Topic for discussion of the 8th episode (it is good that we keep them separate so that those that do not wish do not get spoiled)
Title: Worst in the East
Directed by: Josef Wladyka
Written by: Matt Owens and Steven Maeda
Topic for discussion of the 8th episode (it is good that we keep them separate so that those that do not wish do not get spoiled)
Title: Worst in the East
Directed by: Josef Wladyka
Written by: Matt Owens and Steven Maeda
Wow didnt expect to see Smoker at the end!
And that's a wrap. Episode 8 was a pretty good finale. It made use of all the characters and the fight between The Straw Hats and the Arlong Pirates was well choreographed and executed. I do wish Usopp had his moment of panic after he tries to play dead but oh well. I'm glad we also got to see all the other characters throughout the series react to the bounty, including Shanks and Mihawk. That was the one I really wanted.
As for the conclusion to all the Garp stuff, the final confrontation felt a lot like bits of their Water 7 interaction and then the fight they have at Marineford. Having it this early surely is something but I think it's ok (especially as the chances of the series making it to Marineford is quite slim). Garp giving up, turning around and then questioning why everyone else was standing around and not arresting Arlong was probably his most in-character moment though haha.
I think the place the Garp sub-plot pays off best though is with Coby. Coby's journey and development throughout this arc was pretty great (same for Helmeppo) and seeing Coby and Luffy interact at the end was awesome. Given Coby is going to vanish for about three seasons, it's nice that we got all of this now rather than it happening off-screen and then revealed after the fact.
Buggy continued to be great, chosing to run as soon as he got what he wanted was very in-character. And the tease of him meeting Alvida at the end was great. This along with the Smoker tease at the end very much confirms that Loguetown is going to be the start of the next season (if there was any doubt). And I do think One Piece will get at least Season 2. Netflix does have a tendency to cancel shows but with the backing and critical success this one has had, I think at least a second season will happen. Hopefully it will be 10 episodes long instead of 8, as I think they might be able to squeeze Loguetown and Baroque Works into that timeframe (Loguetown = 1, Laboon and Whiskey Peak = 1, Little Garden = 1, Drum Island = 1 and a half, Alabasta = 5 and a half).
Overall I really enjoyed this series. The beginning was definitely the strongest part of it (especially the Buggy episode) and the final episode was also great. It just goes a bit off-course in the middle, but not enough that it's actually bad.
@black-leg-jex said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
And that's a wrap. Episode 8 was a pretty good finale. It made use of all the characters and the fight between The Straw Hats and the Arlong Pirates was well choreographed and executed. I do wish Usopp had his moment of panic after he tries to play dead but oh well. I'm glad we also got to see all the other characters throughout the series react to the bounty, including Shanks and Mihawk. That was the one I really wanted.
As for the conclusion to all the Garp stuff, the final confrontation felt a lot like bits of their Water 7 interaction and then the fight they have at Marineford. Having it this early surely is something but I think it's ok (especially as the chances of the series making it to Marineford is quite slim). Garp giving up, turning around and then questioning why everyone else was standing around and not arresting Arlong was probably his most in-character moment though haha.
I think the place the Garp sub-plot pays off best though is with Coby. Coby's journey and development throughout this arc was pretty great (same for Helmeppo) and seeing Coby and Luffy interact at the end was awesome. Given Coby is going to vanish for about three seasons, it's nice that we got all of this now rather than it happening off-screen and then revealed after the fact.
Buggy continued to be great, chosing to run as soon as he got what he wanted was very in-character. And the tease of him meeting Alvida at the end was great. This along with the Smoker tease at the end very much confirms that Loguetown is going to be the start of the next season (if there was any doubt). And I do think One Piece will get at least Season 2. Netflix does have a tendency to cancel shows but with the backing and critical success this one has had, I think at least a second season will happen. Hopefully it will be 10 episodes long instead of 8, as I think they might be able to squeeze Loguetown and Baroque Works into that timeframe (Loguetown = 1, Laboon and Whiskey Peak = 1, Little Garden = 1, Drum Island = 1 and a half, Alabasta = 5 and a half).
Overall I really enjoyed this series. The beginning was definitely the strongest part of it (especially the Buggy episode) and the final episode was also great. It just goes a bit off-course in the middle, but not enough that it's actually bad.
5 and a half episodes for Alabasta? no way man, 3 should be more than enough.
I have been thinking about how eventual seasons 3-4 might be paced, and am i crazy for thinking you dont need an entire season for Skypeia?` you could probably get from Jaya to the climax of Skypeia in under 5 episodes. Same thing with latter arcs like thriller bark. You could easily do both Thriller bark and amazon lily and then some in an 8 episode season.
We could easily get to Marineford in 4 seasons.
@DollarScholar said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
5 and a half episodes for Alabasta? no way man, 3 should be more than enough.
I dunno about that. When you think about how much they need to cover in it, there is quite a lot of material (even if they trim some of the fat)
I'm thinking half an episode to meeting Mr. 2, landing and Ace.
