@Kaiolino Damn, that's excellent! I really hope we can get a season 2!
Here's hoping a certain dance becomes a meme strong enough to propel it forward!
@Kaiolino Damn, that's excellent! I really hope we can get a season 2!
Here's hoping a certain dance becomes a meme strong enough to propel it forward!
Ep. 4.
The saga of watching OP with my mother who knows absolutely nothing of OP continues, and the face she made when they revealed Garp is Luffy's grandpa was absolutely priceless.
Funny part is that she kept trying to guess who Luffy's dad is, over and over. She has already tried Shanks and Roger. My lip is shut.
This is gonna be a ride.
I finished it. It was amazing and genuinely fun. My girlfriend loved it and was disappointed to learn that there weren’t anymore episodes. I definitely will be watching this again and sincerely hope for a sequel — that was SUCH an incredible adaptation!!
I hear all of the nitpicky complaints, but as a fan for over 20 years — this was damn near perfection. 10/10. A+. More, please.
@kevo_koma said in One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced:
Hmm, I don't know why but after watching the entire show, I really don't get why Luffy is considered to be impressive in the show.
Like, I don't understand what Mihawk sees in him that makes him..special. Is it because he had the hat?
I don't get why Sanji chose the SH pirates to join, out of all the other crews he could join.
To be honest, if I was a first time watcher, I would be so confused what the hype was all about with Luffy.
This is a gripe I have as well. In the original inbetween all his goofiness Luffy always has these moments in which he is dead-serious or straight-out intimidating. These moments are a big part of why other characters see him as a big deal. Here he is mostly a nice and goofy guy who is easily likable but for someone like Mihawk, there is no reason to see him as the future of piracy.
I think I fell asleep towards the end of episode 8 (not because i was bored, it was like midnight lol) so I do need to rewatch the last 20 minutes but essentially I am done.
First off, it is regrettable that the planned 10 episodes were sawed down to 8 due to time/budget because that would've helped - sprinkle on some plotpoints skimmed over,
Overall I did enjoy it! I do think some scenes were not handled as well, and Nami/Sanji/Usopp's stories suffer the most out of the crew...on the other hand I really enjoyed some of the plot changes they did (more elaboration in episode threads). Like I'm really curious how they'd tackle future stuff with this groundwork. After Bebop and Dragon Ball Evolution people certainly had their reservations but those two properties this is not. It's not perfect but I got the sense production were fans of the show or at least did their homework (evidenced by all the easter eggs and stuff).
Financially, I do hope it does well. Netflix has a bad history with giving projects the boot and I think they'd be idiotic to completely disregard/fumble one of the biggest ips in history, but then again, if the logistics aren't there....out it goes. Like it's fun to predict the whole rest of the show but realistically I'm not sure if we'll get beyond Skypiea. Yet. The strike still going on iirc adds to the uncertainty. I also think maybe we won't see season 2 until the manga is actually over, haha, but in that sense they'd be almost free to do whatever now that the entire story would be available.
Actor/performance wise I think the biggest winners were Mihawk and Zeff, Buggy too. They were the standouts for me. In the same vein the Straw Hats pale in comparison to those three but they all try their hardest to bring our favorite pirates to life. I think overall of those 5 I enjoyed Taz's Sanji the most.
@MetaMario said in One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced:
Actor/performance wise I think the biggest winners were Mihawk and Zeff, Buggy too. They were the standouts for me. In the same vein the Straw Hats pale in comparison to those three but they all try their hardest to bring our favorite pirates to life. I think overall of those 5 I enjoyed Taz's Sanji the most.
I ve rewatched some scenes and parts of some episodes. Given the script I think eveyone except for the Luffy actor conveyed a version of their role in some way that convinced me that their characters are "legit" in their traits. E.g I m big fan of live action GArp. I believe one issue is the centrification of Luffy in added scenes like Garp and Zeff. Luffy is not a character that does that much talking. For that reason the actor had a bigger responsiblity to sell the viewer a version of Luffy that is "legit". For my taste the live action Luffy was quite colorless. The only thing he could do textless was smiling but at some point he wasnt able to sellt it anymore for me. The last couple of days I have been watching some interviews with the cast and compared to the Lufffy actor the nami and the Zorro actor showed a greater happiness when they talked about the source material. It is just my opinion. Regardless of that I enjoyed watching it for what it is.
