With live-action will adopt given the anime’s incredibly long history, at least it has the advantage of taking shortcuts by trimming down on a lot of the extras and even more controversial of moments present in the franchise.

As much as the fanbase loves One Piece, with praise comes its fair share of criticism, regarding story arcs that dragged on too long, jokes that haven’t aged well, and certain criteria that just won’t fly in a live-action like it does in anime. It isn’t out of malice that the audience turns a lens on the series it cares about, it comes from the frame of mind that with each iteration, it can improve. Netflix’s adaptation of One Piece has already performed big story changes, and it may have to do the same the longer the live-action carries on.

7 Davy Back Arc

Placing Your Crew At Risk Ain’t It, Luffy

There are many times when the Straw Hat crew gets themselves into sticky situations, but none that have caused quite as much backlash as the Davy Back arc. There were a lot of misses in this particular point of One Piece’s journey where Luffy and the crew encounter an audacious pirate by the name of Foxy who challenges the Straw Hat captain to a duel, using their crew as exchangeable gambling chips. Stemmed by the rage of a misjustice done to an old man and his horse, Luffy agrees and thus begins a rather frustrating arc of pitiful competitions.

There were a few good laughs, but in comparison to the frustrating pace the series dialed back to, it wasn’t enough to save Davy Back arc entirely.

Although the young captain was aggravated at the time, there was no need to put his crew at risk to a bunch of low-life cheats because the Foxy pirates certainly weren’t about playing fair through any of the “battles.” While the series aimed to raise the stakes at potentially losing a crew member, audiences knew well enough that the Straw Hats would come through, so the arc only resulted in killing the momentum the series had going. Coupled with an irritating final bout between Luffy and Foxy, fans were happy to leave the island and the Foxy pirates behind.

That isn’t to say that there weren’t some good moments in Davy Back’s arc since it did introduce Aokiji, a glorious meme of Luffy with some afro hair in reference to popular boxing weight champions and Usopp serving as a suited-up manager. There were a few good laughs, but in comparison to the frustrating pace the series dialed back to, it wasn’t enough to save it entirely.

It’s possible that the live-action adaptation may go on just to skip this arc, since it is known for changing the script to fit the style of a Netflix series better. Seeing as how there really isn’t a lot of narrative value in here, fans could just see a small Easter Egg to the Foxy pirates and breathe a sigh of relief that there won’t be a whole episode or two dedicated to these charades again. Iñaki Godoy’s Luffy is also more intelligent than the anime’s Straw Hat Captain, taking on a more naiveté rather than air-headed nature.

6 Vivi ing The Crew Following Alabasta’s Conclusion

She’s Going to Eventually, Right?

Netflix has made some surprising decisions when adapting the canon in live-action, but this may be the biggest change yet if it were to do so. Vivi is a wonderfully sweet character and Karoo is a dim-witted comedic delight, and if Oda had the chance to have these two the Straw Hats earlier, would he take the chance? The crew has to expand at some point, and they do recognize Vivi as a member despite not taking her along on the journey.

The only issue that could come of this is that as a princess, she’d certainly be targeted and does still have a role in her kingdom to play. The main motivation behind why Vivi conducts herself is for her country, so separating her from Alabasta doesn’t make narrative sense. It also takes away the impact of their emotional goodbye and breaks the ongoing trope of Luffy adopting everyone into his crew by meeting the one person he can’t take along on his journey. How they say their goodbyes also ties in to hidden messages made out to the crew pre-timeskip.

5 Fakeout Deaths

Merry, Pell, Pagaya, It Was Nice Knowing You

There are tropes in One Piece that haven’t aged very well in light of its age, and one of those is how often characters who face dangerous circumstances miraculously survive. With so many loveable characters, some of which Oda himself wasn’t sure would do as well as they did, it’s hard to commit to killing them off and suffering the wrath of aggrieved fans.

Not to say that Oda was afraid of using death and loss as a major motivational factor for his characters, but some smaller roles maybe didn’t have to be rescued and instead could also serve to move the plot along by raising the stakes. One Piece is a world of dastardly pirates with islands and countries stricken by war, famine, greedy corporations and more, so realistically, not every life can be saved.

The Netflix adaptation, however, has already proven they are ready to cut down on some casting costs with Merry being the first to not survive the fatal injuries he incurs at the hands of Kuro from the Black Cat Pirates. For the narrative, this does serve as a better reason for Luffy to name the Going Merry after his ing, but it also alludes to future favorites that may be up to the axe next.

