#Luffy should really lose it in this arc

[kaizokuou-ni-naru]

Thoughts on the Seraphim, assuming you have any?

one thing i think is quite interesting in egghead, which hasn't necessarily been highlighted prominently by the narrative but which underlies the whole arc, is the similar treatment of the various artificial humans created by vegapunk: the satellites, the seraphim, stussy, and, to a certain extent, kuma.

i think one of the points of egghead is that it's both inhumane and impossible to try and create a person with no individuality or free will. like, it's immoral, but it also just doesn't work. you can't create a person just to serve your own needs and have them not have any personality or identity of their own; it's antithetical to human nature. one piece consistently says that all things strive, and all things dream, and all things want to be free, and that's why vegapunk's creations keep becoming real people in ways that he didn't intend or foresee.

all of the artificial humans in this arc have some degree of identity and individual thought, even those who were specifically designed to be perfectly obedient. we see this when vegapunk is shocked to hear that s-snake is capable of defying orders to help luffy, and when kuma comes to save bonney despite every fact of science saying that he should be brain-dead.

york's betrayal is also consistent with this. vegapunk didn't see it coming, because he created and viewed the satellites as extensions of himself, but they aren't! they're sentient people with, at least, the potential to develop their own dreams and motivations and goals that don't necessarily align with his. that's what being human is.

in that sense, the fact that vegapunk's downfall is brought about by york's self-actualization is quite karmic. her actions are evil and extreme and cause massive collateral damage, of course, but i honestly think they're also pretty understandable when you consider her as a person who was created to only be an extra limb of someone else, trying to define herself. how else was she ever supposed to be free?

this theme is, i think, particularly embodied in stussy, who is clearly undergoing something of an identity crisis. she's caught between loyalty to the purpose she was seemingly created for and loyalty to the identity and relationships she's developed for herself while living out in the world as her own person; she betrays the latter for the former, which is something that clearly pains her greatly, and then loses the former anyways, leaving her with nothing.

the situation that stussy is put in is really very cruel, and honestly, egghead is a fundamentally inhumane place. it's full of people who are expected to not be people. it's frankly no wonder one of them eventually freaked out and turned evil.

vegapunk pressuring sentoumaru into betraying the world government for him is played for comedy, and it's basically implied sentoumaru would've done that anyways, but at the same time it's rather telling of the way vegapunk tends to treat his subordinates and creations: like their own thoughts and feelings, if they have any, don't really matter. vegapunk doesn't ever intend to be cruel, i don't think, but he's certainly thoughtless and inconsiderate, and when you're dealing with human life that can be just as damaging.

this all brings us back to the seraphim. they're weapons of war, yes, but they're also children who had no say in their own creation, and who clearly have at least somewhat more individuality than vegapunk intended them to have (as we see definitively with s-snake). they're effectively slaves of the world government, currently. even when you look at how they were created, they're products of experimentation on a captive child (king), and two of them, s-snake and s-bear, are cloned from former child slaves themselves.

one piece is a story about freedom. i think one way or another, thematically, the seraphim will have to end up free. i can't predict when or how that'll happen, but everything about egghead and the series as a whole indicates that the desire of living things to be free and dream is irrepressible.

[l-in-the-light]

The most embarrassing series of posts about Lawlu you will ever read: edition Dressrosa (part 6)

Two long posts in one day?? I guess I really wanted to get into "carrying Law like a bag of treasure" mini-arc that badly haha. Love is a hurricane so let's go!

Luffy's back to his "I don't have time for this" antics. He wants to save Torao, there's no time to be idle or to waste, alright!

Luffy's done with being patient and sticking to plans. He was interested in his life to stick to only one plan anyway, which he believes is shattered now. Too bad, Viola. You're just not Law.

Luffy has enough of waiting! Faster, faster! And again, not interested in any other plans, unless they're Law's. (yes, he asks about the plan, but only to complain. He's not gonna listen)

Torao's fine! Luffy looks really happy and he calmed down a bit and does he have a slight blush here or what lol. But like I told you all, he's not interested in listening to plans and idling around. He wants to go, go, go and he isn't even trying to understand what they're waiting for. This is the Luffy we all know, the "before Law" Luffy lol.

To understand why Law says that the alliance is finished, we need to rewind to his fight with Doflamingo. He said that to protect the Strawhats. In case Law gets captured and loses (and he expected to be defeated), cutting his ties with Strawhats should make them all leave the country, right? After all they will have no more business here because the whole alliance was focused on Law's plan, and once that is no longer their business, in Law's mind it means they will leave. After all that's what pirates do. They don't care about countries, old allies etc.

I mean, if it was anyone else than Strawhats, Law would be right, wouldn't he? He just didn't know them well enough yet at this point. He probably thought saving kids at Punk Hazard was just a whim on their part, a precedence, and normally they would only do such things for their friends. And Law isn't their friend, neither is anyone in Dressrosa.

Luffy: Omg Law I missed you so much!

Law: Not this again!

Luffy wastes no time anymore and is so, so happy to be able to rescue Law it's unreal. Meanwhile Law tries to push him away, shocked that he's here.

He tries three different tactics to push Luffy away: 1. You were supposed to take care of the factory, did you do it already? 2. The alliance is no more, scram from here 3. If you rescue me, I will be your enemy!

This is probably The Moment when Trafalgar Law realized Luffy treats him as a friend, someone to risk your life for to help. Law isn't having any of that. Luffy risks his life for friends, and Law wants the exact opposite: protect him no matter what. Those two desires clash here.

Luffy almost fell for it, to be fair. But then decides he will rescue Law no matter what he's saying. He did the same for Ace in Marineford, despite Ace screaming this is not his business, so why would Law's words stop him now?

I love how Luffy calls Law selfish. I mean, he's kinda right about it. Law doesn't take into account Luffy's feelings here. And Luffy also doesn't take Law's feelings into account here. It's a battle of who will rescue the other, lol. They're so hopeless, I swear...

Law's last attempt gets completely ignored. He again is dragged into Luffy's pace here and he knows it. He lost to Luffy, again. Hence why he will allow himself to "get saved" from this moment on, which I think makes Luffy actually happy - after all Ace didn't allow himself to be saved.

And yes, the "I'll kill you" is a lie. All things Ace said at Marineford to keep Luffy away were also lies. Those are all hints for us to connect the dots here. Not that anyone believed Law here anyway lol. There's just no way he would actually harm Luffy after trying to protect him for freaking two arcs now. But he would and will say just about anything, if it has even a slight chance of pushing Luffy away.

Now we have to address the elephant in the room. Does it all mean that Trafalgar Law was suicidal and actually expected Luffy to leave him to die? Well, yes and no. Yes, because he does care for Luffy more than he cares for himself, for multiple reasons (low self-esteem might be one of them actually). Let's not forget Luffy is the life he saved in Marineford. Saving lives means everything to Law.

No, because did you notice Viola magically spawned a key to Law's cuffs? Did you notice how prepared she was in this whole arc, even handing Sanji a map to secret factory, almost like she knew that's exactly the thing they're missing in their plan? Well. I think Law lied and did visit Dressrosa before. And made Viola his secret ally, a great chess piece on the board that's capable of making her own decisions and prepared in case Law needs a backup plan (remember fake cuffs in Punk Hazard? It's the same logic applied here. Law always covers ways to recover from precarious situations/possible emergencies/mistakes). In other words, getting captured by Mingo and rescued with help of his ally, was a part of his backup plan. Yes, he planned his own capture, you heard me right. It wasn't his plan A. Just a backup plan B or C.

You're welcome if that turned your understanding of Dressrosa's plot upside down. I'm always happy to deliver! Oh if you only knew how much of Law's plan was probably obscured from us. Because I don't think Viola is his only secret ally. Ofc you're free not to believe it and just accept the old truth fandom believes in, which is Law being a selfish suicidal idiot. Let's move on for now!

Important to remember: this is Law's narration here. After all he's the only one in this group that knows what Doffy's birdcage is, having experienced it before. He has a clear PTSD moment about it and speaks his actual mind here. Which is him being terrified that innocent people will die, all because Law's plan went to shit. He's most likely already blaming himself for that. This is definitely not the result he wanted, which might be one more reason why his original plan was so indirect in dethroning Doflamingo. He was hoping to avoid stuff like this.

Luffy taking care of Law's sword <3 Busy talking with Zoro over some stuff, meanwhile Law pays attention to Doffy's broadcast, because Luffy doesn't. Those two really fill each other's blank spots, and they do so naturally.

First time Law hears that Luffy is now after Doflamingo. He reacts to it, trying to make Luffy understand that it's a dangerous decision, assuming Luffy is just swayed by emotions.

And their wishes clash again. Law tells Luffy it's better to give it up and scramble. Law no longer tries to push Luffy away, he realizes he lost that battle already. But he's still not giving up on keeping Luffy safe. Ironic, considering he's practically helpless and cuffed here (but the key to the cuffs should be nearby). Just moments ago he clearly regretted the fact innocent people got dragged into this deadly game, but here he is trying to downplay it and even disregard it as not important.

Luffy's not having any of that. Either he heard his regret before and connected the dots, or he still deeply believes Law to be a good person. He expects him to want to help this country too. If Luffy doesn't doubt Law even once, no matter what Law has to say about it, why should we? Luffy's usually the best at reading people, their emotions and judging if they're good people or not. I definitely trust him when he calls someone a good person, and i think you all should as well.

What Luffy and Law are actually communicating here is this:

Law: "This is going too far, we should stop. We might lose our lives here" (as in: I don't want you to lose your life here).

Luffy: "This is no time to be worrying about that! We're already dragged in this!" Or even... "I'm not letting you give up everything just to protect my life! I will carry your wish to save Dressrosa!" (but I doubt Law understands it this way)

Of course Law is taken aback here. He doesn't understand why Luffy is so attached to this country already or why he made his final decision already (and we might also question it with him, because we saw how Luffy respected the plan before! Not even Rebecca or fake peace could sway him! And Law apparently was more aware of it than we expected him to be). It was less than a day. He will find out eventually though, because it will keep bugging him and be constantly on his mind, hence his immediate reaction:

And now he finally gets it. Yep, it was because of food. And it will be because of food again in Wano. It's not the full reason, but oh god it is hilarious. Neverending cycle of suffering for Law continues on.

I guess Luffy's deep interest in Law is reciprocated after all. Law is also unusually interested in things concerning Luffy and stuff about Luffy seems to be always on Law's mind.

Law already knows what's gonna happen, just by hearing "the direct one!!" answer. He still is in disbelief.

Neverneding cycle of suffering. No wonder he becomes a zen monk by Wano.

And it continues. He clearly doesn't enjoy the freestyle jumping off the cliff while being at someone else's mercy or being tossed around. Luckily for him, Luffy holds him tight.

Considering how he was just so heavily manhandled, you can't hold it against Law here that he's kinda petty. Also Luffy's panic is adorable, he's like "oh no, I totally messed it up" which he usually wouldn't care much about, but now he's literally carrying Law with him, so it's no longer about his own safety (he doesn't care) but Law's (he cares about that a lot). And can I just point out since Luffy grabbed Law he never lets him go anymore? Yeah, he loses him occassionally, but never lets Zoro carry him even for a second. Nope, Luffy's gonna carry his own treasure the whole way all up to Mingo's castle and no one's gonna put hands on it!

And I believe this to be the reason. Luffy knows that the whole Doflamingo's Family got a beef with Law, but also normal citizens would be trying to get Law, and Law is still wearing seastone cuffs so can't do much. So Luffy takes it upon himself to take care of him now! And he's so overprotective he won't let anyone else do that!

And again, it's mutual. Law, despite his position, will still fret over Luffy's wellbeing all the time. My god, can they just stop being so obvious? Worry for yourself for once, Law!