When Oda went on a break I started my 3rd reread and currently Im at Alabasta and Luffy in the Manga so much more colorful. Maybe I m just to biased when it comes to Luffy.
Nami and Sanji were great, Zoro was a bit too stoic in the beginning but I was sold on Mackenyu's performance by the end. Usopp was mostly just there, he didn't have too many memorable scenes.
Finished the series 2 days ago, after some time to think about it, I can say that's it is one of the best live-action adaptations of a manga/anime, very promising for the future.
Outside the most common flaws, my biggest gripe comes from straw hats going through accelerated development arcs.
Usopp barely did anything in Syrup.
LA Sanji was very smooth and cool but cutting the Krieg fight and giving Gin a very minor role cut a lot of his development during Baratie, and while Nami was treated well overall, I feel that (albeit still enjoyable) Arlong Park was rushed.
I understand nor wanted them to do a 1:1 adaptation, and these "complaints" won't apply to One Piece newbies but it did bother me.
I still give it a good 7/10
I watched everything in one sitting with a friend yesterday.
We had fun and all that, but I was left more bored and bothered by the live action than genuinely satisfied. It's not bad, but not good either.
Tbh, I was more impressed at the start of the show, when the better aspects of it were already at display, giving me hope the live action could keep raising the bar as things went on. But I felt like it lost breath instead.
They missed the spot in most emotional beats, and sometimes outright avoided them as if disposable. Besides that, there was this unrelenting fast pacing with punchy action music playing on the background almost all the time which made me feel fatigued. One Piece needs time to breath and relax too.
Btw, the soundtrack in particular is super disappointing to me. It's made to sound very professional like a modern Hollywood cliche, but lacks imagination and variety. Most of it sounds samey, undistinguishable and unmemorable. Now think about how much better it would've been had them taken inspiration from the anime OST instead.
The settings were quite good, but something about the camerawork made many parts feel clautrophobic. Also I wish they had used more vibrant and saturated colors throughout the show instead of those darkish/grayish/yellowish filters they chose for some moments.
The casting is mostly good, the main crew in particular. Unfortunately though, Luffy was somewhat awkward. It's an impossible character to portray in live action, so I understand the immense task Inaki had in his hands... but Luffy is too essential for the show to feel right, and Luffy was not quite right enough.
Sanji, Nami and Zoro were all quite alright though. Usopp too, but the character itself was written like a glorified sidecharacter.
Overall, the show is okay. Not as bad as my biggest worries, but it could have been much much better. Somehow they managed to succeed the most where it was easier to fail, and failed where it was easier to succeed. Crazy.
My rating is 5/10.
Overall I'm very impressed by what they were able to do in eight episodes. Arlong Park could have been a bit better (though Arlong himself was fantastic), as could have the Shanks/Mihawk meeting which was far better in the anime. But AP at least probably suffers a bit from them having to go from 10 to 8.
One thing I liked a lot was how the wanted posters waft in front of the pirates and get moved away. Krieg being massively scaled down was great because that all sucks anyway. Syrup could have done with that too but it's intrinsic to Ussop's story so what they did was about as much as you could (poor Merry though...). Luffy's line comparing Shanks and Zeff made me laugh. Loved Bogard having a bigger role, all the extended stuff with the Marines was very good.
Very enjoyable show and I hope it avoids the dreaded algorithm cull.
I really appreciated a LOT of the changes and foreshadowing across the season. Think about it — we have:
Let’s also mention the beautiful cinematography, bounty reveals, soundtrack, and fantastic acting. The fact that they correctly adapted things in the manga that weren’t in the anime (e.g. Zeff’s leg, Luffy’s scar, etc). The action sequences… chef’s kiss.
And most importantly… it has succeeded in introducing non-fans and casuals to the world of One Piece. I get the sense that many of the complaints are coming from younger fans newer to One Piece, ironically enough… but I’m so thoroughly impressed and will continue to support the series as a long-time fan. I’ve already started my rewatch.
