Topic for discussion of the 6th episode (it is good that we keep them separate so that those that do not wish do not get spoiled)
Title: The Chef and the Chore Boy
Directed by: Tim Southam
Written by: Steven Maeda and Diego Gutierrez
Topic for discussion of the 6th episode (it is good that we keep them separate so that those that do not wish do not get spoiled)
Title: The Chef and the Chore Boy
Directed by: Tim Southam
Written by: Steven Maeda and Diego Gutierrez
So this episode was good but it also felt like the most "Western TV" episode of the bunch. Part of that is because a lot of it is brand new material but I think it's mainly because they're actually treating the fact Zoro nearly died quite seriously. Like he was actually near death and we got to see how all of them reacted to that. I now see as well that they shifted some of Sanji's role over to Nami so that they could keep pushing forward the theme of her not believing in dreams. I think that works out so that's at least something.
On the topic of Sanji and Zeff, I'm surprised they kept the 85 days stranded from the manga instead of reducing it to something reasonable. Especially given that they didn't (or couldn't probably) make the actors look like they were actually starving that long. The on the rock also looked like a stage and green screen, more so than anything else in the series so far. It was a little jarring but the heart of the story was there and I like how it helped Luffy relate to Sanji. That said, I kind of wish they made a bigger deal out of Sanji leaving. I know theycmade the farewell scene between Sanji and Zeff a bit more realistic but Luffy didn't even see it and they are so far away from each other. Sanji didn't need to bow but he could have done something and not just stand there.
Usopp had some better moments in this one as well. More moments that actully feel like Usopp, even though he still didn't do a lot.
Then there is Arlong showing up to fill the role of Krieg and attack Baratie. I don't mind it and they managed to get a lot of the same small details across, like Zeff's pegleg being broken and Luffy nearly drowning. I like that Buggy was kept around though and that he looks to be coming with them further. It's a good way to keep the actor and character relevant throughout this season, which also seems to be the same deal as with Coby and Helmeppo. Thankfully in season 2 it's easy to do this because so many characters do stick around.
The Zoro and Luffy moments were pretty good in this episode as well. They've been trying to emphasis the bonds being built between everyone and while it feels rushed in some places, I like how Luffy and Zoro are finally bffs.
Next up is Arlong Park.
Sanji and zeff great, they placed arlong and his gang well in there but buggy stole the show.
Sanji flashback was done well, just like in the manga.
I laughed at loud at the Sanji flashback when pirate Zeff boarded their ship and went straight to their kitchen to season their cooking. It had a genuine Monty Python-feel.
Baratie arc really makes up for Syrup Village arc. I have to say Sanji joining the crew doesn’t have as much weight as I would have preferred. We don’t really spend much time with him since the episode is more focused on Zoro and Arlong.
@All-Fiction said in Episode 6 (The Chef and the Chore Boy) - Discussion:
Baratie arc really makes up for Syrup Village arc. I have to say Sanji joining the crew doesn’t have as much weight as I would have preferred. We don’t really spend much time with him since the episode is more focused on Zoro and Arlong.
He is even more overshadowed in the Manga tbh with the whole Luffy vs Krieg fight going on
@All-Fiction said in Episode 6 (The Chef and the Chore Boy) - Discussion:
Baratie arc really makes up for Syrup Village arc. I have to say Sanji joining the crew doesn’t have as much weight as I would have preferred.
True.
However I think the fault lies mostly within the goodbye scene.
Oda is a writer that always puts the most focus on the punchline/climax that elevates all of the build up and hits like ton of bricks.
I don't think the writers of this show undestand that. The goodbye scene feels like an afterthought.
No, I didn't expect Sanji to start screaming his lungs out and getting down on his knees, but Sanji having no reaction to Zeff saying "keep your feet dry" just completely misses everything this scene is meant to be.
You have this tough love between those two characters who are acting like they don't give a shit about themselves and in this very moment where Zeff finally shows some vulerability and tiny little sign of love for Sanji after all those shitty interactions they had - and seeing Sanji doing the same by sheding a tear - that just fucking hits. The actual goodbye is just an unloading of those emotions, but THAT brief moment of vulnerability from both of them is the core of the scene.
And those emotions are just not there. Sanji doesn't break down, he just says his goodbye and then starts crying. The emotional focus is completely shifted from the though love to just saying goodbye, which makes the whole scene feels flat and generic.
The farther you go into this show, the more it shows that the writers just don't understand a lot of subtle writing decisions that Oda made and just take the most "in-your-face" scenes and moments and slap them onto LA without all the small details that made them work. They are basically dumbing down One Piece to Fairy Tail level.
Scenes were way, way too disconnected. I think that good montage could make this episode amazing, but as it stands... Sanji joins the crew out of spite, basically.
Oh yeah, Sanji also never said he fights with kicks because he doesn’t want his hands injured. That’s an important characterization for Sanji, it’s kind of a bummer that it’s not there, in my opinion.
So the Baratie has this fish-esque maitre'd character that I wish existed in the manga, but once the certain guest arrives it hits me....he is supposed to be a Fishman (it looks like Arlong directed a comment at him). At first I thought he was a person that resembled said creature, like how Masira and Shoujo are monkey-looking people?
