One Piece Series: The Analysis of The Trailer of The Live-Action Version
Finally, Netflix has raised the curtain on the live-action of One Piece, a highly anticipated but also much talked about TV series: generally, there are few versions of anime and manga with real actors who worked, whether it was a small or big screen, and even less those that, on balance, even in their overall success left something to the viewers when, in the end, the original comic or animated remained better. Moreover, One Piece, unlike other series, has a very grotesque structure, in particular character design, and making it faithful and plausible at the same time is much more difficult than other works such as Rurouni Kenshin or Fullmetal Alchemist. Still, the challenge was accepted, and here is the first teaser of the series, from a minute and a half. In this examination we will talk about what we see and intuit from the scenes and sets: to then close with the design of the protagonists in a separate paragraph.
We Set Sail! Looking for the One Piece
The trailer begins with what could also be the real beginning of the series: Shanks ‘ ship is docked in port and therefore it is likely to be the prologue of the flashback on Luffy’s childhood, or rather how he got the scar underneath the eye and the promise (linked to the return of the hat) between Luffy and Shanks. However, we have a view of the port of what is undoubtedly the village of Foosha, given the characteristic mills: the atmosphere and the biome seem noticeably more tropical than something similar to the northern Mediterranean should be, but they are details.
Also, it seems that some locations have been merged: at the very beginning we see a construction site and Luffy admiring the Going Marry under construction, alone. If he has seen it “born” day after day (as also suggested by the change of clothes) it means that the village of Syrup has been merged with that of Foosha, but it is all to be seen. After all, the first season will consist of just eight episodes, so there isn’t much room for navigation in the strict sense within the narrative timelines.
So it remains to be seen if Luffy will land in Shells Town and Orange Town to meet his first nakama… after all, in one shot we see Luffy on the figurehead of Marry (by the way: we appreciate the idea of the “realistically creepy” goat and not “puppetry”) with behind, a short distance away, the floating restaurant Baratie, where he will meet Sanji. This scene is set with the ships in port and not offshore… Shells Town, in reality, can be seen in a later shot, with a realistic rendering of its coast (rather Mediterranean, yes) complete with a garrison of the Navy.
After the assumptions of the teaser that introduce us to Luffy’s dream of going to sea we see him, in fact, in the courtyard where, just like in the manga, Zoro was crucified, with a blow-up of Captain Morgan behind him and the first encounter between the two. The first real action scene is a skirmish between Zoro and a bizarre, crested pirate dressed in red: it is not clear who it could be. One would say a random member of Buggy the Clown’s crew, but the wooded setting does not make clear the location of the scene.
It follows Nami, which presents the Grand Line, with its dangers, above a scene taken from the flashback we were talking about previously, or the first moving situation of the manga, in which Shanks saves little Luffy from the water snake known as the Sea King. The still following scene takes us to the sea and shows the Miss Love Duck, the ship of Alvida’s crew, which begins a boarding party. Soon after, a close-up of Buggy the particularly creepy clown, and the first, rudimentary formation of Luffy’s crew, with Zoro and Nami bickering for the first of countless times…
The Trailer is Just a Taste, Remember That
The next scene shows a ship firing a cannon shot which, at least in the montage, is aimed at our ship: Usopp, Zoro, and Luffy fall, and the next moment shows Luffy in the water, threatening to drown and Sanji diving to save it. However, it is a montage of at least two, if not more, different scenes: Luffy in the water wears a blue t-shirt with white stripes while when the cannon shot comes, he wears a Hawaiian shirt. It is also possible that the footage in which Sanji takes off his jacket refers to something else, while the shooting ship, perhaps, shoots something else. Among other things, a detail that can only be seen with a still image, it is a vessel of the Navy, and not just any vessel, but that of Vice Admiral Garp, which boasts a special bond with the protagonist (which we will not reveal, in case you don’t know the original work yet).
And while Luffy in voice-over talks about how they just met but they already have each other’s backs, the scene returns to the courtyard and the fight against ordinary marines immediately after Zoro has been freed… and Nami is there too! A few frames of Usopp who nocks his inseparable slingshot, Sanji in the Baratie who disarms a customer with a kick (and judging from the suit, the victim seems to be Fullbody, ready to shoot what, from the clothing, we could swear to be that other ugly thug Captain Gally) and then two classic moments: Luffy on the figurehead who incites to go on an adventure and the moment of the “promise of the dream” in which everyone he is committed to fulfilling his life goal. The scene that, most likely, will be the season finale, just like it happened in the anime at the crucial point before entering the Great Line.
Finally, Luffy loads his Gom Gom Pistol, to launch it at Albida’s address, with an astonished Koby at his side… and a Luffy who launches into a rather “meta” consideration on the need to pronounce the name of the moves. The animated logo starts and the appointment is set for August 31st, naturally only on Netflix. The trailer is a teaser and many characters are missing from those already announced, but there are already a lot of irons in the fire to discuss. Generally, we can say that the atmosphere looks just like anime, bizarre and over the top, which doesn’t take itself very seriously except in the dramatic scenes, which is a real hallmark of the series.
The scenography is accurate, in particular the ships, and in general – although the need to compress the events a lot appears evident – it seems that the intention is to respect the spirit and intent of the original work, unlike what has been seen in other relatively similar productions such as Death Note and Cowboy Bebop. We also note the attention to the casting and also a certain refinement in recreating the costume department as it should. Let’s see how, just like in the manga and anime, the characters change clothes always leaving fixed or distinctive elements and a specific style: they are all very accurate from that point of view, with the only changes seen in terms of functionality: Luffy wears closed shoes because, even with all the goodwill and the suspension of disbelief, among the absolute most absurd things in One Piece anime/manga there is that the protagonist can move and fight in the sea and on rough terrain, with acrobatic moves wearing straw sandals!
Sticking to details that would be nonsensical in real life, like Sanji’s missing swivel eyebrows or Usopp’s Pinocchio nose, feels silly. It seems, however, that Sanji will not smoke, or at least, so it seems from this first footage. Unfortunately, the level of CGI isn’t that great, even being generous: and the look of the whimsical characters (of which One Piece is full) is a big risk that will have to be evaluated in due course. Coming instead to the protagonists, it is undeniable that they are all perfect in part, even if the hair department in some shots sounds decidedly ungenerous, especially for Sanji and Nami.
The latter, in particular, looked perfect when the announcements for the casting came out: some photos of Emily Rudd retouched by fans to make her look like Nami were simply perfect, but on screen, the wig does not render as it should, and the result is that the actress (as had also happened to Daniella Pineda in Cowboy Bebop) turns out to be much more beautiful and similar in a “casual” version than with that fake orange hair… but maybe we just have to get used to it. The still photos released are much more convincing than the footage shown, but in any case, Maestro Oda himself is the “guarantor” of the operation: we hope to have, at the end of the fair, an enjoyable product, to be enjoyed knowing what you are encountering.
