One Piece: The Great Pirate Era
Koby: Why would anyone want to be a pirate?
Luffy: ‘Cause it’s the best thing there is. You have the wind in your back, the salty sea air, your loyal crew by your side. You never know what’s on the horizon. It’s all about being…free.”
One Piece, the Netflix live-action series based on the Japanese manga series created by Eiichiro Oda, aired its first season at the end of the summer. It’s set in a made-up world during a great pirate era where the seas are divided into four quadrants: East Blue, North Blue, West, and South. I had never heard of this massively popular manga until someone recommended it to my husband, and we decided to watch it. I fell in love right away with the story and the main character, Monkey D. Luffy, whose dream is to find the hidden treasure, the One Piece, and become King of the Pirates. As a kid, Luffy looks up to the pirate Shanks and dreams of nothing more than having his own wanted poster. I love purpose-driven characters, and this show comes with that along with adventure, fantastical elements (for example, as a kid, Luffy ate a devil fruit–the Gum-Gum fruit–that turned his body into rubber), humor, and great back story. You’ll leave this show asking yourself, “What is my dream?”
Luffy’s optimism is contagious. I read this article in the Los Angeles Times, where the writer was critical of Luffy’s portrayal in this live-action series. He thought Luffy came off insane and, for that reason, found it unlikely that the crew members he picks up along the way would follow him as their captain. I disagree. You have to be delusional to believe in your dreams. I love that Luffy believes so much in himself that it starts to rub off on other people. No one takes him seriously as a pirate, but he’s so confident in himself that others start to see it in him, too. That’s most evident when Roronoa Zoro, a stoic pirate hunter who fights with three swords, changes his demeanor and accepts that he’s helping Luffy with his crazy dream of heading to the Grand Line to find Gold Roger’s hidden treasure. Luffy helps Koby, a cabin boy whom he meets on an evil pirate’s ship, go after his dream of becoming a Marine. Luffy tells him, “You should never let anyone tell you what you can’t do.” I think there’s a look of pride when Luffy tells Koby to come with him on his journey, but Koby declines as he’s going on his own path to becoming a Marine. That was the moment I fell for Luffy because it showed that he wasn’t selfish. He didn’t try to take of advantage of Koby’s soft nature and force him to help him achieve his pirate dreams; he loved that Koby was standing up for himself and finally going after what he wanted. Throughout the series, he demonstrates that he would never stand in the way of someone’s dream, and that’s what makes him a great character and leader.
One Piece depicts the hardship of being who you want to be while remaining one of the good guys. Luffy wants to be a different kind of pirate–a good one–much to the surprise of everyone around him who has never encountered a kind pirate. Yet Luffy doesn’t want to be like other pirates who are scums and thieves and scary. When Koby learns that the Marines are not as good as they appear, he becomes determined to be a good one as well. Luffy reminds him, “There’s good pirates and bad pirates. There’s good Marines and bad Marines. You’ll be one of the good ones.” Their relationship is so interesting because it’s the job of the Marines who work for the world government to stop illegal activity like piracy. Because Koby has spent time with Luffy, he stands up to Vice Admiral Garp when it comes to hunting Luffy down. He’s morally conflicted about wanting to become a Marine because he learns that the Marines are actually working with pirates: the seven warlords of the seas. Ultimately, this is why he chooses to stay on his path so that he can help people who can’t help themselves. That’s what the Marines are actually supposed to do.
Every member of Luffy’s Straw Hat Crew has a dream and a journey to complete. When it seems that only dangerous situations lie ahead for them, Luffy quotes Shanks and tells Zoro, “Shanks always said that if the path to what you want seems too easy…then you’re on the wrong path.” Zoro wants to become the greatest swordsman in the world and to do that, he has to best Mihawk, a warlord, in single combat. I was so excited for the duel because I was certain Zoro would win. This was what he wanted more than anything; surely, he would gain his coveted title with no problem. But I was wrong. Not only does he lose to Mihawk, but he’s practically left for dead. Of course, that had to be the result. He couldn’t become the greatest swordsman in the world after his very first shot at fighting the guy who holds the title. That path would be too easy. In the same LA Times article, the writer also thought it made no sense for Luffy to want his own wanted poster alongside the other villains in the story. But I disagree. I think it makes total sense as it’s tangible evidence that he is now viewed as a pirate with one of the highest bounties on the East Blue. And he doesn’t want to be like those bad pirates. He dreams of being a pirate so that he can be free and liberate others, the way he freed Koby and Zoro, who was literally tied up when they first met. I read an article in Vulture where Luffy is described as someone who “isn’t imagining riches for himself but a better society.” I think that’s true. For Luffy, a better society means everyone has the choice to chase their dream. As captain, that’s what he offers his crew, and that’s why they’re loyal to him.
We should all want to be like pirates, giving ourselves the freedom to follow whatever path we choose. It’s the most important adventure in our lives. I’m curious what the creators of this live-action iteration plan on doing to bring this story to an end since the manga and anime it's based on have been going on since the late nineties. I hope they find a satisfactory conclusion to these characters’ adventures and goals because they’re so fun to follow. In the meantime, I’ll wait eagerly for the second season to pick back up on where everyone is on their journey and escape back into the great pirate era.