One Piece

I had no idea about the existence of the manga “One Piece” until the series was released on Netflix, and after watching the first season I was pleasantly surprised by this project. Visually, the series cannot be denied the animated source material – whether it was the locations, the appearance of some characters or the peculiar choice of costumes – but even in terms of the characters' behaviour, I felt at times as if I was (nostalgically) watching Pokémon. Monkey D. Luffy, for instance, is indeed a quirky character with an infectious optimism and a clear goal, and the actor succeeded in capturing his thought processes on the whole. Of his crew, I wasn't entirely sold on Usopp, which was as much a due to the actor as the characterization of the character itself. Of the villains, I liked Klahadore and Mihawk, while the scenes with the Fish-men, who were given quite a bit of space, made me feel like I was watching the victims of poorly done sculptures. I liked that you are given a glimpse into the past of the main characters alongside the current storyline, with the line with Sanji and Zeff being the most interesting to me. The first season was indeed brisk, full of adventure and action, and even though I found the execution a bit too frantic in places (which was certainly influenced by the source material), I really enjoyed it and am curious to see what the creators will offer in any future seasons. (01.10.2023)