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| Netflix's One Piece: Is Hollywood finally doing anime right? |
One Piece, a live-action Netflix series based on the Japanese anime series, has been hailed by critics as a surprising hit.
The plot of the anime follows a band of pirates as they search for the fabled One Piece, which is a reference to Eiichiro Oda's original stories.
The show seems to have defied the pattern of disappointing manga live action crossovers.
Variety described it as "a candy-colored confection with a childish glee."
The series "neither takes itself too seriously, nor apologises for its silliness," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
But The New York Times' Mike Hale was less appreciative, describing the programme as "bland and generic".
Fans of the original movie, who are pleased to see the events more or less accurately recreated, may be satisfied, although
The critic for Rolling Stone, Alan Sepinwall, called it "an amusingly quirky show," praising its "arch tone that acknowledges how weird so much of this is."
In the beginning, the world-building's vibrancy and the characters' chemistry are enough to keep things moving. But as the novelty wears off, various issues start to surface.
The Wrap's Kayleigh Donaldson praised the way the programme faithfully encapsulated the essence of the original One Piece.
The animation's colourful locations and costumes, which feature clown pirates, shark men, multicoloured ships, and punk-inspired hair colours, have been expertly recreated by the production crew.
She continued,
"It looks magnificent in a manner that many anime adaptations chicken out on.
The track record of Hollywood is not the finest.
One Piece's success in the field was acknowledged by Variety's Alison Herman, who called it a "best-case scenario," but she was less complimentary of Netflix's method of adapting other works, such as Wednesday, Umbrella Academy, and The Witcher.
These programmes are both extremely well-liked and superficially cultural.
They have a smooth quality that is conducive to binges, undemanding of the audience, and detrimental to achieving true originality, she stated.
Iaki Godoy's portrayal of the title character, Monkey D. Luffy, was the focus of Angie Han's analysis for The Hollywood Reporter.
"[One Piece's] spirit is modelled after that of its protagonist, who is completely aware that his goals are absurd to the majority of people yet couldn't give a damn.
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