#One piece live action episode 2

[sanaserena]

More images from Episode 2 of the One Piece Live action. See part 1 here: Link

Ah, and I think it's cute that ear transponder snails were created for live action - cute and cool, but also a little creepy just imagining a snail in one's ear xD.

I really took so many Buggy shots 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

[fujikoi]

The man in the straw hat.

[zonaenthusiast]

*the highest glass shattering scream you've heard in your entire life* I love them a normal amount.

[mamoru-chiba-ua]

[goingbuggy]

Although I absolutely loved episode 2 because of how Jeff Ward and the writers portrayed a different side of Buggy, if there's one thing that I didn't like, it's this line:

In Orange Town, Buggy's reasons for why he wants to enter the Grand Line are kept purposefully vague. It is clear that he wants the "world's treasure/all the treasure in the world," but not once does Buggy outright state that he wants A.) the One Piece, and B.) to be Pirate King.

Of course, after 1082, we know that being Pirate King has been his dream all along, and these manga panels do let readers form their own conclusions. (i.e. If Buggy wants "all the treasure in the world," does that mean he knows and wants to find the One Piece, too? Oda encourages us to ask these questions.)

I don't believe the live action adaptation will reach as far as 1082, unfortunately; it would be nice if it did, but there is a lot getting in the way. However, the writing decision to jump the gun and just have Buggy claim to want to be king.... totally undermines the impact of 1082. Buggy never believed in himself. Even though he desperately wanted to be king, it was the one thing he could not bring himself to say explicitly until 1082.

There are so many throwaway lines in Orange Town which imply Buggy sees himself as incapable/inferior. Take his "Pirate God" comment, for example. He underestimates Luffy, yes, but the impact of that line -- "If you are the next Pirate King, then I must be Pirate God" -- also serves to underestimate himself. Of course he's not a god; he's not claiming to be. He is belittling them both. "If someone as little as you can become king, then I can be god," is what he's really saying, which implies that he, too, is lesser. Buggy talks himself down in subtleties because he needs to maintain his facade, for his crew's sake and his own.

That is why it is so inspiring and emotional to see Buggy finally admit his real dream in 1082 -- one, because it was only ever (at most) implied before, and two, because as a character, we realize he was too insecure to achieve that dream before this point in the story. Buggy talks a big game, but it was not until he recognized he was on equal footing with Shanks that he realized he could finally go after his own dream. By 1082, he is not just a former warlord, but a man with massive influence. He's a goddamn emperor! For an insecure character, realizing you have power is a hell of a motivator.

Buggy has no real reason to outright claim the title of king yet. It just... doesn't work from a narrative standpoint, given where we are in East Blue. And for that, I am a little disappointed. Feel free to give your own thoughts, though!

[lostsometime]

WHAT IS THE FIGHT SCENE CONVEYING? (an incomplete list)

Part 2! (For the breakdown of the five fights in the first episode, click here.)

Episode 2 - Straw Hats vs. Buggy: Again, we are getting themes of teamwork - they all have to pitch in together to take care of Buggy. However, this also shows us that Luffy is clever in his own way - he strategizes really well on the fly. Even while actively getting his ass kicked, he's able to observe his opponent and figure out how to bring him down. It also shows a bit more of the "captain" coming out - they still don't want to think of themselves as "his crew," but Zoro and Nami follow his lead in battle without hesitation.

(Luffy's ability to win over disparate people's respect and affection is especially poignant when contrasted with Buggy, who has had to force people, with threats of violence, to pretend to like him.)

Episode 3 - Kuro vs. Merry: This is not really a fight, per se, since Merry can't fight back, but it establishes 1) How ruthless Kuro is and 2) How fucking fast he is. Now we know what we're dealing with and can start getting worried (so when they pull out the Slasher flick vibes next episode, we're Right There with Nami and Kaya, feeling that fear).

It's also doing something else that I didn't pick up on my first time through, because it's specifically doing it for people who know the manga/anime. I came into this mostly canon-blind for the original One Piece - I knew broad strokes of some of the arcs and I was familiar with the premise, but that's all. In the time since I watched it, though, I've gotten into the manga a bit, so I picked up on this when I went back to watch the scene again for this post.

It's establishing for fans who know the original that they don't know what's going to happen. That characters they thought were safe might not be safe. That Merry can die - and so, by extension, can others. Now these people, too, will be scared - not just here, but in other fights, too. If they'll kill off Merry, who else might not be safe? Kaya? Zeff? Nojiko? All kinds of lovable supporting characters whose survival is now not guaranteed. It means that all the work they put into making things exciting and suspenseful isn't going to waste, because now even people who know how the manga goes are subject to the same uncertainty as the rest of us.

