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returquoise · 7 months

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ATLALA, aka Avatar the Last Airbender Live Action

Sooooo, I finished the first season and had thoughts (just like everyone else lol). First context, non-spoilery thoughts, and then spoilers under the cut, yadda-yadda.

Why context? Because for a lot of people OG ATLA was their childhood, and they have super strong feelings about it and about any adaptation that exists. I'm not one of those people.

The first time I watched OG ATLA I was over 20 years old, which means I was an adult and had adult viewpoints about the story – worldbuilding, character writing, etc. It was never the hallowed most perfect show ever for me. It was and still is a fucking good show with some amazing writing and worldbuilding but I did have some gripes.

So when ATLALA was announced I remained neutral – I've seen the movie that shall not be named and din't really like it but shitty adaptations have always existed. When we started getting photos and trailers and news pieces, I was feeling pretty positive about the visuals, but neither news pieces or trailers actually tell you shit about what the writing or worldbuilding is like. However, I was about 70% optimistic.

Because what indications I did get about visuals, writing etc, were very reminiscent of another adaptation that had come out recently, about a series that was actually a bit more important to me on an emotional than ATLA. I'm talking about One Piece, and OPLA which came out last August. I've been a fan of that for 10 years longer than ATLA, and while they did a lot of changes, the spirit of the story was there.

So I copied my optimism and good feelings from that, going into ATLALA.

Now, the thoughts.

Visuals are pretty good. There are moments when I can tell they left some visuals out due to trickiness/budget (the "is Zuko's ship real?" review after the premiere). Some things look fake or plasticy, some stuff is too clean. Bending looks a lot better than in the movie that shall not be named.

Writing has issues. Some of it is very expositiony which makes it wooden and the shots uninteresting (there were so many badly framed shots with characters just awkwardly standing and talking). There are some lovely bits of dialogue that gave me feelings, but those moments were in the minority. And some writing choices were also quite childish, even for an adaptation of a kids' cartoon, so I'm a bit confused about the intended age demographic – except there are some really violent bits in there, which leave me even more confused.

Pacing was either frantic or okay-ish. The writers clearly had trouble paring down the OG series, and then ended up cramming stuff together. I could keep up with it (knowing what certain characters roughly meant for the plot, even if they were at a different place and time), but I'm not quite sure if someone uninitiated in the OG series could. The last 2 episodes had probably the best pacing and even then there were some things that made me go "hmmm."

Some actors have issues emoting – main and extras. I agree that the Gaang has lost some of their flaws compared to the OG series. Maybe some of them will make more of an appearance in season two when everyone's more experienced at acting? Especially considering that they'll likely have stuff more spaced out there – there are some episodes I'm pretty sure they'll outright skip, just based on the choices in this season. But we'll see. There were some fun and interesting bonding moments between different characters.

Sokka, Zuko, and Suki were the standouts from the younger cast. Suki is considerably different from the OG but it was acted and written well, and is an interesting choice. Sokka's quips, while not as numerous as in the OG, were fun. Physical comedy is obviously more toned down because real bodies can't do the same shit as cartoons. More about his arc choices later. Zuko was a bit toned down from the OG but IMO also the closest to it. And as someone who's almost finished with a Zuko AU fanfic, I was positively cackling due to the fact that some of the choices made for the character are similar to something I've done in my fic.

As for the rest of the main kids, there'll be more in the spoiler bits, BUT, they're different, and feel less experienced in acting. They're not bad but some choices were definitely different than in the show and they offer interesting opportunities. We'll see how they pan out, but be prepared for some speculation from me.

Fight scenes sometimes had IMO slow moments in the choreo, and they could have been better. Some were excellent, some a bit ehhh.

On the whole, I think this is about 7 out of 10. Some moments were 8 out of 10. It's a passable adaptation

Spoilery thoughts waaaay down.

Whoo boy. Where to start here?

Let's start with the cramming. As far as I can tell from my notes, the episodes are roughly divided like so:

EP1: 3,5 and bits (Boy in the Iceberg, Avatar Returns, Southern Air Temple, half of the Storm, bits of Avatar and the Fire Lord)

EP2: 1 and bits (Warriors of Kyoshi, part of Waterbending Scroll)

EP3: 3 halves (King of Omashu, Jet, Northern Air Temple)

EP4: 1, 4 halves and bits (King of Omashu, Jet, Northern Air Temple, Cave of Two Lovers, half of Winter Solstice P1, bits of the Avatar Day,)

EP5: 2 halves and pieces of 3 (half of Winter Solstice P1, half of Bato of the Water Tribe, part of Southern Raiders, part of the Library, part of Siege of the North) AND timeskip mention of the Great Divide and the pirates from Waterbending Scroll

EP6: 2, two halves and bits (Winter Solstice P2, Blue Spirit, half of Bato of the Water Tribe half of the Storm, part of Siege of the North)

EP7: 2 (Waterbending Master, Siege of the North)

EP8: 2 and pieces (Siege of the North, Return to Omashu, bits of Northern Air Temple, part of the Library)

Waterbending Scroll is a bit of throughline because you see moments of training in pretty much all of the episodes.