He worries and worries some more and doesn't even complain when he lands face first on the ground.

Special mention for Luffy caring about innocent people, because this proves to Law that Luffy actually does care deeply about things like that! By Wano Law will accept it as the truth and Luffy's general MO.

I wonder how it felt when Luffy laughed while holding Law on his arm like that. Law must have felt him laughing through the vibrations in his own body. It's just... so casually intimate between them. Of course Law doesn't miss the chance to actually scold them both, because they do attract unneccessary troubles on them and they're already in bad spot. Law's worrying never ends!

I just wanna point it out: Luffy is falling here, but he still holds Law close, refusing to let him go.

This is here just so you can also stare at both of them lying down at the same time, because that's so rare, whenever Luffy's not on guard, Law usually is, but not here. Here they're just both little sheeps and Zoro has to step up his game instead. Maybe on some subconscious level, Law actually feels safe when Luffy carries him, because he felt safe when Corazon carried him forever ago as well.

I just love how Luffy realizes what Cavendish is up to and rescues Law. And there we go, the infamous "crewmate" debate. Let's start with Luffy. Many people assume Luffy just lied here to protect Torao, because that's the easiest option. But it doesn't take into account Luffy's personality. Luffy never jokes about crewmate's status and if he calls you one, he actually means it (yes, I do believe he tried to seriously recruit zombie tree and Kinemon's legs. He was so deeply disappointed when he found out Kin's legs aren't a seperate entity!). Luffy means every word he said here and he only voices it outloud exactly because it will help keep Cavendish away from Law. And it's not the first time the "nakama" thing is hinted at:

He says it here as well. "My crew's life is more important than flame-flame fruit". But at this point none of the Strawhats is in any immediate danger. Law though, is, indeed.

But when did Luffy start to think of Law as his crewmate? Punk Hazard? Dressrosa after he saw Law being shot? Well, my personal bet is right after Marineford. Because by rescuing him Law proved to Luffy he's a good person. And that's all Luffy needs to want someone as a crewmate. It does help though that he saw Law fight and must consider him really strong.

There's one interesting thing here though. Usually when Luffy declares someone his crewmate/nakama, he would pursue them no matter what. But in Law's case, he just... waits. Seems he wants Law to be the one to make the final decision, and until he does, Luffy will wait for him forever. You think I'm reaching? Watch till we get to Wano haha.

Funny thing is, Zoro caught up on that before Luffy even put it into words. Let's remind ourselves of Zoro's sword languague in Water 7 for a moment:

He explains he doesn't pick sides and he draws his sword a bit and closes it again ("clicking" it) to make the point. He also gives his friends a choice: they need to decide now whether Robin is an enemy or a crewmate (original uses the nakama word). Now fast forward to Dressrosa:

Zoro does the same gesture from Water 7 and it's meant for Law. He's telling him basically the same message here "choose your side, are you with us (nakama) or against us (enemy)." It's right after Luffy and Law quarrel about fleeing or staying and helping the country. Law is also a swordsman, he most likely understood the message, hence his shocked reaction, because he was faced with an ultimatum from Luffy's wingman.

And what's Law's stance on it? He clearly refused there, right? "I'm not!" but that was before he was ready to give his actual answer, so of course he would be mad, he semi-expected this is Luffy deciding things for him. He realizes just a moment later that it's actually not the case and why Luffy said it, hence he shuts up. He shares his final decision only after Zoro leaves to fight Pica and I bet you anything it was on purpose, he was avoiding giving his actual answer in front of the other. Maybe he just thinks Zoro's crazy and might indeed treat him as an enemy as the result... or maybe, just maybe, he is actually torn. I mean, he's allowed to feel confused, he just evolved from a friend to a crewmate in a matter of one hour or less.

Law's hat is on and so is Luffy's, at the exact same time. Shared solidarity <3

Law isn't often taken aback by Luffy, but here he is. I guess it's the first time he sees Luffy so stupidly stubborn over something and the realization hits him like a truck. Yes, Law, Luffy can be just as stubbornly petty as you, are you up for the competition? Seeing your face I would assume that's a "no" haha. He might later on.

Law: Too close! (he's making a very uncomfortable expression and Jeef is leaning all over him).

Luffy: Hands off and get off!!

It looks like Luffy wants to protect Law, but actually I think he's just trying to literally push the guy off so he can win the petty competition of who reaches Doffy first. I'm sure Law appreciated Luffy pushing the guy off.

But it can be also because Luffy wanted Jeef and Abdullah to get away from his treasure that he tugged on Moocy right behind himself lol.

Should we ask ourselves another question? Why is Law allowing himself to be handled this way? There are actually multiple possible reasons for that: 1. He decided that no matter what Luffy wants he will tag along with it, there's no way he's leaving Luffy alone to face Mingo 2. He actually likes being carried around (we have Corazon to thank for that) 3. He's actually too weak in those cuffs to get himself to that palace. Which would explain why he doesn't even try to sit up while on Moocy or why his guard wasn't on around Cavendish, normally he wouldn't allow himself a mistake like that, no matter how much Luffy manhandled him. Though like I said before, I don't exclude "trust" as the partial reason as well. I just don't think it would be enough to make Law stop fretting and worrying.

The love adventures of Luffy carrying Law around will continue in next part!

[bubba-luz]

What do you think about the One Piece live action show?

(I just suffered through most of it with my sibling and I actually shed a tear or two)

At first I really loved it! But then as the weeks went by the honeymoon phase was over and I started noticing things and thinking about things. Safe to say I’m not really a fan of the LA anymore. It could have been worse honestly with the track record of Netflix and live action adaptations in general [the wigs oh god the wigs]. Also on the topic of adaptation I’d say OPLA is more of an interpretation of the original manga than it is a one on one adaptation.

I think the cast is great, they do look the part. But the characterizations of the LA is well…not the manga one. I had forgotten what happened in the EB arc at that time, but I started rewatching the anime and the changes are even more jarring. In the LA, Luffy isn’t as confident as he is in the manga, he clearly shows doubt in his abilities and sometimes needs someone else to help him up and get his head on straight. I think the only true time that happens in the manga us when Jinbē has to tell him to get himself together after losing Ace and his crew, most of the time Luffy doesn’t really need to ponder and go ��oh gosh what should I do here?😣” he mostly just does things without thinking or improvises mid-battle.

Zoro. Zoro Zoro Zoro. Roronoa Zoro. Why are you not a complete loser? OPLA Zoro is what men in the fandom think Zoro is, a stoic no nonsense cool guy who fights with swords. He’s just so emo. But he’s not. The concept alone of fighting with a sword in your mouth and calling it three sword style is ridiculous itself. This is pre-timeskip too, Zoro is always goofy, but he was even more silly when he was 19, this is the same man who tried to cut off his own legs and started posing when he realized he wasn’t getting out. Why was he so serious all the time. Also the Kunia story did not hit as well as in the manga, like I really didn’t give a fuck 😭.

Oh Nami…Nami…To me Nami felt a bit…mean to me? And yes even before Arlong Park she chastises the boys, but it never feels like genuine dislike. I really think LA Nami wanted to leave their asses 😭. There was no whimsicalness in her heart, TOO MUCH ANGST in this one. And why on Earth would they change her storyline with the Village, the townspeople know Nami is only working for Arlong to buy back their Village, the LA approach of them not knowing was completely unnecessary conflict😭.

Usopp was done dirty, I know Syrup Village isn’t a lot of people’s favorite arc but it was Usopp’s arc. So tell me why he does nothing the whole time! And why is Zoro’s back story in the middle of USOPP’S arc. They even took his little kid crew…

rip Merry.

Sanji…ooohohohohoh Sanji. Sanji. SANJI. What do you mean the eyebrows wouldn’t work because they’re “too silly” you’re main character is a rubber man and the other fights with three swords what do you mean TOO SILLY. You had a man with cat whiskers fuck you. Tiny swirls would’ve worked. Why was he obsessed with oregano 😭 The showrunner said they toned down his pervertedness and made him more flirty but it just felt…uncomfortable. Like Nami was genuinely UNCOMFORTABLE. They did the exact opposite of what they tried to do. Baratie Sanji was already a flirt, in his little pathetic “step on me mommy” Sanji way, and Nami used that to her advantage she wasn’t uncomfortable in the manga. The Don Krieg pirates were taken out, so we don’t get Gin and Sanji’s kindness on full display. Sanji doesn’t even WITNESS Zoro fight Mihawk which is what made him want to go set out to find the All Blue in the first place. Why don’t Zeff and Sanji have genuine chemistry😭. Sanji throwing a tantrum at Zeff was soooooo funny, literally what was that, it happened so suddenly 😭. My friend told me the showrunner said his fave arc was Baratie but he only ever talks about MIHAWK 😭, it’s SANJI’s arc bro.

And also the showrunner thinks the romance dawn trio are the main characters when…they’re not😭? Maybe before Usopp joined, but after?…no all the strawhats are the main characters hello. Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jinbē. I don’t have high hopes for S2, and I probably won’t watch it either.

Edit: OPLA Sanji feels like a heterosexual man. He only tops women and doesn’t fuck or get fucked by men.

[shima-draws]

Fix-it fics you say. Tell me MORE

Agh. AHGHHH. I had a really fucking stupid self-indulgent AU idea where Sanji eats a devil fruit that gives him healing powers. Generally it's a great thing to have but there's two (2) problems with it.

He can only use his healing powers on others, not himself, and depending on the injury it takes a massive amount of stamina to heal (to the point of being life-endangering), and

It is a highly. HIGHLY coveted devil fruit. Sanji has to be very, very careful about when and where he uses it, bc people have and will come after him for it.

Cut to Sabaody, where Kuma decides to send Sanji to Marineford instead of Momoiro, so Sanji spends the next few days trying to hide out (his garbage ass wanted poster actually helping him with this for once lmao). It isn't long before he hears about Ace's planned execution, and Sanji thinks about infiltrating to break him out but realizes it would be too dangerous. Knowing his captain though he's 100% certain Luffy will show up to rescue Ace, so he decides to lay low until the war starts.

Fast forward to when Ace gets fatally wounded and Sanji jumps in to save his ass. He manages to heal the wound enough that a regular doctor could take over, but using that much power and stamina kicks his ass so hard that he's almost crying blood and Luffy has to carry him off the battlefield. Sanji, being an idiot and stupidly self-sacrificing, waits for Luffy to focus on Ace before he slips away and decides to haul ass back to Whitebeard in an attempt to heal him too. Luffy flips his SHIT when he realizes Sanji is gone and has a panic attack after nearly losing his brother and now not knowing where the fuck his stupid cook went.

Sanji and Whitebeard probably argue back and forth for a few minutes before Whitebeard finally relents and lets Sanji take care of the worst of his injuries. Whitebeard watches him and he's like. You're gushing blood out of your nose rn should that be happening. You don't look well. And promptly smacks him on the head when Sanji starts mumbling some self-sacrificing bullshit fjadnsadna

Whitebeard's like well. I WAS planning to die here fighting since I was in really bad shape. But I guess since this dumbass decided to heal me and I owe Strawhat for saving my son. He picks up Sanji (who has long since passed tf out) and is like okay I'm out! Peace!! And books it back to everyone else lol

Cue Luffy BAWLING when Whitebeard shows up with his stupid idiot boyfriend (who uhhh doesn't look too good) and they all manage to escape bc this is a fix-it and I do what I want. They stumble onto Law's submarine who now has to deal with three (3) critically injured patients (Luffy, Sanji, Ace) and the in-recovery arc that happens after is very stressful but also very, very soft.

