Episodes 1-2
Mar. 9th, 2013 07:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
we_areSo for some reason or another, I decided it was time to re-watch One Piece. Why? Well, why not? It was about time and though I’d seen/read most of it, barring some gaps in Marine Ford. (Marinne Foooord) I decided to take a bunch of my online friends and rewatch this show together with them. It will be a long and involved journey that is just at its beginning. (and I do mean beginning) but it is a journey worth taking.
As a note, as of now, we are watching the Funi sub which is about the same quality of translation you’d find at fansub sites aside from automatically translating nakama as crew or comrade, which is fine but keep nakama. It’s okay. Really. Video quality is much better, natch.
Episode 01: I’m Luffy! The Man Who Is Going to Be Pirate King!
Interestingly, while the manga takes some time in showing you Luffy’s past with Shanks and passing of the hat, the anime chooses to go with a more action/adventure oriented route, starting with a mysterious barrel carrying our beloved protagonist. There is also Nami (what?) but without a name and mostly schmoozing her way through the rich patrons of the cruise ship and their wallets.
But it’s interesting to me even the history of this barrel. Much like everything in One Piece, something so innocuous carries so much weight. Of course it’s not the barrel in and of itself, but that we see it in the day Luffy leaves for his own adventure, three years after Ace. What was in it? Water? Food? Who knows? It’s a mystery barrel. A piece of the history in the present that makes second and third time viewers put a hand over their hearts and think, remember when?
Of course the biggest ‘remember when’ comes somewhat--in the form of Alvida, who has not really changed much yet tends to slip (aha) under the radar—but mostly in the form of Coby. Small, pink-haired and nervous in an understandably nerve-wracking situation—he is the obvious foil to Luffy who is taller, louder, stronger and fearless.
But is he a foil? Or is he something else? All we know at the beginning is that Luffy says that he hates him because he hates cowards, yet it’s obvious that he doesn’t hate him in the traditional sense (as if Luffy does anything in the traditional sense). So what is the deal?
As my friend who I shall call the Marine pointed out, what Luffy dislikes about Coby at this point is what he was like himself when he was little, pulling re-viewers right back to Luffy’s childhood where, tenacity aside, he cried constantly and was afraid of many things, but mostly being lonely. Coby’s unwillingness to even try really gets under Luffy’s skin and it is only when Coby stands up for himself against all the odds that things really begin to move.
This is the first we’ll see of a theme that is consistently repeated throughout the arcs (and blasted to high hell in the fillers for the most part). Empowerment starts with you. It is like the adage, give a man a fish and he will be fed for a day, teach a man to fish and after some struggling and perseverance and lots of fishing training with super cool ridiculous moves—he will be fed for the rest of his life and, more importantly, feel good about it. Though, of course, having someone who can rocket punch that fish into oblivion helps.
The opening sets the standard of Luffy being the means to an empowerment already started. He inspires it and he helps the fight to the finish because he feels like it. But he’s not by any means a white knight.
Other interesting tidbit added to the anime is the almost karmic glance that Nami shares with Luffy as the boat crashes into the water. The fact that Nami is added so early is strange but I guess they wanted a girl to keep the viewers attention. It’s impossible to say. But her addition doesn’t detract much and doesn’t add anything contrary to her character. The only thing a little odd was the quick wardrobe change from dress casual to piratey thief but it’s nothing worth commenting on.
Edited, though, is Luffy coming out of the barrel laughing about being saved, thinking he was going to die. This is somewhat understandable as the whirlpool that had sucked down Luffy’s boat in the manga was also taken out—but laughing at his near death shows a great deal about Luffy’s character. Who is this guy who can laugh so readily at almost drowning? It’s a great parallel to what we’ll see later at Loguetown. But taking it out doesn’t detract much at all.
02 Enter the Great Swordsman! Roronoa Zoro!
Ah, Zoro. Unmitigated badass and unmitigated dumbass. And, I might add, a nice hunk of beefcake.
This episode starts out with Coby discussing how terrifying Zoro is, based on hearsay, but Luffy wants to make him nakama and is determined to find out what’s what when he sees him because he could be a nice guy. This is another little thematic element that transverses the story. Appearances and reputations can be deceiving. Coby only knows he’s terrifying but Luffy waits to see what he can see despite Coby’s protestations.
As they make their way through town, terrifying everyone at the mere mention of Zoro’s name—which Luffy thinks is funny as hell—we see the rare instance of Luffy actually paying for food instead of his childhood pattern of eat’n’runs, as the Marine calls them. (tho it has to be said he at least left IOUs) Granted it is a single pear but nonetheless, a coin is tossed to the vendor, and then they go to see this guy.
