Finally, the floating restaurant Baratie and its infamous fighting cooks make their debut in One Piece Live Action Episode 5! The infamous restaurant run by former pirate Red Shoes Zeff is famous for its food, so good thing Luffy is hungry! They meet some trouble though when Luffy doesn’t have money to pay for food, so pull up a chair for our review of One Piece’s Eat at Baratie!
What Happens in Eat at Baratie?
When the Straw Hats are drifting along in the fog while the sun is setting, Luffy smells something familiar – food. It’s lucky for them that the smells prove to be real, with the floating restaurant Baratie slowly appearing through the fog. They make their way in, getting a table thanks to Nami’s negotiating despite the long reservation list. When they sit to eat Luffy immediately starts ordering anything he can, devouring whatever food he finds in the process. Meanwhile, Zoro starts to drink while Usopp and Nami observe the restaurant.
It’s nice to see the Straw Hats mingling as friends in a casual setting instead of being on some kind of mission. Usopp is of course drunkenly telling tall tales to anyone who will listen, but it’s the conversations between Nami and Zoro that give great insight. There’s only a hint of it here, but Nami has obviously gone through a lot of trauma in her life. That’s what makes it more surprising when she turns down the boat in the morning that would have taken her home.
Luffy trying to pay their dinner tab with a future King of the Pirates’ “I owe you” was definitely some classic One Piece humor. Zeff putting him to work in the kitchen was some of the best comedy in the source material, and Inaki Godoy pulls off the clueless Luffy trying to do basic things amazingly. So many broken dishes…
Sanji
It’s not long until Sanji makes his debut. The cook of the Straw Hat crew right now is just a simple sous chef on the Baratie, though he does more arguing than cooking sometimes. Despite the dish he makes with obvious care, Zeff throws him out of the kitchen to wait tables, which brings him to the Straw Hats. Sanji’s flirtatious side gets a spotlight here when he meets Nami, doing his best to woo her despite her very obvious denials to him. Still, it’s a great moment to get to know the character, and Taz Skylar manages to pull off that smooth-talking smartass that only Sanji can.
Sanji’s backstory is left for the next episode, but for now, there are some great scenes that show who he truly is. When a wounded, starving pirate shows up begging for food Sanji doesn’t hesitate to feed him. Fans will recognize this pirate as Gin, a member of Don Krieg’s fleet that gets destroyed in the Grand Line despite the captain’s great power. However, when the scene switches over to show how their crew was obliterated explains everything.
A Warlord of the Sea
Dracule “Hawkeye” Mihawk is one of the seven fearsome Warlords of the Sea. These are pirates who made their name feared throughout the four seas and Grand Line, with the strength to wipe the floor with every enemy the Straw Hats have faced so far. Mihawk makes a damn quick display of his power while fighting Don Krieg when he uses a single swing of his sword to slice one of his massive ships apart. He doesn’t even make contact with the ship, but instead slices the air so hard it sends a shockwave at it. This man isn’t to be taken lightly.
So Zoro immediately challenges him to a fight on sight. He feels. that if he’s going to become the world’s greatest swordsman, he’ll have to defeat the world’s greatest swordsman. He’s nowhere near ready enough, and Mihawk is about to let him know just how great their power gap is. The Warlord seems like he’s insulting Zoro when he pulls out a tiny dagger to fight him.
Zoro vs. Mihawk
Just an awesome fight realized with great love from everyone involved. It’s a simple show of Mihawk’s power with how easily he’s able to defeat Zoro, taking not even a scratch as he summarily defeats the young swordsman. He cuts Zoro down multiple times before the Pirate Hunter stands and raises his arms, facing the Warlord of the Sea. His reasoning, that scars on the back are a swordsman’s greatest shame, interests the Warlord.
After he strikes Zoro down, he tells him to get stronger and come find him on the Grand Line. Zoro makes a declaration that he’ll serve Luffy until he realizes his dream, and that he’ll never lose again. Mackenyu absolutely nails this scene with the emotion of Zoro, making one of the character’s most formative moments have the gravitas it needs to make his bond with Luffy seem real.
A Straw Hat in Trouble
The episode ends with Zoro suffering from multiple heavy wounds, unconscious from the blood loss. Meanwhile, back at the Marines, Koby is suspicious after seeing Garp’s reaction to Luffy. He has no idea of their relationship, and feels that this is shaking his faith in the Marines. He’s afraid Garp may be corrupt, much like Axe-Hand Morgan was, and Koby doesn’t want any part of hurting those he wants to help. It’s actually refreshing to see Garp take Koby aside to speak to him, asking him about his opinions on Luffy.
The episode ends as Koby tells Garp that Luffy has always been a pirate, and always will be. They have no idea of what Mihawk has done yet, or that the Straw Hats are back on the Baratie desperately trying to save Zoro. While Luffy and Usopp grab their first mate and hurry him toward the Merry, Nami begins to question what she could really be doing with the crew. It’s setting up for an explosive finale to the Baratie arc, and Sanji has barely shown his hand yet. The next episode is sure to bring some tears with his great backstory.