One episode from them entering the dessert up until they meet crocodile
One episdoe to escape from crocodile up to vivi failing to stop the rebels
One episode to have all the BW fights and the second Crocodile encounter
One episode for the bomb and the final fight
One episode for everything post Crocodile's defeat to the end of the arc.
Maybe you could combine some of these but this seems like the best amount to get everything.
As for later seasons, I think season 3 and 4 should just cover their sagas. Maybe you could move the Davy Back Fight to season 3 and end with the Aokiji battle but that's an odd finale. You could easily combine post-Enies Lobby up until the end of Saboady as one season though. Amazon Lilly and Impel down and Marineford could also be one combined season if your willing to put post-Marineford in a season with Fishman Island, as opposed to ending the saeson at the timeskip.
@black-leg-jex said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
@DollarScholar said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
5 and a half episodes for Alabasta? no way man, 3 should be more than enough.
I dunno about that. When you think about how much they need to cover in it, there is quite a lot of material (even if they trim some of the fat)
I'm thinking half an episode to meeting Mr. 2, landing and Ace.
One episode from them entering the dessert up until they meet crocodile
One episdoe to escape from crocodile up to vivi failing to stop the rebels
One episode to have all the BW fights and the second Crocodile encounter
One episode for the bomb and the final fight
One episode for everything post Crocodile's defeat to the end of the arc.Maybe you could combine some of these but this seems like the best amount to get everything.
As for later seasons, I think season 3 and 4 should just cover their sagas. Maybe you could move the Davy Back Fight to season 3 and end with the Aokiji battle but that's an odd finale. You could easily combine post-Enies Lobby up until the end of Saboady as one season though. Amazon Lilly and Impel down and Marineford could also be one combined season if your willing to put post-Marineford in a season with Fishman Island, as opposed to ending the saeson at the timeskip.
You are right i had totally forgotten that Alabasta stretches over 8 entire volumes lol. Its been 20 years since i last read it.
As for Skypeia i think you could easily condense it into 4 episodes if you trim the flashbacks a bit. Dragging it on for an entire season would likely make alot of viewers lose interest.
The alabasta 1v1s will be 10 minutes total.
@Kaiolino said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
The alabasta 1v1s will be 10 minutes total.
Yeah i noticed how condensed fighting scenes became in the live action.
just wanted to say that the scene with Garp encouraging Luffy in his own way is so surreal and whiplashed me out of any immersion I had so damn hard.
I like Sanji. He is completely not what I was expecting and by god, he actually comes across as charming. Just the way he interacts with people on the crew feels natural.
The arlong fight could have been better. Oh well, it seems that live action rubber will forever be an albatross for any Luffy fight.
So now we have 2 neat little connections between Sanji and Luffy. Their saviors sacrificed a limb and they both believe in the power of calling out they attack names.
Can't wait for Zoro to start saying, RICE BALLS. Lol.
I liked Luffy hyping up Ussop's Stories. I think that's the first time we have ever seen him do that.
All in all, it was a 7/10 episode.
I just want to point out that in the manga when Luffy destroyed the room/maps it was solely for the purpose of freeing Nami from the darkness that trapped her and putting aside the fact that he was able to empathize almost immediately(with no knowledge of her backstory) upon seeing the room that the live action failed to convey, the live action also framed it to look as if Luffy needed/wanted to do that to one-up Arlong. The additional/altered lines in the live-action relayed none of what the original source conveyed. In the LA, it felt like it was done out of spite and the destruction of what Arlong treasured instead of an action driven by rage induced directly after understanding what Nami had to go through. It was a "calculated way to win a fight" that Luffy never showed in the source.
It might be a little thing for most but for me it really drives home that yeah, that's not really Luffy. I'm not going to be apologetic about this at all because, with all respect to the actor and Oda's decision to cast him, the depiction of Luffy in this LA felt like a different person. This doesn't help that he wears a serious face throughout most of the fight (with Kuro and with Arlong). I know it's hard to do Luffy right in a grounded setting but numerous things that I have yet to mention feels so off that I can't say that's the luffy I know. In my mind, a live action Luffy would feel like a character from Stephen Chow action movies 90% of the time and would show Inaki's seriousness the 10% of the time when he needs to. This Luffy felt like he was forced to smile throughout and is one scene away from relapsing into his dark and serious expression at any given moment.
Having this Sanji with a british accent call out his attacks with french names felt weird and out of place to me. Unless you have read the manga that part would probably really confuse you.
Great ending. The main cast are always a treat to see. The Garp side-plot wrapped up nicely, pathing the way for Smoker. Koby's wrap up with Luffy was nice. Always great seeing bounty reactions. A big shout out to the talented crew behind the scenes. They elevated this series. It's a visual feast for the eyes. Here's hoping for a Season 2.
Wanted Luffy to knock out Genzo to stop the village from fighting. Don’t think enough was done to have the village just trust the SHs for fighting their village.
I’ll amend what I said in previous posts; the inside of the building looks fine at parts. Dungeon like. The outside of Arlong Park though just looks silly and during the climax when it’s collapsing.
