It’s been over a month since “One Piece,” the live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga and beloved anime series, first hit Netflix worldwide to both critical acclaim and audience enjoyment.
Debuting on Aug. 31, the television show raked in 1.39 billion minutes watched domestically from Sept. 4 to Sept. 10, becoming the No. 2 title of the week on Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings. The eight-episode series also rose to the No. 1 spot on Netflix globally with 37.8 million views in less than two weeks of its release, allowing for a second season to move forward.
Everyone seems to be loving “One Piece” for the most part based on the streaming numbers, but that’s not to say there haven’t been some detractors — particularly feminist ones.
Specifically, there is one line of dialogue in the show that sent feminists reeling: “Girls can beat boys, but no woman can beat a man.”
Now I’m no feminist, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear a character deliver that line unironically.
For context, it was used in a flashback scene where one of the main characters, Zoro, fought a girl named Kuina to prove his worth in sword fighting. A young Zoro kept losing to her, but Kuina knew she wouldn’t continue winning as they grew older. He would eventually outperform her in “size, strength and speed,” as she said, highlighting the biological differences between men and women and how that dynamic plays in a fight.
It’s a bold statement, but it’s the truth.
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A brash Zoro couldn’t accept it at the time, and he would only realize that truth as he aged. Still, both make a vow to continue training together until one becomes the world’s greatest swordsman — a promise that Zoro carries throughout the first season.
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Kuina’s admission directly opposes the “strong female character” trope that Hollywood loves to insert anywhere it can, and this is all thanks to the original creator’s involvement in the live-action adaptation.
Though it’s unknown whether there was any creative disagreement over the line, Eiichiro Oda reassured “One Piece” fans “there were no compromises on this show” with Netflix or the production studio. “Even after the shoot was over, there were numerous scenes the production agreed to re-shoot because I felt they weren’t good enough to put out into the world,” he wrote in a letter.
In another, he even said Netflix “won’t launch it until I’m satisfied.” Oda serves as an executive producer on the series.
It’s likely the live-action “One Piece” remained so non-woke throughout production because his creative control steered the production crew in the right direction. Without him in that role, there’s a very good chance the “no woman can beat a man” line wouldn’t have made it into the final product.
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Moving on from that one scene and Oda’s hands-on involvement, Netflix’s “One Piece” is a fantastic show that prioritizes storytelling over propaganda and satisfying character arcs over uninspired acting performances. And it’s all because the series is written superbly well.
The story never gets stale or boring because characters drive the plot forward instead of the plot driving the characters. Each character has distinct, believable motivations that audiences can understand and empathize with because the series takes its time to show their emotional backstories.
Although the world is fantastical (as indicated by the protagonist’s stretchy powers and the existence of a fish-men gang), it’s oddly not ridiculous and laughable. Rather, you take the whimsical world seriously because the characters don’t question it.
Overall, the Netflix original is just plain old fun that isn’t concerned with shoving a message down your throat. Instead, the narrative is entertaining.
“One Piece” follows the adventures of young captain Monkey D. Luffy assembling his Straw Hats crew and evading various enemies as he strives to find the legendary “one piece” treasure and become King of the Pirates.
