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The long-awaited release of One Piece's live-action adaptation on Netflix has left fans ecstatic and eager to see some of the most iconic scenes of the series interpreted by real actors. The series will recount the events of the East Blue Saga, the first portion of the story, throughout eight episodes. If the first season is successful, further arcs will be adapted.
Admittedly, transposing a shonen manga/anime into a very different medium, such as a TV series, is not easy, especially with regard to One Piece. Eiichiro Oda's record-breaking franchise has immense fame and popularity, which makes the expectations for the live-action adaptation particularly high.
Understandably, Netflix's One Piece live-action adaptation isn't a perfect replica of Oda's original work but takes some artistic liberties, modifying or omitting some events and characters.
Keep reading to find out all the differences between One Piece's manga and its live-action adaptation.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece live-action series.
All the major changes made to adapt One Piece's original story into Netflix's live-action show
The barrel scene
One of the most iconic moments of One Piece in its manga, anime, and live-action version, this scene sees the first five Straw Hats, i.e., Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, placing their legs on a barrel while declaring their respective dreams to each other.
In the manga, this scene takes place after Luffy and the others leave Rogue Town, shortly before entering the Grand Line. However, in the live-action adaptation, there is a change, as it happens at the end of the Arlong Park Arc.
Garp's role
An exceptionally powerful Marine who, in his prime days, was strong enough to fight on par with the Pirate King, Monkey D. Garp is also Luffy's eccentric yet caring grandfather. In the manga, Garp was only properly introduced after the Enies Lobby Arc, but the live-action series makes him a protagonist from the very beginning.
In Netflix's show, Garp is the one carrying the execution of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. Furthermore, Garp's family ties with Luffy are soon revealed as the Vice Admiral starts pursuing his grandson to capture him. After briefly fighting him, however, Garp decides to let Luffy and his comrades continue their adventure.
Aesthetic differences
Pretty obviously, the only means to reproduce some very peculiar designs without the characters concerned looking awkward was heavy reliance on computer graphics. Preferring a more natural approach, Netflix's adaptation has opted for reducing such kind of imagery to the bare minimum.
As a result, however, the trademark physical features of some characters were suppressed, most notably Usopp's elongated nose and Sanji's curled eyebrow. Arlong also seems quite different compared to how he is depicted in the original series.
Lines, talks, and humor
Many scenes were rearranged, leading to some lines and conversations changing. Still, the franchise's trademark comedy aspect is fully maintained, although the show tries to mix the typical anime humor with a more Western-like comedy.
However, certain lines, although funny, seemed a bit out of place. For instance, the scene where Luffy enthusiastically claimed that all great fighters call out their finishing moves, with Zoro caustically denying the idea, felt unfortunate, as the green-haired swordsman is absolutely used to doing the same.
Nami's introduction is brought forward
The navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates, "Cat Burglar" Nami, is the female heroine of the franchise. In the manga, Nami is introduced in chapter 8, where she immediately shows her shrewdness, deceiving and robbing some of Buggy's goons.
In Netflix's adaptation, instead, Nami is with Luffy and Zoro from the very beginning and even assists her during the battle against Ax Hand Morgan and his Marines in Shell Town. Compared to her manga version, Nami is also a decently capable fighter in the live-action series.
Don Krieg suffers a tremendous fate in every way
One of the main changes featured in the One Piece live-action series is the part played by Don Krieg. In the manga, the vicious pirate arrives at the Baratie Restaurant together with Gin and his other subordinates and ends up fighting with Luffy.
In the live-action series, Krieg's role is much more minor. He doesn't even get to Baratie, as Dracule Mihawk slaughters him and his entire pirate fleet. Krieg's place as the major antagonist after the battle between Zoro and Mihawk is taken by Arlong, who makes an unexpected early appearance at the Baratie.
Zoro's battle with Mr 7 is shown
While the manga never shows the fight between Zoro and Mr 7, just referencing it, Netflix's adaptation fully displays the battle.