@Razh If it wasn't for my husband actually wanting to watch it with me, If have binged through it already We're halfway through.
Yeah, I have to wait for 2 others that made me promise to watch it with them. 1 of them convinced me to give OP a real try over a decade ago, then dropped it some years back. The other has no clue what manga/anime is.
Just finished the last episode, think it's pretty good though I do wonder if I would be into this if I didn't know the source material, mainly because of how fast paced it is which might've made it difficult for me to get attached to any of the characters. Or maybe it is because I know how much more depth and detail there is in the manga that I feel like that? Either way, the first 2 episodes were fantastic I thought, after that some things worked for me, others didn't.
I was getting a little annoyed by Garp even though I like his actor, I did at first think that his reason for chasing Luffy so persistently was to test him, but after he called Mihawk (certainly a choice) I thought that this was legimately his character: chasing after Luffy cause he doesn't want him to be pirate. Well, we ended in a good place so that'll probably make it more enyoable on a rewatch. Zoro vs Mihawk also didn't work for me, just seemed a lot less epic with only the Straw Hats around, and the aftermath, I don't know if it was the acting or if the more stoic Live-Action Zoro just made seeing an emotional scene more awkward but it really didn't hit for me. Also the placement of Zoro's flashback, I'd have been fine with the manga way (during the introduction) or the anime way (during the fight), but while he's stuck in a well after getting the comedy knock-out with the bottle to the back of the head? Sanji/Zeff just went too fast as did Nami/Bellmere. 2 more episodes could've really done wonders to the pacing I think, but money I suppose.
Buggy was an absolute treat, have no issue with the changes made to his story. Having his ear stuck inside the Straw Hat was pretty clever, never crossed my mind that Buggy could use his power in that kinda Robin-esque way, but I guess it should work like that in manga-canon? Also liked Kaya being the owner of a shipyard, we have no clue where Kaya's parents had their money from, and it really made me think that the manga-Going Merry's backstory is honestly kinda lackluster. Merry designed it, but we don't who built it, or where it was built, or why Merry who is a butler knows how to design ships.
Fishmen/Human relations being already set-up in more detail was good, though on the other hand the straw hats and particularly Nami of course being unaware of it until later also had it's advantages so I wouldn't say either way is better than the other.
The action looked consistently good so did the ships and the sets although I think you could tell that they were trying to save money since some of the sets seemed a bit small. Smoker was a pleasent surprise at the end and is giving me hope that Loguetown is planned in a potential season 2.
My thoughts are kinda all over the place, probably should've just made a post in each episode thread but oh well....
Anyway, I don't think it it's amazing, not Game Of Thrones Season 1 level, but I think it was good enough to make me wanna see more, so I do hope it gets renewed, hopefully with 10 or 12 episodes.
I wish the Arlong fight had been a smidge longer and more epic (USE that fin sword at least once before it gets broken!). I know it was never going to be a 50 minute drag down, not should it be, but just a biiit more? When i caught random raw clips of the anime a million years ago Arlong using that sword to climb up the side of a building was one of the things that sold me on the franchise.
Otherwise pretty pleased overall. It surpassed expectations for the most part . Certainly better than Wheel of Time is turning out to be.
@theackwardstation can we please remove the thumbs down emoji/feature because this is not Reddit? I thought he had made some genuinely good points but forgive me if I think it would be better to comment on feedback instead of adolescently thumbs downing someone as if this is some masterpiece. If people want an echo chamber, the review section over at IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes has enough 10/10(if you can genuinely believe them) to print and paste them all over your walls.
5/10 considering they found it "okay" is a bit too exaggerated though tbh. I don't think anyone here legitimately thinks it's a master piece and I have my own issues with it too, but it's still easily one of the better live action adaptations. We don't need all 10s here but APF will never become an echo chamber, so no need to worry about that lol. I think 8 and 7s, hell even 6 is fair. I think one can also easily fall into handing out lower scores to be contrarian, too.
If we're giving review scores, then accepting the fact that obviously stuff was going to be lost when you cut roughly 25 hours down to 8?
I would have liked some of the fights to be longer and a little more time for character beats to build up. I'm not sure how much of my enjoyment was the actual material and how much was just my already being a fan.
