Comparing Mediums- One Piece Part 1

 

Part 1: Romance Dawn

Romance Dawn, One Piece’s first arc, has been retold an innumerable number of times, starting off as a one shot concept that Oda wrote as a predecessor to One Piece, and ending (as of 2023) as the first episode of the Live Action adaptation of One Piece. With every medium it’s been retold in, different aspects of the story are highlighted given the strength of said medium. With that, I thought it would be a nice exercise to examine the big three mediums One Piece has used, that being the manga, anime, and live action, to see what aspects of the story are hindered or bolstered thanks to how the story can be told. This also is my excuse to rewatch more of One Piece, spoilers ahead.

The manga can almost be viewed as the control group in this experiment, because it is the blueprint that other adaptations take from and change. I won’t waste much time singing its praises, but I will say that there is a reason that One Piece is still around today, and that potential shines brightly in this opening arc. It has its problems though, mainly in the way of pacing and portrayals, specifically when Alvida and Koby are introduced. Alvida is a pirate that has essentially taken Koby hostage, threatening death at any mistake he might make. Alvida is a letdown as a villain, being portrayed as comically unappealing and more of a joke than any actual threat, and Koby is that same comic level of frightened to juxtapose Luffy’s carefree attitude. Koby gets better, especially once he starts standing up for himself though, which all begins once Captain Morgan is introduced.

Shells Town is the best part of this arc. The corrupt Marines, the introduction of Zoro, and the further characterization of Luffy are all readily apparent examples of what makes this arc so solid. “Axe Hand” Morgan is a much better villain in comparison to Alvida, even if on his own he is very one note and boring in comparison with almost every other One Piece villain. What makes him so effective is the change he as a Marine has on Koby. For Koby, who looks up to the justice that the Marines provide, he is shocked by the injustice occurring in Shells Town thanks to Morgan. The people in the town are more scared of him than they are of “Pirate Hunter” Zoro. This shock, along with Luffy’s general effect on people, causes Koby to stand up to the Marines, freeing Zoro because his arrest was unjustified and rooting for Luffy in his fight with Morgan. Zoro also showcases not only his unique Three-Sword-Style, but the beginning of his character arc over the course of the East Blue Saga. He eventually is worn down by Luffy’s asking (if what Luffy was doing could be called that) and joins the crew, but specifically notes that he will only be a part of the crew until it interferes with his dream of being the world’s greatest swordsman. After Axe Hand Morgan is defeated (a highlight fight scene of this saga), the town celebrates the good pirates that took down the corrupt marines. This is where Koby is introduced to his real test: let Luffy ruin his life by telling the Marines that he was part of Alvida’s crew or stand up to Luffy and punch him in the face. This is my favorite part of the arc, as everything Koby has been through has led to this moment of him standing up for himself in order to fulfill his dream. Koby punches Luffy, showing they are indeed not allies, and Koby gets to start his Marine journey as our first two Straw Hat pirates make their way to new shores.

Besides having a really solid opening story wise, Oda in these opening chapters is already visibly cooking up something special with his art. One Piece’s art style may seem unappealing at a glance, but the secret sauce about it is how creative Oda can be with character designs and action scenes and have everything look congruent. Nothing feels out of place in One Piece, and the art style is a big part of that. The other big part of what makes this art so successful is what Oda is able to achieve in his action panels, utilizing very interesting perspectives and showing so much detail and movement that it creates a very dynamic and alive panel.

The One Piece anime adaptation overall is a very mixed bag, often paced horribly in order to remain behind the manga while also maintaining the weekly episode pace the show has held for over 2 decades, but it has an alright start here in Romance Dawn. The most interesting aspects of this adaptation are the small changes made to the story, as well as seeing all these characters brought to life through animation and voice acting. The character voice work, even early on, is still really excellent and does a lot to sell the personality of characters, and the animation really adds to just how creative all these character designs and actions really are. What differentiates this adaptation of One Piece is certain omissions and additions. Two notable omissions are Luffy and Zoro’s backstories, where we are given context towards their motivations and the people who influenced who they are today. One major addition is the navigator of the Straw Hat pirates, Nami, in these early episodes. Nami isn’t introduced until Orange Town originally but shows up as a sort of B-plot to Luffy’s A-plot, mainly to steal things such as attempting to steal a map of the Grand Line, which gives us a tease for our next antagonist, Buggy the Clown. The main problem with these episodes, that’s true for most of the anime, is the overall slower pace without even covering everything the manga did. It’s a minor gripe, but it did make rewatching more difficult. Your mileage may vary of course.

Besides the current novelty of seeing our characters brought to life, the best thing about the live action adaptation of One Piece is just how brisk this one hour episode is. The plot is always moving and there is not a wasted second. The biggest change is how much is changed in comparison with the manga, with whole situations being altered in an effort to squeeze as much set up as possible into this one hour runtime. This time it’s Alvida that feels like more of a threat than Captain Morgan, and the terror she brings to Koby’s life feels much more real than it did in the manga or the anime. My main problem with the live action is the fact that the brisk pace takes precedent over big impactful moments that One Piece is known for. Koby and Zoro have big moments in Romance Dawn, Koby with his decision to stand up for himself and become a Marine, and Zoro with his decision to join Luffy’s crew. These changes were both made in an effort to spread these decision and arcs over the course of the entire season, which I do understand the thinking behind it, but it’s just too bad that it came at the cost of these great, impactful moments of characterization. In terms of additions, this adaptation has a lot in common with the anime, adding Nami into the mix and teasing Buggy as the next villain in the series. While they share these additions, the live action does a much better job at integrating Nami and Buggy than the anime did, since these changes felt relegated to a B-plot, as mentioned earlier.

While I have yet to see the “One Piece on Ice” show, I can confidently say that I have yet to see a bad adaptation of One Piece yet. The manga, anime, and live action all offer different experiences based on the strength of their mediums. While I am someone that will always recommend the manga for all the reasons listed above, you can’t really go wrong with any interpretation of Romance Dawn.