Love this piece, Spencer. My relationship to One Piece is that I have been stuck in the Syrup Village arc for about a decade. Each year, I get maybe one or two episodes deeper, and then give up again (I think I'm currently on episode 17). One of the main reasons for me is that I found, in the manga, the character motivations to be somewhat inscrutable (especially compared to contemporary characters like Naruto). Luffy just seemed like a sociopath more than anything. But transforming the characters into live action people, I could actually understand their emotions meaningfully and it has given me renewed excitement to return to, if not the the show, then the manga.
I also have, for years, sought out feminist analyses or accounts of anime - and it wasn't until maybe 2017 that I found anime feminist (https://www.animefeminist.com/about/). They had an article about My Hero Academia (a 2010s shonen) and how it still fails women, but, specifically, the female characters are given more agency - and a chance to fight! I really don't love 'fanservice' and it has also been a barrier to getting father in One Piece, but at least I know the Live Action has been doing a great job. Thanks for exploring women in One Piece!
John, thanks so much for the comment! Syrup Village is...a common stumbling block for most first-time watchers. Look, I have a sweet spot for that storyline and like it far more than most fans and yet even *I* nearly dropped One Piece during that arc my first time watching. Aside from one changed plot point that I think really hurt Usopp as a character, the live action improved upon the Syrup Village story in every way. Try pushing through the anime/manga until the end of Arlong Park. Everything before Arlong Park is prologue, the series finding its feet; that's the storyline that shows exactly what kind of series One Piece will be moving forward. If you love it, you'll love everything to come. If you don't, you can probably drop the series with a clean conscience.
The fan-service is an issue either way, but the anime makes it far worse than the manga, which I think is another point in the manga's favor. But it's so frustrating because it's a really big blotch on an otherwise smart, charming, and exciting series. I do appreciate, even beyond the ways I outlined in this piece, how the live action moves away from those kind of tropes. I didn't have space to get into it in this piece, and I think it will be more apparent in season 2, but the live action has also thus far toned down the antics of Sanji, the cast's resident pervert, and if the series lasts long enough I think that will pay BIG dividends (Sanji is divisive; in many ways he's the most complex and well-written of the Straw Hats, especially in the second half of the series, but the constant perverted jokes make him difficult to like).
I found your comment on Luffy being a sociopath/hard to read interesting! Luffy is supposed to be a pretty straightforward character. In the manga, Oda purposely refuses to ever give him thought balloons or an inner dialogue. Luffy doesn't think, doesn't plan, and is incapable of lying or keeping a secret; you *always* know what Luffy is thinking because he always tells you, either through his words or his actions. But Luffy's morality is interesting in comparison to many shonen protagonists because he's not a hero, he's a pirate. Sure, he's a good pirate -- he's not interested in wealth or power, he's interested in ADVENTURE -- but he's a pirate nonetheless. He's not at all concerned with the rules, nor with what the "right thing to do" might be. Luffy refuses to help when looked at like some kind of hero or savior, but will fight a war to free an entire kingdom just because the ruler has been starving a single little girl Luffy befriended. In the manga and anime (not the live action), Luffy never learns Nami's backstory; he purposely refuses to listen because he's already decided that Nami is his friend and a good person and he doesn't need to know about her past. He doesn't fight Arlong because of what Arlong did to Bell-Mere or to Nami as a child; he fights Arlong because Arlong made his navigator cry, here in the present day. He's a really offbeat and unique character, an idiot savant who knows nothing except how to fight and how to read people. I find this appealing, but I see how it could be hard to get used to.
Thanks so much for reading, and good luck with the series!
I think I'm convinced that I need to read the manga. The fan service specifically is enough of a reason by itself, but I'm keen to revisit the content from the Live Action and don't think I can push through the first set of episodes again lol.
Super cool to learn that Luffy is purposefully given no thought bubbles - I wonder if this is part of why I found him and his giant smile totally inscrutable (beyond his unique approach to morality)!