If I'm being honest I'd probably give it an 7.5, maybe generously an 8 out of 10. There was absolutely room for improvement,(I hope they get a second season and a chance to do just that) and if they'd have like, even one more episode to breathe I think the whole thing would have benefited. Some of the pacing choices seem pretty obviously based around the restructuring from 10 episodes to 8 (like Zoro's flashback being in the middle of nowhere instead of anywhere it would be potent, or how all the flashbacks were broken up instead of given time to just build their momentum for 20 minutes, but different format so it is what it is). I'd like crazier fights, and more time for the character stuff to breathe.
But those are nitpicks born largely from me already knowing the material and being very aware of what was missing, rather than any failing of the actual show. I wish I could see it fresh for the first time with zero context and just be overwhelmed by all these characters and ideas and frantic stuff being thrown at me so fast there's no time to process it. But I enjoyed myself the entire time and will rewatch at least some parts of it, and I wanted more, which was the best sign.
But! I'm going be generous and give it an extra point on the merits this is far and away absolutely the best we could have ever possibly imagined or gotten from a live action version of the show when no one believed it would be possible or that it would translate in any workable way.
When i look at how Wheel of Time is being utterly butchered, or RIngs of Power sucking hard, or how so many Star Trek shows the last few years have been so wrong, when we had Cowboy Bebop make very specific mistakes just a year ago? When Dragonball Evolution exists? All shows that are much more grounded and should have been easy to make great that failed?
(On a side note, I hope the upcoming Last Airbender show nails it in the exact same way.)
They pulled off a small miracle making it all work somehow, When so many before have failed. Even the overly colorful bad wigs stopped bothering me after a while. So sheer raw "I can't believe they pulled this off" elevates it alot, kind of like the first Avengers movie which was a lot of fun but the big thing was that they did it at all.
And because I enjoyed myself the entire time.
So 9 out of 10, extra points for existing and warranting any kind of high score at all..
@GuetaMinute I would suggest not jumping on someone solely because of his score and actually reading what he has written. Not directed at you, of course, but as a general manner of speech. None of his points came off as just saying that it sucked because I said so and was him being a contrarian. 5/10 is a passing grade and is indicative of "okay". I don't agree with his score but I also find it difficult to agree that any of the 10/10s or 9/10s is a reasonable one either.
An echo chamber might be an overly simplified term to use but if someone went out of their way to express and elaborate an opinion(even if different from yours) that doesn't amount to screaming it just sucks, maybe not go for the easy to reach invalidation button that shouts that none of that opinion matters. Obviously it would be very different and deserving if he just came in with 5/10 and shouted stuff that makes no sense but this is not the case. And even if not an echo chamber, what was being done was a very invalidating move to do to someone.
Most of my nitpicks with the live action can be assumed to be the result of lousy episode count and shit conditions for writers, not necessarily creative decisions on the whole.
Which hopefully the second season won't have issues with if Netflix pays their writers.
Good news - OP has beat the premier numbers of both Stranger Things and Wednesday, #1 in 84 countries. So pony up Netflix and approve that next season, mkay
https://comicbook.com/anime/news/netflix-one-piece-record-stranger-things-wednesday/
Finished the series. Overall I've really enjoyed it. The characters are on point, both visually and in terms of characterization, the sets are amazing, the story works and most of the changes are very inspired. Also loooved the soundtrack, I don't watch much of the anime but I wouldn't replace the sea shanties for anything else. Also liked how most characters had their own music style, jazzy Baratie, hip hop Arlong, and my favorite one is that distorted MEEEEOOOOOW that accompanies Kuro's scenes, ahah.
I liked Garp having a more expanded role. He's more down to earth than his manga version but I think he works. Him sending Mihawk after Luffy makes sense, he wanted to teach his grandson a lesson (or at the very least, test his will as is revealed in the last episode). Same for Koby, seeing him gradually grow into the heroic Marine he becomes later in the story is cool. I said that Arlong looked too scrawny in the trailers, but in the actual series he worked really well. He feels very intimidating, and I also liked how he's more in line with his characterization during the Fishman Island flashback than with his money-obsessed East Blue version. It just makes his character more grounded. Buggy is also very different from the manga, he's still a fun character but I'm not fully on board yet. But, he works.
