One Piece Comparisons

The Show: Netflix has tried converting a few famous animated shows into live action shows before. You might recall the entire debacle regarding how bland the actors of Cowboy Bebop were in 2021 compared to the 1998 animated series. Perhaps you might know less about the 2017 movie of Death Note. In any case, the 8 episodes of One Piece proved to be a little more interesting from the get-go. The first episode holds strong but the rest of the show feels off somewhat as if there are certain important story-telling moments missing from the main plot. What did they include from the 1,075 animated episodes? 

Episodes: The interesting part about all this is that I personally have never watched the show or read the manga. I knew it existed and heard little things about it over the years but felt the sheer length of content too daunting to get a foot in. I once tried that with the Bleach series and ended up drifting away from the complicated characters somewhere between the first and second seasons. So the thing I wanted to know most about is what really happened during those eight live action episodes. The answer was quite surprising.

Expansion: The primary difference between the live action and the anime is how they incorporated the head of the Mariners going after the protagonist. This generates "a chase" while also building some unnecessary tension and plot devices throughout the first season. Luffy meeting Garp does not occur until Chapter 431 or Episode 313. There are variations of meeting this man in all sorts of material but most of them do not match the events told in the live version. While I applaud the added element of seeing things from the Marine's perspective, much of it seemed to get in the way. The second aspect that sets these two stories apart is how much they condense the threats of the pirates. Much of the animated series goes into extensive details of the captain's abilities, his officers, and the wavering loyalty of the crew. The live action version doesn't seem to create the same type of impact when all you see is a captain and an officer or two without their entourage for support.

Differences: So, what exactly did the anime do better than the live action series? Let's take a look:

Romance Dawn covers the first live episode, Episodes 1-3 of the animated series, or Chapters #1-7 of the manga.

• Instead of lumping Nami with Luffy, she is merely a character seen in the background stealing miscellaneous treasures as each battle ensues. She has very little dialogue and the only one that attempts to steal the map out of the vault hiding behind some barrels. She instead finds a silly note left behind by Captain Buggy.
  
• Helmeppo does indeed threaten the child with charges for assaulting a marine when he comes into the bar with a ferocious dog but Zoro immediately receives the punishment of being tied up in the yard instead for one month (not one week). Luffy finds him already hanging there when the girl is trying to sneak in to feed him. Even though his sentence was almost up, Luffy breaks him free to join his crew after learning that the marines were going to execute him the next day. 
• The introduction of Luffy sinking his ship and sleeping in a barrel might seem silly, but the animated series waits until one of the pirates is about to break open the container some time into the first episode before making his first appearance. His ship was actually lost to a giant whirlpool. Amusingly, the manga starts the first issue showing Luffy as a child and immediately reveals how he received his scar on page #5 but this doesn't get revealed in the anime until a special flashback episode years later. The manga has him breaking out the barrel when they are unloading cargo at their camp.
  
• Axe-Hand Morgan was so self-centered at the base that he ordered his men to pull up a giant statue of himself ten times his size on top of the tallest building. The fighting sequences between the marines and the pirates are about the same except for a few things: Zoro's "three-sword technique" is immediately recognized when he places one in his mouth, Luffy demonstrates how a barrage of rifle bullets bounce off his skin, and Nami does not participate in the fight or require a disguise to sneak into the base. The marines actually salute their departure after dealing with their corrupted leader and they do not make chase or appear in the animated series again for awhile.
  
• One massive change between all three mediums is the entire history of Shimotsuki Kuina. The manga very briefly shows Zoro's promise to her in a flashback in the manga while he is still tied up in the yard. The live version builds up a couple of big fights between the kids while he is trapped in a well during Usopp's story. The animated version actually goes way beyond by showing his first challenge, a year of training, their final confrontation, the funeral, and visiting the grave site before heading to the docks.
  

Orange Town is shown in the second episode of "The Man in the Straw Hat" and covers Episodes 4-8 in the animated series. The episode deviates a ton from source material of Chapters #8-21.

• Nami does indeed trick a gang of pirates by stealing their ship while they were busy trying to open a trick chest on her dinghy. Surprisingly, the first mention of her in the manga is in Chapter #8 when these pirates stumble upon Luffy and Zoro out to sea.
  
