Devil Fruit!
Ax hands!
And a heartbreaking moment pulled straight from the manga.
Netflix recently dropped the official trailer for "One Piece," and fans like what they see.
Some spoilers ahead.
The "One Piece" trailer kicks off in an epic fashion, depicting the incredibly influential
public execution of Gol D. Roger.
In "One Piece," Gol D. Roger is the most legendary pirate in history and the captain of the Roger Pirates.
He became the Pirate King by conquering the Grand Line and obtaining the One Piece.
While his accomplishments on the seas made him a legend, they also put him directly in
the World Government's crosshairs.
Dying of an incurable disease, Gol D. Roger turned himself in, and the government planned
to execute him publicly as a message to all pirates.
Instead, with his last words, Roger refused to reveal the location of the One Piece, inspiring
a new generation of pirates, including Luffy, to search for the hidden treasure and claim
his title of King of the Pirates, ushering in the Golden Age of Pirates.
From the looks of it, Netflix's "One Piece" sticks close to the source material for Roger's
execution, with practically a shot-for-shot adaptation of the same scene from the anime.
With that in mind, chances are the live-action series gives us a glimpse at some of the Roger
Pirates, as both Shanks and Buggy attended their captain's execution, and are set to
appear in "One Piece."
Speaking of Shanks, the "One Piece" trailer also gives fans their first look at the fan-favorite
character in live-action, including his heroics that not only set Luffy on the trajectory
of becoming a pirate, but is one of the series' most iconic moments.
In the trailer, we get a quick glimpse of Shanks and Luffy on a small boat as a giant
monster erupts from the sea.
While it may not look like much to the average viewer, "One Piece" fans will quickly recognize
this as a defining moment in Luffy's story, where Shanks sacrifices his arm to save the
boy from a Sea King.
"No big deal, it's just an arm, Luffy."
Early in "One Piece," a young Luffy finds himself thrown into the ocean, unable to swim
because of his Devil Fruit powers, with a massive Sea King ready to eat him.
Just as the monster goes in for a bite, Shanks saves Luffy, sacrificing his left arm to ensure
the boy survives.
Shortly after, Shanks and his Red Hair Pirates depart, leaving Luffy in Foosha Village, but
not before the captain gives him his iconic straw hat, inspiring Luffy to become a greater
pirate than Shanks.
Of course, the biggest draw of "One Piece"
is seeing all the beloved characters brought to live-action for the first time, and Netflix's
trailer features plenty of heroes and villains.
The Straw Hat Crew is front and center in the trailer, with Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp,
and Sanji looking as if the fan-favorite pirates walked directly off the pages of Eiichiro
Oda's manga.
We even see the crew wearing a few different outfits, further showcasing how closely "One
Piece" is sticking to the source material.
Outside of the Straw Hats, the trailer shows Marine vice admiral Monkey D. Garp in attendance
at Gol D. Roger's execution.
We also see Alvida, the captain of the Alvida Pirates, and her ship, the Miss Love Duck.
We even get a quick look at Dracule Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and a
large part of Zoro's early story.
What makes Netflix's "One Piece" look like such a promising live-action adaptation is
that the production didn't heavily rely on visual effects to bring the world to life,
building massive sets instead, and the trailer shows them off in all their glory.
From the beginning, we see Loguetown, where Gol D. Roger was born and executed.
The production even built the tall execution platform, where "One Piece" Season 1 could end.
Later in the trailer, Baratie is in full view, where a few important battles will go down
before Luffy, Zoro, and Nami add Sanji to the crew.
Throughout the trailer, we get glimpses of other iconic "One Piece" locations, and the
production also built multiple pirate ships to film on, like the Going Merry and the Miss Love Duck.
While it may not seem like a massive feat, Netflix could've easily used green screens
and visual effects when filming "One Piece," and it's almost surprising that they didn't,
given Hollywood's current reliance on visual effects.
Instead, they had crews build them on-location, and from the trailer, it seems that investment
paid off, as Eiichiro Oda's beautiful world looks incredible.
While Netflix relied on practical effects to bring the locations of "One Piece" to life,
that isn't the case for the Devil Fruit powers, which are also on full display.
Luffy's powers come from the gum gum fruit, which he ate as a child, giving his entire
body the properties of rubber.
With it, Luffy can stretch, bounce, bend, twist, and inflate any part of his body, with
even crazier techniques coming later in the series.
