Entertainment - Media News Watch originally published at Entertainment - Media News Watch
Netflix’s long-awaited live-action adaptation of the iconic manga is a delight for fans but likely confusing to newbies.
PLOT: Based on Japan’s highest-selling manga series in history by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a legendary high-seas adventure unlike any other. Monkey D. Luffy, a young adventurer, has always longed for freedom. Luffy leaves his village to embark on a perilous quest to find the legendary treasure, ONE PIECE, in order to become the King of the Pirates. But in order to find the ultimate prize, Luffy will need to assemble the crew he’s always wanted before finding a ship to sail, searching every inch of the vast blue seas, outpacing the Marines, and outwitting dangerous rivals at every turn.
REVIEW: Anime and manga adaptations come in two flavors: crap and cool. Fans are naturally hesitant to watch a new production when they hear about the few successful live-action adaptations of classic Japanese comics. For every Speed Racer there’s a Ghost In The Shell. And for every Alita Battle Angel, there’s a Dragonball Evolution. Even Netflix’s Cowboy bebop divided critics and fans alike. It’s usually when fans demand a faithful translation rather than a creative adaptation that the problem arises. The live-action version of the long-running One Piece series is a perfect rendition of the story of Monkey D. Luffy, his pirate friends and the other characters. The issue may be that anyone else will be confused by this genre-defying tale’s broad tone, style, and logic, an epic adventure that may just be too immature for adults and too grown-up for kids.Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece
has been a mainstay of manga bestsellers for over twenty years with over a hundred volumes. Netflix’s adaptation of the story, which revolves around Monkey D. Luffy and Inaki Godoy, a young boy who wants to be King Of The Pirates, maintains its core. In Luffy’s universe, where a single global government rules, the geography of the world is dominated by seafaring. Marines are the military police that patrols the oceans. They are led by Vice Admiral Garp, played by Vincent Regan. After Garp kills the notorious Pirate king known as Gold Roger the world becomes obsessed in finding the lost treasure known as One Piece. Whoever finds it will be crowned as the King of all Pirates. Luffy, who has rubber-stretching abilities due to eating a Devil Fruit is on a mission to find a map and assemble a team to locate the Grand Line where the treasure is supposedly located. The plot is complex for a layperson but anime fans are likely to be enthralled by it. Luffy joins forces with his friends over the eight episodes of the first season. All of these episodes were available for this review. Each character has an origin story that sets up their motivations in the series. Luffy is introduced to Nami (Emily Rudd), who is both a thief, and a mapmaker. Roronoa (Mackenyu), a master swordsman, and pirate hunter. Koby (Morgan Davies), a cabin boy, becomes a marine. The first episode establishes the series’ style, with a lighthearted tone that attempts to make the deadly actions feel rip-roaring rather than dark and dreary. The majority of One Piece 001010 seems to gloss over the mild swearing (a few f bombs sprinkled amongst mostly PG-13-rated language) and casual nudity. The first episode is full of asses, which is not uncommon in manga or anime. At first, you may think the series is designed for kids, but then people get bisected and decapitated with CGI blood spouting across the screen.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGYEnEG25Is
Serving as an introduction to the sprawling mythology of the source material, One Piece manages to deliver a self-contained narrative over the first eight episodes that have a solid arc and introduces many familiar faces from the books and anime, including villains like Alvida (Ilia Isorelys Paulino), Buggy the Clown (Jeff Ward), Axe-Hand Morgan (Langley Kirkwood), and primary antagonist Arlong (Mckinley Belcher III), a Fishman who has a connection to Nami. The characters are remarkably accurate, despite the colorblind cast that makes this series a global production. One piece
One piece benefit from the showrunner Steven Maeda (Lost and The X-Files). Inaki Godoy, who plays the cocky, optimistic ringleader Luffy is a perfect fit. His optimism and positivity make him a great choice. Emily Rudd (Mare Of Easttown) does not play Nami as a damsel. She holds her own. Mackenyu Chiba is the son of Sonny Chiba and showed promise in Knights of the Zodiac. He exudes charisma as Zoro. Jacob Romero Gibson, as Usopp, and Taz Skylar, as Sanji are also in the main squad. Both chew the scenery, and add a mixture of action and comedy to the proceedings. The cast was having a great time, which made the job of directors Marc Jobst and Emma Sullivan easier. The biggest problem is that
One piece looks and feels like a small-scale version. The majority of the action takes place on artificial sets, and it looks less than epic. The budget allows for more impressive effects, but as the season progresses, the novelty of the world wears off. As an anime adaptation, One piece clearly is the most accurate translation from a manga to animation and live-action outside Japan. This series will be a hit with fans of the franchise. The plot and reveal elements are slightly different from the anime, but the changes are well done and do not go against the original story. This means that there will be few surprises for those who’ve read or watched the previous versions of One piece. This series is great for fans and will set the standard for anime adaptations in the future. The casual viewer will find this story confusing and it may take several episodes to get used to. The childlike performances will make them question why the violence and hypersexualization is so extreme. If you can suspend judgment and give the series a try, you might have some fun. It’s not a masterpiece but there is a lot to latch onto. If you want a fun swashbuckler to while away your Labor Day weekend, you could do a lot worse than One Piece.One Piece is now streaming on Netflix.6
Entertainment - Media News Watch originally published at Entertainment - Media News Watch
Entertainment - Media News Watch originally published at Entertainment - Media News Watch
Netflix’s long-awaited live-action adaptation of the iconic manga is a delight for fans but likely confusing to newbies.
