Cowboy Bebopis easily one of the most celebrated anime of all time. The storytelling, characters, setting, action, and overall superb animation help it stick out. Even non-anime fans can latch onto it without feeling the burden of it being an anime.
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That’s why it made sense for Netflix to adapt it into a live-action show in 2021. Fans were hopeful forCowboy Bebop, but many of them were let down by the adaptation at launch. So, comparatively, how didOne Piecedo? Based on Metacritic numbers alone, it seems like Luffy and his pirate crew have blown Spike and the Bebop away.
WARNING! Spoilers ahead for both the One Piece Netflix live-action show and Cowboy Bebop live-action show.
6Changes A Lot But Stays True To The Characters
Season one is eight episodes long and it almost goes through the entireEast Blue Arcin the manga. The only thing missing is Loguetown which is a port they stop at to supply themselves before venturing off to the Grand Line. It’s admirable how much the writers crammed into season one.
They changed a lot and sped up certain things, but in ways that made sense. Also, most importantly, the show remained true to theOne Piececharacters, unlikeCowboy Bebop. For example, Spike getting the Fearless alias and Vicious becoming a huge whiner were two big character changes that a lot of fans did not enjoy about the live-action adaptation.
5The Action
Cowboy Bebophad some good gunkata action in the live adaptation but it came nowhere near the intensity of the anime. While the CG isn’t perfect in theOne Pieceshow, the overall choreography was good. In an anime about super-powered characterswho can stretch like Luffyor separate like Buggy, the Netflix version did a decent job with its CG budget. For the practical action, fans will surely start to get pumped up once Luffy, Nami, and Zora team up to fight the Marines in the first episode.
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It only gets better from there such as the duel betweenMihawk and Zoroas well as the grand finale in Arlong Park. It’s kind of surprising how much action there is over the episode given some other shows from Netflix’s past and not justCowboy Bebopeither. Now, nothing in the show reachesJohn Wicklevels, but the action is still thrilling inOne Piece.
4Sets Up Enough For The Future
To its credit, there were a lot of things that looked authentic in theCowboy Bebopshow. John Cho as Spike was good casting and his costume made him look suave. There were plenty of Easter Eggs for fans, but it also didn’t sell the world that well. Except for Ed appearing in the end, the setup for season two was a bit baffling.One Piecedid a better job at sprinkling in small Easter Eggs to set up not just what is coming in season two, but beyond that.
Season two is probably going to focus a lot on the Arabasta Kingdom along with the secret organization known as Baroque Works. Baroque Works is mentioned several times in the show such as Mr. 7 trying to recruit Zoro. The final teaser also showsSmoker who should appearin the first episode of season two as his character played a big role in Loguetown. Even the Fishman Warlord, Jinbei, was name-dropped who is presumably seasons away from appearing in the live-action version.
3The Small Details
The character authenticity is appreciated inOne Piecebut so are the little details that the show could have easily changed. For example, most of the music in the show is original, which sounds like a close approximation toPirates of the Caribbeanwith an anime flair. There are some familiar jingles that fans will hear off and on too such as an instrumental version of the original theme song “We Are!” which has been reused throughout the anime in various remixes.
Zoro holding a sword in his mouthis also a small detail that they could have sidestepped somehow. Kudos to the actor for actually doing it and not laughing because it is a ridiculous sword stance to see in live-action. Kuro, in his butler mode, even palmed his glasses which is such a minute detail. Besides the costumes inCowboy Bebop, it didn’t seem like they tried that hard.
2Using Practical Effects And Sets
Cowboy Bebopis a space opera action-adventure series that goes to multiple planets, space stations, and spaceships. The live-action show has plenty of sets but none of them felt real. That’s the problem with adapting such a wild anime. Even thoughOne Piecehas zanier things in it like the aforementioned powersvia Devil Fruit, it’s also easier to film parts in live action.
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A lot of the areas in the series are tropical islands or port towns which can easily be filmed on location. The team of course had to build sets too such as the many ships seen throughout season one including the Going Merry and Baratie. Some of these sets pop out along with the costumes as odd and other times it feels real. For a TV show budget, it has problems, but One Piece at least looked more real thanCowboy Bebop. Practical magic can help stand the test of time better.
1Both Dark And Fun For The Whole Family
All of these points go to one word: fun. There was humor inCowboy Bebopand some characters were charming but a lot of the jokes and chemistry felt forced. Every one of the Strawhat Pirates resonated with one another. It’s been a long time since a good swashbuckling pirate adventure hit the big screen or the little screen, andOne Pieceis definitely filling a void.
There are some gruesome parts to it such asNami’s adopted momdying by Arlong’s hand or Zeff eating his own leg to spare Sanji. The anime and manga are of course dark too but there is plenty of lightheartedness to make it accessible for a wider audience. This is not THE feel-good show of the summer that everyone needs to watch, unlikeTed Lasso. However, it will be fun and that’s important.
