It's another new month and I have a new show to recommend you guys! Read on because you are going to like this review!
I have heard a lot about One Piece over the years and for those who don't know, it's a Japanese manga series but have since transformed into various forms of media, from animation to drama series, and it made all the way to Netflix last year!
What I Thought About One Piece
I went in with an open mind because I didn't know what the manga series was about, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was a pirate story! I loved the Pirates of the Caribbean series, because there's so much exploration, so much adventure, and of course, the action-packed fighting scenes! One Piece ticked all these boxes for a pirate drama series, but there was much more to this!
There was a lot of background to the story, and I really loved the entire storytelling process from start to finish (that's a total of 8 episodes!) and kudos to the storyteller for delivering such a wonderful storyline, and it was an amazing feat for the Netflix series to stay as close as they possibly could to the original manga series. The flow was perfect, and the scenes were beautifully shot (especially the ones in the oceans), and each episode ended with a strong cliffhanger, leaving the viewers wanting for more.
The character development and acting was top notch in my view too. All the characters, especially the main ones in the Straw Hat Pirates, had interesting personalities, mysterious pasts, as well as amazing skills and talents. While the emotional scenes made me tear and feel for the characters, the hilarious and fun scenes made me gasp in excitement! Without revealing too much spoilers, Luffy's skill is the best to watch and it's always funny when he shouts it out and stretches his body. Hehe! I loved the characters Nami and Zoro too, both of them were laser focused in whatever they did and never let the team down.
I particularly enjoyed the fact that the appearance of the characters in the drama bear close resemblance to the manga series, be it their make up, the shape of the glasses they wear, the colour of the clothing, the colour of their hair, etc. When I did some googling after watching the drama, I was amazed and it was definitely another plus point for me.
What I Learnt From One Piece
Beyond the drama and adventure, I think One Piece aims to inculcate a lot of positive behaviour and values.
The first thing that struck me was loyalty. One Piece showed how important and valuable loyalty is within a crew. Everyone is literally on the same boat, and there's hardly anywhere to hide secrets. Any form of betrayal or sabotage would be very detrimental to the team. Related to loyalty, leadership also played a key role and it was interesting to see different forms of leadership styles exhibited by different pirate crew leaders.
The second thing that I learnt was teamwork. Everyone had different backgrounds, and had different habits and personalities, but when the situation called for it (sometimes it's not by choice, lol), they worked together as a team and helped one another out. This was extremely important because there's so many different roles and tasks to perform onboard the ship.
The final thing that I would share would be staying positive. The oceans and seas were rough, and the crew faced a lot of hardships and difficulties in their exploration, but when they stayed positive and not panick, they eventually found solutions to escape trouble or resolve the problem.
Isn't that the same as our lives too? Many times, we complain too much about our problems, or give up too easily when trying to find solutions, or even point our fingers and blame other people when something goes wrong. It might be somewhat natural or the easiest way out, but it doesn't solve the issue. Perhaps we should stay positive, stay calm, and believe that we will be able to work out a solution. That's definitely my biggest takeaway from this drama series.
All in all, I am sure you would probably figure out that this is on track for a perfect review... And yes it is! One Piece deserves a full 5 out of 5 stars from me because it's so exciting and enjoyable to watch, and at the same time, it imparts a lot of positive values and I think everyone should catch this on Netflix (this is not sponsored, lol!).
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
My Past Movie Reviews
| Movie | Post | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| The Hunger Games - The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023): A Lesson About Humanity | Link | 4.5 |
| The Hunger Games (2012): A Lukewarm Appetiser | Link | 3.5 |
| Barbie (2023): What If Barbie Land Was Real? | Link | 3.5 |