PLOT: Based on Japan’s highest-selling manga series in history by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a legendary high-seas adventure unlike any other. Monkey D. Luffy, a young adventurer, has always longed for freedom. Luffy leaves his village to embark on a perilous quest to find the legendary treasure, ONE PIECE, in order to become the King of the Pirates. But in order to find the ultimate prize, Luffy will need to assemble the crew he’s always wanted before finding a ship to sail, searching every inch of the vast blue seas, outpacing the Marines, and outwitting dangerous rivals at every turn.
REVIEW: Anime and manga adaptations come in two flavors: crap and cool. Fans are naturally hesitant to watch a new production when they hear about the few successful live-action adaptations of classic Japanese comics. For every Speed Racer there’s a Ghost In The Shell. And for every Alita Battle Angel, there’s a Dragonball Evolution. Even Netflix’s Cowboy bebop divided critics and fans alike. It’s usually when fans demand a faithful translation rather than a creative adaptation that the problem arises. The live-action version of the long-running One Piece series is a perfect rendition of the story of Monkey D. Luffy, his pirate friends and the other characters. The issue may be that anyone else will be confused by this genre-defying tale’s broad tone, style, and logic, an epic adventure that may just be too immature for adults and too grown-up for kids.Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece
has been a mainstay of manga bestsellers for over twenty years with over a hundred volumes. Netflix’s adaptation of the story, which revolves around Monkey D. Luffy and Inaki Godoy, a young boy who wants to be King Of The Pirates, maintains its core. In Luffy’s universe, where a single global government rules, the geography of the world is dominated by seafaring. Marines are the military police that patrols the oceans. They are led by Vice Admiral Garp, played by Vincent Regan. After Garp kills the notorious Pirate king known as Gold Roger the world becomes obsessed in finding the lost treasure known as One Piece. Whoever finds it will be crowned as the King of all Pirates. Luffy, who has rubber-stretching abilities due to eating a Devil Fruit is on a mission to find a map and assemble a team to locate the Grand Line where the treasure is supposedly located. The plot is complex for a layperson but anime fans are likely to be enthralled by it. Luffy joins forces with his friends over the eight episodes of the first season. All of these episodes were available for this review. Each character has an origin story that sets up their motivations in the series. Luffy is introduced to Nami (Emily Rudd), who is both a thief, and a mapmaker. Roronoa (Mackenyu), a master swordsman, and pirate hunter. Koby (Morgan Davies), a cabin boy, becomes a marine. The first episode establishes the series’ style, with a lighthearted tone that attempts to make the deadly actions feel rip-roaring rather than dark and dreary. The majority of One Piece 001010 seems to gloss over the mild swearing (a few f bombs sprinkled amongst mostly PG-13-rated language) and casual nudity. The first episode is full of asses, which is not uncommon in manga or anime. At first, you may think the series is designed for kids, but then people get bisected and decapitated with CGI blood spouting across the screen.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGYEnEG25Is
Serving as an introduction to the sprawling mythology of the source material, One Piece manages to deliver a self-contained narrative over the first eight episodes that have a solid arc and introduces many familiar faces from the books and anime, including villains like Alvida (Ilia Isorelys Paulino), Buggy the Clown (Jeff Ward), Axe-Hand Morgan (Langley Kirkwood), and primary antagonist Arlong (Mckinley Belcher III), a Fishman who has a connection to Nami. The characters are remarkably accurate, despite the colorblind cast that makes this series a global production. One piece
One piece benefit from the showrunner Steven Maeda (Lost and The X-Files). Inaki Godoy, who plays the cocky, optimistic ringleader Luffy is a perfect fit. His optimism and positivity make him a great choice. Emily Rudd (Mare Of Easttown) does not play Nami as a damsel. She holds her own. Mackenyu Chiba is the son of Sonny Chiba and showed promise in Knights of the Zodiac. He exudes charisma as Zoro. Jacob Romero Gibson, as Usopp, and Taz Skylar, as Sanji are also in the main squad. Both chew the scenery, and add a mixture of action and comedy to the proceedings. The cast was having a great time, which made the job of directors Marc Jobst and Emma Sullivan easier. The biggest problem is that
One piece looks and feels like a small-scale version. The majority of the action takes place on artificial sets, and it looks less than epic. The budget allows for more impressive effects, but as the season progresses, the novelty of the world wears off. As an anime adaptation, One piece clearly is the most accurate translation from a manga to animation and live-action outside Japan. This series will be a hit with fans of the franchise. The plot and reveal elements are slightly different from the anime, but the changes are well done and do not go against the original story. This means that there will be few surprises for those who’ve read or watched the previous versions of One piece. This series is great for fans and will set the standard for anime adaptations in the future. The casual viewer will find this story confusing and it may take several episodes to get used to. The childlike performances will make them question why the violence and hypersexualization is so extreme. If you can suspend judgment and give the series a try, you might have some fun. It’s not a masterpiece but there is a lot to latch onto. If you want a fun swashbuckler to while away your Labor Day weekend, you could do a lot worse than One Piece.One Piece is now streaming on Netflix.6
Entertainment - Media News Watch originally published at Entertainment - Media News Watch
