It’s here. Netflix’s live-action adaptation of the fan favorite One Piece anime arrived on August 31, 2023. After Netflix and others’ attempts at live action adaptations, many fans have been, understandably, hesitant to hold onto any optimism heading into the release.
One Piece follows the story of Monkey D. Luffy, a pirate in a world covered by oceans and innumerable islands. A world which is populated by pirates looking to make their name in the world by finding the lost treasure of the Pirate King: The One Piece. One Piece has cemented itself as one of the great anime and manga of our time. With over 1,000 chapters in the ongoing manga and an impressive over 1,000 episodes of the anime, it is one of those anime people say they love or say they see as too intimidating to start.
Editor’s Note: There rest of the article contains spoilers for the One Piece live-action adaptation up through episode 1
Image via Netflix
The One Piece live action opens with the fabled Pirate King Gol D. Roger walking to the gallows. We see Captain Morgan waiting for him there. A large crowd has gathered to witness the execution and more than a few seem to not wish for it at all. Just before he is killed he tells everybody he has hidden his treasure and issues a challenge for them all to find it ushering in the “Golden Age of Piracy.”
We are first introduced to Luffy as he is sitting on a little boat that is quickly taking on water. His only option is to jump into a barrel and trust that he’ll get somewhere eventually. He ends up bumping into Alvida’s ship as they are busy plundering another ship, and his barrel is lifted up into the ship’s keep. It’s here where, late at night, he meets Koby. And after a brief discussion, Luffy convinces him to sneak off Alvida’s ship and join him. But, their escape isn’t quite as subtle as they had hoped and they end up needing to fight Alvida.
Throughout this storyline, we are given glimpses of Luffy’s childhood as an orphan who wants to join a pirate crew and make a name for himself. It’s in these flashbacks that we see Luffy eat the devil fruit that resulted in him getting his rubber powers. We are also shown Zoro as he fights off a man attempting to recruit him to the group he is a part of, as well as Nami as she fakes being in danger in order to steal a ship from two villainous pirates.
Luffy, on his search for a map to The Grand Line, travels to Shells Town. As he is coming up with a plan, he and Koby visit a bar. Nami and Zoro also happen to be here. Nami, like Luffy and Koby, is also searching for a map, whereas Zoro is here to collect a bounty. Zoro ends up in a fight with Captain Morgan’s son, who disrespected a young girl and himself. This impressive fight leaves Luffy intrigued with Zoro and his fighting ability.
After Koby has made it clear he has no interest in sneaking into the marine base, Luffy goes in alone. Zoro goes to collect his bounty, but is held due to his refusal to join the marines. In the marine’s base, Luffy runs into Zoro and frees him, then finds Nami disguised as a marine. He and Nami both go in search of the map.
Image via Netflix
Once they’ve “escaped” (fallen out of) the base, Nami and Luffy are joined by Zoro who helps them fight off a group of marines and ultimately Captain Morgan. After their fight scene, they make it back to the boat. Koby comes out of nowhere with a sucker punch that saves the trio. Then he reveals that, rather than join Luffy’s crew, he’s going to become a Marine in order to help others. From there, the “crew” sets off from Shells Town.
The scene shifts to Garp as he gets a call about Luffy and his crew stealing the map. The final scene is of captain Buggy, another pirate hunting the map to the Grand Line.
The One Piece live-action adaptation is available to stream on Netflix. The anime is on Netflix and Crunchyroll. Viz Media handles the manga.
