Every Episode Of Netflix’s One Piece Ranked From Worst To Best

The live-action One Piece series is finally out in full on Netflix, and the verdict is in: One Piece is the best live-action adaptation we’ve ever seen. It might not be perfect, but this is the most faithful and impactful adaptation of a popular manga series we’ve ever seen, especially one made by a Western company, so I think we can qualify this as a success story.

But not every episode is made equal. If you’re a One Piece fan – or even if you’re new to the series – the budget or time constraints can become obvious when you look a bit too closely. But that’s exactly what we’ve done for this list. We’re ranking every episode of Netflix’s live-action One Piece, from the worst, to the very best – and believe me, there’s a pretty big gap in quality. Once you’ve watched the series for yourself, strap in and read through our episode ranking below.

E03 - Tell No Tales (The Worst Episode)

Syrup Village is often considered to be one of the weakest storylines in the One Piece manga, and in the live-action series, it’s no different. Captain Kuro’s dastardly plan still doesn’t fully add up, Luffy doesn’t do much of anything, and Zoro gets thrown in a well for some reason. The changes made to the story, like the shipyard, are solid, but the visual effects on Kuro’s speedy movement? Yikes.

E04 - The Pirates Are Coming

Things pick up a bit in the next episode, as the villain reveal has happened, and now it’s time for our crew to save the day. But honestly, it’s all a bit rubbish. Again, it just doesn’t add up – Luffy is basically unconscious when the villain’s big plan is revealed, and yet when he comes to, he knows exactly what’s going on. There’s a nice B-plot featuring Zoro’s backstory, but even that has been slightly mishandled. Luckily, it’s all up from here.

E05 - Eat at Baratie!

Zoro’s confrontation with Mihawk should’ve been on the highlights of the series, but instead it ends up being a little disappointing – to be fair to Mackenyu, replicating the tears Oda drew on Zoro’s face in the manga is an impossible task, but his loss still falls a bit flat. Gin is also here, though he is now simply a character that serves a single purpose: to show how nice Sanji is. Despite that though, the Baratie setting is truly brilliant, with the vibe excellently recreated. This episode might have a handful of letdowns, but it’s overall great entertainment.

E02 - The Man in the Straw Hat

Buggy’s scenes in his Orange Town circus tent are fine, honestly. Buggy has been brilliantly cast and given a hint of The Joker, but he’s not the most exciting part of the episode. Instead, it’s Luffy’s backstory featuring Shanks, and one of the best action scenes of the entire series: the Red Hair Pirates taking out the mountain bandits without a sweat is brilliant. Special mention goes to Yasopp’s gunshot deflecting off of a metal pan to hit its target. Fantastic.

E07 - The Girl With the Sawfish Tattoo

Nami’s backstory in the first half of the Arlong Park duo of episodes is handled pretty excellently – not perfect, but damn good – though the fact that Nami’s whole village and even own family are totally unaware of her sacrifices for them is a bit unfortunate. The fact that they all knew, and still had to give Nami the cold shoulder for years, is painful for the whole village, not just Nami. It’s a shared, profound hurt that isn’t quite the same when it’s Nami’s big secret. The reasons behind Arlong’s enslavement of Nami are unclear here too, as her talent for drawing maps isn’t well established. Still, this episode manages to have some powerful scenes and makes it well worth watching.

E01 - Romance Dawn

The first episode of the season is one of the very best. It sets the tone brilliantly. How Luffy meets Koby before fighting Alvida? Great. Zoro’s introduction? Fantastic. Nami’s Cat Burglar skills in action? Excellent. It might have a few minor disappointments – no salute to the Straw Hats from the Marines at the end? – but it’s a genuinely great introduction to the world of One Piece, and a wonderful way to kick off the live-action series.

E08 - Worst in the East

This episode is held up by the action scenes. The crew storms Arlong Park and Sanji and Zoro get a chance to show off their stunts, and it looks brilliant. Even when the action wraps up, we get Garp finally catching up to Luffy and delivering a powerful punch, followed by a scene with Mihawk catching up to our pal Red Hair Shanks. It’s great stuff, even after Arlong park is all said and done.

E06 - The Chef and the Chore Boy (The Best Episode)

We save the best for last, and that’s episode six. Zoro waking up and telling Luffy that he will follow his captain? Love it, a vast improvement on Zoro’s post-fight declaration. But the true highlight here is Sanji and Zeff’s backstory. It’s practically perfect, and while it might not hold quite the same weight as the anime and manga version, this is still a truly fantastic rendition that really makes you care about Sanji and Zeff. Arlong showing up at the Baratie still feels a bit weird, but it does a good job of making them feel like truly imposing villains. For me, this episode hit on a lot of what I love about One Piece without trimming too much, and it’s the best of Netflix’s live-action One Piece season one.