• The live version has the team trapped inside a crate and pulled into the tent of Captain Buggy as his crew re-enacts the circus with the villagers chained to the wooden seats. In the animated series, Luffy is carried to the town when he tried to grab a giant seagull for food (like in the manga) while Nami is pretty upfront about how needing 100 million berry and tries to steal his treasure right under his... nose. The villagers have all fled and the mayor tries to find a way to fight him with some rudimentary armor equipped.
• Captain Buggy is well-known and sets up the crew on top of one of the buildings with a giant cannonball to have fun tearing up the village. After Luffy assists ChouChou the dog with some food, he helps fend off Captain Buggy's officer Beast Tamer Mohji. In episode 8, they fight his other officer Cabaji as he rides around on a unicycle. What's interesting in the animated series (or Chapter #19 of the manga) is the complete backstory of how Captain Buggy received his powers and why he hates Shanks so much. 
• During one of the battles, Luffy initiates his Gum Gum Balloon to bounce the bullet back to Captain Buggy, similarly to how it was demonstrated when the marines were chasing their ship across the sea in one episode of the live version. Instead of placing Buggy's body parts in crates, Captain Buggy is essentially tied and held down with some rope Nami had on hand.

Treasure Island: There is this one oddball moment that doesn't connect with any of the story. The anime waits until the 18th episode after Usopp joins the team. It wouldn't be worth a mention if they didn't show all three Jolly Roger versions at the beginning of the episode. Chapter #22 "Strange Creatures" of the manga follows this story after Nami repairs the damage Captain Buggy did to Luffy's straw hat. They also explain more about the Red Line and the Grand Line as they converse with a man that was trapped and left abandoned in a chest. 

Syrup Village is an interesting arc that spans across the 3rd & 4th episode of the live edition, Chapters #23-41 of the manga, and episodes 9-17 of the anime.

• Usopp's joking nature comes across more clearly in the anime. The entire town chases after him when he laughs about when the pirates are coming. He hangs from a limb to talk to Kaya while she is depressed of losing her family one year earlier. There's also three kids who are considered part of his crew and helps out in their own way.
• The entire plot around Klahadore is different from the live version. Instead of slowly poisoning Kaya with some tea or ultimately killing her through some poisoned soup after she inherits the estate when turning 18, he sends his officer Jango the Hypnotist (who looks and moon walks like Michael Jackson) to convince her to sign over everything in her will and then plans to kill her afterwards. Ironically, Kaya initially counters his advances simply by keeping her eyes closed in Chapter #38 of the manga. She only gives in when he threatens to kill the children.
• The Meowban brothers, which are male & female in the live version, only show up with the rest of the Black Cat Pirates to raid the town in the morning of Episode 13 of the anime or Chapter #31 of the manga. Jango the Hypnotist helps make the crew and both Siam & Butchie stronger as they fight against the Straw Hat Pirates. When Kaya runs, he chases after her and comes close to killing her himself with the help of his deadly chakrams.
• There is a complete backstory where Captain Kuro, known as the Man of a Thousand Plans, grew tired of the marines chasing after him. With the help of Jango, he created a double that would die in his place and abandoned his entire persona to establish a place of peace all to himself. Although brief, he admits to shattering the jaw of Axe-Hand Morgan that day. For three years, he played as Kaya's butler (and was surprised to find out when her father died). However, he ultimately intends to follow through with his plan completely to kill every single person that knows he is still alive, including his crew, despite what might have occurred during the time.
  
• The island consists of a small town, the mansion, and two entrances from the shore. Unlike the live version, there is no shipyard to speak of. The complete history of Merry was different in the anime. Instead of outright dying (to the surprise of Kuro in the manga), he lives to tell Kaya the truth regarding the pirates. The Going Merry (or the Merry Go in the manga) is given to Luffy personally in exchange of saving the town by Merry. It was him who tells Kaya of Usopp's mother in Episode 17.
• Kaya's personality is much more engaging in the anime. She knows from the start that Usopp lies about his adventures but enjoys his company nonetheless. When the battle commences and she discovers the truth about the pirates, she runs to the shore, pulls out a gun but lacked the conviction to fire, and flees with the kids into the forest after Captain Kuro refuses her offer of obtaining everything in exchange of the safety of the village. In all versions, she plans on becoming a doctor.

Baratie has a lot of moving parts that all take place around a floating restaurant. The live version episodes 5 & 6 borrows a few major segments while speeding up the introduction of the main pirate in the next story segment.  

