YMMV / One Piece (2023)

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• Abandon Shipping: When it was revealed that Oda prohibited romance between the Straw Hats (although they can romance other characters outside the crew), a certain sector of the fandom abandoned ships that involved crew members being paired together.
• Adorkable: Like in the manga, Luffy's endearingly cheerful and goofy.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • While hunting down Kaya, there's a moment where Kuro appears to be on the verge of tears before he rips the painting of Kaya's family. Is he fighting back sympathy for the family that treated him like one of their own, or is it Berserker Tears as he lets loose his years of resentment?
  • When Luffy tells Usopp that he knew his father, the latter had a disappointed look on his face. Is Usopp resentful of Yasopp for walking out on him and his mother? Or was he jealous of Luffy that he actually got to meet his father?
  • Why doesn't Zoro use Three Sword Style as often as he does in the manga? Is it because, like in real life, fighting with a sword in his mouth for an extended period of time is hard to pull off? Or does he only sparingly use the Wado Ichimonji for sentimental reasons?
  • When, exactly, did Garp decide to let Luffy go to chase his dreams? Did he always intend to let him go eventually and was only making sure he was ready the whole time? Or was there a point in the season where he fully intended to never let Luffy be a pirate but changed his mind and decided to just test Luffy instead? If the latter, when did he change his mind? His conversation with Koby in episode 6? His conversation with Zeff in episode 7? Or perhaps it wasn't until Luffy refused to give up on his dream even after Garp soundly beat him in a fight, and Garp was lying about the fight itself being a test.
  • When Gold Roger says he's "bringing it to one and all", did he plan to have some of his crewmates ask where his treasure is so that people could continue his legacy? Or was it because of his immense reputation that he knew it would lead to some of the spectators to ask that question?
• And You Thought It Would Fail: The mixed track record of Western live-action adaptations of mangas and animes with critics and audiences - particularly Netflix's prior attempts, most infamously Death Note and Cowboy Bebop - had many people not expecting much from this series, with some suspecting it would be even worse than the aforementioned shows. It didn't help that the source material was widely considered a Hard-to-Adapt Work due to its cartoony and budget-unfriendly nature. If its warm reception with critics and audiences - enough to become the #1 trending show in 84 countries - and its renewal for a second season after only two weeks are anything to go by, it appears to have broken the trend.
  Rotten Tomatoes critics' consensus: One Piece captures the essence of its beloved source material with a charmingly big-hearted adaptation that should entertain longtime fans as well as patient newcomers.
  Honest Trailers: In a world where anime fans reject every live-action adaptation, usually for good reason, Netflix finally cracked the code: change almost nothing, no matter how ridiculous it looks.
• Awesome Music: Given this series shares composers as The Witcher (2019), the soundtrack skillfully mixes classic pirate music with leitmotifs and references to the anime's soundtrack, plus several fantastic tracks of its own:
  • The series' bombastic rendition of "We Are!" which plays when the Straw Hats set sail on the Going Merry, and after the crew have all pledged their dreams during the barrel scene.
  • "My Sails Are Set", a song that doubles as Nami's Image Song and also plays in the final episode, sung by Aurora.
  • Dracule Mihawk, the theme to reign from Mihawk's Establishing Character Moment, evoking a dramatic and exciting Spanish flair, of a warrior refined in his every motion, first playing in the scene of singlehandedly bringing down Don Krieg's crew all on his own whilst taking a call from Garp, the guitar very bit as refined as the swordsman.
  • The show's main theme, Wanted Dead Or Alive, perfectly emblematic of the themes of pursuing the beautiful freedom of Piracy at its greatest, that flawlessly encapsulates our main protagonist Luffy and his love of freedom, and it fittingly enough plays at the beginning of every single episode for Season 1.
• Broken Base: Whether the Syrup Village arc is better or worse than its manga counterpart. People who like the changes cite Kuro’s plan being less convoluted, the atmosphere, Kuro feeling like more like a threat than in the manga, and Merry not surviving Kuro’s attempt on his life as positive changes. Detractors think Usopp was shafted by being unable to fight Kuro as effectively as he did in the manga, that Jango’s exclusion makes the arc less fun, that the Black Cat Pirates neglecting to kill Zoro when they had the chance makes them seem incompetent, and that certain details of Kuro’s plan still don’t make sense.
• Can't Un-Hear It: Inaki Godoy's performance as Luffy has been unanimously praised for capturing the character's child-like energy while still being serious when needed.
• Catharsis Factor:
  • Given what a vile piece of shit Don Krieg was in the manga, it can't be denied how appropriate it was that his role was reduced to being little more than rust on the sword of the more likable Mihawk.
  • On a meta-example: Given how many fans wished he was given proper screentime that was fitting as his role as Garp's right-hand man, many fans were immensely satisfied to see Bogard's Ascended Extra status in the TV show.