Arlong showing up at the Baratie was one of the biggest changes shown off in the trailer; there was no way we would have him, Mihawk, and Krieg are competing for the same spot - hell Buggy was dragged along to find Luffy! I'm still not sure on the look but the actor DOES do the laugh so that counts for something. The Fishmen essentially replace Krieg's crew as the troublemakers on the Baratie, and Nami leaves with them.
Really surprised they showed all of Sanji's backstory, including the non-Toei version where Zeff chops off his own leg to eat. And it's great, but without their moments from Luffy's battle with Krieg.....Sanji joining feels so rushed. Like in the original Luffy keeps pestering him and he keeps refusing, here he's having a pleasant convo about the All-Blue but it's less of a firm refusal. Almost feels out of spite. In the original battle Luffy's grit against Krieg is what gives Sanji that faith in him.
@All-Fiction said in Episode 6 (The Chef and the Chore Boy) - Discussion:
Oh yeah, Sanji also never said he fights with kicks because he doesn’t want his hands injured. That’s an important characterization for Sanji, it’s kind of a bummer that it’s not there, in my opinion.
That's true, but I guess they can put that in future seasons easily. Might be even a good idea to spread the characterization a little, becuase Oda kinda likes to throw everything into the intruduction arc and then give you nothing new for next 200 chapters.
I get changing stuff to change stuff, but Sanji’s just off. Characterization lacked the whole wasting food vs not wasting food in the flashback. The whole oregano bit isn’t cohesive. They reference him not liking to waste food in present day, but the stuff added/changed to Sanji’s character doesn’t actually fit narratively, at least in my eyes. I’m a big fan of the Baratie and how Sanji was characterized there so maybe not feeling this adaptation. His fight scenes were the best aspect so far, and he’s doing good given what he’s given, but it’s not Sanji. And did not like the fight between him and Zeff when he decided yo leave. The end was better than I expected, but the way there was rough. Worst adaptation choice by far.
Trying to give Luffy the Captain talk now seems odd, like it goes against what One Piece is about trying to make it seem like Luffy was wrong letting Zoro fight. And don’t think Nami leaving was showing him being a weak or strong captain, things just happened.Him not having optimism seems odd, especially at this stage. Felt like he should’ve been steadfast, worried yes, but optimistic things will work out. The talk with Luffy and Zoro was much better here this episode though than last episode.
Still not convinced with the Koby/Garp stuff. Wish they lessened their role in the series.
Why is Luffy taking blows? He’s a rubber boy.
The “betrayal” makes it much clearer here Nami did this to save Luffy and co at least during the Baratie portion. So Luffy’s insistence she’s worth getting back makes more sense here IMO.
Buggy taking Ls here, but I like him so ok with the choice.
This episode contains what might be my favourite scene in all of One Piece: the Baratie send-off. I've read and watched this scene countless times over the last 20 years and even as a 40 year old dude, I can't even talk about it without getting teary eyes. And even though the whole context here should have lessened the impact (Baratie crew only having a minor role and Sanji not bowing down), as soon as Sanji goes "I owe you my life!", I start BAWLING. So, kudos to Taz Skylar and Craig Fairbrass for making this work.
All things considered, they made this alternative version of the Baratie arc work quite well. I thought Sanji's and Zeff's relationship was nicely depicted and that the flashback was pretty effective and well done. I really liked that they didn't shy away from Zeff eating his own leg to save Sanji. The goodbye scene between the two was a bit more subdued, but emotional nonetheless. Overall a good introduction to Sanji - one may argue that he was overshadowed a bit by all the other stuff going on, but I'd say that anybody new to the story would quite like Sanji after these two episodes and have a good grip on his basic personality and backstory.
Arlong coming to the Baratie ended up working pretty well for the story. I thought he seemed pretty threatening and scary, and they did a good job of showcasing his racism. Also, great idea to have a fishman working at the Baratie - it makes really clear Fishmen aren't bad per say, but only Arlong and his crew. I think in the manga, Tom was first sympathetic fishman character we met, so I think that was a good addition. Also, by directly connecting the Baratie and Arlong arcs and also treating Zoro's wounds very seriously, they managed to make this episode a "low point" of the season for the Strawhats - Zoro is on the verge of death, Nami seemingly betrayed the crew and Luffy's endless optimism is wavering for the first time. You didn't really have something like that in the original saga.
The final scenes were Zoro wakes up and he and Luffy have a really nice bonding moment, and then Sanji also joins the crew, are thus pretty effective in uplifting the mood again and raising excitement for the final two episodes. So, yeah, they changed a lot, but I was overall pretty happy with the LA Baratie arc.
Also, great way to keep Buggy around! I look forward to seeing how they'll include his character in the rest of the season.
I think I will remember this as the only letdown episode until the end of the season (which I already watched). The way Luffy talks, feels anxious, have a sad soliloquy is something I really find out of chara: Luffy is extremely positive and honestly optimist by nature (ultimately on Zoro), while this Luffy seems more like he's trying to convince himself in thinking Zoro will get better.
