The Joyful Celebration of Netflix’s One Piece
Despite all the odds stacked against it, people loved Netflix’s One Piece, and as a longtime fan of this joyful story I have never had any doubts otherwise.
Now before I lose all of my remaining credibility, let me clarify. Yes, I had a lot of reservations about the show. It was a live action adaptation produced by Netflix, of Cowboy Bebop and Death Note fame. Both adaptations had been horrendous to watch, looking more like failed attempts at quick cash grabs for established fandoms. Moreover, One Piece is an especially wacky cartoon, with scenes that many doubted be translated well into live action. If more grounded anime shows could even fail, how much chance does this eccentric anime even had? Netlix’s One Piece seemed like another soulless attempt to recreate a classic for clicks, hype, and cash.
And yet, despite all these, a part of me hoped. Despite its cartoonish exterior, the One Piece I knew was the beautiful, heartfelt story of the rubber boy named Luffy and the friends he made along the way. It has significantly changed my outlook and brought immense joy in my life, and in my mind, I knew that if this adaptation ever managed to get even just a fraction of the heart of One Piece, I was sure that the show would be a hit.
To my pleasant surprise, it did.
Through the effort of Eichiro Oda, Steve Maeda, Matt Owens, and the dedicated cast, staff, and writers, the show was a massive success. In less than a week, the show became the most watched series on Netflix, winning hearts all over the globe. It had a great story, with great action sequences, and an even more amazing cast. It was funny yet deeply emotional, and the chemistry of the crew just works so, so well. All in all, it was an amazing adaptation, and you can find plenty written over the internet on what made this show so good.
The Many Joys of One Piece
Instead of that, however, I want to talk about why people loved One Piece, and I think the answer is pretty simple: it’s a show that celebrates joy. Yes, it’s a show that brings you in a variety of emotions, from fear and despair to anger and excitement, but throughout the show there always feels like an undercurrent that is never lost, a sense that despite the many arcs that we traverse the show is, in the end, about joy. Specifically, I think the story explores and celebrates four kinds of joy: the joy of adventure, the joy of goodness, the joy of freedom, and the joy of dreams.
First and foremost, One Piece is an adventure story. At almost every episode, we are brought to a new setting, with unique personalities, backgrounds, and stories to uncover. We are brought into a barrage of settings and scenarios, from a savage pirate ship where a chore boy decides to dream, then a marine base home to colorful characters, then on an industrial village hiding a horrible secret, and so on. One Piece just brings that childhood spark of adventure that never left our adult selves, and we are granted the joy of feeling the warmth of that spark.
Another thing that makes One Piece so much enjoyable to watch is that our protagonists, despite their piratical nature, are in their core filled with goodness. Through the lens of other we are shown how pirates operate in the larger world: they pillage, enslave, and manipulate others for the sake of their own personal gain. Even the Marines, the show’s authority figures, are shown with their fair share of depravity. At first glance, our crew may seem no different: Luffy is an airhead, Nami swindles everyone around her, heck Zoro even straight up cuts people in half (or quarters). And yet, through little character moments sprinkled throughout the show, we discover the core of our characters. We learn how they in their own ways are loving individuals that care for the people around them, and that never fails to warm anybody’s hearts.
The world of One Piece is a tyrannical one, and in many ways this story is a celebration of freedom. From the very start, we see Luffy live this freedom by not adhering to the traditional meaning of a pirate. For him, being a pirate means being free, and his journey has been marked by moments of setting people free. He sets Koby free from Alvida, and he literally frees Zoro from being executed. He frees Usopp from a life of fear, and he frees Nami from both her deep trauma and her abusers. Because for Luffy no one deserves to be trapped in misery, and joy only truly comes in freedom.
Finally, One Piece reminds us that our dreams are always worth fighting for. Luffy and his crew are pirates, and all of them have their own personal goals and ambitions. By the end of the series their journeys are just about to start, both individually and as a crew, and the scene where they vow to reach their long-held dreams as a family is something I’m sure brought tears of, well, joy to many who have watched this show.
A Drop of Sunshine
In an age where we are bombarded with stories of moral complexities, anti-heroes, and grey areas, One Piece reminded us that sometimes it’s okay to leave a series filled with joy. This is not to say that the show is morally simplistic: this is a world full of grey characters and complex ethical dilemmas. What sets One Piece apart, however, is that it is never ashamed to be proud of its optimism, positivity, and joy that it celebrates, and that’s something that I will always be looking forward to.