Two more Ws for Usopp. Glad they didn’t botch the Chu fight, but guess the notion of him having a bravery arc wasn’t really that big of a deal here. Lame he didn’t exclaim he actually beat a Fishman though when he saw everyone again. Makes it seem like he just left the fight and came back after they finished. And he’s be excited to show off his feat. And glad the crew just let him have his moment of bravery at the end and let them cheer for “Captain” Usopp. That seems in line with Luffy.
Clearly the issue Zoro had when fighting Mihawk was that he didn’t call out his finishing move. Shame because that’s the kind of dumb move Zoro would do I feel like if in character.
Don’t get why they’d laugh when Luffy exclaims Nami’s their friend and crewmate. Wanting to be joyous in celebration makes sense, but they seem to find his lines funny, or at least that’s how I took it.
Read people like Helmeppo’s arc. I just think him siding with Koby to protects the pirates come out of nowhere. I buy them having a friendship, and that was sweet, but not him wanting to not arresting the SHs.
Maybe it’s because they’re facing each other now, but I didn’t like the confrontation between Garp and Luffy and how it ended up. This being a “test” only sorta fits in line with how the rest of the series played out with Garp, but at least letting him go fits better with him letting his son be free. Again, hate to be canon compliant complainer but he always found his exploits funny and was proud in his own way.
Shanks present day with Mihawk did great in his scene.
Ending scene was cute. They didn’t break the barrel though, c’mon.
"Maybe I can't beat you, but I can destroy everything you've built" is the least Luffy-like line in the series. I guess it sets the manga version and this one apart for good.
Also, Luffy's immunity to blunt force punches/kicks/etc is inconsistent. Granted, it's been inconsistent since the Rokushiki got introduced, but either everyone except Alvida is already using some form of haki here, or, well...
One of the most nicely adapted scenes in the series is Mihawk's meeting with Shanks in this one. I was missing Shanks' light-hearted side in the first two eps but his hungover line about beating Mihawk with his arm tied to his back was great.
I'm glad Usopp at least kept his battle with Chew, hell in the same circumstances - running away from the park, hiding, pretending to be dead, alcohol + fire
i can understand cutting out the clobbering with a hammer but then AGAIN zoro and alvida have killed in more brutal ways lol
Zoro+Sanji against the Fishmen was also pretty cool. Their rivalry even is extended by the fact that Sanji insists on calling his attacks while Zoro does not, hell i wouldn't be surprised if Zoro does later on and Sanji never lets it go.
@zeltrax225 said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
I just want to point out that in the manga when Luffy destroyed the room/maps it was solely for the purpose of freeing Nami from the darkness that trapped her and putting aside the fact that he was able to empathize almost immediately(with no knowledge of her backstory) upon seeing the room that the live action failed to convey, the live action also framed it to look as if Luffy needed/wanted to do that to one-up Arlong.
yeah a lot of the subtly is gone. Nami is still explicitly tell him "oh those chains were mine" and in the original Luffy finds a pen covered in blood and puts two and two together.
you still have him decrying Arlong for "using" Nami and breaking his sword but it's not quite the same.
I also thought when Luffy said "i can't" he was gonna work in how he can't do X but his crew can, instead of....well, breaking the tower.
I like Arlong's performance but several Cocoyashi details are either omitted or scattershot, and it hurts the arc overall.
@zeltrax225 said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
It might be a little thing for most but for me it really drives home that yeah, that's not really Luffy. I'm not going to be apologetic about this at all because, with all respect to the actor and Oda's decision to cast him, the depiction of Luffy in this LA felt like a different person. This doesn't help that he wears a serious face throughout most of the fight (with Kuro and with Arlong). I know it's hard to do Luffy right in a grounded setting but numerous things that I have yet to mention feels so off that I can't say that's the luffy I know. In my mind, a live action Luffy would feel like a character from Stephen Chow action movies 90% of the time and would show Inaki's seriousness the 10% of the time when he needs to. This Luffy felt like he was forced to smile throughout and is one scene away from relapsing into his dark and serious expression at any given moment.
I enjoyed the show and thought most of the acting was acceptable to great, but still feel like Luffy was very miscast. His actor didn't really have that much range in the show, and it never felt natural anytime he did anything more than basic talking. He's missing Luffy's cheekiness and fun energy, and doesn't feel like a character that would easily pull in allies like the manga/anime version. In contrast, Rudd Nami also felt pretty different from the manga/anime version, but she sold the live action character better. Don't know if this is a direction issue or casting issue or what, but I really hope Godoy grows into the role better if this show keeps going.
So.
Arlong's fight is slightly less impactful due being really shortned. And I really missed Hatchan's lovely dumb face. BTW setting the manga aside, I didn't liked how Garp stole Arlong's East Blue Main Villain's role, yet I liked how they sort of mixed this with W7 and Marineford's meeting/fight. It's like Luffy had to deal with the granfather's acceptation beforehand and I can sorta accept it. At least, this will start skimming the crowd of marines hunting for Luffy's head (there somewhere in the manga where I couldn't understand if Luffy's Marine antagonist was Garp, Smoker, Koby or Sakazuki). Liked everything else of the episode, mainly Shanks and Mihawk's scene, Buggy and Aluvida meeting and Smoker's cliffhanger. Episode Vote: 7/10, which is also the vote on the whole series.