Basically my brain said "Marineford but it's a fix-it with Sanlu" so here we are LMAO

[beanghostprincess]

Not to keep beating a dead horse so to speak, but circling back to how the anime handles the Shuggy breakup it is personally the first time I've fully understood people who say the manga is way better & the "true" story because on the whole I think the anime is a really good adaption....except for this omg. I haven't read the manga fully either yet so now I'm wondering what else got a totally different vibe than intended & how that colors the perception of the story & characters. For instance, I'm already seeing anime onlys completely misinterpret Buggy's feelings in the shuggy breakup probably because of how brief it was.

I've had arguments in comments sections about people who do not think Buggy wanted to be Pirate King himself & his anger with Shanks isn't tied to him secretly sacrificing his OWN dream to follow him. To me the manga made it very clear that Buggy was making a great personal sacrifice in order to stay with his friend & how that all ties into his own insecurities, but a ton of anime onlys only saw it as Buggy being a whiny baby & not realizing how deep of a conflict Shanks refusing to look for the One Piece was for them 😭 and it's so frustrating! They just think Buggy is being "ungrateful" for everything Shanks did for him. I'm tired of the Shuggy dynamic being viewed so one sidedly in Shanks's favor & Buggy's detriment because they both narratively hold equal amounts of significance to each other. We just haven't been allowed to explore Shanks's side of it...yet. Oda kept Shanks's face obscured for a reason I'm sure.

And since the anime didn't frame it correctly Buggy's speech to Cross Guild about reigniting your dreams & setting sail for Laugh Tale loses all seriousness & comes off as just another gag instead & it breaks my heart because in the Manga while there is humor in it Buggy's tears are REAL & you can literally feel the spirit of One Piece flow through his speech. That speech shows us Buggy is a TRUE pirate! He ALSO inhereted Roger's will! I could literally feel the "I'm gunna become king of the pirates" OST from the anime play as I read it, but the anime framed it like another one of Buggy's "upward fialures" 💔 and it breaks my heart anime onlys don't get that. Imagine if Luffy gave up on his dream & finally after 30 years decided to believe in himself again? Imagine If Usopp really did give up in Water 7 & we didn't see him find the will to believe in himself until 39 years later? Buggy is an example of forgotten dreams & a lesson on it never being too late to go after them.

So I completely agree with you that it doesn't matter how little panel time a moment gets because if Oda can convey all of THAT in like 3 panels then the anime can do so and then some in a minute or 2. I also can't help but think this will confuse viewers later on because I'm certain Buggy is going to get to do some really cool & meaningful stuff in the last arc & a lot of them will feel blindsided because the set up was executed weirdly.

Sorry for sending such a long post & feel free to ignore If ur tired of discussing this I just wanted to give you some validation &let you know you're not the only one who thinks this way. Adaptation has a lot more going into it than just copying manga panels & the a good anime should definitely know when to expand on brief scenes & how to set the correct mood for them.

Oh, please, if it's not a negative ask you can keep sending me stuff about the episode and the breakup all you want!!! I'm just tired of having to defend my opinion. As if it wasn't just that, an opinion. But I'm sooo open to talk about it!!

And you're right!!! It bothers me so much to just think about how Anime Onlys are going to perceive this episode... If Buggy is already misunderstood within the fandom, I can't imagine what's gonna happen now that HIS episode has gotten this awful pacing and explanation (I complain but I've watched the episode so many times already lmao)

People misunderstand their relationship so much and in such levels... I don't get it because it's literally right there. You can't miss it. They're canonically crucial for each other no matter how you see it. It IS mutual whatever they have going on. I know we don't have much of Shanks' POV but you don't even have to read between the lines to see it.

And Buggy being seen as whiny because he has... Feelings... And is emotional... After his whole life crumbles down... Idk about you but if I lived in my best friend's shadow for years and gave up on my dream to trust in his instead, and suddenly when our captain dies he says he won't follow it... I'd be pretty fucking emotional too tbh. I could defend Buggy all day long and explain his character, but I believe I've done that already... So many times... (I love it it's my favorite thing ever)

I love your comparisons to other characters giving up on their dreams because it's so real. Buggy is the representation of people who once gave up on their dream and now are getting the courage back to follow it again. His speech is so emotional I think I know it by heart at this point with how many times I've read this chapter. I always cry-- Every time-- And I'm sooo angry Toei made the episode for laughs basically. It frustrates me in unimaginable ways.

Buggy is gonna do something incredible and people will complain and say it was out of nowhere because his speech in the Anime seems for jokes and like one of his schemes to get away from his problems. But this man was literally having a breakdown in the middle of a torture session and made an impulsive, emotional decision that came from the depths of his heart, because he had been holding onto it for his whole life. That's what bothers me about the animation. The pacing is bad and the way they treat him is even worse...

Don't apologize!!!!! I loved reading this. You expressed yourself sooo well and in such a polite way!!! Basically, you wrote everything I thought about the episode and I'm so glad to finally talk to someone with my same views 😭💖💖

[thekingofwinterblog]

I recently did a few polls on my yt channel community page - which (ok not many people votes so the data may be irrelevant) seem to have kinda shocking results - it showed that the Baba Yaga arc in the manga, contrary to my belief, was not the most popular part of the manga - and to the contrary, maybe the least liked part.

So that made me curious, is the only arc I as a famous dick that shits on the manga too much like actually not that good?

What is your oppinion on the Baba Yaga arc,especially compared to the following manga arcs?

It's pretty strong to be honest. Vwry strong, with good villains, good character moments, and set in motion by manga Maka's greatest moment of weakness, when she was too much of a coward to either confront and talk to Crona about learning about medusa and then go from there, or go to the higher ups about it, which would have had crona suffer the consequences.

Instead she hides it all away, like a coward, unable to decide on a course of action and what it could lead to.

And she is punished for it by being separated From Crona, which thematically means that her moment of weakness set into motion the entire rest of the series.

And unlike a lot of shonen arcs, the story does NOT end on a happy note, at least not for Maka, as while arachne and her faction is defeated, medusa used her like a puppet, and didn't hive her any hints of where Crona was, meaning that for Maka it was all for nothing.

Amd thats just our main character's journey. There is plenty more.

No the problem with the arc, and the reason why i think a lot of people might sour on it, is that taken as it's own, the manga version of the arc is great... But the anime version has the benefit of leading directly into the final part of the story, and so while it doesnt aim as high from a character standpoint regarding the whole archne/medusa plot, it works just fine as the events that sets the final battle into motion.

By contrast the manga version is soured by everything that comes after.

Noah is the single most forgettable and BORING villain in all of Soul Eater, with his faction being little better, and so his defeat of Musquito and kidnapping Kid doesnt feel particularily interesting when you know where it leads as it's extremely dissapointing.

The whole Liz and Patty being on their own, starts off interesting as post timeskip Patty seems to be completely losing it and backtracking to who she used to be, but it doesnt go anywhere.

Black Star is pretty much the only one of the characters who gets a good outcome, as while the following arc is rather shit, his development from Mizune's death and eventual rematch with kid is the best part of that arc.

The single worst off though, Is Maka.

The baba yaga arc should for Maka, have been what the whitebeard war saga was for luffy. A great story, where all of her efforts are ultimately all for absolutely nothing.

The point of ultimate failure who's effects would define her decisions from then on.

But that's not what happens, because while Maka has a lot of nice moments after this, the climax of the arc is where Maka's journey as a coherent journey where you can trace her development in a logical manner ends.

The timeskip afterwards, rather than have her being utterly depressed or angry at the world, at Medusa and most of all at herself, instead has her in a great mood, and playing around with wanting to look cute, which isnt out of character per say(as maka is defintily a tomboy with a girly streak) but is utterly BAFFLING to have her be like this at this point when she should have been at her lowest.

And following that, her next development is her fears of holding Soul back after he became a death scythe? Like... That could have worked if the development post timeskip was about her having come developed a svere self hatred for failing Crona with her moment of weakness, but that really is not the way it's portrayed at all.

Her interaction with Crona post this is something i have covered before, as while there is plenty of great stuff there, the whole package is utterly ruined by the terrible ending the manga ultimately got.

Overall, the baba yaga arc is good on its own, but it very much marks the point where the manga had reached a clear and coherent direction(after some early less than perfect chapters) to the point where afterwards it would begin to spin it's wheels.

[infriga]

AAAAAHHHHHHHH THE LIVE ACTION WAS SO GOOD AAAAAAAHHH

Luffy was so perfect, they all were, but as my favourite character he had a lot to live up to and he was AMAZING

My favourite aspects/moments:

- Luffy was so tactile and physically affectionate. I'm glad they weren't afraid of having him be touchy feely with his crew and friends. Plopping his head down on top of Nami's head when she's cracking the safe, literally draping himself overtop of Zoro and hugging him when he wakes up after the Mihawk fight, clinging to Usopp when their ship gets attacked by Garp as they leave Syrup village, hugging Coby when they say goodbye the second time, even just the small moments like when he puts his hands on Kaya's shoulders while giving her his speech about his dream and the Merry during the dinner, he is so affectionate with everyone and loves his friends so much I'm gonna cry.

- him walking on the table in Kaya's house during the dinner while giving his speech then handing his glass to Kuro gkdgkdhj that scene was so funny and was such a Luffy thing to do, and everyone's reactions plus Kuro's apoplectic rage in response had me dying

- Luffy's anxiety when he's worried about Zoro after the fight with Mihawk, like all his fidgeting and not wanting to eat and talking erratically, it really reminded me of his anxiety when Nami gets sick after Little Garden, as well as when he refuses to eat for a while after Marineford. It's just a nice touch because the one thing that can get him to lose his appetite is the thought of losing someone close to him, and one of the few things that can make him openly anxious is when he's not sure if one of his friends will be okay and there's nothing he can do to help. His anxiety in that scene is portrayed so well.

- Sanji trying to get him to eat and suggesting a bunch of different foods he can make because he's trying to help Luffy feel better was also so cute and such a Sanji thing to do 🥺🥺🥺

- Sanji and Zeff's dynamic was done soooooo well, the actors had so much chemistry and the dialogue was so good between them. Also I love how much of a spitfire baby Sanji was, and his and Zeff's first meeting was actually amazing with Sanji being like "I'D RATHER DIE THAN LET YOU SEASON MY FOOD" fhkxgjzgkxgj

- so much swearing, I loved it lol. In Japanese they swear a lot but a lot of subtitles don't really translate the extent of it, and the official manga translation definitely tones it down, as does the dub, at least compared to the original Japanese. Sanji even said "shitty restaurant"! He said the line!!

- idk if this an unpopular opinion or not, but I actually like the changes they made to the Syrup Village arc. That arc in the manga/anime is probably the narmiest, and as fond as I am of earlier arcs, that one would probably not translate well to the style and pacing the live action had going for it. They adjusted quite a few of the fights to fit a live action series as opposed to a serialized shounen. But One Piece has never really been about the fights, so as long as the essence is there I'm fine with it. And tbh, turning Kuro into a slasher villain stalking Kaya through the house actually worked surprisingly well. It made for a fun deviation from what fans would be used to, and played around with the genre without sacrificing the essential plot elements or character dynamics. Also using Kaya's house instead of a random beach actually made for a nice setting and environment that I think felt more fitting to the One Piece vibe, ngl.

- I like what they did with Koby's story. Having his character development lead up to him standing up to Garp rather than Alvida actually worked pretty well, and felt really natural as his story progressed in Parallel with Luffy's. And having his story involve him confronting his ideal of what a marine should be vs the reality of what marines are fit the story really well. I love the scene where he and Luffy tell each other to become a good marine and a good pirate.

