SPOILER ALERT

Details containing the show in full disclosure

For our very first Netflix review, I am going for the show that I have always wanted to watch but couldn’t due to various reasons. And with my background in film studies, I thought it would be a good idea to do a review on this show and other Netflix shows and movies.

What is it about?

In a nutshell, One Piece is based one of the most popular mangas out there by the same name. After the execution of the pirate king, Gold Roger, pirates across the sea, and the world are trying to find his hidden treasure, called the One Piece. The theming is not just about finding treasure but also about the importance of friendship and chasing after your dreams in a world where dreams are meant to be crushed and not achieved.

Characters

There are alot of characters but the main ones are focused on the fab five or the Straw Hat Crew

Monkey D Luffy

The main character of the series, optimistic, determined, friendly, and a little bit naïve. He protects and supports his friends. His big dream is to find the one piece and become king of the Pirates. So much so that he ran away from his grandfather, Vice Admiral Garp, to be one with the pirates including Shanks. He’s only skill is his body which stretches like rubber (similar to Mr. fantastic and elastigirl). And most of all he is a foodie. He is the captain of the crew even though Usopp wanted to be captain.

Roronoa Zoro

one of the older members of the group, he’s kind of kept to himself, serious, strategic, and a little bit mysterious. He’s a pirate hunter, but wants to be the worlds greatest swordsman. A promise he made to an old friend who died very young when they were just students. Yet, he’s already on his way because he knows the three sword method, one in each hand, and the third in his mouth. Zoro is considered the First Mate of the crew.

Nami

The only girl in the big five, she is sneaky, focused, smart, secretive, caring as well as a person that shelters her own being due to past traumas. Like Luffy, she is very protective of her friends, especially when they decide to go on a suicide mission. She is a professional thief, but wants to draw the map of the world and is the crew’s navigator. She’s originally part of the Arlong pirates, but eventually became a full-time member of the Straw Hat crew.Her main weapon is the retractable bo staff.

Usopp

He is kind of complementary to Nami in a way. He is a liar, but also he is kind-hearted, timid, a bit clumsy, He works for the shipyard as a chief technician but his dream is to be the bravest warrior in the sea. His main weapon is the slingshot and is the crew’s marksman. His father is the famous Yasopp the Great, a notorious pirate and he witnessed his mother pass away from sickness when he was a boy.

Sanji

Probably the most talented non-combat member of the crew. Aside from being talented, he is caring, sarcastic, resourceful He is the cook of the fish restaurant but his dream is to find the All Blue, a chef’s paradise. His main weapon is his feet, so that he can keep his hands safe for cooking. Unlike Luffy who chose to be part of a pirate crew as a boy, Sanji was taken by pirates against is will when he was younger. With his talent in the kitchen, he became the Merry’s chef.

Episode summaries

First episode, we get an introduction to the first three members of the straw hat crew. The main villains of this episode is Alvida, the biggest baddest, female pirate in the sea, and Captain Morgan, a.k.a. Axe-hand, he is the captain of the Marines, and had one spoiled son, and is very dangerous. At the end of the episode, they were able to get the map to the Grand Line where the One Piece is located.

Second episode Zoro, Luffy and Nami were captured by a circus crew of pirates led by a jealous, attention hungry and torturous pirate clown named Buggy (a name Luffy keeps insulting and mistaking). Just like the rest of the pirates, Buggy the clown is looking for the one piece. Once Nami and Zorro freed themselves from capture, they saved Luffy from drowning defeated Buggy and freed the people at the town. In meanwhile, we had to see more of the backstory of Luffy and his friendship with Shanks as a little boy.

The third episode, we are introduced to Usopp, who is like Chicken Little of his village saying the pirates are coming when no one believes in him. The Straw Hat Crew realized that the little ship they took in episode one is taking on water and needed a new ship. When Luffy found the perfect ship, he met Usopp. In order to get the ship, they went to Usopp’s friend, the kind, rich, sickly Kaya, for negotiations. At first, it was a celebration for Kaya’s 18th birthday until Luffy stirs up the dinner with talks of the ship. After dinner, the guys and the girls have had their heart to hearts. When Usopp and Zoro went down to the wine cellar, they found the body of Merry, who was killed by Klahadore, Kaya’s butler, earlier in the evening. Zoro revealed that the butler is Kuro, leader of the Black cat pirates and it turns out the staff are Black cat crew. When Usopp feels defeated about the pirates coming, one of the cadets and the young man Luffy saved in Episode one, Koby, said he believes him

