea restaurant, the Baratie

Now, I won't spoil the series too much beyond that first episode, but I would also like to shout out another few changes that really work for the series. The first of which is Captain Kuro's flunkies, Sham and Butchie. In the original, they are brothers who are pretty goofy and mostly deal with Zoro. Here, they are integrated very heavily into Kuro's plans at the mansion and are all the better for it. Sham is now female, but actually that works better than the original, I think.

One main character missing from Kuro's crew, however, is Jango the hypnotist. I really want to single this one out, because I think it's just about the only change I don't agree with. He's quite an amusing character in One Piece, and Kuro's right-hand man, but also integral to Kuro's plan. I won't go into detail, but it's worth noting that without him, I'm not sure the plan makes entire sense. You can still sort of run with it though. The biggest miss-step of taking Jango out though... is that Usopp never gets his time to shine in this two-episode arc. He snipes Jango from a very long distance and takes him out, saving Kaya's life (and some kids, who are also not present here). Now it just means Usopp joins the crew without really earning the respect of the crew. It's not a huge thing, but big enough to make me a little disappointed with the lack of the hypnotist.

The last big change I'd like to mention is Garp. He has been integrated into the story much more than the original, with a series arc about him chasing down Luffy. Now, I'm okay with this, on the whole. It means we get to check in with Koby and Helmeppo, hilariously played by Aidan Scott, and their growth throughout the series. Garp, amazingly played by Vincent Regan, is perhaps more serious than the original, but his thick Scottish accent and the way others react to him really do make him a threatening presence throughout the One Piece live action adapation. My only real criticism here is that there are perhaps a few too many scenes with him, but most are honestly great and it's wonderful seeing new scenes between him and Zeff, or Morgan.

Shanks, kid Luffy and an amazing set all work wonderfully together

Setting the Scene

Not only are all of the main Straw Hat cast members fantastic, but the sets are truly a sight to behold. I love how the bar looks in Luffy's flashback, feeling very piratey for Shanks's crew to interact in. I adore Baratie's absolutely stunning exteriour and interior. Kaya's mansion looks exquisite. The sets are honestly phenomenal and have all been painstakingly built to represent their original One Piece manga counterparts.

The lighting for some scenes have been changed to take place at night, instead of day. Honestly, this works in all areas this happens. It makes it more plausible that Luffy is able to have a scene with Koby on Alvida's ship, it makes Kuro more threatening and it makes the Arlong Park events feel more natural. It's interesting, but they all work and the lightning is utilised wonderfully through holes in the walls, moonlight, the ship and so on.

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention the music. This has been done in such a way to bring people into the series who may not necessarily be One Piece fans. It's suitably piratey throughout, and very catchy. There are times when the music is threatening to introduce Buggy, for instance, but there also times when it amps up the action like in the Shells Town final scuffle. However, there are also a couple of wonderful moments when it straight-up uses tunes from the animé but with an even more piratey slant (a certain Brook song comes to mind... or the We Are theme song).

The final credits music is called 'My Sails Are Set' and it's a beautiful song sung by Norwegian singer, Aurora. I felt like I had to single this particular piece out, because it's really powerful and represents the story arc well, especially for one of the characters.

One Piece Live Action Verdict

So, is the Netflix One Piece live action show worth watching?

Yes. Absolutely yes.

Sure, there may be some phoney CGI at points, but the series sticks mostly to prosthetics and things that actually exist or are built. It benefits from it so much. The cast are all wonderful. The character flashbacks are integrated into each episode's plot to great aplomb. Everything works together to make a magical eight episode series, covering the original East Blue saga.

If you love One Piece, watch it. If you're not into manga or animé, watch it. If you want a new show to watch on Nefltix, watch it. I cannot recommend it enough.