Judging by how they managed this season, I can figure they'll handle the 2nd by Logue Town in the 1st episode, meeting Laboon and Vivi in 2nd, by setting both Futago and some sort of fusion between Whisky Peak and Little Garden. I can easily see they skipping on Team 5 and setting Team 3 as 2nd episode's antagonist, and having the giants on the background. I think the whole bounty hunters festa is more skippable than Dorry and Brogy. Episode 3 and 4 will introduce Wapol and maybe some rented Baroque Works antagonist (Team 4? I can see Merry Christmas swimming under the snow). They could even decide to already introduce Teach, by setting the legendary Jaya meeting in some Drum bar. Episode 5 on Ace and Smoker 2.0. Episode 6 and 7 the whole Arubarna mess (let's start introducing long arcs!) and 8 on the aftermath, including Robin's joining and some cliffhanger about Kuzan. Yeah, I am pretty much sure Skypiea will be either skipped or really iper-compressed.
I am going to guess if we'll keep seeing Koby and Helmeppo's adventure crossing with Luffy's, to build more the comparison. Like, could there be space for them in Arabasta?
@FelRes yeah, everyone felt almost perfectly cast except for Luffy. And I tried really hard to like him (even going as far to understanding the actor and realizing he's so young so that's a given he will pale to his counterparts in experience) but still couldn't find myself saying that's Luffy. It felt like a different character and I can pinpoint the reason being that a lot of what you know and understand about Luffy is through his actions with the world and the characters in them but there was a lot of say instead of tell with his character here. A huge chunk of that lies in the pacing (not giving a lot of characters room to breathe) but when it comes to Luffy where action is everything to him, you need that room. It also doesn't help that his constant woohoo yoohoo and overexcitement happens in brief bursts and he actually showed more of a serious expression more than he is shown genuinely having fun.
But I get it. Luffy is probably one of the hardest characters to translate into any live-action medium but I still wished that they did better. A lot of heart felt lost in this adaptation and I can understand that because of pacing and constraints but I didn't like how screentime and scenes were prioritized over things that were cut that actually held so much soul and formed the core of the series. The ones that were prioritized felt so much for the sake of TV and this need to worldbuild from the get-go when, even if that is still what makes one piece good, what makes one piece great at the very start was the characters and their relationships with others.
@zeltrax225 said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
@FelRes yeah, everyone felt almost perfectly cast except for Luffy. And I tried really hard to like him (even going as far to understanding the actor and realizing he's so young so that's a given he will pale to his counterparts in experience) but still couldn't find myself saying that's Luffy. It felt like a different character and I can pinpoint the reason being that a lot of what you know and understand about Luffy is through his actions with the world and the characters in them but there was a lot of say instead of tell with his character here. A huge chunk of that lies in the pacing (not giving a lot of characters room to breathe) but when it comes to Luffy where action is everything to him, you need that room. It also doesn't help that his constant woohoo yoohoo and overexcitement happens in brief bursts and he actually showed more of a serious expression more than he is shown genuinely having fun.
But I get it. Luffy is probably one of the hardest characters to translate into any live-action medium but I still wished that they did better. A lot of heart felt lost in this adaptation and I can understand that because of pacing and constraints but I didn't like how screentime and scenes were prioritized over things that were cut that actually held so much soul and formed the core of the series. The ones that were prioritized felt so much for the sake of TV and this need to worldbuild from the get-go when, even if that is still what makes one piece good, what makes one piece great at the very start was the characters and their relationships with others.
I'd say the heart is absolutely there, overflowing with heart even. It's just that heart doesn't translate to acting ability. This show was a great adaptation, they did so much more than I expected and all the little details shine and make it fun to watch as a fan. The pacing was brisk but they worked it out to cover what needed to be covered. Expanding on Koby/Helmeppo/Garp was a great idea. But yeah, the SHs need more breathing room to build the bond more and make the emotional scenes more impactful. That's prolly the biggest challenge of adapting East Blue in 8 episodes, but at least they're together now so that issue shouldn't hold in Alabasta onward.
I think it's just okay-good as a TV show though, without the context of being an existing fan with knowledge and expectations. If you were to go in totally blind without any info or knowing One Piece exists, you'd still be very aware you're watching an anime adaptation. It's very cheesy, but One Piece already thrives on that in its source material unlike stuff like Cowboy Bebop.
Alright, first my views on this episode:
I loved that Usopp got his own fight, and his cowardice was shown. I was worried in the earlier episodes that we weren't going to get one-on-one fights, but they've managed to fit a few in.
