Eiichiro Oda’s iconic manga series One Piece has finally made it on Netflix’s streaming pitch in a live-action form, and a new pirate crew is born!
Considering the legacy of Oda’s series, which has sold more than half a billion copies worldwide and already carries a 20-season-long animated series under its belt, Netflix was always going to be under a lot of pressure for its very own take.
In recent months, we’ve seen how carefully the streaming giant has tried to lay their plans to assure the traditional anime fans, who have been hurt too many times by quickly packaged live-action adaptations. Showrunner Matt Owen has already insisted that they plan to stay true to the original light-hearted theme of the series, and before the show’s premiere, Netflix sent an open message to Oda that they intend to rewrite the history of live-action adaptations.
How Netflix Showrunners Kick-Started Monkey’s Journey in One Piece
The search for the elusive One Piece treasure starts with a prologue wherein the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger announces “My treasure is yours to find” before his execution.
This very scene started the domino effect that has already led to more than 1000 One Piece anime episodes and now it has provided the green flag to Iñaki Godoy‘s Monkey D. Luffy. For new One Piece fans, D. Luffy is a young pirate with a clown-like personality but king-like ambition and has impressive strength and even more impressive power of rubber by his side thanks to a Devil Fruit.
Season 1 mainly revolves around D. Luffy’s desire to build a capable crew for his treasure hunt in the midst of getting into trouble with other pirates.
The Straw Hat Pirates crew is an important feature of Oda’s storyline in both manga and the anime series. Accordingly, we are introduced to Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu) and Nami (Emily Rudd).
Nami – who is a navigator who doesn’t like pirates – is bound to quickly become a fan favorite if the Netflix decision-makers develop her character like the source material. The same could be said for Zoro. However, eagle-eyed fans have already found one mistake with how he’s shown in the live-action series.
What Fans Are Saying About Zoro’s Sword Fight Scene in Netflix’s One Piece
Zoro is a bounty hunter, also known as Pirate Hunter, and staying true to his name, he’s a skilled swordsman and frequently finds himself in tussles. Equally tenacious is his sword, the Wado Ichimonji.
But some fans have noticed that the famous sword “broke” in the very first fight after Zoro joined D. Luffy. As one would expect, they were quick to point out the blunder on social media.
damn Zoro broke Wado Ichimonji in his first fight joining Luffy #onepiecenetflix pic.twitter.com/3BZFbnTWR5
— Dan (@DanVsVideoGames) August 31, 2023
LoL how do people even find such things , I didn’t even noticed apparently it seems they used some kind of plastic material otherwise with a real sword and it’s sheath it would be impossible to do a barrel roll 😂
— IND Anime (@indanime106) September 1, 2023
Nooo, Wado Ichimonji broke like it was a bendy straw. 😭💀
— 🛡Capt.GalaxyMando16🌠 (@CaptGalxyMndo16) August 31, 2023
Can someone tag the director? What is this HAHA
— Jibaro (@bnywtgrt) August 31, 2023
However, it’s only fair to acknowledge the uphill task Netflix faces in its attempts to bring One Piece to a wider audience, and little goofs here and there is a very natural part of any big setup.
The aim has to be to stay in line with Oda’s plot as much as possible without losing the buffoonery and magic of the characters. Season 1 displays that creators Steven Maeda and Owens have done exactly that.
Source: X
