Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece follows Luffy, a starry-eyed pirate with ambitions of becoming king of the pirates, as he collects new friends to expand his crew.
Warning: This article contains heavy spoilers
Plot summary
An optimistic young pirate named Monkey D. Luffy sets about an adventure and journey of a lifetime in search of the legendary treasure called One Piece.
However, he first needs a crew, a ship, and a map. He helps Koby, a deckhand forced into servitude by the pirate called Alvida, before heading off to Shells Town. There, he helps pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro and meets Nami, a thief.
Together, the three defeat Axe Hand Morgan and steal the map to the Grand Line. Koby stays and joins the marine.
The three then continue their journey but are kidnapped and when they wake up, they find themselves imprisoned by a deranged pirate clown, Buggy.
Luffy is weakened by Buggy’s seawater prison but Nami and Zoro help him break out of it. Luffy manages to defeat Buggy and blast him away, before helping the tormented town folk get their freedom back.
The trio then arrives at Syrup Village in search of a new ship and meets Usopp, master of lies and a great marksman. He introduces the trio to Kaya, his lifelong best friend, and an ailing shipyard heiress.
Her butler of a long time, Klahadore, turns out to be the infamous captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates, who has been executing a ruse to take all of Kaya’s inherited wealth as soon as she comes of age.
When she does come of age, he outs himself as the truly diabolical man he is, and Kaya realizes her mistake in not believing Usopp earlier when he tried explaining it to her. Zoro, Nami, and Luffy help Kaya and defeat Kuro and his lackeys.
Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Garp inches closer to the Strawhat crew, which now also includes Usopp, aboard their new ship, Going Merry. They face off against Garp and escape successfully, before stopping at Baratie.
There, they meet the talented cook Sanji, who is also a great fighter and a proper gentleman. Meanwhile, Zoro takes on the warlord and the greatest swordsman to ever live, Dracule Mihawk.
The warlord spares Zoro’s life but injures him severely. Meanwhile, Sanji and Chef Zeff settle their difference to save Zoro just as a ruthless Fish-man named Arlonh shows up at Baratie.
Luffy fights him and gets overwhelmed, as Nami shocks him and everyone when she betrays them. Zoro finally regains consciousness and Sanji joins the crew. They head off to Coco Village and learn about Nami’s painful past, which picks up important points from the anime version.
The climactic battle of One Piece season 1 arrives and Luffy and the rest of the crew help Nami win back her village from the grabs of Arlong. Garp finally confronts his grandson and decides that he’s ready for the journey ahead.
The crew heads off to the Grand Line with all the determination for their individual goals as well as the collective dream of finding One Piece.
One Piece Live Action ending explained in detail:
Do Usopp and Kaya love each other?
Usopp lost his mother when he was just a child. Kaya’s parents, who owned the shipyard, gave him a job. He struck a friendship with their daughter Kaya.
Later on, her parents would die at sea and she would soon fall sick. In the midst of all her ailments and others’ pitiful sentiments that she dreaded, Usopp’s tall tales of brave exploits and grand adventures kept her happy.
Both of them deny being anything more than best friends when they’re first asked about being romantic partners. However, it’s also evident that they both love each other deeply.
When Usopp leaves for the adventures with the Strawhat pirates, Kaya bids him farewell with a kiss, sealing their relationship status as being boyfriend and girlfriend, something that was not made official in the One Piece manga or the anime.
Why does Garp let Luffy go?
Garp is Luffy’s grandfather and also a Vice-Admiral in the Navy. He’s been after the Strawhat pirates and Luffy from the beginning of Netflix’s One Piece.
He’s shown to be really sharp and unique when it comes to the Marines, as others mostly seem to be doing the World Government’s bidding even if their actions benefit the bad people and trample on the innocent.
He recruits Koby, recognizes his talents, and eventually catches up to Luffy, but the young pirate manages to escape his grandfather along with his crewmates. Garp continues his hunt for Luffy.
He catches up to Luffy again and squares up with him not too long after Luffy defeats Arlong. Luffy tries his best but Garp overwhelms him easily, giving him a good beating in the process which ultimately has no effect on Luffy’s determination to become king of the pirates.
When Garp sees that Luffy knows who he is and won’t stop on his journey, he’s relieved and reassured, sparing him and his crew from arrest. He has always known that Luffy is a pirate and also a stubborn individual like him.
All he wanted was for Luffy to be sure and ready for the seas, which he’s sure his grandson is when he tests him at Arlong Park in the One Piece Live Action finale.
Why does Dracule Mihawk spare Zoro?
Zoro has always wanted to become the greatest swordsman in the world, especially after his promise to his childhood friend and rival, the late Kuina.
Before Luffy and his crewmates arrive at Baratie, Garp contacts Dracule Mihawk, one of the feared Warlords and the world’s greatest swordsman, and asks him to bring Luffy alive.
However, Zoro crosses paths with him first and instantly challenges him to a duel. Zoro is no match for Mihawk’s might but the legendary swordsman is impressed by Zoro’s persistence and sense of honor.
As a sign of respect and honor, Mihawk pulls out his big sword to finish the duel and later slashes away at Zoro, but he spares his life saying he should get better and stronger before challenging again.
Meanwhile, he doesn’t do anything to Luffy either, claiming the world might need a wild card like him. In the One Piece manga, Mihawk is never contacted and asked by Garp to contend with Luffy and the Strawhat pirates.
Why does Nami betray Luffy and others?
Nami and Nojiko were raised by Bell-mère, an ex-Marine who found the two girls stranded on a battlefield. She leaves the Navy and starts raising the girls as her own in the Coco Village.
One day, Arlong and Fish-men pirates raid the village and soon take over it. When they come to collect the tributes at her home, Bell-mère saves Nami and Nojiko’s lives by paying the tributes for them who she claims are her daughters, and not her.
Arlong proceeds to brutally kill her but Nami later goes to him asking to be made a member of his crew. She hands him a map she made and he’s impressed by her skills. She then emphasizes the value of her skill that can benefit him.
She also strikes a deal with Arlong, which involves her bringing 100 million berries to him in exchange for the freedom of her village.
When she joins the Strawhat pirates and finds that Arlong is about to kill her friend Luffy, she defects to his side and hands him the map to the Grand Line, in order to sneakily give Luffy a chance at survival.
At the end of Netflix’s One Piece, she keeps her side of the deal. However, before she can bring Arlong the 100 million berry, he gets her robbed of the riches and she realizes that he never meant to keep his side of the deal and free her village.
Thankfully, her friends come to her side and help defeat Arlong and free Coco Village from the terror of fish-men pirates.
She makes peace with Bell-mère’s passing and makes amends with Nojiko and the villagers before setting off to the seas to find One Piece with her friends.
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