Also, the action scenes just worked. I'm not fully convinced by Luffy's fights yet, but daaamn Zoro and Sanji's fights are spectacular. Really well-coreographed, and very readable. Buggy's powers also worked way better than I thought it would.
My biggest criticism would be that they changed or streamlined some of the character beats too much. As a seasoned OP fan I didn't mind it that much, but my girlfriend, in her first exposure to the series, failed to connect with most of the crew with the exception of Nami. In particular:
-Luffy finding Zoro on the cross after, like, one hour he's been there reeeeally doesn't have the same impact as Luffy finding Zoro on the cross after he's been there for a week and is literally dying of starvation like in the manga. The rice ball scene with the little girl was also way stronger in the manga. It just feels kinda devoid of context in this version. Also, Morgan doesn't really come off as a villain at all here. It's not too much of a big deal, that section of the story still works as a quick introduction to the main characters, but the emotional beats kinda aren't there.
-They skipped way too much stuff about Usopp. You don't really get why he wants to become a brave warrior of the seas here, since he's never shown to be much of a coward. Without the Usopp Crew, his fascination with pirates is also barely conveyed. And without Django, he pretty much loses the moment where he's most useful to the crew. Also, with Merry dead, you don't even much get why he up and decides to leave Kaya all alone. Don't get me wrong, I think the actor did a very good job and Usopp very much feels like Usopp, I just feel like he lost most of what made him memorable in the early days of the series.
They also simplified Sanji's introduction arc but I think it worked a little better there.
Aside fom that, Episode 4 felt a little like it was dragging on sometimes, the Luffy fight scenes are for sure going to be better in future seasons, and some camera angles were weird.
That's pretty much it as far as my criticism goes. It's easier to talk about what you don't like as opposed to what you like, I want to stress that I've really enjoyed the series a lot.
Nami I think is the real heart of the show here. She's the only character who gets development throughout the entire series, and is often the catalyst to bring out more character out of the rest of the cast (Luffy just like in the manga, but here Zoro and Kaya as well). Also, Arlong Park was the least streamlined arc and I think it really payed off here. For example, Arlong sending Nezumi to retrieve Nami's money is one of those things that could have easily been skipped (much like Kuro's crew assaulting the village and stuff like that), but it's the main catalyst to the "Help me" scene and keeping it really worked in making it as effective as it should be. Not every detail from the mangs is there, but I don't think it matters because you still really feel for Nami there.
Sanji's flashback was also very good.
The final scenes were also great, I loved Shanks in this. "I could beat you with one arm tied behind my b-wahahahahahahahah", and the barrel scene was perfect. The Smoker tease too!
Oh and I couldn't help but smile at the references to later stuff like Sypiea, Foxy and Punk Hazard. They were very smooth with the easter eggs!
Overall I've had a ton of fun. My girlfriend not as much, though. She only started to get more into the series from Sanji's flashback, which... makes sense. That's how it goes for most people. She even cheered on Nami during the Nezumi scene! She's still not fully convinced though. But Drum and Alabasta might do the trick a couple years from now.
Also glad that the series is finding success. It's fun, fresh and well made, I'd certainly want to see more.
That's pretty much it as far as my impressions go...
Ep. 6.
My mom loves Mihawk. Thinks he is a real decent guy for letting Zoro live.
She also complained there are too many characters which is getting confusing. I lol'd hard when she said that.
@Robby said in One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced:
I wish the Arlong fight had been a smidge longer and more epic (USE that fin sword at least once before it gets broken!). I know it was never going to be a 50 minute drag down, not should it be, but just a biiit more? When i caught random raw clips of the anime a million years ago Arlong using that sword to climb up the side of a building was one of the things that sold me on the franchise.
Otherwise pretty pleased overall. It surpassed expectations for the most part . Certainly better than Wheel of Time is turning out to be.
You cant really compare Wheel of time with One Piece just to make an argument for the better adaptation.
I do enjoy Wheel of time for what it is but the overall "theme" that leans on man vs woman which is part of the topic is in these times a topic that is annoying to watch.