- I was shocked that they revealed Garp's relationship with Luffy so soon, but honestly, it works better than I expected. I think they actually did a really good job integrating him into the earlier arcs, and it provided a good glimpse into some of the world building that will come into play later, like the relationship between the warlords and the marines/government, while also providing a more significant marine threat early on. I am a bit sad we don't get Luffy's canon reaction where as soon as he even hears his grandpa being mentioned he gets like ptsd flashbacks lmao. But I'll admit, the "talk" Nami gets Zoro to have with him after everyone finds out is hilarious. Zoro not giving a shit about who Luffy's grandpa is and being like "ughhhhhhh fine I'll talk to him" when Nami pressures him into it, then giving the barest minimum effort and Luffy is just like being Luffy and fiddling with his hat and answering the questions so non-chalantly, then Zoro is like "good talk" and bails, they were really on that shared idiot wavelength lmfaoooooo.

- Zoro's bickering with Sanji was great. I particularly like how prickly he gets about Sanji acting so familiar towards Nami and Luffy despite only just joining, because Zoro would totally be peeved by that, like excuse u simp waiter those were my friends first and I called dibs lmao

- Zoro's goofy moments like trying to sit down with the swords and when Luffy was manhandling him after his injury lmfao, I'm glad they didn't have him be serious all the time and let him be an idiot occasionally. He was so hardheaded and proud and cocky and sassy in all the right ways. Also loved when Nami was trying on clothes and Zoro is like "I'm gonna wear black so you can't wear black" like a diva LMAO

- uh, they did NOT have to go so fucking hard with Buggy, but they did and I am grateful for it. His actor is so fucking funny, and his lines are so good, they fit Buggy so well. And Luffy constantly getting his name wrong made me laugh every single time lmfao. Also when he gets mad at Luffy thinking he said "nose" and squishes his face, and Luffy's like "well now that you mention it wtf IS up with your nose?" LMAO did I mention yet how much I loved Luffy?

- having Buggy trap Luffy in a glass box filling with water worked so well for the circus aesthetic because it's really similar to those acts where people escape from a box filling with water. It also made sense for Buggy to use that against Luffy with the sea water. Also the effects for his fruit powers looked so good and creepy.

- they didn't shy away from gore! The manga is actually super violent, even relatively early on, but I got so used to the reduced version in the anime I actually was surprised at how graphic some parts were. They straight up had Zoro slice a guy in half and did not shy away from showing his sliced meaty bits. Also Zoro casually bringing Mr. 7's torso to the marines with the hair sticking out was badass ngl.

- the main cast were all sooooo good, I can't even pick one out as being better than any of the others, they were just all perfect. They really felt like the characters. Obviously Luffy stands out to me as my favourite character, but I loved them all so much. Sanji, Nami, Zoro, Usopp, they all were portrayed so well too. Absolutely perfect casting. Whoever was in charge of casting is the absolute GOAT

- Zoro and Nami bickering like siblings the whole time was great, especially how they were only unified in their exasperation over Luffy's antics lmfao.

- "Think he has brain damage?" "I think that every day" EGHSKSCHLACHSK

- the villains were all the perfect amount of hammy, hats off to their actors they all looked like they were having so much fun and they did so well as each character. And Arlong's actor managed to include Arlong's SHA HA HA HA laugh and actually make it sound pretty natural so fucking kudos dude that's awesome.

- when Sanji fishes Luffy out of the water at Baratie and they tell him Nami is gone, he looks so sad and pathetic just laying there wet on the dock I wanted to hug him so bad 🥺 he was already anxious about Zoro and then they lost Nami too and he was so worried about his friends.

- Sanji's simping was so funny. The scene were he's like "NAMI!" with his arms open as she comes out of the collapsing building in Arlong's Park and she runs right past him to hug Zoro and Usopp instead WGHOVSHOD it was so in character. dude is mega down bad fr and they portrayed it in such a funny way.

- I was kinda shocked at how well the outfits and costumes translated to live action. Like the show was extremely faithful when it came to character designs and outfits but it managed to make them feel very natural to the setting. It was honestly so cool. Like when Gin stumbled into the kitchen and you can instantly recognize him from his outfit, but it looks so natural like they made the outfits feel like something real people would wear. And the Strawhats had some absolute fucking DRIP yo, implementing a bunch of their colour spread outfits in the different episodes was fucking inspired, and they looked so goddamn good. Oda is a fucking fashion savant I swear like the clothes he designed look so damn good in real life.

- Luffy still had his asexual vibes in full force which I'm so happy about. Like when Nami is getting dressed for their dinner with Kaya, and asks how it looks while posing, and Luffy is like "... you look like Nami", that was SUCH a Luffy line lmao.

- when Usopp and Zoro were teasing Nami about Sanji's flirting (Zoro's rapid fire "madam"s lmfao) and everybody was joking around together while Luffy watches them with the most fond look on his face it was so cute ugh my heart

- Having Zeff help to treat Zoro using fish skin grafting was a really cool addition and a great way to show his expertise as a former pirate.

- omg when Luffy gets all defensive of Sanji after only knowing him for like a day (because he's Luffy), and he tells Zeff about Sanji feeding Gin thinking he'll be all mad but instead Zeff looks proud and says "what a good kid" OMG MY HEART that was so cute 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 Zeff's dad vibes we're off the fucking charts. And they kept the "li'l eggplant" nickname, Zeff was so good goddamn like he was honestly one of my favourite parts. How the fuck they managed to make his mustache work so well and look so natural I will never know but god damn I was so impressed.

- holy fucking shit, the Baratie looked so fucking good. It was like seeing the manga/anime come to life. I wanted to fucking go there so bad. The little mouth balcony thing, the floors, the roof mural which didn't get any attention but was just casually made to be incredibly detailed and beautiful?!?! The colours and the bg characters, holy shit the set was just fucking amazing.

- The ships looked so good. Luffy choosing Merry 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 I also liked how Usopp was introduced, it fit his character and the adjusted pacing pretty well imo

-I didn't know how to feel about Shanks in the preview images, but in motion he actually works really well. And Yasopp and Lucky Roo were so good. I love how they had Shanks mime cocking a gun and shooting it to signal to his crew to start going ham on the bandits so it looks for a moment like he shoots someone with his finger gun. Also Yasopp's trick shots were awesome, as well as Lucky Roo literally beating people with a chunk of meat lmfao.

- Mihawk was serving absolutely cunt. He was there to slay and slay he did. No notes, A+ performance.

- Zoro and Nami's actors really nailed their big emotional scenes. They captured the expressions and delivery perfectly, especially Nami screaming Arlong's name and stabbing her tattoo, she managed to match the intensity that the original voice actor had in the anime surprisingly well.

- Helmeppo's actor was so funny. His dickish goofy way of laughing worked so well for his character lmao, and having Zoro give him his signature haircut was 🤌🤌🤌 idk WHY they had him naked when he was playing with Wado Ichimonji but it was so funny.

- the scene where he convinces Koby to slack off and have a drink with him, Koby takes several shots, then blurts out that Garp is Luffy's grandfather was great lmfao.

-Zeff's interactions with Garp were great too. I love their talk about there being a new generation coming into its own now and it's getting to be the time where they should step back and let the new kids have their turn. It was a scene I could absolutely see happening in the manga.

- I like how at first Garp seems more reserved and serious than he is in canon, but as more time passes the more it's revealed how unhinged he is and how he absolutely is related to Luffy. Like when he screams after Luffy takes out their main sail, only to start laughing and act proud. Or when he gets pissed off at Mihawk refusing to capture Luffy and just has a tantrum in his office throwing shit around. Or when Zeff convinces him to stay for a meal by mentioning meat and he's like 👀👀👀. Koby saying he should have realised Garp and Luffy were related because of how much they both like meat had me laughing out loud.

- I like how Bogard got a slightly bigger role. He always had a really cool aesthetic, like an old time gangster with a samurai sword is actually really cool, so it was nice to see him a bit more than we get to in the manga/anime.

- They did a great job showing off how terrifyingly strong Garp is. When he's going after Luffy and just demolishing him as well as the environment. His hits felt like they hit hard. Also when he grabbed a canon ball and threw it at the Merry I was like YES!!! I was really hoping they'd show that if they were going to involve him in the live action series earlier than in canon.

- the show really managed to capture that fun swashbuckling vibe that comes with pirates. Also the ships and sets looked so good. And I like how they made reasonable changes to ship designs without going too far or making them too "realistic", they kept the fun aspects of the ship designs. Like Garp's ship looked damn good! Alvida's ship was still pink and covered in hearts!

I could gush for hours about everything I liked. There were like a few tiny nitpicks, some of the child actors weren't the greatest (Usopp and Kuina's being the worst ones), Usopp didn't get as many important scenes in Syrup village (though he did get a nice scene where he refuses to leave Kaya even after she slaps him and accuses him of lying about Klahador/Kuro, and they also kind of made up for not having more big scenes for him by giving Nami some extra development with Kaya in a way that fit with both their characters and storys. It was cute!), they left Hachi out of Arlong's Park which could impact his story later on (if they ever get that far 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞), which kinda sucks because I've always loved his redemption story. But aside from that honestly, I have very few criticisms. This felt like it was made by people who love One Piece and wanted to share it with both fans who have always wanted to see the world and characters they love in real life, as well a new audience that might otherwise have never gotten to see it. What few changes they made were ones that made sense for condensing the story, adjusting for the change in genre and medium, and they all still fit the world and didn't actually sacrifice the important aspects of canon. And they captured the heart and essence of the story, world, and characters so well it almost feels like a dream.

Like, we all got so used to live action adaptations falling short of that, of missing what makes the originals work. But the One Piece live action feels like it gets it, like above everything else the strawhats are a family, and Luffy is the embodyment of joy, and freedom, and the pursuit of dreams, and letting yourself just believe for once in something bigger than yourself even when you're a very small fish in a very big pond. The attention to detail, all the little references and foreshadowing and stuff in the backgrounds. The casting was mind bogglingly good, even minor characters like Sham and Buchi were so good and had so much character and life to them. Even with the characters they mostly had to leave out due to pacing and time constraints, just their designs alone were given so much attention. Like the Mayor of Orange town, or Patty, or Gin, who were only briefly shown in reduced roles, but were still so instantly recognisable. And the wacky designs of the manga were adapted to live action so well I was flabbergasted at how well they worked and how good they looked even though they barely toned down any of their weirdness or goofiness.

I was initially worried about the main characters saying or doing things that felt out of character, especially my boy Luffy, but there was never a moment where I felt like they weren't their characters. Sure, they weren't exact 1 to 1 copies since a lot of the Japanese dialogue would sound stilted in English without an adjustment, even the typical translated versions are more attuned to the sensibilities of people who are used to reading or hearing translated dialogue, so there were obvious adjustments that had to be made to the way some characters talked and the lines they said, but they made it work and feel right for this version of the story, and the characters still felt like themselves in all the ways that mattered.

Iñaki as Luffy was amazing, I am so happy with his performance. He really embodied the charm and cheer and charisma of Luffy perfectly. I got to fall in love with Luffy's character all over again with him and that is such a gift to get to experience that more than once 😭😭😭😭

God. I'm so emotional. I wanted this to be good so badly. I wanted this, of all series to escape the live action anime curse, because I knew if any could, it would be One Piece. And it was even better than I'd hoped. Was it perfect? Probably not, but I don't care. There wasn't a single moment where I wasn't enjoying myself and having fun, and that was all I wanted was to have fun while watching. It captured that feeling of the east blue arc, the nostalgia, so well.

If I gush any more this post will be way too fucking long. There are obviously more things I could talk about and comment on but I have to stop at some point or else I'll be writing this post forever lmao.