• Instead of being caught as Chore Boy for a year in exchange for the Straw Hat Pirates eating a full meal without paying, Luffy was originally enlisted to pay for the damage done to their ship when he accidentally redirected one of the cannonballs shot from Lt. Ironfist Fullbody marine ship into the captain's quarters. Instead of Sanji spending about a minute taking care of a couple of rowdy customers, he spends quite a bit of time dealing with the lieutenant's haughty attitude and schemes. Sanji jumps in to rescue Luffy out of the water in all versions.
  
• Before the battle outside commences, Nami takes the main ship and flees after seeing Arlond's wanted poster fly out of the bounty hunter's jacket (which isn't shown until Chapter #69 in the manga). In the live action version, Arlond appears at the restaurant after Nami pays passage and reports her findings. 
• Both of Captain Zeff's backstories are present but adjusted slightly. Each version tells a similar story regarding how he received his nickname. What's surprising is that there are various nicknames depending on the medium like Red-Leg in Japanese or Red-Shoes in the English manga. The sequence leading up to how the two of them starved for days is also changed. The anime and manga has the boy charging the captain a couple times with knives in hand when the live action version has him charging once in the kitchen when he tried adding oregano to his soup. The live version skips over the part where the manga shows Zeff cutting off his own leg until the very end and the anime adds an entire sequence of him cutting it off with an anchor's chain when trapped underwater trying to rescue the boy during the storm. The anime also has the kid mark the rock to count instead of showing off the days like the manga or live version and the moldy loaf of bread gets dropped over the edge when Sanji tries wiping his face.
  
• Dracule Mihawk (identified as a warlord from the start in the live version) fights the Krieg Pirates and rips their ships in half with a single strike of his weapon. Being identified as the man Zoro is looking for in the anime, a challenge is made. Almost every aspect of the duel is in all versions: using a small blade to fight a rabbit, calling him a frog, blocking both his blades, stabbing him, Zoro stating that wounds on the back are a swordsman's shame, it being a privilege to kill him with Yoru (his primary weapon), and it being too soon for him to die.
  

In reality, the main story from the source revolves around the Krieg Pirates and their connection with the Grand Line. There are a lot of minor characters that appear in the story as well. These include Chapters #42-68 and the anime episodes of 19-30. 

• Zoro's bounty hunter friends (or Zolo if you are reading the manga since L & R are interchangeable in Japanese) Yosaku & Johnny show up on the Going Marry and guide them to the restaurant. 
• The Cook Pirates officers (the ones that join after the captain loses his leg) are Patty and Carne. While their roles aren't exactly distinct from the other cooks, they do engage with Zeff and Sanji on a more personal level. They use a Meat of Doom cannon and later attempt to use a small mackerel head ship equipped with cannons to stop Krieg.
  
• Officer Gin (or Ghin if you are watching the anime) is the first Krieg Pirate that appears and initially dismissed by Zeff when he didn't have any money. Sanji's morals motivated him to serve him food anyways outside the restaurant that ultimately preserves his life when the two fight later on. Gin later brings Captain Krieg and again Sanji feeds him regardless of his standing. Zeff agrees to feed his hundred crew members but a fight still ensues. Officer Pearl also plays a major role in the fight when he catches the ship's fin on fire. Only Gin makes an appearance in the live version when everyone else is seen falling to the warlord's wrath at the Grand Line. In the manga, there are additional implications that shows Gin probably doesn't live long after leaving Baratie. 
• Other fun facts include how Zeff's hat is really long and occasionally used to discipline Sanji, Luffy declined Zeff's journal detailing his year trip through the Grand Line, and Gin is the only one to breathe in Krieg's MH5 poison gas during their battle.
  

Arlong Park isn't exactly the last story of the East Blue Saga but it certainly ends between the 6th to 8th episodes of the live edition. Chapters #69-95 in the manga and Episodes 31-45 in the anime cover the story. 