Comparing the One Piece live action show to the japanese live actions ads from a couple of years ago, I m so happy, the producers went a different way.
I wonder if it would be possible for them to do also smaller seasons that could come out more often than once every three years (this season took two years to write and one to shoot). The structure of the story works perfectly for intertwining short and long seasons.
They could do a 10 episodes for Alabasta Saga, and then 6 for Jaya + Skypiea, 10 ep for CP9, 4 for Thriller Bark, 10 for war, 4 for FI, 10 for Doffy and so on.
Others have articulated better what I'm about to say: my main gripe with this series is that Luffy just doesn't feel like Luffy to me. And that's a shame because he is the beating heart of One Piece.
I get why they "had to" write him like that (general audiences), but I would argue more authentic version would have been better. At least it would have been something new in a western series.
Maybe I'm wrong but I think the goal probably already is to make a season every year? Simply because that's how every show in existance works.
I assume this one took so long to come out because it was season 1 so they had to design a lot of things from scratch (which they will get to reuse now), plus pandemic induces delays.
I've also heard S2 should delay because of holywood strikes, which makes sense. But aside from what, I don't see why this should take multiple years per season to make when things like Game of Thrones don't.
Especially because if this does take multiple years per season, it will be a project as long as, or even longer, than the source material, and I doubt anyone is planning that.
Ever since Game of Thrones/Stranger Things started taking years off, and then the pandemic, it became very common for high-value shows to not air every year.
@Dragon-D-Luffy said in One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced:
Maybe I'm wrong but I think the goal probably already is to make a season every year? Simply because that's how every show in existance works.
Not anymore, see Witcher, Wheel of Time or recent Stranger Things release schedule - 1.5 to 2 years between seasons. Granted covid had a lot to do with it, but who knows if it stays that way.
Well I hope they don't mind using a 50 year old Inaki then.
Unless you think they actually plan to arbitrarily cancel the show even if the story isn't over and the ratings are still high. Which I doubt.
I don't pretend to know the ins of television, but it makes more sense that the pandemic affected the normal schedule than that TV suddenly lost the ability to make seasons yearly which they had for the previous 50 years.
Just finished watching the series with my wife, absolutely loved it! I’m glad this was able to be a worthy adaptation, and I definitely cried at the “help me” scene.
@zeltrax225 honestly I understood their points and actually agreed with a few, I just found the 5/10 to be a bit inconsistent with their review, as in, I would expect at least a 6 from reading their review. A 5 is not so much okay and more mediocre, in practically all mediums. Just thought that was odd is all..
It's horrible timing outside of One Piece's control because season 1 is launching in the middle of the strike. Even if Netflix renews it for a second season, there's no telling when production will resume and how much of the band they can get back together for it.
There's also a question of episode count. One of the major issues I had with the show is that I think it needed two more episodes to breathe. I see the vision of keeping Loguetown for season 2, but an extra episode of Arlong Park and potentially Baratie would have been nice. Incidentally, one of the core issues of the strike seems to be the impact Netflix's low episode order has on the writing industry in general, so hopefully between a writers' victory and the huge success we've seen thus far (patiently awaiting those raw viewership numbers), season 2 will get a 10-episode order.
But either way, I think even without the strike, an 18-to-24 month turnaround on seasons is pretty reasonable. Assuming we get a season 2, I wouldn't expect to see it until 2025 at the earliest.
It's difficult to say at this time if we'll get the "whole" series in live-action (while it's fun to speculate season structure). I think we'll at least(?) get to season 3/Skypiea, where Netflix decides to pull the plug based on investment vs rising costs - it's only getting to get more expensive to produce from here on out. Granted that isn't based on anything, it's just what I've seen others guess so what the hey.
And like others said, the strike going on puts a block on things even if Netflix was chomping at the bit to make more episodes. Realistically I think seasons will take 1.5-2 years to make, and considering the strike....maybe late 2025 for a season 2? Later if it's prolonged, hell there's a part of me that thinks we won't see season 2 until the manga ends lol.
Pulling the plug before Water 7 would be a crime against humanity.