I will be reblogging stuff about the live action obviously, so reminder that my spoiler tag is gonna be "OPLA spoilers"

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

[melonteee]

Gotta be real, One Piece has a really big flaw in that there's no real threat to losing... characters never die, even after making a big hoopla about 'if that hits you you'll die!' or what have you. The only deaths to stick were Whitebeard and Ace, but they're the exception that proves the rule at this point. There's no threat or tension to characters losing a battle. This is particularly bad in the Skypia arc, where every time a character was struck down by Eneru, it was treated like death... only for everyone to be 100% okay, zero lasting damage. Or Luffy vs Bellamy in Dressrossa - 'the next hit will kill you' - nope he's totally fine afterwards. While I totally appreciate Oda avoiding needless, gratuitous death, he's swerved way to hard in the other direction and now losses have zero tension. No one ever dies or suffers grievous injuries that can change the story. Something like Zoro losing his eye would actually help this, a loss that leaves actual lasting damage... but nope, it happens totally off screen and is never mentioned or impacts the story. When every loss is treated like a death, but isn't, how are we supposed to 1) know when characters are *actually* killed and not just (handwave) hiding and 2) care about possible loss? It feels like being asked which hand Oda holds an apple in, but he can just change the hand if we guess right and tell us we were wrong. And if every battle wound can just be rested off, why should we care about bad wounds? After big battles, they immediately party when it would be far more impactful to show characters weak and recovering but peaceful in their success or something - again, Skypia is a big offender in this and Wano is bad about it as well.

Sorry, I hope this makes sense. I've just been watching One Piece and I can't bring myself to care during battles. There's no risk! It's one thing to avoid unnecessary character death, it's another to have loss have zero lasting consequences. Even the few that do happen, like Luffy's shortened lifespan or, again, Zoro's eye, just don't really effect the story. We were never going to hang around to see Luffy grow old regardless...

I have no idea what you're talking about because if Luffy loses the world is fucked. Were you not on the edge of your seat for his fight with Crocodile? Or his fight with Enel, trying to ring that golden bell? I guess if you focus on the characters themselves and their injuries, yeah it wouldn't matter, but these fights aren't ever just about who gets the biggest wounds. The tension in each fight and battle relies on everything else happening around them, they rely on what the characters are saying to each other and the events that have taken place for these fights to be happening. I also couldn't care less about how many wounds one gets, I couldn't care if Luffy loses and arm or Zoro loses a leg - the emotional and world impact of these fights is what we're looking at.

Law lost an arm against Doffy, did he sew it back on? Yes, but we're not meant to give a shit about that. What we're meant to care about is how much Doflamingo had scarred him, both mentally AND physically, and how he was finally free with Luffy defeating him. Bellamy didn't die because Luffy didn't want to kill Bellamy - that was VERY purposeful - because Luffy's main target was Doflamingo, and Doffy even laughed at how Luffy 'wasted time' not wanting to kill a 'friend.'

One Piece's fights are not something I look at on a physical level, and I don't think that's what they're meant to be. These fights are the cultivations of every single story point we have seen reaching a climax. These fights rely on the mental state of these characters MUCH more than the physical, with a good example being how Zoro was so fucked up after Kuma beat him, that he rushed in head first in Sabaody due to not wanting to be weak.

Luffy's fight with Doflamingo not only had the entirety of the Dressrosa country on the line, but Law had literally been mentally beaten to hell and back due to Doffy's abusing of him. The conversation Law and Doffy had the whole time was fucking terrifying with how Doffy was manipulating him.

Ace's death wasn't even meant to be a 'threat' of the moment, but the most important part was the follow up of how Luffy was mentally distraught from it. I guess if you see it on a simple fighting level, yeah I can see where you're coming from, but death is not the end all be all of consequences and stakes - especially in One Piece's world. I feel SO MUCH tension with every fight in One Piece due to seeing what all these people have been through, due to knowing what will happen if Luffy DOESN'T win, and whether Luffy comes out of it fully healed or not honestly doesn't matter to me. There are huge wounds in all these fights, they're just not physical ones, and Wano especially is a great example of just how everyone was grieving until Kaido's downfall.

This is why I always say, you need to focus on the dialogue more than ANYTHING during fights, because there is TONS of tension there. At least, tension I felt, and risks I could see, but maybe it's just me idk. I don't tend to care about battle shonen to begin with, so obviously One Piece is doing something right in its battles to make me care lmao

[animebw]

So the live action One Piece is really, really good.

I know, far from the first person to say it. But it really must be stressed how absolutely bonkers it is that One Piece, of all anime properties, is what breaks the live-action adaptation curse in the West. So many attempts at adapting far more live-action friendly stories like Death Note and Cowboy Bebop ended up complete disasters, and yet it's perhaps the most unabashedly cartoonish anime franchise, the one defined by how it takes advantage of drawing and animation to portray people, places and things that would be completely unfeasable in the real world, that shows how to translate this medium to live action without losing what makes it special in the first place. It's not a perfect adaptation, but it pretty much nails everything it needs to, capturing the heart of this story in all its most important moments and making smart changes that serve its new form as a binge-worthy Netflix drop. So let's talk about the things I liked, the few areas I think it fell short, and how I think future seasons should play out! Spoilers, obviously.

The Good:

-The most important thing to get right was the casting, and they nailed it: all the Straw Hats and their supporting cast are just about perfect. Inaki Godoy just is Luffy, Emily Rudd does a fantastic job shouldering the season's core emotional weight as Nami, Vincent Regan steals the show every time Garp is on screen, and Jeff Ward is an absolute riot as Buggy. Special shout-out as well to Morgan Davies for nailing Koby's expanded screen time.

-Speaking of, I love how Koby and Helmeppo's title-card story is fleshed out into a proper B-plot throughout this season. Following their journey under Garp's command is a perfect way to introduce us to the Navy's inner workings and the more explicitly political side of the story up front, as well as foreshadowing plenty of future story beats to come.

-The action. Is. So. Good. Thank god we're finally remembering how to film proper hand-to-hand brawls, cause every punch-up is a blast to watch.

-Luffy actually has more of an arc here than he does in the manga! Manga Luffy can be a pretty static character a lot of the time, which I know is kind of his appeal, but this adaptation gives him a bit more to work with as he grapples with the responsibility of being a captain and the consequences his mistakes can have for his crew.

-Seriously Buggy is so fucking funny they nailed him so perfectly

-Putting more of a focus on Nami's struggles throughout the season was a great way to give it more structure for a binge format. Her emotional journey is really the heart of this adaptation as we watch her go from a paraniod recluse to fully embracing the Straw Hats as her new family.

-One benefit to being live action and produced in America? Way, way less casual sexism. Dare I hope that future seasons will avoid ruining Sanji's character among other pitfalls Oda fell into? Fingers crossed!

-The production design is immaculate. It strikes the perfect balance between the wacky cartoonishness of One Piece's world and the demands of filming in live action.

-Fantastic soundtrack too! It knows just where to deploy instrumental renditions of We Are while charting its own musical identity.

The Bad

-Some of the dialogue is a liiiiiiittle cringey? I know dialogue has never been OP's strongest suit, but there are definitely a few moments that feel overly anachronistic and "how do you do fellow kids?" There's a moment Buggy jokes about toxic fandom that really made me roll my eyes (especially since the OP fandom has by and large really embraced this adaptation, so it comes off like a cheap shot at a demographic of haters that doesn't even really exist).

-While the camerawork and editing are pretty great, the color grading is very much... not. Can we please stop shooting everything in boring desaturated yellows and greys and start lighting our night scenes so we can actually see what's going on?

-Shockingly, it's the strongest parts from the manga- the backstories- that I feel suffered the most here. Some of that's due to most of the child actors not being that great, which, well, that's a risk you take with child actors. But it also cuts out a lot of the personal culpability that made a lot of those backstories so compelling? Like how Sanji used to be pretty wasteful with food until his experience stranded on an island taught him how important it was to respect every bite? That aspect of his character is completely missing in his flashback here.

-Hoo boy, they made some... choices with how they depicted Arlong's crew. I know the Fishmen are a big racism/discrimination metaphor, but between the trap music that plays whenever they show up, their overall "urban gangsta" fashion aesthetic and the design of Arlong Park, the fact Arlong himself is played by a black actor... there is some coding going on here, is my point. And considering how much I hated the direction this story arc went in Fishman Island, that does not give me confidence in this adaptation's ability to escape sucking just as much on that front.

Future Season Wish List:

Season 2: The Alabasta saga, starting with the arrival at Roguetown and ending with Vivi's send-off

Season 3: The Water Seven saga, maybe with a brief stop in Skypiea beforehand but not long enough to get bogged down in there like the manga did

Season 4: Possibly controversial, but I think this should take us to the timeskip. Spend an episode or two in Thriller Bark but cut out all the bullshit, one episode in Sabaody for the Shit Gets Real(tm) section, one episode in Amazon Lily, then onto Impel Down and the Marineford showdown, with one episode dedicated to the fallout of that battle and getting us to the timeskip.

Season 5: Big focus here should be Dressrosa IMO. If you must spend some time in Fishman Island then do it, probably don't need that much time in Punk Hazard since barely anything happens there, then get into the thick of Dressrosa.

Season 6: This should be the Wano season. One episode in Zou, maybe a couple in Whole Cake Island to set up Big Mom, (honestly we might not even need the extra Sanji backstory if this adaptation gets rid of his worst traits), then get straight into Wano so you have all the time you need for all those moving parts. Also, Gear 5 Luffy in live-action should just be him turning into his anime self Roger Rabbit style. Tell me that wouldn't rule.

[danwhobrowses]

One Piece Live Action - OP Fan Review

So it's finally time.

We waited on bated breath and anticipation to see if Oda's masterwork could in fact translate to live action, much less Netflix live action. Titles such as Death Note and Cowboy Bebop have caused sincere fears that it would not go so well, but with Oda in the production there was hope, and now we see if it's rewarded.

Knowing that this is an adaptation and they were covering most of East Blue's saga in 8 episodes there will of course be differences. But whether or not they work remained to be seen, so let's talk about it.

Spoilers for One Piece, both Live Action and manga/anime because there will be overlap to discuss

First and foremost we will need to pour one out for those who didn't make the cut; Woop Slap, Ripper, Ritchie (referenced but not seen), Gaimon, Django (he had a poster but not a presence), the Usopp pirates, Johnny and Yosaku, Carne, that fly in Fullbody's soup, Pearl, Moocy, and most surprisingly Hachi. It's a shame to not see them (also 3 future-warlords in the audience of Roger's execution) but I can understand them...minus Hachi he's kinda an important connective piece in the long run. Also no Usopp Hammer or Usopp Rubber Band, the sacrilege!

So as far as adaptations go though this was really good. Opinions are of course subjective, so a lot of fans are welcome to say that Live Action has done arcs better than the manga/anime, but I'd say it's either as good or a little less, but that's nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of people who haven't watched or read One Piece get a nice introduction of almost the first 100 chapters/45 episodes, which contrary to the memes of 'yeah One Piece gets good at episode 629' should be enough to whet people's appetites to see if they wanna take the plunge.

