Netflix’s Live-Action One Piece Is Off To A Great Start

Netflix live action One Piece

Netflix’s live-action One Piece series is officially out, after months of teasers, trailers, and little morsels of information spilling out here and there. All eight episodes of the first season are live, with each running for about an hour, and if early impressions are anything to go by, it looks to have knocked it out of the park.

At the time of writing, the first season of One Piece is sitting at 78% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience score of 95% — impressive for an adaptation of a manga/anime, which traditionally haven’t fared so well. Social media is abuzz with positive impressions too, with fans sharing their excitement, and their shock, at how good the series is.

Particular praise has been showered on the casting of the series, with pretty much everyone agreeing that almost every character is spot-on. Iñaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy in particular seems to have been a hit among fans, perfectly capturing the jovial attitude of the Luffy seen in the anime and manga.

Even minor characters, like Ilia Isorelýs Paulino’s Alvida and Aidan Scott’s Helmeppo being recognised for their strong performances and on-screen presence. Netflix’s casting department has always been strong, but One Piece is on a whole other level.

Having watched the first couple of episodes ourselves, we came away pretty impressed. CGI is used lightly, only when absolutely necessary, and as such more care can be given to it in what is likely to be a fairly stretched budget this early on. Fight scenes are exciting and clean, easily able to be followed, and the world itself is colorful and full of life.

Whether or not it’ll stick the landing still remains to be seen, but we’ll be digging into it over the weekend so you can be sure we’ll have more to say in the coming days and weeks. In the meantime, why not try and win yourself a One Piece-themed Xbox? All it takes is a tweet and a dream.