Culture

Fine, You Got Me. ‘One Piece’ Is Actually Really Good

by Lia Kim  5 September 2023
One Piece Zoro Netflix Adaptation Remake Anime

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A sincere apology to those who have recommended reading or watching One Piece over the years, only to find out that a whole new audience is now, at long last, getting into it. And it’s all thanks to a live action adaptation. Who would’ve thought?

Live action adaptations have long been considered a tricky curse to break. Brace yourselves before asking any anime fan about their favourite story that got done dirty. Attack On Titan keeps me up at night. Dragon Ball Evolution didn’t happen. And we don’t talk about The Last Airbender.

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After being burned so many times, I was done putting much hope into live action adaptations, despite it apparently being the only thing the movie industry is keen on. And to be fair, they’re not all bad. HBO’s The Last Of Us showed that it can be done. The entire MCU is essentially the Western version of successful adaptations. Ultimately, I was more than content to stick to what I knew and hop on the anime bandwagon when popular shows came around, like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen.

One Piece was always on my list, but in the same way that “going to bed earlier” and “exercising more” have been on my New Year’s resolution since I was 12. Sure, I knew that it was the bestselling manga of all time. Yes, I heard it often touted as “the greatest story ever told”. It’s also twenty seasons long, with over one thousand episodes. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

But you know what we do have time for? An eight-episode Netflix series — how very approachable! That Eiichiro Oda, the original creator, was involved in the adaptation and signed it off on it is a huge green flag, too. The endearing charm of Iñaki Godoy also has sway, especially considering that from what I can tell, it’s a pitch perfect interpretation of our stretchy protagonist Luffy.

But I, like many others who have been introduced to the world of One Piece through the Netflix adaptation, owe much of my undivided attention to a green-haired swordsman named Roronoa Zoro, played by Japanese actor Mackenyu. And who’s to say that’s not a valid reason to finally get into the greatest story ever told. Even Netflix gets it.

Lia Kim is a culture writer and producer at Junkee. She tweets at @kimliaa_.

Image credit: Netflix