The teaser trailer for One Piece dropped a few days ago, showing off the live-action, Netflix adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s famous manga of the same name.
The story takes old fans and new back to the early days of the manga, with Luffy meeting his crew mates for the first time, and his trip to the Grand Line, where the best, most wanted pirates set sail. The trailer also includes a few other familiar faces like Buggy and Shanks, who have a reserved, yet recognisable look to them.
It looks like Netflix haven’t changed much of the original premise, which may calm the nerves of some fans worried that the company might try to tamper with what makes One Piece so loved. It seems that the manga has just been given a shiny new coat of live-action paint instead.
On the other hand, some fans have criticised the conversion to live-action, as they have said that the eccentric or unnatural character designs could look uncanny or just plain ridiculous when given a real-world filter. Though from the trailer, it looks to be fairly seamless, with some fans even praising the cast and their portrayal of the crew of the Going Merry (their ship, also seen in the trailer).
While the trailer doesn’t promise us anything new, it also doesn’t stretch itself too thin with what it has. It seems to be an honest, faithful adaptation of a simple story beloved by many, about a rubber boy who wants to be ‘The King of The Pirates’. Hopefully it can recapture the same charm that the original One Piece had.
The show will release on the streaming service on August 31st on Netflix, but is already gaining some major traction, with the trailer having 7.4 million views as of today.
Words by Finn Macdiarmid
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