• Creator Worship: Matt Owens, the developer, showrunner and head writer of the show, has received universal adoration and love from the fanbase for breaking the trend of live-action adaptations of mangas being bad, being a mega-fan of the source material (having read it three times and always rewatching the Thriller Bark arc during Halloween), successfully translating and honoring the world of the show into live-action format rather than trying to make it his own thing, as well as receiving the approval and respect of Eiichiro Oda, the series mangaka, himself.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Normally, watching a father hitting his own son in the face with a blunt object for butting into a conversation wouldn't be funny... but the fact that it's Helmeppo (pre-Character Development, still at peak Jerkass levels) makes it amusing, and the cartoonish gong sound effect of the impact is the cherry on top.
• Diagnosed by the Audience: Luffy's excitable nature and the fact that he admits he has trouble staying still hint at him having ADHD.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • This show's version of Buggy the Clown became an immediate fan favorite for getting some of the funniest moments in the show, and Jeff Ward's performance for making him the right mix of funny, scary, and charismatic.
  • Bogard is popular amongst the fans for his serious nature and Deadpan Snarker tendencies, as well as his loyalty to Garp and assisting him in training Koby. Especially amongst fans of the manga who have been wishing for him to have greater focus in the story.
• Evil Is Cool:
  • Mihawk, while more of an Anti-Villain than a full-on villain, still counts as this due to his hunt for Luffy. He's been praised by fans as one of the biggest highlights in the show for his badassery, swordsman skills, design, and being given a compelling performance by Steven Ward, with many fans saying he was ripped straight from the pages of the manga.
  • Arlong has also received praise for serving as Luffy’s most dangerous enemy in the first season. Being seen as the most dangerous pirate in the East Blue who all other pirates and citizens know and fear, whose goal involves conquering not just the East Blue but all the other seas and the Grand Line.
• Fan Nickname: Mister 7 is sometimes called "Mister 3 and a half" after being cut by Zoro.
• Foe Yay Shipping:
  • Zoro and Helmeppo have some tension during the Shells arc. Besides their fight scene, after Zoro accepts the punishment Morgan gives him, Helmeppo taunts Zoro by calling him a puppy and asking if he could do tricks like sit up and beg. Later, Zoro ends up catching Helmeppo swinging the sword he stole in the nude and states he's going to do something far worse than killing him, which is revealed to be cutting Helmeppo's hair into the style he originally had in the manga.
  • Fandom gleefully jumped on the Shanks/Buggy ship based on Buggy's bitter attitude at recognizing Luffy's hat as Shanks' and his taunting that Shanks would just let Luffy down feeling a bit like someone ranting about their ex. This is carried over somewhat from the manga/anime if you know the backstory between them, but Jeff Ward's performance lent major fuel to the fire.
• Improved Second Attempt:
  • Some have criticized Merry surviving Kuro's attack in the manga. Even if his wounds were survivable, Kuro neither making sure he was dead nor disposing of his body just made him look careless, despite being hyped up as The Chessmaster. Here, not only does Merry actually die, but Kuro orders Sham and Buchi to dispose of his body.
  • A lot of fans disliked how Yasopp's abandonment of his family to be a pirate was treated as noble in the manga and anime, especially since he wasn't there for his wife in her dying moments and left Usopp with massive issues. Here, Banchina doesn't say she was glad that Yasopp went out to sea before her death and Usopp's reaction to Luffy telling him he knew his dad is more negative, subtly having Yasopp's actions be criticized.
  • The cause of Kuina's death in the manga (falling down the stairs) felt massively underwhelming, considering she's the main figure in Zoro's backstory and his motivation for his desire to become the greatest swordsman in the world. Here, her death was simply said to be "an accident" without going into further detail. In addition, Kuina's belief that being female means she'll eventually be outpaced by the male students no matter what she does is not only thoroughly dismissed by Zoro, it's heavily implied to come from a place of personal insecurity as much as/moreso than any internalized misogyny.
• Love to Hate:
  • Buggy is far more evil and darker in the show than he was in the anime or manga, yet he is generally regarded as one of the strongest highlights of the show because of these reasons, combined with Jeff Ward's delectable performance making him an absolute joy to watch.
  • Alexander Maniatis has received nothing but praise from fans for his portrayal as Kuro, perfectly capturing the character's smug, sinister personality while also subtly giving off an air of genuine menace.