Of course, change is scary and sometimes not accepted, so not all the changes made were ones I liked, at least as much as the original source. I kinda feel like we did a few characters dirty; Makino (no flirtatious chemistry with Shanks? come on), the Orange Town Mayor, Mohji, Chouchou (again, I get it, can't really get animals to act so easily), Fullbody, Gin, Krieg, Genzo, and Nojiko did have a bit more to do in the source material but often only got one scene or lacked the same spark they had. Also the amount of death was surprising, I get most of it but at the same time killing off Merry (and recontextualizing how the Going Merry was named by not having Merry be its creator even with the lore change that Syrup village makes ships) does kinda leave Kaya even more alone, in the original at least she had him and the Usopp pirates for company. While Buggy as a character is awaiting praise later down the line I will have to say that his role beyond episode 2 was a bit lackluster, he was never gonna help the crew for sure but it was weird for him to just saunter away from Arlong Park, I also feel like we could've better explained Devil Fruits and water's effect on DF users, because it is a very big misconception by those on the outside that Luffy simply loses his powers when hit by a splash of water, rather than his strength being sapped when more than half-submerged; rain, splashing waves, that doesn't effect DF users that way, and it's not like it's an off switch Luffy could still stretch while in water it's just harder to do so. It was also a shame not to have Shanks and Buggy's backstory shown. The CGI did have some rough moments too, I was not too much of a fan of how they did Kuro's pussyfooting (no you don't understand it's literally called the pussy foot technique) in episode 3, episode 4 was better, I felt that Luffy vs Arlong relied a bit too much on it too. Zoro's flashback was oddly placed in episode 4, given how it's more fitting as a build up to Zoro vs Mihawk, also felt like the context of Zoro losing to Kuina 2001 times in a row was sorely missed in that flashback. I will also have to admit that while the costuming is great, there is a very glaring case of it being very easy to spot the important characters from the crowd.

Some changes I was more than fine with, Alvida changing her call to most powerful makes sense since insulting her appearance wouldn't really go down too well, Zoro could've been a bit more mellow but he still played the edgy deadpan guy well...at least until Luffy eventually wears down his brain cells, and as cool as the Mr. 7 fight was it does not help debunk those 'minority hunter' memes. Changing Sham's gender worked pretty well too, the actress wore the look very well, and though people were a little let down that Benn Beckman is not super handsome I didn't have a problem with his look.

Of the changes I liked more it's probably that we saw more of Nami growing vulnerable to the crew, sure in turn we lost her fake-stabbing Usopp and grabbing a lit fuse but we got her bonding with Kaya and staunchly try to convince Zoro not to fight Mihawk - whereas in the anime/manga she had already ran off with the Merry - plus I feel like we got more friendship between her and Zoro at this stage, it's not that they didn't get along but I do feel like Zoro's dismissal in the live action is almost tied to feeling a little hurt by her betrayal. I enjoyed and was surprised with how much Garp we got, and how much he and Koby interacted with Luffy this early, since while we get the cover story of Koby-Meppo it's more it's own thing and we don't even learn of Garp's relation to Luffy until about 3 more sagas (sagas, not arcs, sagas), but it did help flesh out Koby's character more and his own character growth in parallel to Luffy. Think the change I was most approving of was confirming Kaya x Usopp, like she loves that liar so much so it was sweet to see a kiss in there, no romance my ass Oda, I also liked that they made it that Kuro was poisoning Kaya, since her original illness suddenly going away was a bit strange.

Every major character in this show translated very well to their characters in the source, even if they are a little different in some traits. Inaki as Luffy is a perfect fit, being equal parts charismatic, serious when necessary and aloof, he handled the big pressure that would've come with a character of Luffy's character in fantastic stride. The other crewmates were of course very well casted too, having wonderful chemistry with each other, as were their child counterparts, but I found myself most impressed by the villains; Morgan, Helmeppo and Kuro especially surprised me by how well they came across, Jeff Ward as Buggy was always gonna be a perfect fit in my mind too, given how much I saw of him in Agents of SHIELD. Arlong did take a bit of time to grow, but I can't deny he does the laugh perfectly. Side characters such as Kaya and Zeff also impressed me, having been given a bit more content to chew on in their stories, and Shanks did soothe my worries I had from the trailer by being jovial and true to character.

The biggest positive impression I got from One Piece was the sense of wonder and vibrancy, the settings were all wonderfully crafted with care and style fitting to Oda's vision, I particularly liked the added carnival entertainment stands in Arlong Park to better reflect its homage to Sabaody Park, the same can be said with costuming - referencing previous colour spreads - and motifs like the bounty poster introductions and the leitmotifs of characters like Buggy, Arlong and the Straw Hats, plus the instrumental of 'We Are' is wonderful. Most important is that the moments landed, especially Shanks giving the Straw Hat, the barrel scene, and Nami asking for help, but we also crafted some newer subtle moments, such as Luffy being drawn to the Merry and pitching to Kaya regarding it, and Zeff and Garp's conversation. Easter eggs were also hidden well enough to not be blatant to non-fans but rewarding to those who know.

So yeah, it was very much a huge success, one I hope will be translated in its positive reviews and viewership. If there's a second season I'd anticipate that we'd cover Loguetown and the Alabasta saga, but with that comes more castings I do not envy the team to find, because outside of campaigns for Jamie Lee-Curtis to play Kureha there are a ton of big and iconic players in those arcs that'll need perfect casting to pull off; Ace, Crocodile, Vivi, Bon Clay, and Tashigi (since you'll have to have a comparison with Kuina's actress) is tough enough but we're also gonna have to make the 'puppet or CGI' decision with Chopper and somehow cast the most beautiful woman on the planet to play Nico Robin. Then perhaps Season 4 (providing they do the Skypeia saga all in Season 3, only needing to cast one to three properly big players depending on whether they have Shanks meet a certain someone) they'll have to struggle with even more casting difficulties.

Still, if they're up for the challenge go ahead and do it, I'll be there for Season 2 if they're willing to make it.

[an-au-blog]

One more ask about the East Blue Asylum AU! I saw you mentioned Germa 66 and that was something I thought about a lot as well! Whole Cake Island is my favorite arc, so please do talk about those Vinsmokes we all love and hate ^u^

Okay, well in my mind the Sora Warrior Of The Sea are fiction. They're like Batman or Superman but ig maybe more of a magical girl version of the power rangers???

I wanna say that WCI has to be one of my fav arcs as well I live it to bits! And that's one of the reasons I honestly don't know how to do it lol

I have a little post in my drafts about Zou but WCI I haven't really made up my mind. The two posts are kinda intertwined so I'll tey to post it right after this answer.

I did try to shower-think it and I came up with a few ideas but idk if I like them enough':)

At some point, Judge had started getting bad press for having a son he abandoned and is now in a mental hospital. He didn't know how the word got out, but it did and he decided that he'd get him out and treat him in some private place but it was very obvious that he didn't want to go and since he was a legal adult, he could decide for himself. (Even if he wanted to leave, the doctors were the only ones who could dismiss him after he signed himself in.)

About his brothers - They look a lot like the heroes from the Germa comics and act just as uptight and heartless as them. Subconsciously, Luffy must have mistaken them for "The Warriors Of The Sea". But in reality they're just brats who used to bully their brother - mean little kids who grew up to be even worse adults. Sanji's sister, however, I imagine has visited before, only this time she wasn't dressed like she was in hiding. The Vinsmoke family (in my head) is a bit like the Rockefellers - everyone knows who they are and it's hard to drop their name in a casual conversation and not get some kind of reaction.

In regards to his past - Sanji still got abused and beaten up by both his father and brothers. But instead of being a failed experiment, he was just a nice little boy who didn't like sports and competing in things, he just liked stereotypically girly things like butterflies flowers, cooking, and pretty things. His father didn't like that, as he believed that all his dons should be manly men who won chess tournaments, so soccer games, basketball matches or martial arts competitions. If they weren't the strongest, smartest, most handsome men in their circle, then they were no sons of his. And Sanji didn't meet that criteria. He didn't care for sports or competing, he just wanted to have fun and to have friends. Don't get me wrong, he was still smart. But wanting to be a cook is not exactly a good look if all of your family is just CEOs and multimillionaire company holders. Or at least in Judge's eyes. So when Sanji ran away at 12 (I'm making him older to make it more realistic), Judge just closed his eyes and reported him missing in the wrong region so he couldn't be found and so the investigation could declare him dead after the appropriate amount of years.

The golden bracelets were real, but they weren't exploding, Judge just used them to yank Sanji when he got mad at him and threaten him. "I'll cut them off till wherever they reach!" he'd say, so Sanji would wish to be skinnier so if they slip off, then maybe he wouldn't cut his hands off? That was his child logic at least. That's how his questionable relationship with food started, but later on he'd just starve himself to feel like he still has control over something in his life. Anything. That or as a punishment to himself, more than often he wouldn't believe he deserved food or he'd think that there are people with bigger needs than him. So he'd lose appetite and maybe feel sick enough to throw up. (Him having bulimia is one of the many reasons why hates himself and thinks he doesn't deserve food, because why eat if he'd just throw it up?(Zoro hates that he thinks that way btw and he tries feeding him every once in a while because he'd notice that Sanji could scarcely say no to him. Plus he likes taking care of him))

[onceuponalegendbg]

Alright so, my thoughts on what is hopefully the first season of the One Piece Live Action adaptation.

I really really enjoyed it.

Oh my god the pacing of this show, for the most part, is so good. The pacing of this show didn’t make me want to pull my hair out. I feel like that’s one of my biggest gripes with the anime, because of the nature of what it is, it will draw things out forever and by the time we get to the point I’ve already lost interest. Not a problem here… for the most part, but I’ll touch on that in a moment.

The overall look and feel of the show is actually what it needed to be. It didn’t take itself too seriously, especially at the beginning, was fun and captured the spirit of adventure the show has. The sets were also just incredible and I have to applaud the use of practical effects where they could. Really helped make things seem more tangible… because it was. And the CGI they do use, for the most part, looks really good. Not completely realistic but not “oh wow that’s cheap.”

Do you realize how hard it is to make a character like Arlong actually seem threatening in live action? And not come off looking incredibly stupid? A lot of that is due to the make up team obviously, but also the voice and presence of the actor. Mckinley Belcher III really pulls some weight, despite obviously not being as giant as his anime/manga counterpart.

The cast for this show was spot on. People have been praising Inaki Godoy, as they should. He deserves it. He’s a great Luffy. Mackenyu was great as Zoro, perfect amount of swagger. Jacob Romero was fun as Usopp, actually made me kind of like Usopp. His chemistry with the actress playing Kaya (Celeste Loots) was so good. Taz Skylar was good as Sanji though I feel he really didn’t get a whole lot of time to show off.

Though unsurprisingly to me, I think my favorite performance was from Emily Rudd. Nami was already my favorite of the crew members but Emily really just hit all the right notes for me. Those screams when the Marines are taking her money? Perfection. But also everything leading up to the Arlong Arc, her trying to keep her walls up but also realizing she cares about this ragtag group of weirdos she’s found herself with, the subtleties in how she’s absolutely torn because she knows it can’t last forever. And when she’s playing tough amongst Arlong’s crew it doesn’t come off as cheesy or forced, she sells all of it.

I think overall there was only one weak performance for me but they still did what they were supposed to.

Alright, now with my positives out of the way…

I feel like we spent too much time with the Marines. Don’t get me wrong, the development for those characters was fine, but the more we cut back to them the more I was like “really? Again?” This was really my only gripe with the pacing, cuz it felt like a lot of the time we were just having Koby discover the same thing again and again. Koby is idealistic, oh no the Marines/Garp do something to threaten that idealism, rinse and repeat rinse and repeat rinse and repeat. That’s why I almost completely stopped commenting on that side of the story.

As much as I dislike saying it, outside of the great acting from everyone involved, the Arlong Arc kind of felt a little weak to me? Don’t get me wrong, I knew it wasn’t gonna beat the anime. The way you can emphasize things in animation is just more dynamic than live action. So I knew to keep my expectations somewhat more grounded. Still.

I lot of my issues are with how they told the story. I feel like a lot of the punch for the Arlong Arc came from Nojiko and the village knowing. They pretended to not know so Nami wouldn’t feel guilty abandoning them. And then that moment where all of the village is ready die fighting, Nami realizing she’s about to lose everything anyway after eight years of trying to protect it, that all leading into her breakdown… Not to mention Nami just continuing to deny Luffy’s help, throwing dirt, crying, telling Luffy this has nothing to do with him until finally finally she asks for help. Heck, we don’t even get Bellemere’s name spoken in this show! And the emphasis on Luffy destroying Nami’s prison! I just feel like we needed a bit more time with this story, which we could have got if we cut a couple Marine scenes.

