(No Spoilers in my written review, but when you get to the video? Tons of Spoilers. Beware) If you haven’t seen One Piece on Netflix yet, we totally understand. It’s a live action adaptation of an incredibly popular Manga and Anime show. Traditionally, these kinds of adaptations suck. And not just a little suck. We’re talking about a soul crushing heartbreaking infuriating level of suck. Cowboy Bebop anyone? Yeah. That one still hurts. So, when the production company who gave us that absolute turd announced they were going to adapt One Piece, we thought that another beloved franchise was on its way onto the crap heap. Thankfully we were wrong. What happened with ‘One Piece’? They learned. The brain trust in charge actually learned from the mistakes of Cowboy Bebop. The resulting show is a delight. We have to agree with Nerdrotic on this. We can’t think of a better show than One Piece that came out in 2023. Honestly.
One Piece is a joy to watch. Just like Nerdrotic’s experience, I knew little to nothing about the original manga other than it was set in a seafaring pirate world. That’s it. I started watching One Piece with every expectation of it being laughably bad and I was in for a pleasant surprise. A delightful surprise. The show is arguably the best of 2023. Nerdrotic got it right. The production company and writers actually respected the source material. Didn’t mess with the characters or inject them with modern political agendas. That’s right. They respected the source material! Shock! That’s probably in no small due to the fact that creator of One Piece was heavily involved in the show. That’s a very good thing.
Turns out, you can adapt anime for live action, and it all starts with staying true to the source material.
Here’s the review for One Piece from Nerdrotic. He pretty much had the same experience as I did with the show. Zero expectations, then blown away by One Piece. The story, the characters, all of it. Do yourself a favor and watch.
Warning MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. Not teeny ones. BIG SPOILERS.
