ONE PIECE (2023) - Season One Review

What do you get when Netflix makes a live action adaptation of an Anime?

Normally, trash.

…but what happens when Netflix agrees to all of the creators demands and gives him full creative control?

Perfection!

Let’s Discuss.

One Piece is a 2023 pirate-fantasy / action series based on the eponymous manga / anime of the same name created by Eiichiro Oda. It is the best selling Manga in history and also the longest running manga and anime in history. The sales of One Piece’s manga have made Oda not just one of the biggest selling manga authors of all time, but one of the top fiction writers of all time. The continued success of the series comes down to Oda refusing to compromise on his vision.

So when Netflix came a’knocking after butchering their 2017 adaptation of the Death Note series, he knew they needed him more than he needed them. He held his ground. He barred them from using modern politics, gender identity, and any other modern trendy, work garbage from being in his series.

And look what a difference it makes.

The show focuses on a young man, Monkey D. Duffy, an orphan who dreams of being king of the pirates. He utilizes his unshaken optimism alongside rubber-body superpowers to assemble a crew that includes a samurai, an inventor, a brilliant navigator, and a cook with the fiercest kicks this side of Chuck Norris. Together they set out to conquer the seas, but first they’ve got to deal with a killer clown, a metal jawed marine, and a whole lotta fish-men. Will they find their way to the grand line? Will the crew survive the constant battles and misadventure? Find out on One Piece.

Unlike The Witcher and Death Note, One Piece is everything the source material was and better. One Piece was always a diverse series as the characters travel the fantastic locals of the fantasy epic, but the casting directors put together one of the best casts ever. Every single character feels authentic.

The chemistry oozes off the screen as Inaki Godoy’s Luffy is so good, you almost believe he really is the character.

The entire cast from top to bottom brings their A game, but the leading players are the standouts. Godoy, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, and Taz Skyler channel the characters from the manga with an eerie realism that nears uncanny valley. You can tell these actors like each other and are feeding off each other’s energies.

It’s so refreshing to see actors having fun with good writing, fantastic direction and unbelievably good special effects and editing. This show is beautiful to watch.

This is how television should be.

Checkout One Piece streaming exclusively on Netflix.