As with most anime adaptations, some elements ofOne Piecework very well, while others don’t work at all. Netflix’s take on Eiichiro Oda’s classic is a mixed bag, leaning heavily on the good. It can’t hope to match the original in almost any arena, but it can capture brief flashes of its fun and inventiveness. As the show finds its most moving fight scene yet, the Straw Hats' journey continues to provide plenty of thrills.
Tim Southam steps in for histwo-episode Baratie arc. He previously worked as a director on shows likeLost in SpaceandAmerican Gods. This episode’s writer, Laura Jacqmin, is an established playwright and one of the founding members of The Kilroys. She previously wrote forGrace and Frankieand the critically pannedMinecraft: Story Mode. Her career might be the most interesting of the writers on the show so far.
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Aftersaving Kaya from Captain Kuro, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp set sail on their new vessel, the Going Merry. They barely make it out of the port before the Marines attack. Garp leads an assault on the Merry and forces the newly formed Straw Hat crew to take battle stations. Nami seems prepared, but every other member demonstrates the truth every fan already knew. They’re all awful at sailing. Though they’re woefully unprepared, some quick thinking from Luffy lets them escape. The crew also discovers that Vice-Admiral Garp is Luffy’s grandfather, a detail that disturbs them all. Sailing into deep fog to evade capture, the Straw Hats happen upon a high-class floating restaurant called Baratie. There, they meet their next fated ally,the unfulfilled cook, Sanji.
Sanji gets a good chunkof this episode to himself. His English accent is an interesting new wrinkle. Baratie has a clearly French atmosphere, but master chef Zeff speaks with a similar inflection, suggesting that Sanji picked it up from his mentor. Character-wise, Sanji is almost note-perfect. He’s kind, suave, particular about food, and obsessed with women. He gets a brief moment to show off his unique martial art, and it looks great. Sanji tends to be a fan favorite, and his strong characterization here stands out. They may not literally have hearts pop out of his eyes, but he’s still very much the man hewas in the anime. His dream seems small compared to the rest of the cast, but it’s so genuine that it doesn’t matter.
Episode 5 also sets up a new antagonist for the Straw Hats. After their escape, Garpcalls in Dracule Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world. During a bonding moment between Zoro and Nami, he unlocks the ambition Zoro has been missing so far. The instant Zoro sees the swordsman, he challenges him to a duel to the death. Everyone knows he can’t win, but he’s dedicated to the dream he’s held for all these years. The fight is almost perfectly translated from the anime. Zoro has consistently been the most compelling fighter in the series. His swordplay plays out brilliantly, even without the multicolored effects. He feels superhuman without much CGI. Watching him take on Hawk-Eye Mihawk was a landmark moment for the series. This, like Shanks handing down his hat or Luffy’s first glimpse of the Going Merry, was crucial to get right. The show handles it well and leaves the episode in a fascinating place.
This episode keeps most of its action at the beginning and the end, leaving a lot of room for character-building moments between the crew. Zoro and Nami have been at odds for most of the show so far. Their relationship mirrors their distrust of each other in the anime, but there’s some extra nuance that changes things. They’veoften been Luffy’s babysitters, offering prudent solutions where their captain’s wide-eyed idealism wouldn’t suffice. The crew’s interplay has been engaging, but none of the actors sell their emotional beats exceptionally well. Maybe it’s just harder to be convincingly pensive with so much hair dye. Either way, as well-realized as the characters often are, they were a lot more relatable when there weren’t real people behind them. It’s a sad lesson Hollywood has to keep relearning, but not one that this show is completely ignorant of.
Five episodes in,One Piececontinues to defy expectations by delivering an entertaining romp in the world of its source material. Fans were dismayed to hear of the series, but it’s been squarely in the camp of theRurouni Kenshinmovies rather than anything as sadas Netflix’sCowboy Bebop. There’s certainly room to argue about the changes made in adaptation, but there’s love for the material here that wasn’t present elsewhere.One Pieceis pure, unchallenging fun, and it doesn’t have to be much else. There are only a few episodes left, but if it maintains this standard of quality, fans and newcomers will have something worth talking about.
