Finally, the One Piece live-action adaptation is here! The series comes not long after the twenty-sixth anniversary of the original manga, but does it live up to the hype? The good news is, that One Piece has broken the curse of live-action anime adaptations in English! See what works and what makes fans so happy about this great adaptation in our review of the series premiere, Romance Dawn!
This article will remain spoiler-free for any who don’t watch the show or read the manga, with a focus only on the episode (there will be a full season review later). That said, these reviews are being written by a massive fan of the source material with the most unbiased view possible. So, have no fear of spoilers or finding out some life-changing plot twist, and welcome to the world of One Piece!
What Happens in Romance Dawn?
Romance Dawn, the first episode of One Piece’s live-action adaptation, covers the first arc of the anime in Shells Town. An introduction through the story of Gold Roger, King of the Pirates, and his execution at Loguetown that sets off the Great Pirate Era! From there it gets into Luffy’s story pretty quickly, meeting up with Koby on Alvida’s ship not long before a flashback to his childhood and time with pirate Red-Hair Shanks. Luffy is an orphan, and finds joy in hearing stories from Shanks and his band of pirates that come into his village’s port every so often.
It’s through Shanks that Luffy gets his new powers. He eats the Gum-Gum Fruit, a mystical Devil Fruit found by Shanks’ crew. It makes Luffy turn into rubber, allowing his limbs to stretch far and pull off moves like his Gum-Gum Pistol against Alvida. Luffy and Koby make their way to Shells town with one of Alvida’s lifeboats, It’s here that they meet Nami and Zoro, especially after seeing Roronoa Zoro take down a bunch of marines in a bar.
Nami
The introduction of Nami is on point, with the infamous cat burglar fooling a couple of Buggy’s hapless crew for their boat. She’s just as cunning and sneaky as her manga counterpart, and Emily Rudd’s performance is just one early standout from the cast. Although that can be said for everyone so far, as each actor is such a fantastic match for their character. Rudd nails all the little quirks of Nami, from her scheming to the absolute badass fighting with her staff. The chemistry and disbelief between the main three Straw Hats is a fantastic highlight of the show.
Zoro
Another character that had to get the casting perfect and absolutely nails it. Mackenyu, Zoro’s actor, has been a very open fan of the series since childhood and it shines through in his portrayal. He has the perfect stoicism to play Zoro the Pirate Hunter, while still managing to keep the gentleness when it comes to Rika and eating the food she makes him. Then the insistence that Helmeppo eats it, only for Zoro to wipe up every Marine in the bar within minutes was so well done. Also, a big shout out to Helmeppo’s actor for nailing the sniveling shit-bag he is.
The other great note for Zoro, and really everyone in the show, was the fight choreography. Everything was fast, fluid, and most importantly, accurate to the characters. Zoro’s use of his Three Sword Style while fighting Axe-Hand Morgan was great, and didn’t look nearly as ridiculous as fans thought it would. The gore for his fight against Mr. 7 was also surprising, but a nice addition to the show as it wasn’t in the manga.
The Best Parts of One Piece S1E1
- The easter eggs for fans were amazing, from the Bounty posters for villains like Foxy and Bellamy to the little references to Baroque Works early on.
- The score for the entire episode was great, really giving that epic orchestral feel of Game of Thrones while keeping the whimsy of One Piece.
- Those Den Den Mushi (Transponder Snails) look amazing and will absolutely become a massive collector item.
- Gold Roger’s presence was fantastic, with Garp being a great foil.
- Speaking of Garp, the setup for him to be a seeming villain is interesting. Obviously being such a high-ranking Navy officer means he’s not going to be cool with Luffy.
- Koby was just fantastic, with Morgan Davies portraying the precocious yet eager nature of the young Marine. He was fantastic in Evil Dead Rise earlier this year, and hopefully will get to play Koby for years to come.
Is One Piece Live Action Good?
Short answer- Yes! Long answer- Netflix’s live-action One Piece adaptation breaks the curse of anime to live-action. It’s legitimately enjoyable, even for non-fans (my mom even likes it), and is a great point of access for newcomers to the story. Everyone gets into their role with great ease, and the joyful eagerness of Luffy is contagious throughout the series. There’s no shortage of love behind the scenes that went into this series, and the signs of it are so, so obvious.
One Piece’s live-action begins with a bang in episode one, Romance Dawn. Balancing the relative wackiness of One Piece’s world while bringing in a relatively realistic aspect isn’t easy, but with plenty of care and attention, the crew behind and in front of the camera did more than fans could have ever hoped for. There’s no question now why the series has a seal of approval from creator Eiichiro Oda, so fans can rest easy knowing that One Piece brought live-action justice to one of the most beloved manga ever.
10/10
One Piece Live Action serial is available to stream on Netflix in the United States.