Netflix's trailer holds out most of Luffy's abilities until the end, showcasing them during
his battle against Arlong.
We see him stretch his mouth, legs, and arms, showing off one of his signature moves
Similarly, the "One Piece" trailer also gives our first look at Buggy's chop chop fruit,
which lets him split his body into pieces, reassembling them at will.
"Chop Chop cannoooooon!"
Although the trailer only showcases Luffy and Buggy's Devil Fruit abilities, there's
a chance "One Piece" could feature another Devil Fruit user.
We don't know exactly how much Season 1 of the Netflix series will cover, but assuming
it wraps up the East Blue Saga, it could end with the introduction of Captain Smoker, a
ruthless Marine with smoke powers.
Either way, Luffy and the Straw Hat crew will have their hands full with the show's confirmed villains.
Axe-Hand Morgan doesn't outright appear in the "One Piece" trailer, but Netflix sure
does a lot to tease his imposing presence.
In one shot, just an ax and a hand take up the entire screen.
While general audiences may not look twice at the shot, fans of the anime will instantly
understand the reference.
Then, just as Luffy is gearing up to unleash a massive stretchy kick, eagle-eyed fans will
spot a poster of Morgan behind the pirate captain.
It's difficult to determine exactly what the former Marine Captain looks like, but his
metal jaw stands out very clearly.
"One Piece" fans know that Axe-Hand Morgan is Luffy's first adversary that challenges
his plans of becoming the Pirate King.
As the main antagonist of the first arc of "One Piece," Morgan abuses his military power,
ruling Shells Town with an iron fist.
Or at least, an ax fist…you get it — he has an ax for a hand.
Although Morgan is a worthy adversary for a young, inexperienced Luffy, he won't be
the Straw Hat captain's biggest challenge in Netflix's "One Piece."
Unlike Axe-Hand Morgan, Arlong shows his shark face throughout the "One Piece" trailer, and
the fish-man has the same menacing and imposing presence as he does in the anime.
"I'll do you the kindness of killing you all together."
Without diving too deep into spoilers, Arlong plays a pivotal role in the Straw Hats' early
story, particularly regarding Nami, her backstory, and her official addition to the crew.
Luffy runs into Arlong after making his way through Axe-Hand Morgan, Buggy, and the Black
Cat Pirates, so don't expect to see him until the end of Season 1.
However, he'll be worth the wait, as he gives Luffy an immense obstacle to overcome, bringing
an interesting fighting style with him.
A humanoid shark, he primarily attacks with his long serrated nose, but during his fight
with Luffy, he pulls out a few crazy moves.
It will be interesting to see if they make it to the live-action "One Piece."
While Arlong will be a massive challenge for Luffy and the Straw Hats to overcome, there's
an incredibly emotional moment that comes during the story arc, one that longtime "One
Piece" fans will have to emotionally prepare to re-experience in the live-action series.
"I'm gonna kick your a** because no one messes with my friends."
When Luffy and Zoro meet Nami, she has a very complicated past, and this moment pulls on
every emotional heartstring relating to her tragic backstory.
The series introduces Nami as a thief, stealing treasure from other pirates and bringing them
back to her captain and pirate crew: Arlong and the Arlong Pirates.
It's definitely a one-sided relationship, with Nami feeling trapped rather than enjoying
her time with the fish-man pirates.
Eventually, she can no longer take Arlong's abuse, and in a very emotional moment, Luffy
places his straw hat on her head, signaling he'll do whatever it takes for his friend.
To make it even better, Netflix rips the scene straight from the manga and anime, proving
that "One Piece" is sticking close to the source material for its live-action adaptation.
"Of course I'll help youuuuu!"
In the trailer, Luffy and Koby look at a wall of wanted posters.
The first and most obvious is Alvida, who both Luffy and Koby have already met, and
her wanted poster reveals a 5 million berry bounty on her head.
In the next shot, Foxy's wanted poster is on full display, revealing an impressive 24
million berry bounty on the captain of the Foxy Pirates.
Then, there's Bellamy's wanted poster.
Bellamy is another antagonist the Straw Hats will eventually run into, but the earliest
that could happen is probably Season 2.
Although it may be a while until these teases pay off, it's nice that "One Piece" is planning
ahead, expecting the Netflix series to be a hit and garner enough attention to return
for multiple seasons.
If the trailer is anything to go off of, the teases will eventually pay off, as the live-action
"One Piece" looks as promising as ever.
"Where's my face?"