• Magnificent Bastard:
  • Monkey D. Garp shows a more cunning side to him than his manga counterpart. Finding out that his grandson Luffy has became a pirate, Garp uses Captain Morgan's past corruption to strip him of his power and take control of his division to chase the Straw Hats through the East Blue. Garp tracks down the Straw Hats at every turn, even using Coby and Helmeppo's failure to arrest Luffy at The Gecko Islands as an opportunity to attack the Straw Hats' ship directly when they take off. Upon defeating Luffy at Conomi Islands, when Luffy refuses to give up on his dream, Garp lets him go, revealing all of his actions were to test Luffy's resolve. Garp later takes in Coby and Helmeppo as his disciples as a result of them following their own code and refusing to arrest Luffy for a crime he didn't commit.
  • Dracule Mihawk is just as brilliant and charming as his original manga counterpart. A brilliant tactician, Mihawk is introduced effortlessly defeating Don Krieg and his fleet and uses Krieg's own weapons to take out his crew. Mihawk is hired by Monkey D. Garp to hunt down his grandson and bring him in and tracks him to Baratie. Challenged by Roronoa Zoro to a duel, Mihawk keeps him on his toes and effortlessly matches him blow for blow before acknowledging him as a Worthy Opponent. Becoming intrigued by Monkey D. Luffy, Mihawk abandons his goal of catching him in favor of allowing him to rise and possibly become King of the Pirates just so that the world can become more interesting.
• Memetic Molester: Kuro gets this treatment from fans as a result of the way he acted when he was about to kill Kaya. He creepily calls out to her saying that "we're all alone" and "it's just you and me." The fact that he waited until Kaya turned eighteen only adds fuel to the fire.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • Creepy Buggy^ExplanationTo promote the series, Tumblr added a photo of Buggy looking into the camera to users' dashboards on the show's release day. The viral marketing campaign was met with shock and dismay for many users due to both his creepy stare and the fact that the graphic couldn't be removed without browser extensions. Consequently, the campaign became a widespread subject of parody, with many people reposting the image of Buggy to mess with each other.
  • The sword was coated with Haki. ^ExplanationIn Episode 1, when Zoro rolled away from Morgan’s attack, fans noticed that Wado Ichimonji got bent from the roll. They jokingly say it’s foreshadowing Haki given that the sword remains intact.
  • Minority Hunter Zoro ^Explanation Carried over from a manga meme, fans jokingly call out Zoro for targeting minorities. One "proof" is that the first thing he does in the show is kill Mr. 7, a black man. The other "evidence" is when he says to Luffy (played by a Hispanic actor) he hunts down "his kind" (obviously referring to pirates within context). In addition, he says that he only had one friend back at the dojo... and the flashback shows that nearly every other student was black.
  • In the next seasons, most of the female characters will be played by Emily Rudd wearing a different wig. / Emily Rudd has been cast as [future female character]. ^Explanation The original One Piece manga is infamous for most of the female characters having essentially the same face as Nami, such as Vivi, Rebecca and Shirahoshi, so it is jokingly said that Emily Rudd will play the majority of the female characters in future seasons.
  • Krieg fans seething/Justice For Krieg ^Explanation Being one of the more unpopular characters in the original, nobody was really all that angry that Krieg was Demoted to Extra. This didn't stop people from making ironic memes as if they were angry about it, demanding that Netflix fix it.
  • "Netflix, I dare you." ^ExplanationA meme in which people post screenshots of the anime or manga with this title. This can be anything from a Fanservice shot of Nami, Luffy punching a woman, or a character saying something less than appropriate.
  • RIP Pell/Pagaya ^{Explanation (spoilers)} Due to Merry getting hit with Death by Adaptation, fans quickly realized that Pell (set up for a Heroic Sacrifice only to survive with one of the most infamous Disney Deaths in the series) and Pagaya (a normal person directly hit by Enel's lightning, only to be another infamous Disney Death like Pell) both have a high chance of not making it out of Seasons 2-3 alive.
• Misaimed Fandom: Certain viewers took Kuina's belief that women are weaker than men at face value, when the show makes it clear that Kuina was insecure/had some internalized misogyny and Zoro refused to accept that outlook, as strength and physical advantages alone do not determine the outcome of a fight. Moreover, Nami is shown to be able to take down male opponents and Luffy is able to defeat Buggy, Arlong, and Kuro not purely with raw strength, but through strategy and outwitting them. And that's not even getting into Haki, which can be used by man and woman alike in the world of One Piece, and the fact that organizations like the Seven Warlords and the Four Emperors had a female member, Boa Hancock in the former and Charlotte "Big Mom" Linlin in the latter, in their ranks, women that are considered some of the most powerful fighters in this setting. At most, her physical disadvantages might have made her path more difficult in the early stages but ultimately wouldn't have been anything she couldn't have overcome.
• Shocking Moments:
  • The scene of Zeff and his leg shocked many viewers who were used to the anime, where Zeff cut it off to save Sanji from drowning instead. And those same viewers who thought that the Autocannibalism was an especially dark adaptational change tend to be even more surprised that this was how Zeff originally lost it in the manga.
