#i be complaining about opla and the next day i'm like 'me and the bestie!'

[beanghostprincess]

My take on OPLA's "Zoro vs. Mihawk" fight because I love to criticize the things I like

I'm gonna start by saying that I love the live-action. I'm obsessed. The casting is great and the set is stunning. However, despite enjoying OPLA I do have a lot of complaining to do about it because I absolutely love analyzing media and characters. That being said, I don't want this post to make it look like I am disregarding the directors and writers here. They did a good job with what they had but I personally think I would've done it a lot differently.

So... Let's start!

The thing that bothers me the most about episode 5 (episode that I honestly consider to be the worst in a lot of ways and for a lot of reasons) is that they intend to make it look like Zoro has this intense and personal connection with Luffy. A devotion that makes him so damn worried and self-conscious about losing the fight that he starts crying (or at least they tried to make Mackenyu cry? I'm not sure there. But he cries in the manga so, yeah. 'Frustration' perhaps is a better word). And Zoro does feel that devotion towards Luffy from the very beginning. The guy literally changed his life! But that is obvious and visible in the manga/anime because we can see Luffy making promises and being demanding and direct and literally a damn sunshine to Zoro. They have this conversation about him getting back his swords, about being the king of the pirates... There's this connection between them. One that says:

"You'll be my first mate" and "I'd literally give my life for you"

Damn, if there was a trope for love at first sight only for captains and their first mates? They would be the damn blueprint.

But OPLA wasn't able to make them show that connection because most of the scenes are rushed and/or skipped. And I understand. I truly do. It's just a live-action and the manga is long as hell. But the thing is... Don't expect me to believe Zoro's devotion is real if you haven't even shown me how it started. The root of the problem isn't the fight or his speech in episode 5, but the lack of emotional connection in episode 1 that they could've easily fixed by reordering the scenes.

So, regarding everything pre-ep 5: If they had shown us their relationship better, episode 5 wouldn't have felt so... Rushed? Out of character? And I don't mean out of character in a 'Zoro wouldn't say/do this' way (because of course he would, and did canonically) but in a 'OPLA!Zoro wouldn't say/do this because he hasn't experienced the exact same things that manga!Zoro has' way.

Yes, it's a live-action, but as a stand-alone? Zoro's behavior doesn't make any sense. That also happens with Nami, but this post isn't about our weather queen. Not today, at least.

Before I get into the fight I must also say that, even if I appreciated Zoro/Nami's dynamic and scenes, I find them completely unnecessary and useless. Firstly, because those scenes would've been better if they had used them to build their relationship with Luffy and not only between them. Secondly, because the writers do absolutely nothing with them. The relationship is only used as a plot device to foreshadow Arlong Park. And it bothers me because they could've done that without taking scenes from Luffy/Zoro and Luffy/Nami. This also happened because they decided to put so many scenes with the Marine, by the way, but I guess everyone is aware of that already.

The thing about the straw hat pirates is that they're a family. There are different connections/relationships/dynamics between them. But the main focus and reason why they joined is always Luffy and only Luffy. OPLA wanted to make them all a family in the first episodes and share all the important scenes together when actually that doesn't work like that. Everyone in the crew builds different dynamics with Luffy with personal and private scenes, and I think they took that magic away from them in OPLA wanting them all to share the same experiences for no reason. They don't build private connections (besides Nami/Zoro, but that doesn't even work in the end). This is why I like OPLA!Sanji so so much! His scenes with Luffy are immaculate.

Basically: The writers decided that since it's a live-action and most of the viewers will be already OP fans, it doesn't matter if they make Zoro's devotion exist without actually showing it because we already know he's devoted to his captain. So they take that info, make it happen, and they give no explanation to new watchers as to why the hell this dude who is supposed to not trust people easily, suddenly trusts Luffy so much. Even if it's a live-action, you should never take things for granted as a writer.

Now that I've established how it doesn't make sense for Zoro to act the way he does due to the lack of scenes with Luffy pre-episode 5, I'm gonna talk about my overall opinion about the fight itself and Zoro's pretty iconic speech to Luffy.

