The pfangirl.com writing team is a mix of casual anime viewers, otaku blazing their way through the Crunchyroll library, and people who don’t even particularly like Japanese animation. Regardless, all of us have fallen in love with Netflix’s live-action version of One Piece, based on the massively popular pirate-themed manga, and anime, by Eiichiro Oda.

You can cast aside your scepticism after Netflix’s dud, live-action take on Cowboy Bebop last year. Finally, the anime adaptation curse (at least by Western studios) has been broken.  

Due to its idiosyncratic nature, One Piece won’t be for everyone, no matter how much praise you lavish on it. And Season 1, which consists of eight episodes, does drag at times. However, for those open to something different, One Piece delivers a treasure chest of sparkling gems. Some of the jewels may be plastic, others are precious stones, but they all delight nonetheless.

Here’s why you should give One Piece a chance – even if you know little to nothing about the source material.

1) It’s easily accessible for newcomers

On-screen adaptations of other media aren’t always easy for newcomers to dive into. The Witcher, for example, features a universe so dense in its own unique lore that it often has non-fans scrambling for a wiki – and Netflix did actually provide a timeline when its series originally launched back in 2019.

By comparison, One Piece is straightforward, even with 106 manga volumes, 1,000+ episodes and 15 movies under its franchise belt. You can sum up the show in two sentences. Set in an oceanic world, with fantasy elements like shark men, sea monsters and Devil Fruit that grant eaters special powers, enthusiastic young Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) assembles a ragtag crew as he seeks out a fabled treasure known as the One Piece – which will grant him the title of King of the Pirates. This quest pits him against various rival pirate captains, and their crews, as well as the Seas’ police force, the Marines. That’s it. Who doesn’t grasp the pirate life?

2) It’s unapologetically a cartoon brought to life

Remember the likes of Richard Donner’s Superman, and Dick Tracy? They’re comic adaptations from a different time. At some point, pretty much every panel-to-screen translation decided that they had to be realistic to be treated with credibility. Maybe it was 2000’s X-Men, when the heroes donned black leather instead of spandex. More likely, the trend was solidified with Oscar-winning The Dark Knight which grounded its clash between mask-wearing good and evil.

In contrast, One Piece is a rare adaptation that embraces its anime roots. It’s unapologetically colourful, goofy, and ridiculous, without any eye-rolling or sneering self-awareness. It’s the kind of series where characters yell out the names of their fight moves as they perform them. Narratively, the first season of One Piece often plays out with an “over-the-top villain of the episode” format. Of course there’s no ignoring the show’s anime aesthetic, which filters through in its cinematography as well. Look out for its use of split-screen and extreme camera angles during key moments – both of which pay tribute to One Piece’s source material.

Be warned that parental guidance is recommended for younger viewers, though. One Piece contains its fair share of bloody, sword-delivered violence and some swearing.

3) It features top-notch production design and production values

Building on the previous point, if you’re going to bring an anime to life, you need to commit to the medium’s exaggeration in every department. One Piece does, and achieves its cartoon look with a pleasing amount of practical execution over CGI effects. It may lean into artifice, but One Piece looks expensive. It’s clearly a big budget production, with large custom sets, life-size ship decks, and heavy, flawless use of makeup prosthetics to realise its world and characters. Combined with well-considered casting choices, the latter look like they have stepped straight off the manga page. As a final note here, the fight choreography is surprisingly strong as well – convincing and coherent.

4) It’s feel-good fun that’s much needed right now

Even if the world wasn’t burning, a whole generation of baby Emperor Penguins hadn’t drowned, and South Africans weren’t sitting in literal darkness every day, we’re simply entering that burnout time of year when everything and everyone seems that little bit harsher, and a little bit more hopeless. Which makes One Piece so welcome.

The series not only embraces its cartoon roots with sincerity but also features an exuberance and positivity that’s hard to resist. Most of that emotional drive is embodied by Luffy. At first glance, One Piece’s lead character is the cliché of a misguided, perennially optimistic fool who forces his way into others’ lives, and whose mediocrity is masked by his vastly more skilled, if cynical, companions. This is a misleading first impression though. Without even mentioning his unique combat skills, Luffy continually props up his friends and their dreams – even if their success will ultimately be at a cost to him.

That type of selfless support is heart-warming to witness, and it pops up elsewhere in the series. Peter Gadiot’s effortlessly charismatic Shanks inspires Luffy to adopt a different style of pirating, while Sanji (Taz Skylar), the chef of Luffy’s Straw Hat crew, has a touching tough-love relationship with father figure and mentor Zeff (Craig Fairbrass). Kindness is all around in One Piece, which actually isn’t just boisterous silliness. Like Luffy ultimately, the series runs the full emotional gamut.

Adding extra poignancy is One Piece’s likeable band of protagonists, who are portrayed by a charming collective of young performers (including the spot-on casting of child actors as their younger selves). It’s hard to end the first season of One Piece without a smile on your face as you witness these diverse characters, buoyed by Luffy, take the next steps in their journey towards long-overdue fulfilment.

5) It’s packed full of South African flavour

This selling point is likely more relevant for local viewers, but having been shot in the Western Cape, at the Cape Town Film Studios, specifically, One Piece is an opportunity to play “spot the South African” as well as recognisable backdrops. The series’ credits are saturated with names like Oosthuizen, Le Roux, Kutu and Pretorius, almost as much as episodes are peppered with South African, or barely veiled South African accents.

For the record, One Piece features multiple locals in key supporting roles. Look out for Steven Ward as flamboyant pirate warlord Mihawk; Alexander Maniatis as devious, taloned Kuro; Celeste Loots as sickly heiress Kaya; and Nigerian-South African Chioma Umeala as blue-haired Nojiko, Nami’s older sister. Meanwhile, on the side of law and order in One Piece’s world, there’s veteran South African actor Langley Kirkwood as (literally) steel-jawed Axe Hand Morgan, and Aidan Scott playing Morgan’s pampered son Helmeppo, who ultimately strives to be a good Marine.

In One Piece, if someone looks or sounds South African, they probably are. There’s even a rumour that, if you look close enough, biltong makes a cameo appearance in a single episode.

6) It features a diverse, truly international cast

In fact, it’s not just South African representation that One Piece offers viewers. The series is a truly global affair, and is all the richer, and more enjoyable for it. One Piece isn’t America masquerading as the world. The Straw Hat Pirates, alone, are played by actors from Mexico (Godoy as Luffy), the United States (Emily Rudd as Nami), Japan (Mackenyu as Zoro), as well as performers with mixed English-Lebanese- Spanish (Skylar as Sanji) and Jamaican-American (Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp) heritage.

The One Piece universe may have its social strata, and inequalities like anywhere else, but it’s far from homogenous, and treats its diversity with matter of factness. Further iterating this point is that, with zero fuss made about their casting, Morgan Davies, a trans actor from Australia, plays Koby, an idealistic young Marine and early ally of Luffy.

7) It’s already been renewed for a second season

Finally, you can watch One Piece with the peace of mind that the story will continue. No plot threads left dangling for all eternity. Not even a month after Season 1 debuted on Netflix (on 31 August), the streamer announced that a second season of its latest critical and commercial hit is in the works. So hoist anchor, scramble up onto the ship’s figurehead, and set sail with a smile.