When it comes to the One Piece live action, before the first season aired, we were all on edge because there was a long history of failed anime adaptations, and we feared One Piece would suffer the same fate. So expectations were low. And since expectations were low… we ended up liking it! The adaptation was fairly faithful to the manga, and the few changes they made—many of them (though not all)—were actually improvements. (For example, I liked Usopp’s arc more in the live action than in the manga.) Plus, there was very little "woke" content.
But now, with season 2 on the way, expectations have risen! So it’s not guaranteed that the audience will enjoy season 2 the same way they did the first.
— Another criticism people originally had about the project was that adapting One Piece’s wacky world from manga to live action would come across as too silly and childish. And the further the story progresses, the more that’s going to be the case! It already started happening. For example, Kuro’s two henchmen in the live action looked like Team Rocket! That made everything feel a bit too childish. Wouldn’t it have been better to take advantage of the change in medium (from manga to live action) to create a more mature and realistic version of One Piece? That would’ve been awesome! But I guess Shueisha wants the live action to serve as promotion for the manga in America, so maybe that’s why they want it to stay faithful… who knows.
— Another issue is the casting! Take the actress who plays Vivi and the actor playing Cobra. Nothing against them personally—they seem fine. I actually think the actress playing Vivi is a very beautiful girl. But hiring Indian actors to play characters who clearly represent Egypt or North Africa is just wrong! It’s not the same ethnicity! Vivi is not Indian!
Another potential issue with the casting is that, given the long production times (not just for One Piece, it’s now common for modern TV shows to take 2 or 3 years between seasons, just like movies), the main cast might end up looking too old within just a few seasons. So if the story goes on for too long, several roles might need to be recast over time—and there’s no guarantee those new castings will work. The current main cast works pretty well, but who knows what the future holds! The only one who might be able to keep their role forever is Chopper’s voice actor, I guess! Haha
— Finally, as mentioned before, the long production times. If it really takes two to three years for each new season, the timeline will drag on, and we’ll have to wait decades to reach the juicier parts of the story! The audience might lose interest (for example, with a three-year gap between season 1 and season 2, there's a real risk that general viewers may have forgotten about the show and won’t return for season 2—but we’ll see!). Also, given how expensive this series is, who knows how many seasons it will actually get! I think season 3 is probably guaranteed—otherwise, they wouldn’t have cast a big name for Crocodile. But what happens after season 3? Maybe we’ll reach season 5 or something like that? Or maybe the story will end right after Alabasta, and we’ll see the original ending Oda had in mind back when he thought One Piece would only last five years? Who knows!
Anyway, that’s what I think is wrong with the One Piece live action.
P.S. Another thing i forgot to mention,is the change of showrunner for season 3! As we know,Matt Owens stepped down,and they hired a new showrunner,but i guess just to take care of the post-production (he didnt have a rich resume as a writer,if i remember correctly) so maybe they will have to choose a new showrunner for season 3. Hopefully they will make a good choice,and hopefully this wont make the works for season 3 even longer than expected! We'll see.
But now, with season 2 on the way, expectations have risen! So it’s not guaranteed that the audience will enjoy season 2 the same way they did the first.
— Another criticism people originally had about the project was that adapting One Piece’s wacky world from manga to live action would come across as too silly and childish. And the further the story progresses, the more that’s going to be the case! It already started happening. For example, Kuro’s two henchmen in the live action looked like Team Rocket! That made everything feel a bit too childish. Wouldn’t it have been better to take advantage of the change in medium (from manga to live action) to create a more mature and realistic version of One Piece? That would’ve been awesome! But I guess Shueisha wants the live action to serve as promotion for the manga in America, so maybe that’s why they want it to stay faithful… who knows.
— Another issue is the casting! Take the actress who plays Vivi and the actor playing Cobra. Nothing against them personally—they seem fine. I actually think the actress playing Vivi is a very beautiful girl. But hiring Indian actors to play characters who clearly represent Egypt or North Africa is just wrong! It’s not the same ethnicity! Vivi is not Indian!
Another potential issue with the casting is that, given the long production times (not just for One Piece, it’s now common for modern TV shows to take 2 or 3 years between seasons, just like movies), the main cast might end up looking too old within just a few seasons. So if the story goes on for too long, several roles might need to be recast over time—and there’s no guarantee those new castings will work. The current main cast works pretty well, but who knows what the future holds! The only one who might be able to keep their role forever is Chopper’s voice actor, I guess! Haha
— Finally, as mentioned before, the long production times. If it really takes two to three years for each new season, the timeline will drag on, and we’ll have to wait decades to reach the juicier parts of the story! The audience might lose interest (for example, with a three-year gap between season 1 and season 2, there's a real risk that general viewers may have forgotten about the show and won’t return for season 2—but we’ll see!). Also, given how expensive this series is, who knows how many seasons it will actually get! I think season 3 is probably guaranteed—otherwise, they wouldn’t have cast a big name for Crocodile. But what happens after season 3? Maybe we’ll reach season 5 or something like that? Or maybe the story will end right after Alabasta, and we’ll see the original ending Oda had in mind back when he thought One Piece would only last five years? Who knows!
Anyway, that’s what I think is wrong with the One Piece live action.
P.S. Another thing i forgot to mention,is the change of showrunner for season 3! As we know,Matt Owens stepped down,and they hired a new showrunner,but i guess just to take care of the post-production (he didnt have a rich resume as a writer,if i remember correctly) so maybe they will have to choose a new showrunner for season 3. Hopefully they will make a good choice,and hopefully this wont make the works for season 3 even longer than expected! We'll see.