I'm no expert with fighting scenes but I've watched enough movies and animes (and you don't even need to, to be honest) to know that it is incredibly rushed. There's no tension. And the choreography is so... Dull. The only fight scenes I enjoyed were the ones in episode 1. This, in my opinion, is mostly the director's fault. The shots are either boring or too exaggerated and the whole fight is just not enjoyable to watch. The setting also makes it really empty. Everyone is just... There... Together... Netflix, don't be so scared of putting space between characters, I'm begging you. A bit of theatre directing is what this scene needs.

Also, Sanji isn't there and it bothers me a lot. Like a whole lot. Like a lot lot. And the fact that Nami is there when she shouldn't be (and also holds Usopp's hand? Like girl, chill, you've only interacted twice? They should've added Usopp to that drinking game scene if they wanted them to grow closer like that before the fight. But of course, Usopp is just the comedy relief for Netflix) also bothers me a lot lot lot.

In general, OPLA's shots aren't my cup of tea, and the overuse of comic-like moments dividing the screen made me cringe more than once (the first time was funny. Referencing the manga. But then it gets tiring. Mostly because the shots are just too close to their faces). Also, what's up with the corners being blurry all the time and the shots being extremely close to their faces? I don't know if it's just me but it's uncomfortable to watch.

Leaving that aside, Mackenyu did a great job with the fighting scenes. Love him to death. Kissing him from a distance. Great work.

Now, the thing that bothers me the most...

Zoro's speech.

Not only do they skip the important part where Zoro calls Luffy "The king of the pirates" but they also make it extremely dull and boring. It's not Mackenyu's fault. He's a good actor. However, I do think that this scene didn't need a close approach between the characters.

What this scene needs is passion. Frustration. Tears. Screaming. Relief when Zoro realizes Luffy isn't disappointed. Determination when he decides to keep fighting and training to become the world's greatest swordsman. And I think Mackenyu's performance would've been way better if they had given him the right indications and space between him and Iñaki.

I always say that physical space is great for scenes like this one because it challenges the actor to express their emotions without physical contact. A close and sweet approach is also good, but I think they should've just used that for the scene in episode 6 where Zoro wakes up. Them being physically close then is good, because there's a bond and they want and crave touching each other. However, after losing a fight and almost disappointing his captain? What Zoro needed was to openly cry to the sky and yell at Luffy that he would become the world's greatest swordsman. For himself. For Kuina. And for Luffy, his captain.

It's a very emotional scene and I get that it's complicated to do the same thing the manga does... But it really isn't that hard to give Mackenyu space so he has to yell and be openly frustrated. It seems like he wanted to cry. Like he was trying to cry. But the tears didn't come out because having Iñaki and the others so damn close didn't give him the space he needed to yell his emotions.

On the other hand, even if I don't like this scene and I prefer Luffy and Zoro to not be so close to each other, this would've kind of worked if they had had some connection and scenes pre-episode 5. But they don't. So, yeah, whatever.

Also (and this is just me being me) I wouldn't have used an aerial shot of them for the final scene. Zoro is satisfied now. He faints but he's happy. He proceeds to wake up happy in the next episode. So why not end it with his smiling face as he faints? That's also a recurring topic in the One Piece world! Make it reference Roger and foreshadow Loguetown and Marineford. These directors aren't being creative, let me tell you.

Overall, you can tell that I didn't like how they portrayed this episode, especially this fight/speech. However, before I end this post I want to say that I am aware of how hard it is to make a live-action and it's completely understandable to make scenes shorter and rushed. It's obvious that everyone working on this live-action loves One Piece, and even if I don't like a lot of the things they're doing, that doesn't mean I can't feel the effort and love they put (mostly the actors. The cast is outstanding and extremely sweet!) making this show.

I have more complaints about episode 5 (mostly about Nami's character) but this was just to talk about Zoro and the fight! Let me know in my inbox if you want more of my opinions on OPLA or just want to tell me something! <3

Editing TikTok account where I'm posting my One Piece edits: seraspring