@GuetaMinute I don't mean to be contrarian or a hater. I justified my opinion, and why I don't think it's good, although I said it's not bad either.
At the start of the series, I actually thought I'd rate it something like a 7 or an 8 (maybe more), but the show didn't elevate me as it went on. Especially because a lot of the key moments didn't hit as hard as they should, lacking build up or better writing/directing, and that includes the relationship of the main characters.
East Blue may be an underrated saga, but it's filled with brilliant emotional moments that can be tastefully adapted to live action because they're all about core human drama... but these were precisely the stuff which the live action didn't live up to the standard (of One Piece and of cinema), and that weakened the experience significantly. Weirdly enough, they even skipped some of these moments in favor or less interesting stuff.
Meanwhile, the live action succeed well enough in adapting the world of the series and some of the goofy stuff, which was the most unlikely thing to get right. Most of the characterization, comedy and action were good too. Unfortunately, Luffy could be better.
But by the end I just felt fatigued watching the show, especially because of factors I described before, like soundtrack and cinematography, so I can't say I liked it. And since I enjoyed Arlong Park the least of all the arcs, the series ended at its worst for me. It doesn't help that Garp's entire role in this season (which used more screentime than it should) led to a completely uninteresting conclusion that failed to imitate Smoker's catharsis in Loguetown when he saw Gold Roger in Luffy because of the laughing in front of doom.
So yes, I have too many issues with the writing of the show. 5/10 it is.
Season 2 should cover Alabasta, Crocodile and Smoker adapted in there and main villains duo ( with smoker becoming ally in second half of the season) and maybe even Wapol will be a cameo along the lines of Gin but not proper villian, to hype crocodile or smoker.
Maybe they can also make it 10 episodes since this will cover chopper arc, little garden, everything going on in alabasta.
But 2025 most likely the year we get it.
They wont finish the One Piece live action anyway given the fact the manga is still running. They should pull the plug now imo and should be happy by delivering a proof of concept.
Season 2 should absolutely be all about Alabasta but it needs to have a Laboon episode as well. Other things you cannot cut are Drum and Ace. Little Garden would be cool but it seems like something that could easily be cut and would swallow a huge chunk of the budget.
I want coby to be temporarily re-assigned to Smoker for the fun of it since he is canonically not going to relevant until after Enies Lobby (if that even happens). It'll be pretty cool since they are already doing it already. Show him rise amongst the marines while still keeping him relevant and have him be around canonical characters that actually do encounter the straw hats. I could easily see him being the bridge and the reason why Aokiji eventually calls off his pursuit and/or having an extended role in the buster call in EL. Skypiea..uh, maybe chasing down Bellamy-Doffy connection and failing would be pretty cool.
S1 covered 95 chapter. I think they are very likely to want to get to the end of Alabasta in S2, because they already showed they care about having each season end on an epic note. Alabasta ends on chapter 217, which means they have 122 chapters to adapt next season.
If you assume they will keep the current pacing, then 10 episodes is the bare minimum just to keep the same pacing they used in S1. Less than that and they will have to start skipping entire arcs, I guess.
I don't know what decision they will make here, because in one hand, this show is very expensive, and it's only going to get even more from now on (we will have more DFs, and never mind Chopper). On the other hand, S1 was always the most risky one, and now that this is apparently the most successful television product of 2023, they can probably afford to make bigger investments going forward. Maybe even more than 10 episodes. We can dream.
I think the casual crowd really matters here. My score, and I think I can say generally for most of us fans, will never be more objective than a first-time viewer. Alot of us enjoy the callbacks, the easter eggs, the accuracy and all the other things that makes us want this to work. I'm not sure if everyone else does but I sure hope they do. I know I gave this a 6/10 but I really don't want first-time watchers to feel like it is anything less than a 7 or 8. I won't take it back (not that my score matters) but my point is I've tried to be a little more cynical when I consider how well it fares amongst other great TV series/movies in terms of everything else outside of faithfulness to the source material (it matters but not that much to first timers). My friends liked it and though it was nice but I really don't want them to be saying that to be humoring me. I think they liked it but they don't seem to love it enough to have that be memorable in their minds for long. That's my take and really just my one person humble perspective based on my social circles and some social media browsing that I can bring to this discussion.
