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between_time_and_42I've said previously that the worst bullshit of my life is Ziggyfloyd, and, well, I'm still VERY much on that bullshit. (Hoping to have the first half of Part 4 of SF: ALS posted by November 1st- edits are coming along extremely well.) But now I'm back on the second-worst bullshit of my life because I just started watching the new live-action adaptation of One Piece and it got me chomping at the bit to watch the anime again, so I started rewatching the Davy Back Fight arc of the anime because it's shorter than some of the others, the stakes are lower, and it's quite silly and fun to watch to boot. And once I finish that, I think I'll be ready to ease back into watching One Piece with the arc that I stopped at seven years ago, Thriller Bark. (Yeah... I couldn't even make it to the timeskip... there was a point where I went "I wonder how many episodes I have left" and then when I found out, I just sort of gave up all hopes of ever catching up. Even now, I don't think I'll watch past the timeskip- I might read the manga to catch up, or I might not. (I actually have spoiled myself on a bunch of major plot points just to give myself something to look forward to, but we'll see how I feel when I eventually get to the timeskip if I feel motivated to watch it further to get to those parts, or if reading about them is enough for me.))
Anyway... I've only seen the first two episodes of the live-action adaptation so far, and I'm not sure if I have any real thoughts on it yet. It's been... I think nine years since I watched the corresponding anime episodes for the first and only time, so I don't remember how much was changed. I think so far, it is very apparent that they crammed the plot of several episodes into one, but since Netflix only gave them... I think 10 episodes in comparison to the anime's 20+ per season, it makes sense that they'd have to condense it. I was a little afraid as to how seriously I'd be able to take the story when seeing it in live action, especially where special effects were concerned, since so many characters have weird superpowers that I assumed would be a sort of uncanny valley thing in live action. But I think so far, they've done a good job of portraying things like Luffy's stretching powers and Buggy detaching and reassembling his body. (Also, I can barely take the anime seriously half the time, let's be real... It has its serious moments, but I've always considered it a comedy first and foremost.) Aside from Luffy, who I think was both cast and (aside from a few quibbles of mine) written perfectly, I'm not really sure how I feel about the other crew members yet. I figured Nami's characterization would have to be changed a bit, since her tendency to hit people who annoy her isn't a good personality trait to carry over, but that has the side effect of her not really feeling like Nami to me. Not yet, anyway. I like how they're presenting her, and I especially like the hints of how her backstory affects her (her hatred of pirates and how distraught she was over seeing the village ravaged by Buggy's crew are certainly things that I expect the show to touch on further once her whole backstory is revealed). But I'm having a hard time believing, for the time being, that she's Nami. We'll see how the role plays out, I suppose. (Side note, I'm also terrified, even though I KNOW they wouldn't do this, that she and Luffy might be teased as a couple, which I know would make some shippers happy (including *cough* my past self... it's so weird to look back on fic I've written when I can't get behind that pairing anymore), but I think it would cheapen their actual relationship so much and I'm irrationally afraid that it's going to happen for the arbitrary reason that he's the protagonist and she's the token female character. I also thought their actors had chemistry, not that I want to see their characters act on it. Anyway, Luffy is aroace and Nami is a lesbian in MY head, thank you very much.)
As for Zoro, I like the way his character is being portrayed a lot so far, but I feel like he's maybe a little bit too stoic, although he's had a lot of badass and funny lines so that makes up for it. I think, as with Nami, that his character will open up and become more compelling once his backstory is revealed. I did find it weird in the second episode where, out of the blue, he suddenly announced that Luffy had changed his worldview, after spending what... a few days with him, and for most of that time, he seemed to kind of grudgingly accept his situation rather than be open to befriending Luffy. To me, it made sense for Luffy to announce that Nami and Zoro are his friends at the end of the episode, even though they'd only known each other for a little while, because he's that kind of person who would become instantly attached to people, but it didn't make sense for Zoro to seemingly reciprocate the sentiment. Ehhh... I still have quite a few episodes to go so again, we'll see how this pans out.
As far as other characters go- Buggy is actually creepy and much more powerful than he was in the anime, WTF. I'm not sure why we're spending so much time with Koby- and I also don't remember Garp making any appearances this early- but I guess I'm mildly intrigued to find out where that arc goes. I don't remember well enough what Garp was like, but I do remember his connection to Luffy, so I think it's really funny for whatever reason how dissimilar they are in terms of appearance and voice. What a plot twist that will be when it's eventually revealed that Luffy is Garp's grandson. Finally, seeing Shanks in live action has ignited my crush on that character all over again, yippee! He's so... *sigh*
Overall, the show is fun so far and it's making me laugh a surprising amount. I'd still rather watch the anime, but I'm looking forward to finishing out the first season and seeing how it goes.