Obviously, again, I wasn’t expecting a complete one for one retelling. I don’t mind changes as long as it still carries that emotion.

Would I still feel that way if I hadn’t seen the anime? I don’t know. I like to think I’d still be a little concerned about the pacing of that arc but that’s only speculation on my end.

It also just felt a little off that we had this big climax with Arlong and then we had to throw in that little confrontation with Garp. That kind of took some wind out of my sails. I get why they needed it, especially since they probably weren’t sure if they were gonna get a second season. Still.

All of this being said, I must reiterate that I really enjoyed this show. It wasn’t perfect but for an adaptation of an anime it was pretty spectacular. There was a lot of passion and love put into this, and it definitely shows. Hopefully we’re getting that season 2 eventually, and hopefully Netflix doesn’t do what they do and cancel it after that second season. *knock on wood*

[sugaredcosmos]

I got into One Piece at the start of this year

and overall I really like it. At the moment I'm in the 800's range of chapters so I'm on Whole Cake Island and I wanted to share my thoughts on it since so much is happening now with the franchise between the manga seemingly headed towards an endgame right now, and the live action's success and confirmation of a season 2. The first thing I'd like to say is that I think I can overall recommend reading/watching it. However, I do have a few problems with the series that I think people should be aware of when getting into it. For one thing it does have many of the issues that plague the shonen genre.

In particular, it has a few issues in its portrayal of female characters at times. However, I will also say that those female characters, while often drawn in very limited body types and facial structures, have easily as quality and engaging stories as the boys in the show. All of them have their own unique, interesting, and emotional backstories that are consistently on par with the men's. However, at the same time, they are also undeniably more prone to sexualization and are often on the sidelines in a lot of the fights, the ladder of which is especially apparent after the timeskip as of where I am now. So, overall I think the depiction of women can be hit or miss but I will also say that it's still a lot better than some of the other big works in the shonen genre, namely Naruto and MHA.

Another quirk I've noticed about the series is that most if not all of its characters definitely suffer from flanderization as time goes on and lose a lot of nuance that they had in earlier chapters. I think there are standouts among the cast of this but it's pretty universal. To give an example, I'll use the relationship between Luffy and Chopper. In chopper's introduction story there's a bit where luffy thinks that reindeer meat would be pretty yummy. Somewhat on brand for Luffy but it still feels a bit out of character. Later on in that same arc Luffy is shown fighting for chopper and defends him for his ideals (see episode 88 of the anime for referene). Later on, however, there are numerous "emergency food" jokes made by luffy that genuinely bother me with how much it feels out of character for him. Like I know that "having all of the food" is on of the reasons that Luffy is a pirate but I would also think that his friends are a lot more important to him than that. Especially with the influence that Shanks had on him when he was younger (spill a drink on my and I can forgive that but mess with my friends and you're fucked etc etc).

The anime also has its own set of issues. The early one piece anime I think got the vibe of the story phenomenally well. The animation and art style is incredibly faithful to the manga and consistently gives of so much charm and vibrance that I think is lost later on, especially with things like the first opening, the soundtrack, and the eyecatches with the wanted posters accompanied by character's musical motif/theme. Where the problem comes in is when these really sweet and charming elements start going away upon the end of Skypeia/G8 and the start of the series' run in a 16:9 aspect ratio. The artstyle has a noticeable change, and the pacing begins to suffer a bit more than it had previously. You can look up what episodes cover what chapters in the manga and early on it was usually a ratio of like 2-3 chapters per episode, sometimes more, and around enies lobby it goes down to 1-2 chapters maybe 3 sometimes, and post timeskip it's one chapter per episode and sometimes 2 or 3 which is why I switched to basically exclusively reading the manga after awhile of bouncing back and forth between reading and watching.

The final issue I really have with One Piece is that the manga's content has a few weak parts. The 3 main ones that I found were Long Ring Long Land (specifically the davy back game), Thriller Bark, and Fishman Island. Two of these actually have something in common, Long Ring Long Land and Thriller Bark both have really really good parts at the end of them. My main thing with Long Ring Long Land is that the Davy Back Game feels like it was made under editor pressure to have a tournament arc. Because it just kinda pops up and never comes back again with very little if any character development or change in the status quo. However, after the davy back game has concluded we get a loooooot of new stuff, worldbuilding, a character introduction, and foreshadowing. Similarly, Thriller Bark is another arc that I wasn't a super big fan of until the very end with the musical number and subsequent conflict involving a fair amount of spoilers which I wont go into now, but just know that my main issue with thriller bark is that I think it should've been a shorter island more in line with something like Whiskey Peak, Drum Island, or Amazon Lily as a bigger part of the Sabaody Archipelago/Impel Down/Marineford Saga. Finally there's Fishman Island. I wont say much since it's post timeskip content and very spoilery, but I think it's a very thematically rich saga that suffers from too many new and underdeveloped characters, and a loooooot of pacing problems not to mention a lot of annoying character quirks and out of character actions of both the straw hats and a lot of the villains and local characters. Luffy in this arc is just really mean to another character for very little reason and it feels VERY out of character to me, and a lot of Sanji's really annoying character traits from an otherwise likeable character come out swinging here. But other than that and a slow start in the manga (which the live actions kind of fixes if you watch that first) One Piece is GOOD. Like, really good.

It's a show that, despite being the kind of premier shonen manga for the past like 25 years breaks from a lot of the genre's tropes. A lot of action manga, including the newer ones like JJK and Demon Slayer all seem to portray the characters in a place within a kind of societal system where they find a place to belong. One thing that One Piece does that I love is that it places its characters in direct opposition to that system. As pirates, the Straw Hats are outlaws being hunted by a system that's consistently portrayed as unfair and unjust. Oftentimes what they do when they visit an island is take down some illegitimate ruler that's been forcibly put in place by forces outside of the people's control. That's not something that happens in normal shonen. In fact, it's usually the other way around. Typically a shonen series villain is someone within or outside of the current system that's trying to change it. Shigariaki in MHA, Suguru Geto in JJK, the Phantom Troupe and Chimera Ants in HxH; all of these villains are bad people in the same position as the Straw Hats in One Piece. It's incredible how much nuance goes into the series villain's place in the worldbuilding. There are heroes and villains on both sides of the story's central conflict of Pirates vs the World Government. Usually the world government is portrayed as oppressive, unjust, and serves to keep the cruelly wealthy Celestial Dragons in power. However, we also see certain agents of this system that are good apples or neutral forces just trying to do good in a bad system such as Captain Smoker, Koby, Aokiji, and Garp. On the reverse side we also have a rogues gallery of pirate antagonists who usually end up being shorter term villains but sometimes evolve into overarching threats such as Blackbeard, Buggy, and a few of the Seven Warlords and Four Emporers. Ultimately the series main conflict is one of Freedom vs Control as well as who deserves to be in power and a leader's right to rule. Overall, I recommend you take the journey through One Piece. It's funny because it really is a journey. If you tell a One Piece fan that you watch or read it the first question they'll usually ask is where you are in it and it feels like that's a mark of progress in an adventure and i think that's really special. Just like the characters in the show, you're embarking on a journey. If I were to give any advice to new readers/viewers it would be to savor the moment you're in. One Piece is a piece of fiction and art that is truly about the journey instead of the destination. Don't worry about "being caught up" take it at your own pace and enjoy the moment you find yourself in and realize just how far you've come and how far you have left to go. Btw, in case anyone asks, my favorite character is Sabo and my favorite Straw Hat is Chopper

[unpopularly-opinionated]

Finished the One Piece Live Action and overall I'd give it an 8/10. Most of the actors are great at portraying their roles, and despite a few small (and two not so small) criticisms I had with the show, overall it still felt like One Piece, albeit a different version of it.

I sincerely hope they do a season two, despite my criticisms. I think they could easily do the Alabasta arc, even in just eight episodes, though I'd hope for more.

Logue Town

Reverse Mountain / Crocus / Laboon

Whiskey Peak

& 5. Skip Little Garden and go straight to Drum Island

6. , 7., & 8. Alabasta

Would be so awesome if they did that.

Spoilers below where I go in-depth about my criticisms, mainly for my own benefit.

Starting with the biggest criticism I had, I think it was genuinely a mistake for them to cut the Don Krieg fight because of how it really makes both Sanji deciding to join the crew, and Nami's iconic "Luffy, help me" scene kind of fall flat.

It messes up Sanji joining the crew because, without it there's really no reason for Sanji to even consider joining his crew. At that point, Luffy was just this random wannabe pirate captain who had been forced into becoming a dishwasher for the Baratie, and whose crew consisted of a half-dead swordsman, a liar, and a thief who betrayed them. Not to mention, said-wannabe pirate captain just had his ass handed to him and was looking to presumably get his ass handed to him again by the same guy while presumably going after a woman who stated clearly that she wanted nothing to do with them anymore. What about that screams: "Ah yes, I should quit my sure thing of a life and job to go hangout with these all-powerful, super intelligent, upstanding people!"

It also just sort of lessens the Nami moment later on because at that point she has no reason to even hope Luffy can beat Arlong, and literally every reason to believe he can't given that she'd literally just seen him lose to Arlong at the Baratie. Instead of it being an inspiration of hope at her lowest point, it became this pathetic last-ditch effort to beg for help from someone who she has every reason to believe can't help her.

This isn't to say that scene wasn't done well, for what it's worth. I thought Nami did a good job of recreating the scene pretty well honestly. It was just the setup to that moment that I had an issue with.

Beyond that, I had an issue with Sanji overall, but this is again connected to the fact that they cut the Don Krieg fight. Honestly, while I thought the Syrup Village was easily more enjoyable in live action than it was in the anime, I really wish they'd cut that arc down to just one episode and given Baratie the time it deserved to be what it needed to be. I know they had a lot to cram into just 8 episodes, but I really don't think they did the best of jobs deciding what was worth keeping and what was worth tossing.

Of course, I have to assume this was mainly due to budget and effects, hence why they also decided to cut out easily the best character in Arlong Park (probably hard to depict an 6-armed octopusman), Hatchan, who I would argue is far more important as a comedic relief character than one might expect, but I digress. His role in Arlong Park really helps relieve some of the tension, reminding everyone that this is supposed to be a goofy pirate show and not always some ultra serious, depressing drama series.

Other than all that, the show was great I thought. You really have to open your mind a bit and not be such a stickler to the source material, as I often find myself being. I really hope they do a season two though. I can see it being somewhat feasible for them to do an Alabasta Saga next. 1 ep for Logue Town, 1 for Reverse Mountain/Crocus, 1 for Whiskey Peak, skip Little Garden since ultimately it's not super important and just have Nami get sick some other way, 2 eps for Drum Island, and then I think Alabasta itself probably deserves 3 episodes so we can maybe see at least a couple of the fights.

I'd love to see Zoro solo the Millions, and especially his fight against Mr. 1 since I think that's a pivotal power-scaling moment for him when he cuts steel for the first time. Of course, you can't have Alabasta without Bon Clay, so seeing him and Sanji fight would be good. And then obviously, Luffy vs. Crocodile. I'm not sure where Nami, Usopp and Chopper would fit in, since I'm trying to think of how you'd keep this budget-friendly, and having them all fight their actual opponents I think would just be too much (especially Usopp & Chopper vs. Ms. Merry Christmas & Mr. 4).

