Finally! Lots of daylight scenes! Because the first four episodes of Netflix’s “One Piece” were dominated by dimly lit shots, obscuring exciting setting of the pirate fantasy tale. And yes, it does look like the live-adaptation creators were sticking to a lot of darker shots to cover weak spots in the special effects, because some of the sea/ship scenes looked out of an “Age of Empire” game from the 2000s. To be fair, AOE games had great graphics for their time. Anyway…
For Plot Overview Read: One Piece Episode 1, 2 Review
Titled “Eat at Baratie”, episode 5 starts with a funny throwback to Monkey D. Luffy’s (Iñaki Godoy) complicated relationship with his grandfather, who is a top marine man, which means – grandpa hates pirates! Now that Luffy’s new friends know his gramps is a vice-admiral hunting them down, they want explanations. Actually, only Nami (Emily Rudd) wants answers, the others aren’t as interested or worried. While Vincent Regan’s portrayal of Vice Admiral Garp hadn’t made much impact so far, his character is gradually finding its stride as an authoritative marine figure, also assuming the role of a perplexing mentor to Luffy’s friend, Koby (Morgan Davis).
The most exciting bit about episode 5 was new entrant Sanji, a chef at seafood restaurant Baratie, where Luffy and friends halt for a nice meal. Suavely portrayed by Taz Skyler, Sanji immediately impresses Luffy with his fighting skills when he breaks up a brawl at the restaurant. While the episode is largely fun in tone, the second-half takes a serious turn again, when a notorious warlord named Mihawk (Steven John Ward) reaches the Baratie for Luffy, but is challenged to a duel by Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu).
It’s entertaining how Luffy has barely got his crew together to find the legendary “One Piece” treasure but has already made a bunch of enemies. Episode six sheds more light on Sanji’s life and a tragic flashback reveals how he became acquainted with head chef Zeff as a young boy. Christian Convery of “Sweet Tooth” fame plays the young Sanji, a feisty blonde who aspires to cook at a mythical restaurant called “All Blue” and crosses paths with Zeff moments before an unfortunate accident. So, while the first half of episode six lets viewers get familiar with Sanji, the second half is all about villains and fights. A group of mean fishmen are looking to Luffy, to steal his treasure map and possible even kill him.
We get some more daylight fight scenes, which were entertaining to watch despite some of the evident flaws with the special effects. I think the creators should’ve just been bolder, instead of hiding their lavish sets behind dimly lit shots in the earlier episodes. So what if some of the special effects don’t look realistic enough? The whole plot of “One Piece” is so exaggerated, that slightly gaudy VFS would only add to the hilarity of it all. This series is more about its larger-than-life characters, the sets don’t matter as much, as long as the plot is well paced, gripping and backed up by great performances. And the cast of this show is doing pretty great so far.
Iñaki Godoy is on a winning streak with his portrayal of Luffy and his contagious naive optimism unquestionably influences those around him. And while Luffy’s innate trust and his remarkable capacity for friendship is quite evident in the first episode itself, it is in episodes 5 and 6 that the series highlights its central theme best: the formidable influence of camaraderie and the profound human connections one forges along their way. The future pirate king might be far from finding his treasure, but he is already made some priceless friends along the way.
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