One interesting aspect to One Piece, and what I love about the show, is that so much is told through character action rather than character statement. In other words, we hear what people say about Zoro but who he is is defined by the reactions of others. In this case, the reaction of a little girl, Rika, who uses a ladder to climb the wall (as my friend the Wanderer says, the most sensible person we’ve seen so far) and give Zoro some onigiri and Zoro immediately tries to get her out of there by being all gruff and tsundere at her.
This tells us right away that despite reputation and initial appearance, Zoro has a definite soft, protective side. There is more to him than meets the eye. This is further enhanced by the fact that after Helmeppo chucks and grinds the riceball into the dirt, he eats it anyway out of gratitude for the girl’s hard work. Another reoccurring theme we’ll see later on.
Helmeppo, too, is defined both by what he does and others reactions. He is a bully and a coward and obviously spoiled and so it is easy to think of him merely in terms of villain of the arc and leave it at that. But there is more to it then that, and we start to see the depth of One Piece. Helmeppo isn’t spoiled because he’s loved. He’s spoiled because he’s tolerated for whatever reason and Morgan, his own father, doesn’t think him even worthy to be hit until he’s intolerable by asking for the kind of favor he is used to getting. A great mirror of Helmeppo is Spandam, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
In terms of anime vs manga, not much has been changed except a shortening of Zoro’s past, hinting more than anything about what is to come, which is not a problem in and of itself and fits well within the confines of an animated narrative. Again there is an addition of Nami but as she can’t interact with the others, she doesn’t have much to do.
********
It’s said that the beginning of any narrative holds the promises and themes that will appear later in the story, so right from the beginning, in the anime at least, we have learned three important narrative themes that will appear throughout:
One: Empowerment to accomplish goals has to come from the self, no one else can push you toward determination.
Two: People can say a lot of things, but it’s important to discover the person for yourself first taking into account their own actions as well as the reactions of others around them.
Three: Gratitude is a positive attribute.
Another thing to keep in mind narratively speaking is: both pirates and marines can have really terrible people in them who do really terrible things.
Ties back to the past are Luffy’s barrel as well as, obviously, Zoro’s flashback.
Side characters that follow us are… a freaking lot really. Alvida, Coby, Helmeppo, Morgan, and we even see Rika again.
In terms of characterization, we see that Luffy doesn’t like cowards, is fearless in pursuit of his crazy-ass dream, is protective of others, makes his own decisions about others based on what he sees rather than rumor, and is downright determined.
Zoro is protective, honorable, insanely dedicated to his promises, is willing to endure pain (but not die) for the sake of others, and doesn’t generally care what people say about him.
Coby is pretty brave himself when it comes to doing the right thing, aka, saving Zoro, and stands in front of him to block the bullets without hesitation.
Morgan and Helmeppo will be gone over in greater detail near the end of their arc.
Up next on We Are:
Chapters 1-5
As a note, as of now, we are watching the Funi sub which is about the same quality of translation you’d find at fansub sites aside from automatically translating nakama as crew or comrade, which is fine but keep nakama. It’s okay. Really. Video quality is much better, natch.
Episode 01: I’m Luffy! The Man Who Is Going to Be Pirate King!
Interestingly, while the manga takes some time in showing you Luffy’s past with Shanks and passing of the hat, the anime chooses to go with a more action/adventure oriented route, starting with a mysterious barrel carrying our beloved protagonist. There is also Nami (what?) but without a name and mostly schmoozing her way through the rich patrons of the cruise ship and their wallets.
But it’s interesting to me even the history of this barrel. Much like everything in One Piece, something so innocuous carries so much weight. Of course it’s not the barrel in and of itself, but that we see it in the day Luffy leaves for his own adventure, three years after Ace. What was in it? Water? Food? Who knows? It’s a mystery barrel. A piece of the history in the present that makes second and third time viewers put a hand over their hearts and think, remember when?
Of course the biggest ‘remember when’ comes somewhat--in the form of Alvida, who has not really changed much yet tends to slip (aha) under the radar—but mostly in the form of Coby. Small, pink-haired and nervous in an understandably nerve-wracking situation—he is the obvious foil to Luffy who is taller, louder, stronger and fearless.
But is he a foil? Or is he something else? All we know at the beginning is that Luffy says that he hates him because he hates cowards, yet it’s obvious that he doesn’t hate him in the traditional sense (as if Luffy does anything in the traditional sense). So what is the deal?
As my friend who I shall call the Marine pointed out, what Luffy dislikes about Coby at this point is what he was like himself when he was little, pulling re-viewers right back to Luffy’s childhood where, tenacity aside, he cried constantly and was afraid of many things, but mostly being lonely. Coby’s unwillingness to even try really gets under Luffy’s skin and it is only when Coby stands up for himself against all the odds that things really begin to move.
This is the first we’ll see of a theme that is consistently repeated throughout the arcs (and blasted to high hell in the fillers for the most part). Empowerment starts with you. It is like the adage, give a man a fish and he will be fed for a day, teach a man to fish and after some struggling and perseverance and lots of fishing training with super cool ridiculous moves—he will be fed for the rest of his life and, more importantly, feel good about it. Though, of course, having someone who can rocket punch that fish into oblivion helps.