Due to Zoro's fame as a powerful bounty hunter, Crocodile's Baroque Works sent Mr 7 to recruit the swordsman into the organization. As Zoro refused, saying that he would only join them if they made him the boss, Mr 7 tried to forcefully recruit him. However, Zoro easily defeated the Baroque Works agent and mercilessly killed him.
Included in the first episode of the live-action series as a part of Zoro's flashback, this fight is also compelling because it introduced Baroque Works from the very beginning, while it took more than 100 chapters for the original manga to do the same.
Minor changes in Orange Town and Syrup Village
Compared to the manga version, Netflix's adaptation not only portrays Buggy in a much creepier way but also slightly modifies the events that led to his defeat in Orange Town. The fight against Buggy and his men doesn't take place in the town but within a circus tent that serves as the pirate crew's lair.
Furthermore, the roles of Cabaji and Orange Town mayor Boodle are significantly reduced, while other characters are completely erased from the episode's storytelling.
Likewise, in Syrup Village, the fight against the dreadful Kuro takes place in Kaya's mansion rather than on the shore. As envisioned by his plan, Kuro is acting under the guise of the butler Klahadore. In the live-action series, he directly causes Kaya's illness by slowly poisoning her.
In the manga, Merry is another butler and, even though he gets wounded during Kuro's rampage, manages to survive. In the real-life adaptation, Merry is Kaya's financial advisor and, unfortunately, dies because of his injury. It must also be noted that in Netflix's version, Usopp and Kaya share a romantic kiss.
Arlong's hatred towards humans is more circumstantial
With regards to the motivation behind Arlong's great deal of hatred for humans, there's a notable difference between One Piece's manga and its live-action transposition.
In the manga, during the Arlong Park Arc, the shark simply looks down on humans because they are generally weaker than FIsh-Men. It is only hundreds of chapters later that the story further delves into the matter, revealing that Fish-Men especially hate humans because they were previously enslaved by them.
In the live-action series, Arlong's motives are expanded from the start.
Nami's relationship with Coco Village is not the same
Before being saved by Luffy, who inflicted a brutal defeat on Arlong, Nami was forced to work as a mapmaker in the Fish-Man's crew.
As Arlong threatened to destroy her hometown, Coco Village, Nami made a deal with him, which included that the former would leave the place if he had been paid a certain amount. For this reason, Nami started living as a pirate, trying to steal as much money and wealth as possible to finally pay Arlong and ransom Coco Village.
In the One Piece manga, Nami's townsmen are fully aware of the motives for her actions. However, in the Netflix TV show, all of them, including Nojiko and Genzo, initially considered her a traitor.
All characters who were straight-up cut from Season 1
Unfortunately, having to concentrate the equivalent of about 100 manga chapters, or depending on the medium, about 50 anime episodes, into just eight episodes of a TV show means some cuts have become inevitable.
Given below is a list of the characters that, despite being included in both Eiichiro Oda's manga and Toei Animation's transposition, were completely omitted from Netflix's One Piece live-action adaptation:
- Mohji
- Chouchou
- Ninjin
- Piiman
- Tamanegi
- Jango
- Johnny
- Yosaku
- Momoo
- Hatchan
- Gaimon
Summing up, is One Piece Live-Action a faithful adaptation of Eiichiro Oda's beautiful story?
Justifiably, fans are concerned that the real-life adaptation of One Piece could fail to capture the unique spirit of the series, but Eiichiro Oda's personal involvement in the project should be a guarantee that such a thing isn't happening. Oda himself is one of the show's executive producers.
The creator of One Piece fully cooperated with Netflix to the point where he took several breaks from releasing the weekly manga chapters to work on the adaptation's details.
As a result, the live-action series directly carries One Piece fans into a captivating experience that manages to stay true to the franchise's typical mix of adventure, friendship, epicness, and comedy while simultaneously implementing all the slight changes necessary to adapt a shonen series into a TV show.
Whether it is the characters, events, or locations, all changes are minor, not to mention that they have been endorsed by Oda himself. As the mangaka addressed, Netflix's live-action series is an exceptional chance for One Piece to be appreciated by the world.