(And as for watching the anime for the first time in seven years, all I can say is... 1. I picked the right arc to watch, I was in hysterics all over again as soon as they reached "Long Ring Long Land" and the fun has yet to let up, 2. after all this time, I think the sound of Luffy laughing is still one of my favorite sounds in the world, lol... I do like him a LOT in the live action version (like, they genuinely couldn't have found a better actor for that role), but I really, really miss his voice from the English dub, and 3. it took me no time at all to remember why watching this show is so dangerous to me- because the episodes are only 22 minutes and often end on a cliffhanger, so I can watch like ten of them in one go and not even realize how much I've watched until later. I guess watching for an hour before bedtime is better than four hours in the middle of the day like I used to do, lol.
Anyway... I've only seen the first two episodes of the live-action adaptation so far, and I'm not sure if I have any real thoughts on it yet. It's been... I think nine years since I watched the corresponding anime episodes for the first and only time, so I don't remember how much was changed. I think so far, it is very apparent that they crammed the plot of several episodes into one, but since Netflix only gave them... I think 10 episodes in comparison to the anime's 20+ per season, it makes sense that they'd have to condense it. I was a little afraid as to how seriously I'd be able to take the story when seeing it in live action, especially where special effects were concerned, since so many characters have weird superpowers that I assumed would be a sort of uncanny valley thing in live action. But I think so far, they've done a good job of portraying things like Luffy's stretching powers and Buggy detaching and reassembling his body. (Also, I can barely take the anime seriously half the time, let's be real... It has its serious moments, but I've always considered it a comedy first and foremost.) Aside from Luffy, who I think was both cast and (aside from a few quibbles of mine) written perfectly, I'm not really sure how I feel about the other crew members yet. I figured Nami's characterization would have to be changed a bit, since her tendency to hit people who annoy her isn't a good personality trait to carry over, but that has the side effect of her not really feeling like Nami to me. Not yet, anyway. I like how they're presenting her, and I especially like the hints of how her backstory affects her (her hatred of pirates and how distraught she was over seeing the village ravaged by Buggy's crew are certainly things that I expect the show to touch on further once her whole backstory is revealed). But I'm having a hard time believing, for the time being, that she's Nami. We'll see how the role plays out, I suppose. (Side note, I'm also terrified, even though I KNOW they wouldn't do this, that she and Luffy might be teased as a couple, which I know would make some shippers happy (including *cough* my past self... it's so weird to look back on fic I've written when I can't get behind that pairing anymore), but I think it would cheapen their actual relationship so much and I'm irrationally afraid that it's going to happen for the arbitrary reason that he's the protagonist and she's the token female character. I also thought their actors had chemistry, not that I want to see their characters act on it. Anyway, Luffy is aroace and Nami is a lesbian in MY head, thank you very much.)
As for Zoro, I like the way his character is being portrayed a lot so far, but I feel like he's maybe a little bit too stoic, although he's had a lot of badass and funny lines so that makes up for it. I think, as with Nami, that his character will open up and become more compelling once his backstory is revealed. I did find it weird in the second episode where, out of the blue, he suddenly announced that Luffy had changed his worldview, after spending what... a few days with him, and for most of that time, he seemed to kind of grudgingly accept his situation rather than be open to befriending Luffy. To me, it made sense for Luffy to announce that Nami and Zoro are his friends at the end of the episode, even though they'd only known each other for a little while, because he's that kind of person who would become instantly attached to people, but it didn't make sense for Zoro to seemingly reciprocate the sentiment. Ehhh... I still have quite a few episodes to go so again, we'll see how this pans out.
As far as other characters go- Buggy is actually creepy and much more powerful than he was in the anime, WTF. I'm not sure why we're spending so much time with Koby- and I also don't remember Garp making any appearances this early- but I guess I'm mildly intrigued to find out where that arc goes. I don't remember well enough what Garp was like, but I do remember his connection to Luffy, so I think it's really funny for whatever reason how dissimilar they are in terms of appearance and voice. What a plot twist that will be when it's eventually revealed that Luffy is Garp's grandson. Finally, seeing Shanks in live action has ignited my crush on that character all over again, yippee! He's so... *sigh*
Overall, the show is fun so far and it's making me laugh a surprising amount. I'd still rather watch the anime, but I'm looking forward to finishing out the first season and seeing how it goes.
(And as for watching the anime for the first time in seven years, all I can say is... 1. I picked the right arc to watch, I was in hysterics all over again as soon as they reached "Long Ring Long Land" and the fun has yet to let up, 2. after all this time, I think the sound of Luffy laughing is still one of my favorite sounds in the world, lol... I do like him a LOT in the live action version (like, they genuinely couldn't have found a better actor for that role), but I really, really miss his voice from the English dub, and 3. it took me no time at all to remember why watching this show is so dangerous to me- because the episodes are only 22 minutes and often end on a cliffhanger, so I can watch like ten of them in one go and not even realize how much I've watched until later. I guess watching for an hour before bedtime is better than four hours in the middle of the day like I used to do, lol.
