The Big Picture
- Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece serves as a starting point for newcomers to the franchise, summarizing the East Blue Arc and eliminating fillers, requiring minimal prior knowledge.
- The show accurately represents the characters from the anime and manga, with strong performances and fleshed-out backstories, making it easy for viewers to understand without any additional research.
- Netflix’s One Piece challenges the idea of gatekeeping in entertainment, welcoming all viewers and introducing a new audience to the franchise, potentially sparking interest in watching the original anime series. The possibility of a second season is open, but the first season is strong enough to stand on its own.
Netflix is no stranger to adapting anime into live-action media and has tried its hand at this trend by using some fairly popular titles. One Piece has earned its reputation for being long-winded as there are already over one thousand episodes in the ongoing anime, as well as a good number of feature-length movies that interlude the show. Newcomers to One Piece might be cautious and may hold off on watching Netflix’s live-action One Piece because of this. Fortunately, One Piece on Netflix is designed to be a starting point for those who want to get into the franchise but have never seen the anime. The show does a praiseworthy job of summarizing the East Blue Arc and eliminates the backlog of anime filler episodes. Netflix packages its take on One Piece neatly enough that it’s fairly self-explanatory and requires minimal homework for viewers, including mostly accurate character introductions. If anything, the streaming service is encouraging those who enjoyed the live-action show to give the anime a watch.
The amount of anticipation and expectation has weighed down on Netflix’s One Piece since the media company announced that they’d be taking the series into their own hands. One Piece has amassed a dedicated following through the success of its anime and manga that have expressed a great deal of excitement over this new take on a beloved swashbuckling adventure for the Straw Hats. While fans of the source material have seemingly dominated the online conversation about Netflix’s One Piece, they’re not going to be the only ones watching it. Can you watch Netflix’s One Piece without seeing the anime? The answer is pretty obvious.
Can You Watch Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ If You’ve Never Seen the Anime?
The nice thing about Netflix’s One Piece is that it’s fairly viewer-friendly. In reality, some Netflix users may not even know that One Piece is an anime despite the immense popularity that the show has earned for itself. Anime has been around for some time, yet it’s still making its way into the mainstream point of view. For those who do know of the anime but don’t have an interest in committing to its massive catalog of media, they’re welcome to check out what the Straw Hat Crew is all about through the Netflix adaptation. To answer the question, yes, Netflix’s One Piece can be watched without seeing the anime. The streamer knows that not everyone who tunes in to watch One Piece will become an expert on the animated series, and they break down the essentials of what the anime encompasses (for now).
Netflix’s One Piece can be commended for how it translates its source material into an easy watch that’s designed to appeal to a new audience while pleasing a dedicated fanbase. Except for how Garp (Vincent Regan) is depicted in the live-action adaptation, One Piece cleanly captures the nature of each of its characters. The personalities on-screen are a generous reflection of their anime and manga counterparts. Inaki Godoy‘s Monkey D. Luffy is quick to steal hearts, and his entourage of pirates is each given plenty of personal depth to authentically speak to who they are. There’s enough context in the plot given by the screenwriters, assisted by strong performances, that tells the audience what they need to know without having to do their own research. Individual backstories are generously fleshed out without being overwhelming or confusing. Netflix’s One Piece cuts back on the excess of the anime’s filler episodes and ensures its first season is as straightforward as possible. It adapts to accommodate highlights of the East Blue Arc while making sure it doesn’t isolate those who don’t even know what the East Blue is.
Netflix is eliminating the idea of gatekeeping who can or cannot watch their media by creating a series that welcomes all. If anything, it challenges the idea of gatekeeping in entertainment and reminds even the most casual of viewers that pop culture can be consumed by all. Netflix’s One Piece is highly entertaining and rejects the idea that only fans of the anime are able to watch it.
It’s Not Too Late To Watch the ‘One Piece’ Anime
A reinvigorated interest in One Piece has been sparked thanks to Netflix’s efforts to make their live-action series debut into an international event. That’s not to deny the heavy following of the anime, which is still regularly releasing episodes, but doubling down on One Piece in the scope of the entertainment industry has given the franchise a tremendous boost. Netflix can be credited for driving up the interest in One Piece outside its already-invested fandom. In a way, it’s introduced a new audience to what the anime has achieved over the past couple of decades. First-time One Piece fans may be left wanting more following Season 1’s exciting cliffhanger, and may ask themselves, “Should I watch One Piece?” They may finally decide to give the anime a try for themselves. There isn’t a requirement to watch the anime prior to watching the live-action, but that doesn’t mean that new fans of the series can go back and see what inspired the show in the first place.
Fortunately, the original One Piece is also on Netflix, meaning that there won’t be much hassle when looking for ways to stream the anime. From there, they can compare the original series to the latest adaptation, and have an idea of what they can look forward to if Netflix decides to move forward with additional seasons of the show. One Piece is also available to watch on other streaming services like Crunchyroll, Hulu, Disney+, and Funimation.
Will There Be a Season 2 of ‘One Piece’ Live Action?
Netflix’s One Piece ended its initial season on an open-ended note, teasing the return of the live-action adaptation for future seasons. The show sets up a second season if the studio decides to move forward with building a One Piece universe on its platform. Even if they change their mind and forgo any additional installations of the series, the first season has enough strength to stand on its own. It’s ambiguous enough that a second season doesn’t need to be forced into production by Netflix if they choose to focus on other projects, yet it is available to revisit once the creative team has secured a solid plan for its return.
Showrunner duo Steven Maeda and Matt Owens recently spoke with Variety about the possibility of One Piece making a comeback for Season 2, where they said they planned on approaching things by “definitely taking it one step at a time.” In the same interview, they also noted that there are “so many possibilities and endless permutations” that One Piece has to work off of when exploring where the show could go next. If Netflix were to confirm a second season so soon, it would be likely that it would hit the small screens in 2024 or 2025 – leaving plenty of time for anime fans to catch up before the Straw Hat Crew takes on their next adventure.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