Love this piece, Spencer. My relationship to One Piece is that I have been stuck in the Syrup Village arc for about a decade. Each year, I get maybe one or two episodes deeper, and then give up again (I think I'm currently on episode 17). One of the main reasons for me is that I found, in the manga, the character motivations to be somewhat inscrutable (especially compared to contemporary characters like Naruto). Luffy just seemed like a sociopath more than anything. But transforming the characters into live action people, I could actually understand their emotions meaningfully and it has given me renewed excitement to return to, if not the the show, then the manga.
I also have, for years, sought out feminist analyses or accounts of anime - and it wasn't until maybe 2017 that I found anime feminist (https://www.animefeminist.com/about/). They had an article about My Hero Academia (a 2010s shonen) and how it still fails women, but, specifically, the female characters are given more agency - and a chance to fight! I really don't love 'fanservice' and it has also been a barrier to getting father in One Piece, but at least I know the Live Action has been doing a great job. Thanks for exploring women in One Piece!
John, thanks so much for the comment! Syrup Village is...a common stumbling block for most first-time watchers. Look, I have a sweet spot for that storyline and like it far more than most fans and yet even *I* nearly dropped One Piece during that arc my first time watching. Aside from one changed plot point that I think really hurt Usopp as a character, the live action improved upon the Syrup Village story in every way. Try pushing through the anime/manga until the end of Arlong Park. Everything before Arlong Park is prologue, the series finding its feet; that's the storyline that shows exactly what kind of series One Piece will be moving forward. If you love it, you'll love everything to come. If you don't, you can probably drop the series with a clean conscience.
The fan-service is an issue either way, but the anime makes it far worse than the manga, which I think is another point in the manga's favor. But it's so frustrating because it's a really big blotch on an otherwise smart, charming, and exciting series. I do appreciate, even beyond the ways I outlined in this piece, how the live action moves away from those kind of tropes. I didn't have space to get into it in this piece, and I think it will be more apparent in season 2, but the live action has also thus far toned down the antics of Sanji, the cast's resident pervert, and if the series lasts long enough I think that will pay BIG dividends (Sanji is divisive; in many ways he's the most complex and well-written of the Straw Hats, especially in the second half of the series, but the constant perverted jokes make him difficult to like).
I found your comment on Luffy being a sociopath/hard to read interesting! Luffy is supposed to be a pretty straightforward character. In the manga, Oda purposely refuses to ever give him thought balloons or an inner dialogue. Luffy doesn't think, doesn't plan, and is incapable of lying or keeping a secret; you *always* know what Luffy is thinking because he always tells you, either through his words or his actions. But Luffy's morality is interesting in comparison to many shonen protagonists because he's not a hero, he's a pirate. Sure, he's a good pirate -- he's not interested in wealth or power, he's interested in ADVENTURE -- but he's a pirate nonetheless. He's not at all concerned with the rules, nor with what the "right thing to do" might be. Luffy refuses to help when looked at like some kind of hero or savior, but will fight a war to free an entire kingdom just because the ruler has been starving a single little girl Luffy befriended. In the manga and anime (not the live action), Luffy never learns Nami's backstory; he purposely refuses to listen because he's already decided that Nami is his friend and a good person and he doesn't need to know about her past. He doesn't fight Arlong because of what Arlong did to Bell-Mere or to Nami as a child; he fights Arlong because Arlong made his navigator cry, here in the present day. He's a really offbeat and unique character, an idiot savant who knows nothing except how to fight and how to read people. I find this appealing, but I see how it could be hard to get used to.
Thanks so much for reading, and good luck with the series!
I think I'm convinced that I need to read the manga. The fan service specifically is enough of a reason by itself, but I'm keen to revisit the content from the Live Action and don't think I can push through the first set of episodes again lol.
Super cool to learn that Luffy is purposefully given no thought bubbles - I wonder if this is part of why I found him and his giant smile totally inscrutable (beyond his unique approach to morality)!
I did enjoy One Piece even though I haven't watched the original animated series.