4 Kamabakka Kingdom Portrayal

A Gag That Didn’t Stand the Test of Time

Speaking of things that haven’t aged well, Kamabakka Kingdom and Sanji’s time on the island have not survived the age of time. While Mr. 2, or Bon Clay as he’s later known, and Ivankov are some of the greatest ing characters to come to One Piece, the depictions of Okama on Kamabakka Kingdom did a bit of a disservice to the culture and could have created a rather harmful rhetoric given their pushy tendencies on Sanji.

While it was meant to turn the tables on the wayward chef, it also painted the drag queens and transgender island residents as people who would push their lifestyle on an unwilling participant. But Netflix may well have already fixed the crux of the issue by altering Sanji himself since Taz Skylar’s depiction is playfully flirtatious instead of being an outright ladies' man. Given One Piece’s reach globally, Kamabakka Kingdom may need a few alterations to not exclude the okama or drag queen practice as it reaches larger audiences.

3 Miscommunications and Falling Out

An Awful Trope in Hallmark and Anime

The biggest crime in story-telling is creating a problem when it could have been solved through proper communication. This has come about in different ways for One Piece, with some fans pointing towards Zoro’s and Luffy’s fight at Whiskey Peak and at the time Usopp and Luffy fought over the Going Merry, but these two circumstances couldn’t be any more different.

The miscommunication with Zoro was a silly contention that once again preyed on Luffy’s air-headed nature, misunderstanding why his first mate was attacking the villagers at Whiskey Peak after they had treated them to food and refreshments. However, the town was full of bandits who regularly steal treasure from new pirates entering the Grand Line, something Zoro tried to explain to Luffy but still resulted in them having an unnecessary disagreement. There are times when the two fight, and it’s meant to serve as a bonding moment for them to grow, but this one can be excluded from the live-action.

One of the few times this has helped serve the narrative is the falling out between Luffy and Usopp over whether to keep Going Merry. The ship had sustained lasting damage, and as the captain, an ultimatum had to be decided, much to Usopp’s dismay. This decision also resulted in a fight between the Straw Hat crew, but one that delved deeper into both of their motives and resonated with audiences because there’s understanding on either side. While messy, Luffy grew as an authoritative figure as Captain, and Usopp proved their friends extended to more than just people.

2 Fanservice

Anime’s Infamy Can Transcend Media, But Should It?

One Piece isn’t the first anime to use fanservice and will not be the last, but it’s a trope that can easily be misplaced in Netflix’s live-action adaption. When it comes to women especially, the franchise has a notorious reputation of depicting them as only being beautiful if they fall in line with a certain body type and often aren’t as strong as their male counterparts with the rare exception of Robin.

One of the biggest shames following the timeskip is how Nami’s and Robin’s wardrobe no longer defined them as characters, whereas Nami wore a lot of casual preppy clothes while Robin was more urban and rustic. Their individuality was replaced with bikini tops, shorts, and billowing skirts up until the crew reached colder climates and Wano.

One Piece has a strong female cast that makes up more than just evening out a status quo on Luffy’s crew. Netflix’s adaptation has provided some leeway with Nami’s character, returning her to her witty, charming self, but making her out to be just as combat ready as the other of the Straw Hats. With Robin to premiere in season 2, there’ll be additional excitement to see some of the outfits recreated in her wardrobe from One Piece’s manga and anime.

1 Skypiea

There’s No Skipping This Major Arc

Skypiea has a bit of a reputation among fans for being one of the worst arcs with some even reducing it to filler that can be skipped, but a lot of the lore explored in this floating island is integral for One Piece’s history and conclusion. Now that time has ed, Skypiea is seen with a more forgiving light, but at the time the anime and manga were updating, it was accused of quite a few issues:

• Poor or Slow Pacing
• Incredibly Long and Drawn out Arc
• Had a Side Quest Feel being Displaced from the Grand Line
• Shandians weren’t Relatable Enough and Wiper’s Aggression was Off-Putting
• Pagaya Surviving the Lightning Strike

As a seasonal release, Netflix’s live-action adaptation can learn a lot about the pitfalls of annual anime by avoiding the unnecessary filler but also cutting down on the arcs that overstayed their welcome. There are still a lot of highlights in Skypiea that are worth exploring with the best payoff of discovering the truth behind Noland the Liar. Now that One Piece has to be adapted to fewer episodes, fans might get a better renewed experience at the arc that brought them so much grievance before – maybe even a newfound respect for Oda’s vision.