(This review is coming from someone who has not seen the manga or read any comic books)
Season 1 is as much a journey through the East Blue as it is a journey through an amazing cast. Monkey D. Luffy, our main protagonist, dreams of becoming King of the Pirates. For this he needs a crew, and a boat, and throughout the season we follow him along as he meets up with more and more characters. More than 1 villain too. Everyone with their own dreams, or their own evil agenda. Luffy himself is a bit weird and naive, overly optimistic and good to a fault, and that - along with his rather formidable superpower to bend and stretch - is just the right combination of good and powerful to recruit some of the best pirates out there. And by best, we mean "good". It's time pirates starting acting a little nicer, don't you think?. The story is told in a linear fashion, and utilizes character flashbacks to great effect for both character depth and story arcs in present time.
Minor criticism: The story is perhaps a tad bit thin at first, with the plot primarily being moved forward by Luffy and his dream of being a great pirate, and some minor seemingly random events that needs to happen for him to meet more people and get a ship to pursue his dream. But I' not really criticizing this, merely mentioning it, as I'm probably not the only one heavily conditioned by typical tv shows to expect a great big injustice that needs redemption, or a great evil that threatens the whole world which must be stopped. But those elements do come with it's perks of drawing in the viewer, and this shows start very light on that front, and is instead character driven. Nothing wrong with that! AT ALL. But it means it will take some time for the show and the characters to grow on you.
There are plenty of bad guys though, but they pop in and out as beautifully extravagant freak shows that functions more as speed bumbs for the main story progression, and as a way to showcase some perfectly decent choreographed fight scenes. The only
The clichés are both amazing and a small drawback. There are some, at times, very on the nose story arcs for some of the main characters. This is a drawback because it feels like you have seen it before, and takes away the guesswork. You'll predict most of the outcomes before they happen. But the upside? Clichés are clichés for a reason. When done right, well written and acted, the result can be very powerful and captivating. And One Piece does them very well.
The great: I find every single main and supporting character in this show to be pretty darn amazing, both acting wise, but also style-wize. This IS based on a manga after all, where you can expect stereotypes to be very loudly portraited. It is not often you see these kinds of character translate as well into live action as some of the performances from the cast manages to do in One Piece (and I don't even have the built in forgiveness of someone who has seen the original). It is over-the-top manga-styled madness, but through character story-telling and good writing, it remains heartfelt and grounded at the same time. All actors bring uniqueness to their characters that they then stay true and consistent to. All (good) characters are very different, but also very likeable. A true ensemble of character fun, and glory.
Summary: Its a character driven show, packed with plenty of japanese manga-styled fun, with a larger than life message to follow your dreams - that take its time to draw you in with little to no intrigue. Give it a few episodes and allow the characters to be built up even further, and there is tons of charm and fun in this for most I dare say. The somewhat loose story plot does tighten in towards the end of the season, with a impactful and satisfying finale. It leaves you feeling excited for the characters, and their journey to come. And you'll probably want to join, when the next season comes.
It started out a 6, turn into a 7 halfway, and ends as and 8 for me = 7 average. If you already love the characters (from the original show), I totally get why this show has a strong 8 rating! :)
Season 1 is as much a journey through the East Blue as it is a journey through an amazing cast. Monkey D. Luffy, our main protagonist, dreams of becoming King of the Pirates. For this he needs a crew, and a boat, and throughout the season we follow him along as he meets up with more and more characters. More than 1 villain too. Everyone with their own dreams, or their own evil agenda. Luffy himself is a bit weird and naive, overly optimistic and good to a fault, and that - along with his rather formidable superpower to bend and stretch - is just the right combination of good and powerful to recruit some of the best pirates out there. And by best, we mean "good". It's time pirates starting acting a little nicer, don't you think?. The story is told in a linear fashion, and utilizes character flashbacks to great effect for both character depth and story arcs in present time.
Minor criticism: The story is perhaps a tad bit thin at first, with the plot primarily being moved forward by Luffy and his dream of being a great pirate, and some minor seemingly random events that needs to happen for him to meet more people and get a ship to pursue his dream. But I' not really criticizing this, merely mentioning it, as I'm probably not the only one heavily conditioned by typical tv shows to expect a great big injustice that needs redemption, or a great evil that threatens the whole world which must be stopped. But those elements do come with it's perks of drawing in the viewer, and this shows start very light on that front, and is instead character driven. Nothing wrong with that! AT ALL. But it means it will take some time for the show and the characters to grow on you.
There are plenty of bad guys though, but they pop in and out as beautifully extravagant freak shows that functions more as speed bumbs for the main story progression, and as a way to showcase some perfectly decent choreographed fight scenes. The only
The clichés are both amazing and a small drawback. There are some, at times, very on the nose story arcs for some of the main characters. This is a drawback because it feels like you have seen it before, and takes away the guesswork. You'll predict most of the outcomes before they happen. But the upside? Clichés are clichés for a reason. When done right, well written and acted, the result can be very powerful and captivating. And One Piece does them very well.
The great: I find every single main and supporting character in this show to be pretty darn amazing, both acting wise, but also style-wize. This IS based on a manga after all, where you can expect stereotypes to be very loudly portraited. It is not often you see these kinds of character translate as well into live action as some of the performances from the cast manages to do in One Piece (and I don't even have the built in forgiveness of someone who has seen the original). It is over-the-top manga-styled madness, but through character story-telling and good writing, it remains heartfelt and grounded at the same time. All actors bring uniqueness to their characters that they then stay true and consistent to. All (good) characters are very different, but also very likeable. A true ensemble of character fun, and glory.
Summary: Its a character driven show, packed with plenty of japanese manga-styled fun, with a larger than life message to follow your dreams - that take its time to draw you in with little to no intrigue. Give it a few episodes and allow the characters to be built up even further, and there is tons of charm and fun in this for most I dare say. The somewhat loose story plot does tighten in towards the end of the season, with a impactful and satisfying finale. It leaves you feeling excited for the characters, and their journey to come. And you'll probably want to join, when the next season comes.
It started out a 6, turn into a 7 halfway, and ends as and 8 for me = 7 average. If you already love the characters (from the original show), I totally get why this show has a strong 8 rating! :)
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