Episode 4 - Zoro vs. Black Cat Pirates: Okay, this one is mostly for Spectacle, but it also gives a lovely bit of character work since this is the first time we're seeing Zoro fight since getting his Backstory Flashback earlier in the episode. We know what the third sword means to him now. We get it when Sham takes it from him, what that means and why he prioritizes getting it back.

Episode 4 - Luffy vs. Kuro: We got a bit of this also with Buggy, but it's an important theme, so they spend a lot of time on it - how confident Luffy is in who he is and what he wants, and how stubbornly he trusts in his friends. Many, many baddies are going to try and do this, to attack his self-esteem or tell him to Be Less Like Himself, and none of them are going to succeed, ever, because Luffy knows exactly who he is.

Episode 5 - Sanji vs. Those Two Guys: Look, here's the thing. There are two things Sanji is good at and those are 1) cooking and 2) kicking people in the face. So that's what his first two scenes gotta show him doing! It's less than 3 minutes, his introduction, and they hit their marks perfectly. Point one, amazing cooking, point two, cussing at Zeff, point three, kicking shitheads in the face. It's such a neat little package. Beautifully done. This is how you introduce a major character in the back half of an eight-episode season - you need to show us who he is, what he wants, and why we should care immediately. And they do! By the end of Sanji's introduction scene I was sold on him as a character.

I think I'll need to do another post for the rest, but the one last thing I want to point out is that, like my earlier post, this post is also analyzing five separate fights. And it takes us into episode 5. I just want to point that out again because it is remarkable to me that they managed to fit 5 combat scenes into one episode for the premiere. They had so much they had to do in that one episode and the fact that they pulled it off impresses me so much I'm still boggling at it, something like 8 months later.

[hellouniversehowareyou]

protect this precious cinnamon roll with all costs

[black-and-yellow]

can't stop drawing the clown (send help)

[gear5luffy21]

Some pics of Luffy from episode 2.

My favourite is the first one. Boy is so unbothered.

[mistninja]

Almost done watching alabasta. It's even better than I remember

[last-of-the-jaded]

The live action isn’t taking itself too seriously and I’m genuinely having a good time

[sanaserena]

I can't stop thinking about OPLA, and it's only been 5 days TT.TT So, I finally had time to catch several screenshots from Episode 2.

My third impressions of OPLA episode 2? I've watched it that many times, and each time I find even more things to like about it. (A more comprehensive review later, but.) There might be some things I didn't like, but for now, the things I liked:

Buggy. He was too damn great. Literally. It took me Impel Down in the manga to reallyyyyy like Buggy (who can't after seeing him interact with Luffy?) But damn it all, OPLA did it in one episode, two episodes in. He's a bit darker in this episode, but Jeff Ward does such a fantastic job at being Buggy. (And on a side note... Buggy is not supposed to look this good T.T)

Nami, Luffy, Zoro. One of the big highlights for me throughout OPLA is the chemistry of the cast. Sure, Nami and Zoro seemed to be have heaps of screen time together, but the interactions between Nami and Luffy are great too.

I did really enjoy the way Luffy's flashback was introduced in this episode. It works. Even more so when facing Buggy, of whom was once on the same ship as Shanks - the set up of this introduces a more complex backstory (manga does this too, but we're not entirely curious yet because Buggy was small fry at the beginning, and we don't see Shanks for several chapters.)

Ah, Shanks in OPLA really feels like Shanks to me. What I love in the OPLA is that there's a small scene added in the flashback where we actually see Shanks fighting. He doesn't expend much energy, compared to his crew, just throwing down a dude as easy as breathing (I might be reading too much into it, but if we were to take this fight scene as a metaphor, we can actually see the dispersion of strength in Shanks' crew.) I tried to get a screenshot (because I suck as making gifs from netflix right now...) but it's awful. I'm still including it anyway, since it'd be great to see :D. He looks a little rough, but when you see Peter Gadiot acting as Shanks, he really gives off so many Shanks vibes that I forget his hair for a few seconds xD

And an impression for the whole series, but there are some easily memorable moments from the show, which I find myself remembering at the odd time.

The screenshots (I'm also including the logo/title header for the Episode, because I paused the screen at a perfect moment):

And it's not letting me add more images, look for part two here: Link

[rrandomtthings]

I don’t think we’ve talked ab how good Iñaki Godoy is as Luffy enough yet

[zonaenthusiast]

I almost fell off my bed when this exchange happened, why did they have to say it like that !!!!!!!!

[mamoru-chiba-ua]

[lostsometime]

another smart OPLA thing: whoever it was that decided to play buggy’s interrogation scene like the world’s worst Method-technique director trying to do an improv workshop. Fucking genius.