“One Piece”: how Netflix managed to adapt the series for teenagers

After six years of waiting, it has finally arrived at its destination. The live action series. One piece Netflix is ​​available from this Thursday. After a Parisian preview at the Grand Rex that seduced fans of the saga, however demanding, the series takes on the challenge of faithfully translating this manga, considered inappropriate, to the screen.

The task was arduous: the millions of readers of the manga awaited the One piece from Netflix cautiously, following the failures of previous manga adaptations such as Dragon Ball Evolution EITHER Saint Seiya. Completely betraying the original works, these movies drew the ire of both manga and anime fans.

The adaptation of One piece it is produced in live action and includes eight one-hour episodes. Follow the quest of the young pirate Luffy and his Mugiwaras crew to unearth a fabulous treasure, One Piece. As he journeys across the oceans to become the pirate king, Luffy faces formidable adversaries.

“We want to rewrite the history of live-action adaptations,” promised Netflix, which also suffered an avalanche of bad reviews after the adaptation of cowboy bop, canceled after one season. The platform covers its back with the support ofEiichiro Odaauthor of the manga, who supervised the series.

compelling cast

Netflix, however, brought One piece in your mould. With its cast of young, suave scoops and its pop aesthetic reminiscent of the series. riverdalethe streaming platform appears to be targeting the show primarily at a teen audience (where the manga has been able to appeal to a broader audience, including adults).

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Eiichiro Oda envisioned Luffy’s infectious enthusiasm and optimism to inspire young audiences to better themselves and achieve their dreams. An energy that Iñaki Godoy, the young interpreter of Luffy, knew how to return perfectly to the screen.

The rest of the cast gives the same impression. They all portray the characters with conviction and even joy. Netflix had the good idea to entrust the roles to actors unknown to the public. The platform knows that the true protagonists of the series are the characters, from Zoro to Sanji through Nami, Arlong or even Usopp.

Each of his on-screen appearances during Tuesday night’s preview at the Grand Rex was warmly applauded, further proof that the show’s success is measured by its respect for myth. One piece. By faithfully transcribing every brave moment from the manga, Netflix puts fans in the pocket.

The series also takes top honors for character design, an essential aspect as Oda is a master at imagining new faces. If the terrifying fishman Arlong truly inspires fear on screen, Baggy the Clown is more grotesque, little helped by makeup and outrageous.

narrative freedoms

The first season covers the entire “East Blue arc”, that is, the first twelve volumes of the saga. If the creators of the series took narrative liberties, the spirit of the manga was respected to the letter. However, for reasons of pacing, the events have been condensed and the locations have changed.

The confrontation between the Mugiwara and the fearsome Kuro, one of the first antagonists of the manga, has thus moved from the beach of the town of Sirop to a mansion. A decision that allows the series to establish from the beginning real moments of terror that only occur much later in the saga (the arcs bark of suspense AND punk danger).

It is one of the main additions of Netflix to One piece: the series is generally more realistic and sometimes darker than the manga. Some deaths are also more explicit and bloody, while the manga strikes a balance between purely cartoony scenes and emotional moments (which the series still lacks).

If the serial and weekly rhythm of the manga allows diluting the tension, a season of eight episodes available on the same day cannot allow it. One piece The Netflix version thus develops certain characters, especially in the Navy, before accentuating the impression that Luffy is actively sought after.

A script decision that especially benefits two iconic secondary characters from the manga: Garp, hero of the Navy and Luffy’s grandfather, and Koby, captain of the Navy Luffy’s friend whose story is said in the background on the covers of the manga chapters.

Disappointing staging

If Eiichiro Oda brought burlesque humor to the fore with boards worthy of a Tex Avery cartoon, Netflix is ​​more timid in terms of staging. Some highly anticipated sequences, like the transfer of power between Shank Le Roux and Luffy, are disappointing and don’t have the same force as in the manga.

If the decision to shoot the series with a steadicam, a portable camera stabilization system, offers an immersive dimension to Luffy’s journey, the combats tend to be rather unreadable and conventional, far from Oda’s visual inventiveness and springy graphic style.

By reducing the stakes to a simple opposition between the Mugiwaras and the Navy, the series ultimately loses sight of what it does One piece what a rich work Thus, the anarchic and vindictive message of the manga emerges, whose hero Luffy is a kind of Che Guevara, liberator of peoples oppressed by corrupt governments.

If you succeed, One piece I could continue on Netflix. With 105 volumes to date, the manga could inspire at least twenty seasons. Enough to develop these still current themes, which will be at the center of the second season, the saga. Alabastaa reflection on tyranny and the importance of revolt.