— TalkOP One Piece Forum Analysis Area —
Author ID: Monchi D Luffy
Release date: 2023.9.10
— Reproduction without permission is prohibited —
Fairy tales for adults
- A brief review of the Netflix live-action series "ONE PIECE" S1E1
The overall impression I had of the first episode of the Netflix live-action series "ONE PIECE" was a mediocre beginning, containing most of the important story passages at the beginning of the original work and a few subsequent episodes, focusing on the show's episode tone, fighting style, special effects level and character adaptation, but the effect could not achieve a hit positive feedback. There are many reasons for this, but this article will only briefly comment on the impression I had of the first episode and the differences compared to the original.
I. First impressions
When the casting of the fivesome was first announced, I was extremely resistant to the project, until the sheep's head photo of the Forward Melly came out, which was my previous attitude.
The original style of OP is Japanese, especially the fresh painting style in the early stage. And the sheep's head with an open mouth on the set predicted to the world in advance the style and tone of this drama that is quite different from the original, and the biggest attraction of its adaptation will also be - a shell that is different from the original painting style, living the soul of the original character; They will act similarly when faced with situations similar to those in the original. If a comic book live-action drama produced by the main creative team of different cultural backgrounds achieves this kind of reproduction of pursuing god-like and striving for form-likeness, it will be more than half successful.
Second, the overall tone
The OP original work is a teenager's blood full of childlike silliness, and the live-action drama seems to wear some adult restraints, which makes this drama closer to adult fairy tales, no longer a story written by Oda for teenagers.
1. Smooth the edges and corners
Since Epida found Luffy and Comparable in the play, I look forward to the plot where Epida scolds Epida in person, but unfortunately this famous scene is not restored in the play. Compare was pushed by Luffy throughout this scene, and did not show his courage to pick up his dream when he was infected by Luffy. This adaptation is not necessarily determined by the tone of the series - his style of acting is mentioned at the end of the first episode, but it also reflects the spirit of the series that is different from the original, which weakens the fearless pursuit of dreams and stubbornness of the original work.
Adult dreams are destined to be unable to move forward like teenagers, and the crew obviously believes that such adaptations will run through the entire show, and I don't think this adaptation is good. OnePiece is always a juvenile hot blood comic drawn for teenagers, so it seems that shooting an OP from an adult perspective to revisit the past blood of those who were once teenagers and inject new vitality into the OP does not seem bad.
2. Restrained way of performing
The characters in the original comics never spared large-scale movements and exaggerated expressions, constructing the comic comic comic style of spitting humor, compared to the restrained expression of the actors in the live-action drama. Correspondingly, the way to make laughter in the play is also common to make people laugh through the denial between the characters' lines (Zorro and Nami deny Luffy's partner) and the contrast between the lines and the facts (Luffy says that he acts secretly). It's hard to say which of the two methods is better or worse, but I personally laugh more when I read the whimsical nonsensical plot of the comics.
In fact, is it feasible to shoot live-action movies and TV in the exaggerated style of the original comics? Stephen Chow has already given the world an answer, a "Truant Weilong", plus a "King of Destruction", which perfectly integrates exaggerated body movements into the characters' every move, in addition to contributing countless nonsensical fun, but also successfully makes the characters' behaviors come to life. Therefore, this method of performance is completely feasible in live-action shooting, and the crew did not choose this performance, either because they did not want to go against the effect they wanted to present, or they could not control this performance style.
Moments from Truant Dragon and Lord of Destruction
Third, character adaptation - take Roronoa Zorro as an example
The first episode appeared in one breath three members of the Straw Hats, of which Luffy's interpretation I think should be appreciated in conjunction with some of the plots behind, and Nami's highlight is still to come, but Zorro is relatively comprehensive and complete, and it is more worth saying.
1. Cassing
Shinta Shinkenyu, who has one-line eyebrows, double eyelids, big eyes and a cherry small mouth, was controversial as early as the initial announcement of the casting stage, and was undoubtedly lost at the starting line. Fortunately, the actor did not work hard under the scenes, and the strong body and posture presented on stage in the end were enough to conquer fans under the long vision, and his soft facial features also happened to be close to the small fresh painting style in the early stage of the comic.
Nitta Zorro's rare "Warcraft" moment
But playing Zorro, who is known as a Warcraft, the difficulty of character shaping brought to him by his beautiful facial features is huge. Zorro played by Nitta can not intuitively express Zorro's bestiality in the original work most of the time, whether from facial features or temperament, it can be said that the overall feeling of the character is two flavors of the comics. Of course, this is not only because of the actors' facial features, but also the role of the crew's adaptation method.
2. Adaptation
The TV series has made a significant adaptation of Zorro's appearance, including the invitation to the Baroque Walker, the Bound Cross, and the opportunity to board the ship.
Being invited to join Baroque Walker is a plot that is too small in the original work, but it is mentioned lightly, and it plays a role in the ups and downs of the plot. The first appearance was the prelude to Zorro's hundred people, which overthrew the taunts of the Straw Hats by a hundred bounty hunters with a newly revealed past, and instantly established Zorro's vigilant, reliable image and the momentum of watching the audience. The second appearance is to tell Mr.1&Miss the reason why he refused to join Baroque Walker - when the boss joins - the effect is similar to the first appearance, but also contributes a clever joke. And all this ingenuity has received some fluctuations with the adaptation of the TV series.
Shooting this episode directly may not only weaken the effect of the subsequent plot "reverse" mood swings, but also abandon the laughter of "being the boss". In the play, Zorro said that he likes the number one with the meaning of "being the boss", but this adaptation is more to put the middle finger up. I personally think this adaptation is very regrettable.
In the original work, Zorro's appearance was described from the side, from the notoriety of Warcraft to the kindness of the eating group, so as to quickly establish a kind Warcraft image in contrast, and set the basic color of Zorro's cold heart and heat. And many of the subsequent Zorro's funny points are also based on this. And a series of adaptations of the live-action version, in the character adaptation, softened Zorro's color, and even indirectly affected Zorro's entry opportunity, and it was not clearly explained by the end of the first episode, which is not a good thing for the bond between Zorro and Luffy, especially the setting of Zorro as the first mate of the Straw Hat Pirates. However, the adaptation of all this happens to coincide with this soft version of Zorro.
To sum up, although the Nitta version of Zorro has deviations from the original in facial features and temperament, the shape is very perfect. Combined with the overall color of the characters and the way the plot is adapted, this version of Zorro can be said to have a big deviation from the original.
4. Testimonials
The live-action drama has some deviations from the original work in terms of overall tone and character adaptation, and these deviations have created some subtle regrets in my perception, but unfortunately I can't express everything I want in words. It's not that live-action dramas are bad - on the contrary, this TV series has a tendency to go low and high, and the special effects and fighting effects are getting better and better. And that goes back to my assessment of the first episode: mediocrity. The crew's positioning of the first episode is accurate, focusing all the highlights on the first episode for a preliminary display at one time, and even boldly adopting the strategy of wanting to promote and suppress first, and the whole episode is released at one time, and the good drama is even later.
By the time this manuscript was written, I had only seen the fifth episode, and I wish I could finish the rest as soon as possible.