The fight with Arlong was condensed, we lost a lot of the iconic details that I still remember from many years ago that I last watched the arc in the anime or read the manga. Like Luffy breaking Arlong's nose. However, they did manage to properly show that Luffy was more destroying Arlong's "dream" than destroying Arlong himself, by Luffy defeating Arlong by destroying the building. Good going on that, it kept the most important detail. And the scene where Luffy rose up from the rubble may not have had the impact of the anime or manga, but good job regardless.
Was there no Hatchan? I couldn't tell if there was a character that was supposed to be him and he just wasn't emphasized. If there was one, they didn't really do a great job of him because I couldn't tell. Either way, given the future plot points with Hatchan, this is a glaring omission. Sadly, it's unlikely this series will make it that far, given it's a Netflix show and we know what happens with Netflix shows. But still... Hatchan should have been there.
Nami hitting Nezumi over the head with her baton was a nice touch, a bit cathartic, even though it was delivered more like a gag.
I liked the bounty poster scene. I liked how they kept the back of Usopp's head in it and Usopp made a big point about that. And the scene where Kaya sees Usopp's head in the bounty poster and smiled was really cute. This is the kind of charm that I enjoyed in the original series and going forward I hope they bring more of it.
Zoro and Sanji already showing animosity towards each other is nice to see. Also I liked that Sanji got in calling Zoro "mosshead" already. lol
Now, in an earlier topic I posted about wondering where they were going with showing Garp, Koby and Helmeppo. I figured that there would have to be some conflict resolution, and now I understand why they did it. Seeing as this is a Netflix seasonal show, they probably figured they'd do that side plot and wrap it up here just in case there was never another season of the show. Whereas the manga has never been written in that way.
I thought the conclusion of that was okay. I just have one thing to say: We all likely knew at this point that Koby would be a light in the marines, that he would be a good guy in an otherwise corrupt military/world government. However, I think that seeing all of these shades of grey so early may take away from the line Smoker makes after Luffy defeats Crocodile. In the manga, that was the first real shades of grey we saw from the marines, and Smoker telling the higher ups to "eat shit" was awesome, and I'm afraid the impact of that may be lost a little.
Overall, I enjoyed this series. I had lots of mixed feelings for many scenes and the way they were handled, but I did feel like there was charm here and I do feel like it was well-done and I'm happy that they made it. I do hope it gets more seasons. I do hope that the Netflix curse is lost and this series continues for a while. I want to see Chopper, Robin, Franky, and Brooke. I want to see Enies Lobby! Sadly, I know how unlikely that is and it makes me sad.
I DO miss some of the more cartoony characterizations from the anime and manga.
Sanji/Zoro have good rival chemestry and Sanji is generally a suave, charming guy. Them fighting the fishmen was a pretty cool sequence.
Shanks telling Mihawk he could beat him with a hand tie behind his back was pretty funny and capturing of the laid back attitude of the group.
Garp being a major antagonist of this season just to learn something he should have known for a while (the flashback seems to imply they had the "I dont want you to be pirate" "I will be a pirate anyway" for years) is such a nothing storyline.
If they needed a marine for this season. Just pick Smoker. Him only knowing asshole pirate and going on journey of discovery about this new kind of pirate is at least something.
And you can him pair with Koby and them debate can pirate ever be decent and Arlong being a prime example of Marines being the evil party and pirate being the heroes being the culmination.
Then they break up because Smoker is sending him to Garp to be trained by Garp and be ready for the grandline.
Also I just freaking hate this Garp. He feels so freaking sinister. At least with Smoker being sinister would match a bit more of his source version.
@blue-san hey, unironically grow the hell up. It's fine for me to put up with your stupid shit back at the other thread but maybe stop baiting and provoking like a manchild if you've got nothing to add.
@DollarScholar said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
@black-leg-jex said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
And that's a wrap. Episode 8 was a pretty good finale. It made use of all the characters and the fight between The Straw Hats and the Arlong Pirates was well choreographed and executed. I do wish Usopp had his moment of panic after he tries to play dead but oh well. I'm glad we also got to see all the other characters throughout the series react to the bounty, including Shanks and Mihawk. That was the one I really wanted.
As for the conclusion to all the Garp stuff, the final confrontation felt a lot like bits of their Water 7 interaction and then the fight they have at Marineford. Having it this early surely is something but I think it's ok (especially as the chances of the series making it to Marineford is quite slim). Garp giving up, turning around and then questioning why everyone else was standing around and not arresting Arlong was probably his most in-character moment though haha.
I think the place the Garp sub-plot pays off best though is with Coby. Coby's journey and development throughout this arc was pretty great (same for Helmeppo) and seeing Coby and Luffy interact at the end was awesome. Given Coby is going to vanish for about three seasons, it's nice that we got all of this now rather than it happening off-screen and then revealed after the fact.
Buggy continued to be great, chosing to run as soon as he got what he wanted was very in-character. And the tease of him meeting Alvida at the end was great. This along with the Smoker tease at the end very much confirms that Loguetown is going to be the start of the next season (if there was any doubt). And I do think One Piece will get at least Season 2. Netflix does have a tendency to cancel shows but with the backing and critical success this one has had, I think at least a second season will happen. Hopefully it will be 10 episodes long instead of 8, as I think they might be able to squeeze Loguetown and Baroque Works into that timeframe (Loguetown = 1, Laboon and Whiskey Peak = 1, Little Garden = 1, Drum Island = 1 and a half, Alabasta = 5 and a half).
