Title: One Piece Too Many?
One Piece, the latest anime-to-reality movie adaptation, has attracted all sorts of viewers. If you’re into Rotten Tomatoes, this show has generated 86% on Tomatometer and 96% for Audience Ratings. As a person who can’t get into anime, this show has just narrowly missed the bullseye. I, along with many others, have heard of the anime show One Piece (1999), but just couldn’t get into it. Whether it was the anime style or the slow-paced episodes, this new adaptation has thrown it all in the water and righted its ship.
For those who watched the anime, the first season of One Piece is centered around the first 40 episodes but really makes major plot changes. It centers around a boy, Luffy, who dreams of becoming the King of the Pirates — a prestigious name given to whoever can find the treasure left behind by a famous pirate. At a young age, Luffy eats a devil fruit (something that grants magic powers), which gives him strength and flexibility. When he comes of age, he starts his quest to become King of the Pirates.
Most notable actors, Emily Rudd (Nami), Mackenyu (Roronoa Zoro), Taz Skylar (Sanji), and Iñaki Godoy (Luffy) have avoided the show from plunging into the depths with the other adaptations. Their chemistry along with one another added another element to the show as well as created some fan-favorites.
One critique must be the acting of Luffy, which felt more forced than the others. Although his character is supposed to be portrayed as more animated, Iñaki Godoy’s acting feels as if he’s reading from a piece of paper. Dialogue from the characters throughout the show had its moments, but sometimes it left me wondering, I don’t think it fits in the scene.
Having never watched the actual One Piece anime, this show had me wanting more. But for those of you who loved the One Piece anime, the adaptation may not be for you. Nevertheless, One Piece (2023) should definitely be given a watch, but don’t expect anything that could blow you out of the Grand Line.
Plot..…………9/10
Pacing………7/10
Acting……….4/10
Bingeability…8/10
Rating….7/10
One Piece is currently only available on Netflix.