Really solid episode. Didn't really do anything extraordinary, but it worked well from beginning to end. Of course seeing Buggy again is always welcome.
That said, Sanji joining the crew did feel pretty rushed and arbitrary. Could've spent less time on Zoro's recovery and more on building up Sanji joining the crew.
Thus far, Arlong is really working for me. His makeup threw me off at first, but the actor really captured the ferocity of his character.
Luffy vs. Arlong round one is probably one of my favorite fights in the series so far as it was a good showing of both characters' abilities and was pretty involved with them fighting across two different sets.
And this is the first time we get a complete uninterrupted backstory in one go. It works fine, so I'm not sure why they didn't do it before.
I binged the whole show in a day (with a break between ep 4 and 5) and back during episode 2(?), I recall randomly looking at Buggy at the end and noticing he didn't seem to have ears, it looked especially clear on the left (our left) side. Then he turned his face slightly and his left ear was there so I shrugged it off, assuming it was just the angle that gave me the impression. I never imagined that actually, he WAS missing one on the other side all this time and it would be a big affair in the plot. I suppose he is also lacking said ear when we see him and Arlong together for the first time, though I was no longer paying attention then.
Still, him doing the whole spiel about having eyes and ears everywhere in the East Blue, implying he's a big shot with a network of informants, just for it to be literally an ear accompanying Luffy everywhere was a genius twist lol
These changes are so bad, at least let her steal the ship to give them a stronger reason to chase her down
why would luffy get hurt by punches and throws? what a mess.
Them chasing down Nami was always mainly about Luffy insisting on Nami being the navigator for his crew though. Zoro even suggests to just abandon her and the ship and get a new one in the manga/anime, but Luffy insists on following them to get Nami back. Sure, Nami stealing the ship and all their treasure (and later on seemingly stabbing Usopp) made her apparent betrayal of the crew's trust much bigger in the manga, but otherwise, it's not such a bad change. And I actually liked how worried she was about Zoro fighting Mihawk and risking his life.
Another solid episode.
I'm getting used to how Arlong and the other Fishman look, although I think the Baraties Maitre'd works the best, and I like that they're throwing in the racism angle already (I can't remember if that was a thing this early in the original).
It is a little weird that Luffy can't take a punch though, I think they're trying too hard to make the Strawhats seem like newbies, when it's only pirating they're new to, everything else they've been doing since they were kids.
The hell. This episode was SO GOOD!
So far, every episode has been better than previous, starting weak on the first, meh-ish on the second, some noticeable improvements on third and fourth, finally getting good on the fifth, and now just greatness!
Really loved everything about this episode.
Sanji is so likeable in this version, I might want to check out so it doesn't contaminate my opinion of him on the manga or I might start liking him. Zeff's actor really deserves all the praise he's been getting. And their flashback was done amazingly well, one of the instances I am glad they stayed as faithful as possible to the source.
I know some people are having a problem with LA!Luffy not being manga!Luffy, but I am really enjoying this different take on the character. I noticed before Luffy looking kinda puzzled whenever someone cracked a romantic joke, and after this episode it seems like they want him to be self-aware enough to understand he doesn't work at the same level as the other people and it somehow seem to confuse him. It's definitely not something manga!Luffy would ever do, but it doesn't mean it's bad. As long as the main beats of the character are there, different approaches can work.
On a similar note, I stopped trying to compare this Garp with the original and try to see the character as his own thing. If I was more a fan of the character, I could be bothered by him straying too much from the original though (like I keep getting worried this Buggy is being "too cool" and less pathetic as I wish him to be. Hopefully Oda will not get influenced by it).
Really liked Arlong in this episode, too, and the first beats of the fishmen plot. His and his crew's visuals quickly grew on me as well. The fight sequence was definitely the best so far.
And the LA realized my dream from back in Impel Down/Marineford days of Buggy sailing with the SH, so how can I complain?
Only thing that I would point out as weird is that I don't get the logic behind a big shot like a vice-admiral, specially one was big as Garp, becoming the exclusive hunter of a nobody pirate like Luffy (he doesn't even has a bounty yet so it's not like he is even an acknowledged criminal but somehow he is already getting Roger - or at least Doflamingo - treatment). I mean, sure it makes sense from Garp's POV (it's his grandson), but everyone else seems to find it normal.
Highlight of the episode? "OREGANO'S FOR SAVAGES!"
I had to pause the episode because I was laughing out loud.
Sanji teaching Luffy how to be a captain was an odd choice.
We know manga Luffy is a born leader, CoC and all that. It seemed unnatural for him to be at a loss. It didn't fit the image of Luffy in my head.
The LA version of Luffy made it work, still would have preferred him not being at a loss and more decisive.
Arlong showing up with Buggy was not something I expected and Buggy being their means of reaching Coco village was not something I expected but a good choice.
Nami saving Luffy by telling Arlong to throw him into the water, was good. Him clashing with Luffy at Baratie was brief and sweet.
Finally here. I liked this one outside the Garp portrayal. I was mostly worried about the changes coming into this show. Nami leaving to kinda save the crew was a good one.