Overall I really enjoyed this series. The beginning was definitely the strongest part of it (especially the Buggy episode) and the final episode was also great. It just goes a bit off-course in the middle, but not enough that it's actually bad.
5 and a half episodes for Alabasta? no way man, 3 should be more than enough.
I have been thinking about how eventual seasons 3-4 might be paced, and am i crazy for thinking you dont need an entire season for Skypeia?`
People seem to underestimate just how much time fights take in the manga. Alabasta is a long arc, but 20 chapters of that is the crew getting 1 on 1 fights and another dozen chapters is Luffy fighting Crocodile three times. It can easily be much shorter than most people are thinking. Yeah its a seven volume arc but the last four of those could probably be covered in one episode if they pace it like they did Arlong and the aftermath with Garp.*
Plus all the times Luffy gets stuck somewhere or Zoro gets lost so things can be delayed while the action unfolds.
*I do wish the Arlong fight had been a bit longer, that's the first one that really felt like it was missing something (including Zoro's fight) but it didn't need to be much longer than it was, just a few more of the iconic beats would have been nice. Since its streaming they can probably cheat next season and do a few episodes that are a little longer than an hour if they really need to.
Welp, that was a pretty good finale for the season.
Yeah, the Arlong fight was kind of rushed, but that's what I'd heard and so I was expecting the worse, so I guess it ended up not bothering me too much.
The episode really nailed it though with wrapping everything up, both with Coco Village and the season overall with them revisiting everyone as they saw Luffy's bounty poster.
Helmeppo's change of heart kinda came out of nowhere, but whatever.
While I have to say now, at the end of it all, that the continuing Garp storyline throughout the season probably didn't need to happen, it at least had a payoff with him and Luffy facing off (and playing out just as you'd expect).
And of course some really nice foreshadowing with Smoker.
And that's pretty much all I have to say. Bring on season 2!
Pretty cool finale for the first season of LA One Piece! I think the Strawhats vs. Arlong pirates is a pretty good indicator on how future battles will look and how much time they will really take in comparison to the anime. A couple of minutes per fight at most. It's a shame about Zoro vs. Hachi, but if any fight had to be left out, I'm ok with it being this one. Not because I don't like it, I do, but fact is, Zoro already had plenty of cool moments this season. Usopp and Sanji needed the screentime and the opportunity to show what they got much more.
Usopp's fight was pretty neat, it's basically the same as in the original. I was sad to see that they left out the moment where he overcomes his cowardice, I feel like they could have added that to give the fight a more dramatic impact. It was still cool, basically the first time where he really showed off his fighting skills. The Sanji/Zoro tagteam, including their bickering back and forth, was also a lot of fun. I think they really should have included the part where Kuroobi drags Sanji under water...imo the Fishman in general got kind of robbed of their time to shine and show of their abilities.
This is most apparent in Luffy vs. Arlong. Arlong's personality and portrayal was, once again, on point, but he really didn't get to show what he could do. I mean, he didn't even hurt Luffy. No Shark on Darts, no biting Luffy or piercing him with his nose. Still, I thought the drama of their fight came across rather well, as did the "Nami, we're friends!" scene.
Poor Genzo was totally shafted. He isn't even a symbolic part of Nami's new tattoo in this version! Their solution for what Nami's tattoo means in this version was pretty creative, I'll give them that, but why not just keep the pinwheel? Don't tell me it would be too silly when Nezumi is running around with freaking Mouse ears on his hat!
The resolution of the Garp and Koby stuff, I thought was good. Nice reveal that Garp was just testing Luffy's willpower, puts a lot of his earlier behavior into context. It also came across quite well that Luffy at this point would be absolutely no match for him. Best part though was Koby saying goodbye to Luffy. We'll probably see a lot less of Koby in season 2...
Now, until this part of the episode, I would have probably rated the episode a bit lower. But then they really delivered in the last few scenes. Seeing all those characters from across the season reacting to Luffy's bounty was just as wholesome and cool as it always is in the manga, and it really tied the whole season together well. And I loved every scene with the crew all together on the Going Merry! Usopp boasting about his head being visible in the background of the wanted poster! Nami's tangerine trees! The oath (very cool idea to show everybody's kids version as they are saying their oath, that also helped make the season feel like a cohesive whole)!
But best of all: presenting the sails with the giant Strawhat Jolly Roger! I had goosebumps! Very, very good idea to keep that moment for the end of the season. It worked perfectly to symbolize that NOW they really are a crew and this was just the prologue, now the adventures of the Strawhat crew can really begin.
