Episode 9
Before One Piece was a live-action series on Netflix, it was (and still is) a long-running anime. Before it was an anime, it was (and still is) an even longer-running Manga series. There are always expectations that come paired with adaptations, but pair two sets of expectations, each from groups of fans that could very well have spent 25+ years invested in a story and a set of characters, and the task feels damn near thankless. Fortunately, Netflix's take on Eiichiro Oda's world of adventure and piracy stands tall on its own as the kind of nostalgic, swashbuckling adventure we don't see enough of these days.
Adapting the East Blue Arc of the Manga, One Piece follows Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) a young man who has long dreamed of a life of piracy, who is finally ready to take to the seas and become King of the Pirates by finding the legendary One Piece treasure, hidden somewhere in the Grand Line — the most dangerous stretch of ocean in the world, which has claimed the life of many a pirate. Many are skeptical, trying to dissuade him from his chosen course by pointing out that pirates are usually the bad guys. But Luffy grew up under the mentorship of Captain Shanks (Peter Gadiot) and his crew, who seem to be the only decent pirates on the seas, so his perspective might be a tad off.
