Tag: Steven Maeda

Super Recaps: One Piece – Episode 5

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

One Piece the live-action series is owned by Netflix

Directed by Tim Southam

The two-episode arc we just finished did start to show a few flaws in the formula as it strains to fit as much as it can into this first season, but I’m still very optimistic about this show and where things are heading. After all, we’re only four crew members in and Sanji was always a favorite of mine back when I watched the anime which gives me a lot of hope that they can pull him off in this. Will this be a better introduction to a crew member than we got for Usopp, or will this show ultimately buckle under the weight of the franchise’s lore? Let’s find out!!

With the Black Cat pirates roundly defeated and a brand new ship as their reward, Luffy and the Straw Hats set sail only to barely escape from an attack by Vice Admiral Garp and his crew of Marines. With their pristine ship now showing some wear and tear, they set anchor at a floating restaurant to get some R and R before figuring out their next move. Of course, nothing is as simple as that when it comes to the life of a pirate, and Luffy finds himself caught between the head chef Zeff (Craig Fairbrass) and his young protégé Sanji (Taz Skylar) who are butting heads over the menu; not to mention Zeff and Luffy’s fundamental disagreement on the efficacy of IOUs when it comes to paying for meals. Still, the rest of the crew get some time to relax and it’s nice to see them getting along as best they can! Oh, and also there’s a Vampire Pirate with a big sword trying to capture Luffy. Wait, what?

“The only things more precise than my blade are the angles on my mustache.”     “Yeah, how DO you maintain that? Is it a magic mustache or something?”     “My secrets are mine alone.”
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Super Recaps: One Piece – Episode 3

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

One Piece the live-action series is owned by Netflix

Directed by Emma Sullivan

I’m sure all the One Piece fans out there can breathlessly explain the question I’m about to ask, but what did Usopp actually contribute to the crew? As I’ve stated before, I’ve only seen about the first forty or so episodes of the anime and while I remember Usopp being a fun character with a solid origin story, nothing really sticks in my mind after that and since then he’s kind of felt like the Yamcha of the group, to pull a reference from an anime I actually know what I’m talking about. I know this isn’t the case as the series goes along, but I’m interested in seeing what they do with him in this version and if his contribution to the crew will have a more lasting impact on me. Will this be a great introduction to the character or were the writers scrambling to find a reason for him to exist in this? Let’s find out!!

Having escaped from the dastardly Buggy, the Straw Hat crew is on their way to Syrup Island in the hopes of finding a proper ship by which to travel to the Grand Line as well as outrun the Marines who are hot on their trail. Luckily for them, they meet a young ship cleaner on the island named Usopp (Jacob Romero Gibson) who assures them that he can get them in touch with the owner of the ship-building company and can get them a good deal on the boat. As we will learn with everything Usopp says, there’s only a little bit of truth in what he says as the owner in question is not quite the owner yet, but is still a good friend of Usopp’s named Kaya (Celeste Loots). She is being mentored and protected by her butler Klahadore (Alexander Maniatis) who has no patience for Usopp’s tall tales nor the ragamuffins he’s brought around to Kaya’s stately manor, but despite his protestations, Kaya invites them to dinner and to stay the night. After all, it’s her eighteenth birthday and she’s about to inherit her late parents’ company which will set her up for life! It’s not like anyone close to her wants to take that for themselves, am I right? Will the Straw Hat crew be able to convince Kaya to give them the boat of their dreams as Usopp had erroneously promised? What evil machinations are working behind the scenes on the cusp of Kaya’s corporate takeover, and how will the Straw Hat gang be sucked into these wicked schemes? Can Usopp finally show us a skill he has other than looking really good in bandanas and open shirts!?

“See, my uncle works at Nintendo and he showed me how to give Mario a bazooka in level four.”     “Wow, can you show me?”     “Uh… It’s a trade secret.  Legally, I shouldn’t even be telling you this.”
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Super Recaps: One Piece – Episode 2

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

One Piece the live-action series is owned by Netflix

Directed by Marc Jobst

Netflix’s adaptation of the long-running manga came out the gate swinging and delivered a fun opening episode that drew me in despite my apathy toward the franchise. Now that they’ve proven it can be done, will the rest of the season convince fans that it should be done? Let’s find out!!

The Straw Hat crew has barely escaped the clutches of the Marines stationed in Shells Town when they find themselves in yet another pickle! The famed pirate captain Buggy the Clown (Jeff Ward) has kidnapped our heroes and is demanding they turn over the map they stole from the Marines or they too will suffer a horrific fate much like the citizens of Orange Town who have also been captured by the ruthless Buggy. Luffy, Zoro, and Nami (Iñaki Godoy, Mackenyu, and Emily Rudd) have to find a way out of this terrifying, albeit whimsical, prison that they find themselves in and it may just require the power of friendship to do so! Will our heroes overcome their differences and put an end to the spooky clown’s reign of terror? What tricks does Buggy have up his sleeve, and can he possibly be a threat to the rubber man, Luffy? Is it everyone’s goal in Hollywood to one day become The Joker? I know that movie made a billion dollars, but it still wasn’t very good!

“What’s that?  You think Antonio Banderas should have won the Oscar?”     *GURGLE GURGLE*     “OH, SO NOW YOU’RE AN EXPERT ON METHOD ACTING!?”
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Super Recaps: One Piece – Episode 1

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

One Piece the live-action series is owned by Netflix

Directed by Marc Jobst

Before we get into this, I should probably put my cards on the table and confess that I just don’t like the One Piece anime. I’ve seen maybe forty or so episodes back when it was originally airing on Saturday mornings, but it never stuck with me the way that Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, or even Naruto had back when I was a kid. I love pirate stuff too, which you’d think would make it an easy sell, and yet every attempt I’ve made to watch it just ended with disappointment and apathy. It always felt lacking whenever I compared it to other Shonen anime that I liked and it never felt like more than the bare minimum clichés blown up to an entire series. That’s why I was interested when Netflix announced they were gonna attempt a live-action version since a fresh take on the material could be exactly what I need to truly enjoy this story, and the fact that it wasn’t going to be over a thousand episodes didn’t hurt either. Will this be a show worth checking out, even for those of us who didn’t get the anime’s appeal, or will this fail to be more than just a lesser copy of what we’ve been getting since 1999? Let’s find out!!

Monkey D Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) is not your everyday wannabe pirate. Sure, he has stretchy powers due to a magical fruit he ate as a young boy, but what really makes him special is his unyielding optimism and unflinching courage in the face of danger which he finds himself several times here as he searches for a crew and a ship to start his journey to becoming King of the Pirates! His first stop takes him to a port town ruled by a ruthless Marine Captain named Morgan (Langley Kirkwood) who has a mysterious swordsman named Zoro (Mackenyu) held prisoner and holds a map that both Luffy and a thief named Nami (Emily Rudd) have set their sights on. Will Luffy succeed in convincing these two outcasts to join his crew and find him a ship? What secrets will be revealed on this map that Morgan holds, and what forces will bear down on Luffy and his friends if they do manage to take it from him? I mean look, if you can work together to take out an entire platoon of soldiers within five minutes of meeting each other, you pretty much have to become a crew, right? It’s like an Anime Law or something.

“I’ll take the three on the right and you take out the four on the left.”     “My left or your left?”     “WE BOTH HAVE THE SAME LEFT!”
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