• In the live version, Captain Buggy was used as a plot device to explain the situation and guide the people to Nami. In the source material, he played no part with the Straw Hat Pirates. Instead, he was fashioned into a short-term focused cover page between Chapters #35 - 75 and highlighted after the story arc in Episodes 46-47 of the anime. He fights with a bird, visits Treasure Island, meets a woman who takes him to an island where his officers fight for rights to be captain (Richie the lion wins), and rescues his crew from the Bear Claw Tribe.  
• Chabo is a kid from Gosa Village that doesn't appear in the live version but plays a very minor role of leading people to Nojiko. Sometimes referred to as Nami's older step-sister or adopted sister, she plays a major role of telling the narrative of the village. In the anime, she also assists Usopp by pretending to scream and point the fishmen in the opposite direction. 
• Genzo is a rather mysterious man that acts as Cocoyashi Village spokesman and protector. In the anime, he wears a pinwheel on his hat that finally gets revealed in the last bit of Episode 44 was worn to make Nami smile. This pinwheel is seen very briefly in the flashback sequence before he loses his hat and gains the scars from Kuroobi.
  
• Much of Bellemere is shown in all versions. She was the last surviving marine who found two girls after the battle. Outside of the live version, Nami is so young that she requires someone to carry her. Bellemere held both of them on a ship during a storm to the village. She disciplined Nami for stealing a book, slapped Nami when she said that they weren't a family, and gave her life in one last stand to save both of them against Arlong.
• Arlong Park has been completely redesigned with a slide, small pool, and some carnival games. The original Mediterranean-style was more fitting of a classy villain living in luxury with a large section of water separated by a gate that the fishmen could use to swim out to sea.
• While the live version introduces two of Arlong's officers, the half-octopus Hatchan did not make an appearance. His more absent-minded nature played a big part moving characters around the water in a giant pot and even faced off Zoro's three-sword technique with his six-sword style. He also summoned a literal sea cow named Momoo but the Straw Hat Pirates defeated it easily both times. I feel kind of sorry for it with his big sad eyes after each hit. 
• There are plenty of extended sequences underwater when Luffy gets trapped in concrete and Commodore Purinpurin of Navy Branch #77 (which is the same branch Nami references while in disguise in the first episode) is defeated by a whirlpool. Arlong makes regular payments to Nezumi from Navy Branch #16 and told him that he could have 30% of the 100 million berries from Nami's stash. In the end, all of Arlong's money was given to the village. 
  
• In the anime, Usopp shows dumb courage multiple times by facing off with fishmen on several occasions. He does indeed lure Choo away from Arlong Park on a merry chase and pretends to be shot with the help of a "ketchup star" (or bottle of ketchup in the live version). He then chooses to get his attention, hits him in the head, uses a hammer, feints a rubberband strike to keep his eyes closed while he gets away, throws a bottle of alcohol to which the fishman catches, uses a lead bullet to break it open, and then eventually uses a fire star to ignite him.
  
• The fights with Arlong are pretty close in each version. Although the live version shows him regrowing his teeth, there is an entire sequence when he uses his teeth as weapons in both hands and Luffy decides to put his teeth into his own mouth. The manga does a better job explaining how he is in control of 20 villages, the devastation of Gosa Village, and how he obtains tribute from the people. The speeches he gives in the anime and manga are generally focused on how superior and evolved the fishmen are compared to humans, but the live action appears to subtly reference some backstory not yet mentioned when talking about how they were "bound with chains" and "banned from their cities." Luffy freed Nami in the anime by throwing all of her work built under the Arlong Pirates out the side of the building and defeated Arlong with his Gum Gum Battle-Axe by kicking him through every floor of his home before it all collapsed.  
• Nami is much more serious in the anime and has to convince the Arlong Pirates of her loyalty several times when the Straw Hat Pirates appear. There's a point where Nami pretends to kill Usopp by stabbing her own hand, shoving him into the water, and hiding the wound under a black glove. She does indeed stab her tattoo after accepting defeat and the village had to be stopped by Zoro's bounty hunter friends before attacking Arlong Park. In Episode 44 of the anime, the doctor removes the tattoo but warns her that there would still be a scar. She chooses to get it replaced with a new tangerine and pinwheel design.
  
• A pivotal moment with Luffy is when he receives a wanted poster with his name on it. While the live version shows a few known members receiving word about this (and Kaya seeing Usopp's head in the corner of the picture), the anime shows the news reaching a few new characters. A few of these events are highlighted in the cover pages of the manga.
• At the very end of the last episode in the first season, there is a teaser of an unknown pirate smoking a cigar. The last part of Episode 45 from the anime also teases of another pirate before the crew heads to Loguetown. This place is the "beginning and the end" of Gold Roger which was highlighted in the very beginning of the live version.