The opening sets the standard of Luffy being the means to an empowerment already started. He inspires it and he helps the fight to the finish because he feels like it. But he’s not by any means a white knight.
Other interesting tidbit added to the anime is the almost karmic glance that Nami shares with Luffy as the boat crashes into the water. The fact that Nami is added so early is strange but I guess they wanted a girl to keep the viewers attention. It’s impossible to say. But her addition doesn’t detract much and doesn’t add anything contrary to her character. The only thing a little odd was the quick wardrobe change from dress casual to piratey thief but it’s nothing worth commenting on.
Edited, though, is Luffy coming out of the barrel laughing about being saved, thinking he was going to die. This is somewhat understandable as the whirlpool that had sucked down Luffy’s boat in the manga was also taken out—but laughing at his near death shows a great deal about Luffy’s character. Who is this guy who can laugh so readily at almost drowning? It’s a great parallel to what we’ll see later at Loguetown. But taking it out doesn’t detract much at all.
02 Enter the Great Swordsman! Roronoa Zoro!
Ah, Zoro. Unmitigated badass and unmitigated dumbass. And, I might add, a nice hunk of beefcake.
This episode starts out with Coby discussing how terrifying Zoro is, based on hearsay, but Luffy wants to make him nakama and is determined to find out what’s what when he sees him because he could be a nice guy. This is another little thematic element that transverses the story. Appearances and reputations can be deceiving. Coby only knows he’s terrifying but Luffy waits to see what he can see despite Coby’s protestations.
As they make their way through town, terrifying everyone at the mere mention of Zoro’s name—which Luffy thinks is funny as hell—we see the rare instance of Luffy actually paying for food instead of his childhood pattern of eat’n’runs, as the Marine calls them. (tho it has to be said he at least left IOUs) Granted it is a single pear but nonetheless, a coin is tossed to the vendor, and then they go to see this guy.
One interesting aspect to One Piece, and what I love about the show, is that so much is told through character action rather than character statement. In other words, we hear what people say about Zoro but who he is is defined by the reactions of others. In this case, the reaction of a little girl, Rika, who uses a ladder to climb the wall (as my friend the Wanderer says, the most sensible person we’ve seen so far) and give Zoro some onigiri and Zoro immediately tries to get her out of there by being all gruff and tsundere at her.
This tells us right away that despite reputation and initial appearance, Zoro has a definite soft, protective side. There is more to him than meets the eye. This is further enhanced by the fact that after Helmeppo chucks and grinds the riceball into the dirt, he eats it anyway out of gratitude for the girl’s hard work. Another reoccurring theme we’ll see later on.
Helmeppo, too, is defined both by what he does and others reactions. He is a bully and a coward and obviously spoiled and so it is easy to think of him merely in terms of villain of the arc and leave it at that. But there is more to it then that, and we start to see the depth of One Piece. Helmeppo isn’t spoiled because he’s loved. He’s spoiled because he’s tolerated for whatever reason and Morgan, his own father, doesn’t think him even worthy to be hit until he’s intolerable by asking for the kind of favor he is used to getting. A great mirror of Helmeppo is Spandam, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
In terms of anime vs manga, not much has been changed except a shortening of Zoro’s past, hinting more than anything about what is to come, which is not a problem in and of itself and fits well within the confines of an animated narrative. Again there is an addition of Nami but as she can’t interact with the others, she doesn’t have much to do.
It’s said that the beginning of any narrative holds the promises and themes that will appear later in the story, so right from the beginning, in the anime at least, we have learned three important narrative themes that will appear throughout:
One: Empowerment to accomplish goals has to come from the self, no one else can push you toward determination.
Two: People can say a lot of things, but it’s important to discover the person for yourself first taking into account their own actions as well as the reactions of others around them.
Three: Gratitude is a positive attribute.
Another thing to keep in mind narratively speaking is: both pirates and marines can have really terrible people in them who do really terrible things.
Ties back to the past are Luffy’s barrel as well as, obviously, Zoro’s flashback.
Side characters that follow us are… a freaking lot really. Alvida, Coby, Helmeppo, Morgan, and we even see Rika again.
In terms of characterization, we see that Luffy doesn’t like cowards, is fearless in pursuit of his crazy-ass dream, is protective of others, makes his own decisions about others based on what he sees rather than rumor, and is downright determined.
Zoro is protective, honorable, insanely dedicated to his promises, is willing to endure pain (but not die) for the sake of others, and doesn’t generally care what people say about him.
Coby is pretty brave himself when it comes to doing the right thing, aka, saving Zoro, and stands in front of him to block the bullets without hesitation.
Morgan and Helmeppo will be gone over in greater detail near the end of their arc.
Chapters 1-5