LA definietely missed the opportunity to make Arlong Park "the hook" like the manga/anime did. The show got positive response, but I also think it's more of a general sentiment that will fade away in a few months and no scene or arc will stand out from the rest as the "holy shit that was good" thing in people's memory. But then again I think the vibe of the show and all the whimsical characters are enough for people to start season 2 when it arrives.
For season 2, it would be ideal to get a 12-ep split season with 6 eps for Loguetown, Reverse, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden and Drum (this would be a nice mid-season finale) and then second half for Alabasta sometime later.
If they have to do 10, I guess it could work, but East Blue was a little rushed, so for 10 I think they could remove little garden (and move it to the next season, before Jaya) and/or whiskey peak ( you can do Zoro's fight in Alabasta and Viv's reveal somewhere else).
Anything less than 10 episodes will be very hard to pull off without feeling rushed and underwhelming. Honestly I don't care for better CGI, I'd like the budget to go for more eps per season.
Finished watching yesterday. My biggest gripe possibly is that live action adaptations are simply not for me ? All along I kinda felt disconnected and could never quite experience the series as a separate work, always mentally comparing with what I enjoy in the manga format. Which does not do it justice, as some things just don't translate well in a realistic motion picture. Fishmen, Luffy's over-the-top facial expressions, hair color... Negative points also for the overdone color filters. Too much gray on marine ship scenes, bleached colors on some occasions. It could have been more vivid.
There are some good elements, mind. All the winks and easter eggs (pretty sure I missed half of them), the Nami-Zoro-Sanji dynamic which carries the crew on screen, Buggy and Arlong, some well-made locations that really bring the One Piece world to life...
However, Luffy and Garp were never quite there for me. The only time Garp felt true to himself was when he angrily threw a canonball at the Merry then laughed at their escape, plus that curry house side comment by Borsalino. Otherwise he felt too serious on most occasions. I did not mind seeing more of Garp (and Coby), but it was not the character I had in my mind and I was never able to distanciate myself enough from the source material to tell whether his part the the story is genuinely interesting.
As for Luffy...At times he didn't feel carefree enough and there were only a very few scenes where I felt immersed, but I'm not sure the fault lies with Inaki. Mainly I guess manga Luffy is etched too strongly in my mind for any flesh and blood person to act as a convincing substitute.
@Dragon-D-Luffy said in One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced:
S1 covered 95 chapter. I think they are very likely to want to get to the end of Alabasta in S2, because they already showed they care about having each season end on an epic note. Alabasta ends on chapter 217, which means they have 122 chapters to adapt next season.
One thing to keep in mind when it comes to chapter count is fights. Those pad out the chapters a loooot, and its pretty clear that due to just how expensive and time consuming action scenes are to do, we're probably never going to get anything super lengthy. The Arlong fight was the only time I really really felt that loss, but...
Like 15 or 20 chapters are the crew fighting Croc's officers, and then another dozen chapters are Luffy fighting Croc three different times. That can be cut way, way down. That's 30 chapters that can probably be one, one and a half episodes.
And the Chopper movie has already shown that Drum can be done very well in under 2 hours and that was like 25 chapters.
Man, this thread is depressing. It’s filled with inconsistent criticism of an amazing adaptation for the fans. There’s more nitpicking here than posters pointing out easter eggs and details for the fans. Honestly, it might be the most negative place I’ve seen the series discussed over the past few days — and I haven’t seen the Oykot Kingdom map mentioned ONCE in this thread.
Sure, have your gripes — but seeing some of you to dismiss the entire production and wishing they’d “pull the plug” is ridiculous. The comments about disliking Luffy and Nojiko’s casting comes across as really sus. If anything, I feel less inclined to return to AP because of the consistent negativity here across most threads…
@karubiDON said in One Piece Live-Adaptation Drama Announced:
I haven’t seen the Oykot Kingdom map mentioned ONCE in this thread.
Unfortunately this is what it became in a “general thread” with no focused topic. People here seem to be shy towards making new threads in general for some reason but I don’t doubt that a topic focused on the Easter eggs and such would act like a filter and encourage that kind of discussion to come out.