Episode four picks up right where we left off. After getting knocked out and dumped in the well by the black cat pirates, Zoro awoke in the well unsure what to do. Nami finds Luffy in a food coma, Usopp leads Koby and the Marines towards the house. When Kudo answers the doors to the Marines, he did his best to brush them off and say that Usopp is crying wolf. When mentioned about Luffy, the Black Cats handed him over. When Usopp tried to tell Kaya about the pirates, she rejected him. By the time the clock struck midnight, the Back Cats hatched a plan to kill Kaya. Eventually, Kaya believes in both Nami and Usopp when they told her about the fact that Kuro has been making her sick. Meanwhile Zoro, with the motivation of his late competitor, managed to get out of the well and with Luffy, came back to the house and defeat the Black Cats. And for saving her life, Kaya gave the Straw Hat crew the ship and named it The Merry, after one of Kaya’s business companions killed by Kuro. After a tearful goodbye and kiss from Kaya, Usopp joined the Straw Hat crew. In this episode, we get to see Zoro’s backstory his swordsman training and how he wielded the third sword.

Episode five picks up right where the last episode four leaves off where the Marines attack The Merry and Luffy reveals that Garp is his grandpa, whom wanted him to be a Marine. Fortunately Luffy inflated himself to deter the cannon’s shot and hit the Marine vessel, saving the Merry from more damage. While in the fog, Luffy detects the smell of food and leads the crew to an island and out of the fog. With a little persuasion, the crew were able to get a table at the restaurant. And that’s where we are introduced to Riker Lynch! I mean Sanji, the cook, whom is very experimental with the cooking and insults the head chef that made him wait tables. While trying to defuse the situation between two pirates, Sanji puts them in their place…with his feet. When Sanji met the crew, he started flirting with Nami, in which the other boys, being like brothers, teased her. After insulting the head chef, he puts Luffy to work as the dishwasher. Meanwhile, Usopp, Nami, and Zoro hung out at the bar. While Usopp is dancing, Zoro and name get to break the ice and get to know each other. While drunkenly bragging, Usopp caught the attention of the pirate warlord, Dracule Mihawk, in whom Zoro recognized right off the bat and someone whom Zoro looked up to as a little boy. And he challenged him to a duel to the death. Nami and Usopp tried to talk him out of it while Luffy supports him. In fact, Luffy stood up for Sanji against the head chef for being in the way of Sanji’s dream. At dawn, the duel between Zoro and Mihawk, and when it seems like Zoro was defeated, Mihawk gave credit to Zoro for his bravery to achieve his dreams. When Mihawk wielded the big ass sword, Zoro wielded the three sword method and 2 of his main swords were destroyed. As his friends and crew watch on, Zoro was defeated.

My reviews

Honestly, I came watching this series with fresh eyes, not knowing anything about the series. Heck I have never seen the anime or read the manga at all! But it was my good friend and mentor that got me to watch it in the first place because she is a huge One Piece fan.

At first, it was hard to get into it because again, I have never had any exposure to it via the manga. it’s an interesting world where you get different elements that don’t normally mix together like pirates and superheroes along with the modern military like the marines. But what really gets me hooked and want to watch more are the episodes where there’s cliffhanger.

The crew kind of reminds me of Guardians of the Galaxy, a motley crew of different quirks and skills that work out together. Especially with Nami being the Gamora of the crew, being like “I’m surrounded by idiots right now”. Luffy, the main character, reminds me so much of my younger self: naïve, optimistic about the future, and a dream chaser.

As for the technical side of it, I find it fascinating that they used the multi frame shot where we get a close up of one characters eyes along with other characters eyes per example below.

I have never seen that type of editing in any tv show or film and it’s very unique and it ties into the layout of the manga as well.

The theming of chasing our own dreams is something we all need in this world because unfortunately, dreams are crushed or put down and we all listen to the naysayers. And this is a great example of keep pushing to our dreams that we hold so dearly

Overall, it is a show show with lots of action, a good message, excellent theming and makes you want to see where the characters go next. And I do believe it would surpass all expectations for the One Piece fans out there. For non-fans, it takes a while to get into the groove of things and how it works in this world but there is something for anybody.

So I would give it a 6 out of 10