This is bar none one of the best live-action adaptions to any animated source material I have ever seen. I have been a diehard One Piece fan since I was a preteen; it was one of the first manga I ever read and I still watch it to this day. Admittedly, when I first saw a remake was in the works and saw the promos for it, I could feel myself almost instinctively getting nauseous. I saw the characters and bauked at the mere aesthetics of the show, let alone the other details. My heart sank into a pit as I pleaded pitifully in my head, "Please, PLEASE don't touch this one. I still haven't recovered from the massacring of Avatar TLA, Dragonball Evolution (I know those weren't Netflix, but still), Death Note, AND FullMetal Alchemist, please don't destroy something else from my childhood just for the sake of playing pretend and trying to get subscriptions ."
But lo and behold, I watched the trailer for it and every previously described feeling of dread in me was evaporated by a sudden rush of euphoria and excitement. I had goosebumps on my goosebumps and my heart was in my throat. I immediately resubscribed to Netflix and began watching and MY-GOSH, guys.
I will restate that this is the best adaption of any source material I've ever seen. I will warn you the more "human" looking rendition of the characters takes some getting used to, but my gosh, it's all there - the humor, the action, the heart, and barely a single editorial or filmographic choice is wasted. You're not going to find a cut-by-cut (no pun intended, Zoro) rendition of the original story, but that actually works here and keeps things moving and working in a cohesive way.
For first time fans or devoted veterans like me, you could not ask for a better introduction to an anime series in this medium. Please give it a chance.
