Just finished it, things I liked
- The casting. The characters act pretty much how I would expect them in real life. With Nami and Buggy having the standout performances
- The sets. Baratie, Arlong Park and Shells town looked great.
- The dynamic between the SHs remain loyal to the story
- Introducing Garp early was great. I think in hindsight Oda would've done this as well.
- The references and easter eggs.
- Zoro's fights.
- Usopp x Kaya being canon
- The haki hints. Shanks using CoC and Garp using CoO was great.
Things I didn't like
- Zoro and Usopp's flashback were the weakest out of the East Blue 5
- Sanji's reason to leave for the SHs was weak. Should've had him witness the Mihawk fight, question why Zoro would give up his life for his dream and then come to term with his own dream. His departure was also weak, should've stuck closer to the manga for that one.
- No mention of Ace? Weird. Garp should've named dropped him or at least reference Luffy's older brother once he met up with Luffy.
- Some of Luffy's over the top manerisms don't translate well. Don't get me wrong, most of them do. But some are just so campy that it makes it cringe.
- 8 Episodes are not enough. A lot was crammed down to fit this format.
Overall I give it an 7/10. Went in with bottom level expectations and left pleasantly surprised. I hope we get a Season 2 since Alabasta is probably the best early One Piece saga.