‘One Piece’ Reviews Roundup: Netflix’s Latest Live-Action Adaptation Impresses Long-Time Fans And Critics
Netflix’s live-action One Piece adaptation debuted today, and critics – both professional and armchair – are chiming in with their opinions on the hugely ambitious production.
We rarely do review roundups for series, much less live-action series, but Netflix’s latest anime-to-live-action adaptation, One Piece, felt exceptional.
More than many of its live-action adaptation predecessors, One Piece boldly leans into its illustrated roots. The show has heaps of practical and cg special effects that give it a cartoony feel. Luffy bends and stretches in ways that are only possible through the use of cg, which was overseen by vfx directors Victor Scalise and Scott Ramsey.
The live-action One Piece series was created in partnership with Shueisha and produced by Tomorrow Studios and Netflix. Matt Owens and Steven Maeda are writers, executive producers, and showrunners. One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda executive produced with Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements.
We typically stick with reviews published by trade publications in our roundups, but that didn’t feel right this time. However, it is worth noting that the show is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 82% critics’ score after 34 reviews, meaning most traditional media critics have been impressed.
One Piece is a mammoth franchise with an enormously dedicated fanbase, many of whom have watched hundreds of episodes over more than two decades. So, for this piece, we looked at what the die-hards – the people and the media sites who have been covering One Piece devotedly for years – are saying. While this methodology may lead to a more subjective set of reactions, we also expect that nobody will be harder to impress than the protective masses who already love the One Piece franchise.
According to One Piece Twitter fan account One Piece Tweets, the show is “perfect.”
The One Piece Live Action is so perfect !! pic.twitter.com/E2Myznf0ui
— One Piece Tweets (@onepiecedaiIys) August 31, 2023
Another popular account, One Piece Daily, called the show a masterpiece.
One Piece Live Action is a masterpiece#OnePieceNetflix pic.twitter.com/hdH9Fqndi0
— One Piece Daily (@opdaiIy) August 31, 2023
Internet personality Aitaikimochi loves what she’s seen so far, especially one barroom fight scene.
I can't stop raving about the ONE PIECE live action- this Zoro bar fight scene was too good, the pacing, the acting, the camerawork, the music, the tension, the ACTION. HELP ME, WHY IS ZORO SO HOT 😭😭
PLEASE WATCH #OPLA pic.twitter.com/7uFZPSI8Sq
— ☆オードリーAudrey☆ (@aitaikimochi) September 1, 2023
Youtuber Tekking101 was breathlessly enthusiastic about what he saw in the first episode. We didn’t watch his full 95-minute breakdown of the 64-minute episode, but it’s immediately apparent that he’s quite pleased with what he saw.
And it’s good, ladies and gentlemen! Okay, listen. That was a blast to watch. I only saw the first episode; it was the first thing I did today, and as soon as that episode wrapped, I’m like… I gotta go talk about it. I wanna let everybody know, for those of you that have not seen the One Piece [live-action series on] Netflix yet, if you haven’t watched it yet… stop this video right now and go watch this episode. It will be worth your time if you are a One Piece fan. And if you’re anything like me, you will have fun and be grinning ear-to-ear while watching this.
Liam from GrandLineReview didn’t go so far as to call the show perfect, but he did say there was a lot to like. “My overall impression is that it’s not the best thing ever, but it’s not a disaster, either,” he explained, saying the show falls firmly and at times annoyingly in the middle. He said:
The opening of the first episode got me genuinely hyped. There are a lot of stylistic choices that I think add a lot to One Piece, like the bounty posters. When infamous pirates are introduced, you get this flash of a bounty poster on-screen… it is so cool. The original world elements are also really well done.
That said, he was very frustrated by the show’s pacing, arguing that far too many of plotlines were included for an eight-episode season.
According to Sam Stone at CBR, the adaptation should please long-time fans but might not win over newcomers to the franchise.
Just as wonderfully wacky as the popular anime series can be, the live-action One Piece is more grounded than its manga and anime counterparts, befitting its presentation. While fans of the anime might find a lot to love here, the live-action series is likely not the best way for uninitiated viewers to experience Oda’s globally renowned story for the first time.
According to Megan Peters at Comicbook.com, the show ends a long streak of misses by live-action anime adaptations.
Hollywood’s anime curse has been a blight on the anime fandom for decades, but you’d never know it existed watching Netflix’s One Piece. The show’s first season is self-contained as it focuses on the main aspects of Oda’s story: its crew and its sea. Showrunners Matt Owens and Steven Maeda spent years crafting One Piece’s live-action debut, and their care is impossible to miss.