All in all, a pretty good show, that on it's own, I would probably rate...hmm....7,5? But as an adaptation that actually succeeded against all odds and delivered an overall fun and satisfying live-action version of One Piece, that can be enjoyed both by new and old fans? That earns them at least another point, so 8.5 over all it is!
what a poor adaptation, the whole Garp filler was horrible, time spent on it could've been used to add more meaningful scenes instead of this rushed garbage
tossing Oda's writing to replace it with yours, well that's bold. sadly it sucked.. greatly.
first season should've been 10 episodes to deliver the saga properly ( loguetown included )
it took them several years to make this AND it's more expensive than GoT!! still looked cheap
the show was garbage. our pal okayed it for money and it's so obvious
the cast was okay although they missed the mark on some characters such as Garp, Koby, Zoro and Usopp
Mihawk was the best, the rest are far behind him
season 2 is probably coming and you can tell it will go beyond arabasta with this stupid pace
fast pace wasn't the only issue, the events are vastly different except for Nami's village they didn't add much of their touch on it
it wouldn't hurt them to pay more respect to the manga because everytime it shifts away it automatically sucks.
3/10
Those two posts above me read exactly like Luffy and Blackbeard eating cherry pie at the bar in Jaya lmao
Garp works well enough in this adaption that I wonder if Oda has had regrets about not having him around sooner.
Also him being Scottish and Luffy being Mexican makes me want to see what wild-ass accent Dragon has. Jamaican? Icelandic? Brooklyn?
A very interesting snippet I came across:
There were a couple of things that took some persuading, and if there was something that Oda-san was really, really unhappy with, we found a way to change it. But there were some things that we tried and got into the show, that initially he was a little gun-shy about. One of those was moving up-- we structurally moved a couple things up that don't happen until much later chapters, and so one of them for example was bringing up Garp as a more present character in the first 8 episodes. Bringing in Koby, bringing in Helmeppo, and having that marine pursuit be present and on the Straw Hats and on Luffy's tail almost from the get-go from episode 2. It was a big change, and I thought it was something we really needed in order to keep the stakes up and let it feel like it wasn't just a fun adventure where we were meeting different antagonists and different villains and pirates, but where there was an actual kind of organized presence and fearsome presence was behind Luffy and pursuing. So that was definitely a big challenge.
But I think I would've wanted 8 episodes of only fun adventure
Need to ask a non fan if they were threatening or did their purpose. Knowing who Garp is along with Koby and how their stories go kinda diminishes them as threats. The worst scenario was them sending Mihawk after them but that felt out of character more than anything.
Iono, I think setting up Arlong as the threat of East Blue could’ve worked if they played up the betrayal aspect of Nami’s character as a season arc story and had the Arlong Pirates more involved, actually having them be players that overlooked the East Blue like they almost implied with Buggy. But that’s just me. Need to really rewatch the LA series outside the lens of a fan and just view it as it’s own thing.
The world of one piece only truly opens up after a certain point and a lot of the first few arcs were mostly character-driven but with enough snippets of other factions that you know that this world is alive. It was a fun adventure of meeting different people and getting them to know them (and the villains), that is THE core of what makes the series so successful. I'm glad to know that Oda didn't like it because that gives me an almost definitive sign that he is still the same person who writes for the love of adventure and characters over everything else. If you are going to aim for the king and try to counteract/change Oda's intuition, you better not fucking miss. And this move, by all accounts, was not the move that made people celebrate the live action.
Man, they should've listened to Oda on that one.
My only gripe with the Garp/Koby/Meppo subplot was the Syrup Village arc. Otherwise it was perfectly fine, made the Marines a credible threat in a time where there is no credible Marine threat pre-Smoker, and got another 10 minutes out of the incredible Baratie set.
@GuetaMinute
there is still hope for loguetown to kick off the second season instead of riding the grand line straightly
if they cut it off entirely including the future project then that's surely unforgivable!
i don't have issues with steven maeda, my problem is with matt owens, he must be sacked after the catastrophic first season
anyone who don't respect the manga and think they can do better than Oda should go somewhere else and create their own thing.
@hideoushorrendous said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
@GuetaMinute
there is still hope for loguetown to kick off the second season instead of riding the grand line straightlyif they cut it off entirely including the future project then that's surely unforgivable!
i don't have issues with steven maeda, my problem is with matt owens, he must be sacked after the catastrophic first season
anyone who don't respect the manga and think they can do better than Oda should go somewhere else and create their own thing.
I was probably the biggest skeptic here about this show (I still have many problems with it) but it wasn't a "catastrophe".
The show has great reviews and apparently lots and lots of viewers. It succeeded.
Definitely wasn’t catastrophic . By any stretch of the imagination. It’s ok if it didn’t live up to your expectations but the show has been an unprecedented success . Plenty of non fans got into it, my mom is loving it, she would never watch the anime.
Even if we were to take off our fan glasses and watch it as if it were its own thing and from a more objective standpoint, yes, some flaws stick out, especially with the non Oda parts, but it’s still FUN, and most of Netflix’s target audience isn’t gonna be scrutinizing the writing like we are.
maybe those who never watched OP caused the positive reviews
good for us. i want them to continue working on it for decades
Oda couldn't attend in person during production due to covid, therefore the best is yet to come with expected deeper involvement from Oda, however that will cause more breaks!
