Adapting manga and anime is a difficult and thankless task. Fans are almost always unhappy and casual viewers have a hard time understanding what is happening. When news first broke about the existence of One Piece. Netflix’s Big Snatch” (One Piece) shuddered anyone even vaguely familiar with the source material. Too fresh in the memory are “Death Note” and “Cowboy Bebop”, still mostly unremembered in polite society. But it seems that Netflix has learned from its mistakes. After all, the new adaptation not only dealt carefully with the original source, but also turned out to be simply an excellent series that I would recommend to absolutely every non-manga fan. Suddenly? We believe it ourselves still not, but first things first.
Gomu Gomu no – gun
First of all, let’s agree that we will not review the new product from the position of a fan of the original anime. Now the cartoon has more than 1000 episodes, and it will not be easy to get to know it in one go. Additionally, many viewers only learned about the Straw Hat Pirates crew after the unexpected popularity of the Netflix adaptation.
However, it would be wrong to completely ignore the original source. One Piece was first released in 1997 and today is comparable in popularity and significance to giants like Naruto and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
The story tells about a young boy named Monkey D. Luffy, who really loves his hat and wants to realize his old dream: to find the treasure of the pirate king “one piece”. By doing this, he automatically takes over the vacant title. However, such a journey is impossible alone – you need a team and a ship. The first season of the Netflix adaptation focuses on the formation of the Straw Hats and Luffy’s transformation from a naive boy into a full-fledged captain.
The world the heroes live in is full of wonders. Devil fruits, for example, are common there. Anyone who eats at least one will acquire an amazing skill. This is how Luffy turned into a rubber man who can stretch any part of his body to incredible lengths. The properties of fruit are always different; the effect cannot be predicted in advance.
Bizarre races live side by side with people – fish people, giants, mermaids and various others. Almost all activities of the population are concentrated in one way or another around the sea, and piracy is one of the most popular professions. Captains compete on brutality and rewards for their capture, while bounty hunters and Marines (the local police) try to maintain a semblance of control and safety by any means necessary.
Luffy is not a typical robber, and the team suits him: pirate hunter Zoro, who dreams of becoming the best swordsman in the world, thief Nami, who wants to draw a map of the whole world, sniper Usopp, who wants it so badly. feel his importance and significance that he constantly lies about what happened and, finally, the cook Sanji, who has searched all his life for a gastronomic paradise, where there are animals and seasonings that cannot be found anywhere else.
Each of the characters has its own backstory, motives and beliefs, which the creators reveal gradually and only in the right places. This allows the story to maintain a brisk pace and sets One Piece apart. Big Score” from many other series, for example, the same “The Mandalorian”, where the plot takes place only in three episodes of the season, and everything else is fillers that do not affect anything at all.
Unexpectedly, the script became one of the strongest features of the pirate hit. The story flows very smoothly and logically, all the actions of the characters are thought out and correspond to their characters, and the huge volume of manga is skillfully adapted.
Some fans will call the series non-canon – and they’ll be right. There are many differences between the new product and the anime. But the most important events are depicted with photographic precision. The absence of individual episodes, dialogues and some subplots makes it easier for ordinary viewers to understand what is happening. It’s clear that Netflix won’t be able to reshoot all of its 1,000-plus episodes, so budget cuts are inevitable. The only good thing is that unlike Cowboy Bebop, it wasn’t really the biggest moments that went under the knife.
At the same time, the makers even managed to add something to it. For example, in the original, Luffy and Zoro already meet when the swordsman is tied to the cross. In the series we get a detailed backstory and are allowed to form first impressions of Zoro.
All of this is so that the audience can better experience the development of the characters. Each of them has its own storyline and turning points. The only thing missing was Sanji, who almost joins Luffy at the end of the season, but that was left for sequels.
I would also like to highlight the acting. Almost everyone falls into the images and even conveys the movements and grotesque features that are only characteristic of anime. Of course, there won’t be any major jocks in the series, but even without this, every character (even the fish people) looks very convincing. If one of the characters seems unnatural or funny to you, you can be sure that he behaves exactly the same in the cartoon.
Want to see other adaptations of popular anime?
Gomu Gomu no – catapult
Technically one piece. Big jackpot” is also good. The creators of The Witcher have to learn something. The world of pirates is bright and colorful, with a huge amount of computer graphics. Some critics have criticized the series for the unnatural way in which Luffy uses his powers, but we are don’t agree with that.
It seems that this decision was made deliberately, because there is no need to show an organically stretched person or a clown dividing his body into many parts. Heroes who eat devil fruits amaze those around them, even within their own universe. Such skills should be felt as something strange and abnormal.
Finally, the combat is great. All movements, attacks and feints are very coolly staged and filmed. Viewers get to see in detail how Zoro wields three swords at once and Luffy delivers thousands of blows per second. There are no unnecessary frame stitches. The choreography may not be surprising, but it does look very nice. Something similar happened in the third season of The Witcher. However, that is where the contractions are dosed, in One Piece. Big jackpot”, there can be several in one episode.
It’s no joke, there isn’t even an agenda this time. Not the heroes, but the main villain of the season is not only a black actor, but also fights for the rights of oppressed minorities. We also didn’t notice anything unconventional all season. If this isn’t a breakthrough for the streaming service, we don’t know what is.
“A piece. Big jackpot” is that rare case where there is nothing at all to criticize the project. This is a great show that will surprise fans and be a great starting point for casual viewers. The series will present a strong and above all logical story with cool characters, who will be interesting to watch throughout all eight episodes. If the makers keep the quality bar high, One Piece. Snatch” will rightly become one of Netflix’s biggest hits.
We watched One Piece. Big jackpot”?
Source: VG Times
Christina Moncayo is a contributing writer for “Social Bites”. Her focus is on the gaming industry and she provides in-depth coverage of the latest news and trends in the world of gaming.