  • Also the scene where Zoro cut Mr. 7 completely in half. Many first time viewers of One Piece, and even the long-time fans, were surprised at the extent of the gore and violence displayed, having thought that this was just a light-hearted romp of adventure.
  • Helmeppo's full display of his backside had viewers momentarily stunned.
• Signature Scene: The Straw Hats sailing aboard the Going Merry for the first time is remembered for successfully bringing an already iconic moment from the manga to life. The scene is enhanced by the first use of an orchestral version of "We Are", the franchise's Signature Song, in this series.
• Special Effect Failure:
  • During his fight with the Marines in Shell Town, when Zoro rolls on the ground, you can clearly see Wado Ichimonji bend like plastic in its sheath.
  • The outline of Peter Gadiot’s arm can be spied under his clothes after Shanks loses his arm.
  • When Usopp sets down a supposedly heavy barrel of dried meat just before Sanji joins the crew, it slides across the ground in a manner that a heavy barrel would not, signifying that it's empty.
  • During the scene where Nami attempts to carve off her Arlong Pirates tattoo, the first stab to her arm visibly doesn't leave a wound or any blood.
• Squick:
  • When Alvida clubs one of the captives in the head, you can see a bit of the aftermath when Koby is forced to clean it up.
  • The Fishmen are visibly slimy. You can almost smell them through the screen.
  • When he and Zeff were stranded on a rock for 3 months, young Sanji willingly ate moldy bread out of desperation to not starve to death.
  • Zeff eats his right leg to survive during Sanji's backstory, following the manga's version of the tale rather than the anime's version. It's punctuated even further here by close-ups on Zeff's face, showing the considerable amount of dried blood around his mouth, and a cut away to the nearby rocks he used to do it, which still have visible gore on them.
  • During Luffy's round two vs Arlong, he punches him in the face hard enough to dislodge the latter's teeth, before Arlong starts laughing. Then we get a lovely closeup of said teeth falling out of his mouth, still dripping with blood even as new ones take their place in seconds.
• Take That, Scrappy!: Don Krieg was the least popular East Blue Saga villain due to having a generic personality and having the hype behind his armada being undermined by Mihawk disposing of it offscreen. Naturally, few fans lost sleep over Mihawk killing him as quickly as he's introduced.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: Because the adaptation didn't keep a few moments of Usopp showing off his sniping skills, and his fight with Chew got simplified, some fans and new viewers were disappointed that him being a Plucky Comic Relief took most of his screentime in the first season.
• Ugly Cute: The series' animatronic take on the transponder snails give them obviously bumpy "skin", humanlike eyes in the stalk, and prominent lips and teeth. Nevertheless, fans were charmed by the designs.
• Unexpected Character:
  • Many were taken by surprise by Foxy, Cavendish, and Bellamy's wanted poster cameos.
  • Many feared Smoker was cut from the adaptation and his character merged with Garp and Coby due to the lack of a casting announcement. His appearance in the final scene of the Sequel Hook of the final episode was an unexpected but very welcome surprise. He also briefly appeared as a young man during Roger's execution at the start of the first episode.
  • Many were surprised that the Transponder Snails made it into this adaptation, since they were one of the more outlandish elements of the source material. Fans initially assumed they'd be replaced with phones or radios for the sake of realism.
• Visual Effects of Awesome:
  • The series has garnered significant praise for faithfully translating the seemingly untranslatable and out-there world of the source material through a combination of fairly good CGI and inventive practical effects.
  • Luffy's stretching scenes, while not perfect, are still hailed as a significant improvement over all previous attempts to depict stretchy humans, such as in Fantastic Four (2005). This is especially notable after the MCU - which doesn't usually shy away from effects-heavy sequences - outright abandoned the effort for Ms. Marvel (2022), completely changing the main character's power set.
  • Buggy's Chop-Chop powers have also gotten praise, not only for genuinely looking very good - in particular, his various un/re-attachments take on magnetism cues for a mix of realism and cartoony elements - but for how creepy it looks. His limbs floating and speeding around like a hurricane of blades makes Buggy look extra monstrous.
  • The Transponder Snails are actual physical animatronics and look amazingly lifelike.
• The Woobie:
  • Kaya is a physically fragile young woman who isn't likely to forget that her trusted butler was actually a brigand that was planning to murder her and steal her inheritance. On top of that, in this adaptation, the cook and a maid are the butler's accomplices, and her financial advisor Merry, a very kind man, is brutally killed.
  • Just like in the original series, Nami was an orphan living in near-poverty who had to witness her foster mother's murder and forced to plunder the seas for years to liberate her village, only for Nezumi to confiscate her savings on a tip from Arlong so that she may stay a slave for the rest of her life.

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