@Cinder said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
A very interesting snippet I came across:
There were a couple of things that took some persuading, and if there was something that Oda-san was really, really unhappy with, we found a way to change it. But there were some things that we tried and got into the show, that initially he was a little gun-shy about. One of those was moving up-- we structurally moved a couple things up that don't happen until much later chapters, and so one of them for example was bringing up Garp as a more present character in the first 8 episodes. Bringing in Koby, bringing in Helmeppo, and having that marine pursuit be present and on the Straw Hats and on Luffy's tail almost from the get-go from episode 2. It was a big change, and I thought it was something we really needed in order to keep the stakes up and let it feel like it wasn't just a fun adventure where we were meeting different antagonists and different villains and pirates, but where there was an actual kind of organized presence and fearsome presence was behind Luffy and pursuing. So that was definitely a big challenge.
But I think I would've wanted 8 episodes of only fun adventure
The idea of an organized pursuit Im fine with.
I just think Smoker would have been a better idea. Smoker would pursue them in earnest instead of the wimper of "Actually the marine guy just wanted to tell Luffy good luck".
And him sticking around would make it feel less random and filler-y. As he would be an ongoing character instead of disappearing after revealing he never actually was an antagonist for real.
@desa said in Episode 8 (Worst in the East) - Discussion:
I just think Smoker would have been a better idea. Smoker would pursue them in earnest instead of the wimper of "Actually the marine guy just wanted to tell Luffy good luck".
I don't agree. Smoker's inclusion at Loguetown is one of those perfect East Blue things to me. He is the first truly insurmountable obstacle that the Straw Hats face and only Dragon is able to save them from him. The seastone, the logia, all of that makes him too potent to be chasing them for an early season. he's also a great intro to the dangers of the Grand line.
Do I think Garp's inclusion was perfect? Nah, not really, but I think it's a much lesser mistake than the possibility of ruining the gut punch that is everything about Loguetown Smoker. The surprise of his lineage is retained, it just comes a lot earlier.
edit: Also, Smoker's cgi for a series like op is a one episode type of deal. A successful season lets them do a bit more.
Is anyone else also bothered by the fact that they completely changed the focus of the finale of the fight from "I will destroy this building because it was Nami's prison" to "I will destroy what you have created"? Like he doesn't do it to free Nami, but to crush Arlong's work, which is just less powerful of a moment.
Very good finale. I really like the decision to add the Garp plotline because it gave a sense of continuity and build up to the East Blue, which otherwise is just a bunch a village-of-the-week stacked one after the other.
The fights were pretty good, but I will agree with the criticisms on Iñaki this time. I enjoyed him for most of the season, but this episode he felt off.
Everyone else was on point, though.
Good to see Buggy being the Buggy I love in this episode instead of trying to sound menacing or snarky.
I had already given up on him meeting Alvida, specially considering how that didn't really went anywhere as Alvida never had any kind of relevance or development after that. But still good to see it happening.
I wasn't even planning on watching the LA series for now since I had zero interest in it, but man, what a pleasant surprise it was.
There‘s a lot of stuff going on in this epsiode and while it could have benefitted from a bit more focus, the individual parts were mostly wonderful. Arlong‘s actor had the camp level at just the right amount to make him still feel threatening (fantastic line where he goes „Fishmen will RRRRReign!“). And there was lots of Zoro/Sanji banter! Loved it when Sanji mocks him when he comes for seconds.
Perfect ending to the first season of the LA, Smoker looking at Luffy's bounty.
Now onto the episode, lots of fighting between the crew and the Arlong Pirates. Some good choreography of the scenes but again tooo many cuts for my taste. Still the dynamic between Zoro and Sanji is perfect, loved the scene near the end where Zoro asks for seconds. I hope they can keep that kind of writing up for the second season of the LA.
Garp vs Luffy oh boy, I get what they wanted to do, but I am not a fan of it. Koby and Helmeppo of all people standing up to Garps decision was perfect.
The fight itself was good, Garp showed how strong he is and that Luffy technically isn't ready strength wise but determined enough for him to let him go. I got an issue with no other marine voicing their opinion of letting the crew go, but then again they haven't had a bounty yet. So what can you do.
What I didn't like being a good marine and good pirate, I don't understand why they chose to highlight it yet again, but I hate it. I haven't read anything why they chose to write it like that, but I hope that's one of the changes they make for the second season.
Finally watched 7 and 8 together. First thought, no Hatchan. 2nd thought, they did well overall and i'm not pissed at this.
My thoughts on the manga being long has always been that Oda allows the story to breathe. Opportunity to take advantage of moments aren't let go. If there is an element from a prior chapter that can compliment a current narrative, why not. I watch this show and while I appreciate them keeping certain things intact, I also appreciate the manga allowing the story to breathe even more.
It is not just a character or moment being left out, its the silly moments that may not progress the story forwards, but give it life where it is not just about waiting on the next fight.