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Crack an Egg

Wano does something weird to us. It teases a sensible but solid undertone, plays it up in a big way at the end...then just leaves off with a lot unresolved. Enough a lot of people were confused or angry. If you ask me, it wasn’t out of the realm of what I was expecting. We just kinda ended the “play” going on. It’s hard to overstate just how much that beat with Kiku/Yamato around the Ryokugyu fight was exactly what I was looking for when Kiku was still bleeding out in the attic. Even without dredging up that theme of caste from Bakura Town & Urashima to make it a bookend. Kiku’s already had enough of dealing with that for a lifetime, Kaido’s gone now so it’s time for Wano to confront it’s pre-existing darkness.

Still, we sail away, not really checking back in on the girl with so much potential. The one Luffy adored and who’s left with no clear place in Wano. Maybe there’s a couple blink and you miss it panels with someone extra on the ship, maybe not. Either way, didn’t take long for Egghead to show it’ll fill these gaps. Showing it can happen and loading up Drake’s report as a Chekov’s Gun is all you ever actually needed. We’ve had a lot more though to bring that undertone of Wano to the forefront. Stussy, Bonney, York, and so much more. So let’s get to the heart of the matter, who cares? Why would an author extend it out like that? Aren’t you just being silly? Maybe, but two things spring to mind:

1. End of Wano we still haven’t fully worked #9 into the crew. We have seen Jinbei doing that so far in this leg of Egghead. The type of twist we’re talking about does work just fine halfway into the next story, the point was it was unassuming and didn’t need to be spoken. Actress is going to hang out off stage until the right time. It’d also be a repeat of Robin to just reveal it as we left.

2. We...did have that hiatus and an author who both said he had to rewrite parts and has bemoaned feeling like authors are “slaves to their readers” around that time. The original idea was popping Yamato’s bubble to tease out why Kiku was more rock solid. Hollow mass appeal vs. a stone cold classic archetype that’s fallen out of favor. That mass appeal was still white hot to the point a lot of people just plain missed half his story. Yama was starting to lose steam, if it happened a little faster it would have worked...but maybe we did need to let the backlash burn out before showing the full purpose of the foil.

So Egghead. It does have some solid plot and thematic ties keeping the core threads in use. York became a fantastic foil then we pulled away. Since we haven’t gotten back there after leaving what I said then is only stronger today thanks to Sai & Leo. This is a great chance for the Grand Fleet to have their fated moment. The timing is favorable if they had ten days after the raid. Not that you necessarily need it, but if you had an unassuming quartermaster waiting in the wings coordinating that is a great excuse. Organizing 5000+ mooks is perfect for that role!

But there are options. I think using the day/night themes again and cutting back to a spooky, decaying, hostile lab as the situation gets worse is an angle with a ton of potential. And it’s naturally the type of thing that a newbie can bail the rest out for a statement. What’s awesome about the whole unassuming element and how it could have been an unspoken agreement way earlier in Wano than you may think...the excuse for not seeing you could be let’s say comically weak. Didn’t like the Egghead lab suits. Chronic seasickness. Been taking the night shift because you’re still processing. It’s not really that big of a plot hurdle.

That said, we’ve spent about six chapters away from Egghead now. Part 3 of a kishotenketsu structure should be a jarring break, a dramatic shift. Seen other cool people say it and I was wondering too. Is this our ten? That can work here too. But it’d be using the entire arc. We don’t see the Egghead Incident unfold real time, but find out about it as these side stories do. Cycle through them again, this time resolving the stories. Then cycle one more time, showing each one reacting to the news. Revos get the paper, SWORD finally gets Drake’s report, Marco drops some hints...then your ketsu is the “how we got here flashback.” Say, after cutting to Egghead the next day with the Grand Fleet already there and a defeated Kizaru.

[beanghostprincess]

The other night I read your headcanon about Sanji being an enjoyer of romantic novels. And I thought: what if he had to experience something akin to a romantic fairytale in real life?

So I had this epiphany. What if, after Usopp unsuccessfully confesses to Sanji, who politely rejects him 'cause he's an idiot [affectionate] still struggling with his internalized homophobia, Sanji is forced to face his own feelings when Usopp falls under a spell [falling asleep and never waking up] that only someone who loves him wholeheartedly [and romantically] can break?

Like, imagine this being set right after the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc. THE ABSOLUTE ANGST! THE DRAMA! THE TEARS!! THE CHAOS!!!

This would be such emotional torture for Sanji. He'd have the worst time of his life and he'd feel so so guilty about it. And I absolutely adore it. Everything about this is just perfect.

Sanji rejects Usopp because of so many reasons. Internalized homophobia. Not feeling worthy of his love (because it's pre-ts and he doesn't know anything about his past and Sanji is still tormented by it). Thinking, once again, that Usopp deserves better than him. Thinking loving a man (his best friend, specifically) is wrong and would ruin their whole relationship. Etc etc etc. Usopp feels like shit, to put it in simple words, but accepts the rejection anyway with a bittersweet smile and just says he perhaps will need a little bit of time away from Sanji to deal with it, if that's okay. Sanji says it's fine but it's not, because it's happening exactly what he didn't want: Losing Usopp. Because he's a coward and he can't accept his feelings or Usopp's in any way. At least not yet. At least not without any help.

And I don't really know how this would go. Maybe it's a devil fruit user. Maybe it's something about the island they're at. Maybe it's a magical flower or something, because OP loves doing these things with evil flowers, apparently. But Usopp faints and doesn't seem to wake up. Robin asks for information about it around the island and turns out that, yes, he needs a true love kiss to wake up. Everyone keeps saying it can't be real, because what the hell, it's exactly like a fairytale. But it is real, and Sanji thinks the universe hates him. Nobody knows about them (they definitely know about them. It's just a topic they haven't explicitly touched verbally. At least not yet. I think the ones who know, know are Zoro and Nami. Robin too, of course) so the first thing that comes to Luffy and the other's minds is "okay, we could do this if Kaya was here. Because with how much this guy talks about her, she could be the one waking him up". But there's no time (because let's say that he'll never wake up again if ummm 5 days pass without any kiss) and they know, deep inside, that it won't work. At least a few of them know. Luffy says he could just kiss him himself because he loves Usopp! But Nami says it's not that way. It has to be romantic love. Luffy gets all frustrated and angry about it, I'm sure. It's just not fair. He wonders how that could've happened.

Sanji knows it's his fault. He knows he should fix this.

He knows he loves Usopp. Deeply. Desperately. He needs him in his life and wants him romantically. As best friends, too. In any way. But there's this layer of insecurity-- Maybe they're not meant to be together. Maybe the kiss doesn't work. Maybe he doesn't love Usopp as much as he thinks or maybe it's not in that way and he's just confused (he's always telling himself it's just a phase he's going through for not having a girlfriend yet). Maybe Usopp doesn't love him that much, either. Maybe he's the one confused (because how could he love somebody like Sanji?). So Sanji scared. Sanji is scared Usopp might not wake up. He's scared of what others might think. He's scared of what could happen if he does wake up and they have to talk things out. Yadda yadda.

But Nami confronts him because she knows about them. She asks him to do it. To stop being such a coward when Usopp's life is at risk. And it's pretty much the first time he ever tells no to Nami, refusing to do anything. The helplessness he feels is painful, but thinking about Usopp never waking up is even worse. Two days go by. He never leaves Usopp's side. Nami is growing impatient and Zoro looks at him with true hatred this time. Robin is the one to talk to him next, gently reminding him that nobody is going to judge him. That he can be free to do whatever he wants. That is better to take risks than living with regrets. But Sanji doesn't do anything but thank her. He needs time. But Usopp is running out of it. And then, on the fifth day. Well, fourth day at night, almost the fifth. Then, Zoro talks to him. Sanji is not okay. He has barely eaten. He won't leave Usopp's side. He's acting overly romantic for somebody who can't bear to use the word 'love' to refer to Usopp yet. And Zoro is done. After arguing for a while, Zoro tells him to stop being such a fucking coward and grow some balls and kiss Usopp so he doesn't die on them because, apparently, he's the only one who can save them this time even if Zoro despises the idea. And Sanji goes "But what if I can't?!"

Zoro: What are you talking about? Of course you can. Just go and kiss him. Sanji: No. It- It doesn't work like that. Zoro: To me it looks like it does. Sanji: What if it's not enough? What if I'm not enough? What if it's not- It's not right. For me to like him. I shouldn't, so- What if we're not meant to be and he dies and it's my fault? Zoro: It is going to be your fault either way if you don't try. Sanji: Pfft. Not like you've tried either- Zoro: Because we're smart enough to know we aren't the ones in love with this idiot. You're, quite literally, the only one who doesn't see it. Sanji: What the hell do you know? It's not- Zoro: It is like that. Sanji: I can't do it. Zoro: You won't know unless you try. And I don't give a single fuck whether you can do it or not. I don't care if you want to or not. If he dies because you were too full of yourself to stop being a coward, I will slice you open. Sanji: I'll let you. Zoro: Yeah, no. I know. But I won't give you the satisfaction of following Usopp if he dies. You'll have to live with it. Sanji: What if he doesn't wake up? Zoro: Could you stop being so damn selfish for a second and think about him?! Sanji: I am thinking about him! He's the only thing I can think about right now! Do you think this is easy for me- Zoro: Then stop torturing yourself and Usopp and start acting like you give a fuck about him dying instead of drowning in self-pity. It's ridiculous. Sanji: Fuck you. Zoro: One thing we know is that he'll never wake up if you don't try. And he won't be dying by the hands of some fucking spell, but yours. So do whatever you want, but stop blaming a future you don't know and at least admit you're too much of a coward to face your feelings.

So Sanji realizes, then, that it doesn't matter what he wants, but what Usopp needs. It doesn't matter if he's afraid. He would do anything for Usopp, even facing his fears. He will never know unless he tries, right? He hates that it's mosshead the one to put the idea in his head, but he has to thank him for that. He really did need that.

Long story short, he kisses Usopp. Nobody is around when it happens, but he does. It's painfully slow because he doesn't want to look. He doesn't want to face reality yet. When he finally moves away, though, Usopp isn't opening his eyes. He isn't moving yet. He has this moment, thinking he was right all along and he couldn't do anything to save him.

Until Usopp quickly wakes up from the coma. He asks what happened. Where he is. He says he just had the most annoying dream about one of Sanji's fights with Zoro. Then he says he's hungry, too, for some reason? Like he's been sleeping for days. And Sanji doesn't have time to tell him the truth because he goes to hug him tight. Usopp is still... Having a hard time processing the rejection, so it's a bit uncomfortable. Besides, he doesn't understand this sudden act of affection. But then, Sanji goes "I'm so glad you're okay, idiot. Never do that to me again. Never scare me like that again. I'm so sorry. I should've- And I didn't- I- It's all my fault" / "Wait, what? What are you talking about? Sanji?" / "I- I like you. I- No. More than that. I just- I want you" / "Yesterday you told me-" / "That actually was pretty much a week ago" / "What???" / "But it doesn't matter. Forget that" / "What do you mean a week ago? How long have I been-" / "I can't say it now. I know I can't say it now. And I am sorry, but- But I- I'll stop being a coward. For you, I will do it. Anything. I need you, so, please. Don't ever believe I don't want you back" / "But you said-" / "I was scared. And I am an idiot. And I almost let you die-" / "You almost wHAT?" / "And it's selfish and I am a shitty person for this but will you wait? Until I'm ready to say it? I like you. So much. More than you could ever believe. And I know I need you here. And I know I... You mean everything to me. Is that enough for now?" / "Moron. Of course it is. You could've said so sooner, you know?" / "I know. I'm sorry" / "Now that the fact that you love me and want me and need me yadda yadda has been established... What the fuck do you mean by you almost letting me die?"

And it's, uh- A really funny story to tell that Usopp will forever remember. But Sanji owes him a kiss. A real one now. And Sanji can't deny his sleeping beauty such a petition.