One Piece Live Action: An Adaptation Fit for the Pirate King

 The One Piece Live Action has recently released on Netflix and even secured a second season. For One Piece fans like myself, this is a welcomed outcome. More One Piece is generally what I want. While I prefer the Manga and Anime wholeheartedly. This Live Action adaptation serves characters well that are normally left out to dry in exchange for the massive world. One of those characters is Bogard, Garp's right-hand man. 

Bogard is only present with Garp and serves him well. There are only a few times that he speaks in the Manga and Anime. Even when he does, it is just in response to other characters. So, it was surprising to see Bogard get more screentime in one season of the Live Action than he has in the entirety of the parent story. Bogard also happens to have a following in the One Piece community. Which is more surprising in the context of information on the character rather than how fandoms can hyper-fixate on smaller characters. Needless to say, the Bogard fandom was fed exceptionally well. It made me want to see Bogard do more in the main story, but that may be asking too much when you consider the trajectory of One Piece's current storyline. 

This benefit would be put on full display with the inclusion of more Koby, Helmeppo, Garp, and Buggy scenes. Aside from Bogard, I thought Buggy showed out well and the performance from Jeff Ward complimented the crew doing the Visual Effects quite exceptionally. I already like Buggy quite a lot, yet I know that Buggy does not sniff the story again until much later. And obviously the same can be said for the other three mentioned as Garp and his crew float around in the back until post-Enies Lobby, then Marineford, and not again until the recent arcs. That's around three hundred episodes, another almost two hundred episodes, and then another couple hundred episodes for reference.

The Garp chasing the Straw Hats subplot definitely benefitted individual characters quite well. However, I thought this decision was so disruptive and it even hurt Garp in the process. What I mean is that Garp meets the Straw Hat Crew much later, but the problem does not lie in the timing of the event. The problem for me involves the motivation and will to change Luffy. Garp's personality is pretty contradictory to how he comes off in the main story. His carefree nature is replaced with obsession when dealing with Luffy specifically. I just never came around to liking this new side of him, especially when the payoff was just a test to Luffy's dream. 

I am aware that an adaptation involves changes in order for it to translate well in another medium, yet this change simply did not work for me. If this was Smoker, I can understand it. However, Garp does not treat Luffy like Smoker does. So, while Smoker still intends to attempt to do his job as a marine when Luffy is around, he still knows his boundaries. I don't expect Garp to act like this in newer seasons, but it does make me cautious to other characters in the series. 

My only other major critique stems from the handling of emotional moments. I thought they were getting there, but it wasn't wrecking me emotionally. One of the core staples in One Piece is how deaths and other events are so brutal in contrast to how the series comes off. Something as simple as ringing a bell or giving a dog some dogfood can really make your skin tingle, your hair stand on edge. Not to mention when a character dies in real time or in a flashback. I have softened up over the years, but One Piece has always been a series that can get me to cry over death and impactful moments. One of the many reason why I obsess over this series so much. 

Two moments I can definitely point to to in the Live Action are Sanji's goodbye and Bellemere's death. Scenes that I can remember vividly because of how much passion comes through. Yet, they just don't quite get there in the Live Action. It is not the fault of Taz Skylar, who plays Sanji, or Genna Galloway, who plays Bellemere. They both knocked it out of the park, as with the rest of the cast. I just thought the writing and scene direction were weak. Let the moments linger for a bit and implement a score that rips your heart out. The lack of music in important scenes was definitely felt when watching through it. 

Regardless, the show looked phenomenal and the cast put there hearts into it. Even with my gripes on Garp's character, Vince Regan played the part well enough that it wasn't a mark against the series. I am also hoping that the series can get weirder as we go on. Because now that people are hooked in, it's time to just full-on send it. I want to see Mr. 5 dig for gold, I want to see some Kung-Fu Dugongs, and Banana Gators especially. And hopefully this bodes well for other adaptations of Comics and Animation into Live Action. An example of how to be faithful to the source material while also appealing to a large, unknown audience. 

Ultimately I liked it for what it was. It does not replace the original story in any capacity, but adds an outlet to the powerhouse. Also, shoutout to Iñaki Godoy. That boy may as well be Luffy in real life. It is rare to see someone embody a fictional character so hard, yet he did it so well. I simply cannot imagine anyone else in that role. Truly perfect casting. 

If the Live Action is your first taste of One Piece, that is great. Jump into the giant pool and immerse yourself in Twenty plus years of storytelling. Or if you haven't checked out the Live Action, dive in. It's a good companion piece to an already amazing series. 

"Come on aboard and bring along, all your hopes and dreams. Together we will find everything that we're looking for." (Written by Hiroshi Kitadani, translated by Mike McFarland)