This epic series is a rollercoaster full of fun, with fantastical adventures in an imaginative world, amazing storytelling, great characters and a big heart.
- Entertainment factor: ★★★★★
- Fun factor: ★★★★★
- Adventure factor: ★★★★★
- Fantasy factor: ★★★★★
- Originality factor: ★★★★★
- Epic factor: ★★★★★
One Piece is an epic adventure full of wonders, that is a rollercoaster of events and emotions, following your dreams and most important of all, with a big heart, kindness and friendship. It stars Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, Jacob Romero, Tax Skylar, Charithra Chandran, Morgan Davies. Created by Steven Maeda & Matt Owens.
It consists of 8 episodes (50-66 min)
Plot
Monkey D. Luffy wants to be King of the Pirates. In order to do that he wants to find the One Piece, the treasure that Gol D. Roger the King of the Pirates has buried at the end of the Grand Line, before he was captured and executed.
The world where Luffy lives in is a vast oceanic world divided into different seas. Luffy comes from the Blue Sea, but there’s also the Grand Line and finally the Red Line that is a massive continent that wraps around the planet and divides the Blue Sea from the Grand Line. Luffy has to cross this dangerous Red Line through a small tight canyon that goes upwards. But first he needs a good ship and a crew for starters. The world has many islands with different inhabitants. The seas are dominated by Pirates and the Marines who fight them .
When he is adrift at sea in a barrel he is picked up by a pirate ship. There he meets Koby whom he saves from the Pirates. Together they go to an island where he leaves Koby who applies as a Marine. Luffy meets Zorro a sword fighter and Nami a thief, navigator and cartographer. Luffy calls themselves The Straw Hat Pirates and while every crew member has their special qualities, Luffy himself has special abilities.
When he was young he ate a Devil Fruit. And when you eat one, it does something to you, it gives you special powers. In Luffy’s case he is now made of rubber and can stretch himself very long and can bend better than any contortionist. But it does have consequences. Like Superman has his Kryptonite, eaters of Devil Fruit have a weakness for sea water, it eliminates their power.
The Straw Hats set sail to another island where they meet Usopp who tells the greatest stories but never went off to the sea. Meanwhile they come across bad Pirates whom they fight and defeat and help people. In return they are gifted a beautiful ship called Going Merry and they set sail to new adventures and the Grand Line.
They encounter a chef Sanji at the Floating Restaurant who can fight and cook and who joins them on their quest. Each of them have their own reasons and dreams. As a strong team they fight Pirates, help people and have a great time. But Nami is hiding a big secret. Is she about to betray them when she leaves them behind or does she need their help?
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Short Review
This series is based on the manga series One Piece by Eiichiro Oda that was first published in 1997 and which is still actively running. Which is quite an achievement. I personally haven’t read the mangas so I can’t make a comparison with the tv series. But I certainly love the series.
Everything in this series looks amazing. The set design, the costumes, the world building and design, and creation, the characters, the special effects, the fight scenes. And that’s just how it looks. It also does feel fantastic. From the start it’s an epic series, with imaginative adventures, original characters and above all a big huge heart.
The style feels very comic-like, but it also feels very pure of heart. It’s very playful and fun, full of humor. It also contains serious themes which are not taken lightly but treated with respect while keeping the humor and fun. It’s fast paced and every episode they have a new adventure, meet new people and places, encounter new villains and make new enemies. And Luffy is loving all of it.
Luffy is a very brave adventurous young man who has a big dream to become King of the Pirates. This dream however doesn’t come first though, his friends do. He is loyal and a true friend, he helps people who need it and fights injustice. He’s a kind of Robin Hood. And he follows his own course. He doesn’t let anymore tell him what to do and isn’t afraid to die, especially when it can save his friends.
Being kind and brave and loyal and following your dreams are the main themes of the series. He also learns and inspires his crew to do the same. Zorro wants to be the best sword fighter. Nami wants to make maps of the whole world. Usopp wants to be a pirate and brave. And Sanji wants to find the most exclusive ingredients to cook. And Luffy helps them to accomplish them.
We learn much more about all of them with flashbacks from their youth. What they have been through and what shaped them, for better and for worse. Some stories are heartbreaking and emotional and bad things have happened to some of them. Now they have become real heroes. The genuine hero is Luffy. While he fights villains, he doesn’t kill anybody, it’s not what heroes do.
The Pirates are also very creatively made characters. They encounter Buggy the Clown who can separate all his limbs and is invincible. But they also have to deal with Arlong and his crew a fishman who is sadistic, ruthless and although he himself is treated with racism, his own cruelty is relentless. They also encounter Captain Kuro who has power over Usopp’s best friend Kaya. All these villains have in common that they oppress and exploit and extort people. Of course Luffy and the Straw Hats put an end to that. Making enemies along the way.
Now that Luffy has declared himself a Pirate, there’s a bounty on his head, of which he is very proud, and he has the Marines coming after them, like the Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp, Luffy’s own grandfather who raised him. Now Koby is under his command and he learns Koby to be a good Marine, which also means to think for himself about what is right and what is wrong. Koby also makes a new friend Helmeppo, who starts out as an enemy of Zorro and Luffy, but under the command of Garp and being friends with Koby he becomes a better person.
And that’s what this series is all about. Following your dreams but not at any cost. Being the best person you can be to other people. I think that’s a very important message that shines through without being shoved in your face.
One Piece is an amazing series that looks fantastic, has wonderful imaginative adventures, great characters and a strong message and offers a lot of entertainment along the way.
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