Episode 1 was very full, and felt rushed at times. There were a few places where they could have shortened some parts (like the earthbender spy scene at the start) to give more time for other stuff. Biggest gripes are the convenience of timing – Aang going off to clear his head only for everyone to die that very night. HOWEVER, me and my friends talked about it being likely Spirit shenanigans going "fuck, Air Nomads are gonna die now, we need to deepfreeze the Avatar for storage." We also concluded that the sudden current of Sokka and Katara finding Aang was either physics we don't understand, or Spirit shenanigans. Also the thing about all the Air Nomads coming over for the Great Comet festival? And then having so few of them on screen? Sorry, but I ain't buying it. Having such a sparse population in one temple I could have bought (with caveats) but adding in the gathering, nah.

Episode 2, Sokka-Suki was beautiful. I think it works even with the removed downplaying of girls capabilities (this change also brought some other stuff to Sokka I absolutely adored in later episodes but I'll talk about that when I start ranting about the characters). This was pretty close to the OG episode in many ways and I really don't have other problems with it, besides the somewhat childish end discussion about hope and shit with Aang and Suki's mom (Suki having a badass mom is fun). Manifesting Avatars and being able to talk to them only at their shrines will be an interesting take on stuff. Because that will affect some stuff on later seasons and I'm not sure how.

(And considering how scared Aang is of the Avatar State this early on, we might end up skipping the Avatar State in the next season. At least partially. Because we did get a lot of info now.)

That's a very full itinerary and it was hardest to follow at eps 3-4 because there were so many things going on. Jet's and the Mechanist's conflicting storylines made for an interesting drama (though, again, hard to follow) and gave Sokka and Katara something to do – which they didn't really have in the OG Omashu episode, which was what Aang was mostly dealing with here. In my opinion these two episodes didn't get a proper handling, because they're one of the few instances were we get people from the Earth Kingdom doing questionable shit, but we don't really discuss it. And while everyone know marketing is a mistake (it makes no one happy), considering that this series was trying to sell itself as a more mature take, that feeling is left kinda lacking in regards to Jet and the Mechanist. I do appreciate Bumi being fucking bitter, like Yass, you go king, as well as the bit with the Earth Kingdom soldiers speaking of grief and mistreating Iroh. That complexity is what was left lacking with Jet and the Mechanist, and how Katara and Sokka dealt with that emotionally. Also loved Zuko getting hit by a broom and Iroh taking the fall for him. The Zuko-Zhao alliance was an interesting angle to take (after messing it up pfft) and establishing early that Azula is a master infiltrator? I liked that move, also the fact that there are Fire Nation rebels. Although I fucking loved the quick fake marriage.

5 and 6, despite being about as full if not fuller, were weaven together really well in my opinion. My biggest gripe with that two episode storyline was how the Fire Sage Shyu-Aang team-up was done – not that it was any better in the OG to be fair but it is more jarring in live action. I just about died at the 41st twist because holy shit that's an amazing angst take and I appreciate it so much. And while we do get Aang planting an acorn, it feels like a really small moment and I think the Hei Bai issue should have got a bit more attention as the episode was resolved. Koh was fucking terrifying and the appearance of Wan Shi Tong – and in the last two episodes the appearance of the celestial objects calendar machine, as well as the fact that Zhao got his dirt on Tui and La from a Fire Sage – leads me to believe we won't be getting the Library episode next season.

(The only way I can see Return to Omashu happening is if it's remixed with Imprisoned which was totally left out of this season, or we get the important info aka neutral Jing info all from the Swamp, or from a letter Bumi sent. I personally think Return to Omashu-Imprisoned remix is more likely, just so we can prep Teo and the Mechanist for the Day of the Black Sun which we saw flashing by on the celestial objects machine just before we finally got the confirmation that Sozin's Comet is still a thing. Although The Avatar State could also be remixed into this in a sort of "yes, Earth Kingdom needs to free Bumi etc but I can't do it in Avatar State, we need to be smart.")

Episodes 7 and 8 were pretty chill in pacing issues. I thought Yue was a bit too quick in warming up to Sokka but considering how it was explained I can accept it. Also, the fact that Tui and La are intelligent enough to not be fish 24/7/365 is a change that makes sense although the whole Ice Moon (is it the local Halloween?) thing was very out of left field. Women joining the fight was a wild update and definitely more of a modern take than an early 2000s take. Do I have other thoughts? Sure, but I don't want to write bajillion essays and I just want a general overview in one post.

Zuko is, like I said, a standout. Absolutely love his conspiracy board, and as someone who writes a fic with a more scholarly inclined Zuko, I loved him being able to draw, being the foremost Avatar expert in the world (you can't tell me there can be more than one or two people out there who know more than Zuko at this point, look at his research), and having opinions about calligraphy brushes. Ugh, my heart. There's some absolutely wonderful acting happening and he does action really well. Is he a bit less explosive than in the OG? Sure, but one must remember, that adaptations are just licensed fanfics. His abuse background is in the performance, and my biggest question is the Agni Kai. There was a certain desperation in his face, so he must have wanted to make an impression on Ozai, and maybe felt a bit more like he had the right to it – as this show made it clear he had been invited in the War Council and did not needle his way in. Also the 41st twist oh holy smokes I just about screamed. His flaw is still anger and trouble thinking plans through.

Azula (her bangs in the flashback crack me up, was that her emo phase?) is more obviously affected by Ozai's games in this. I know OG Azula has loads of fans and there are loads of deep dives into her character and abuse and etc, but this is actually the first time her writing has made it obvious to me. She's still cold and calculating, but she's affected by more things and that makes her into a more approachable character for me. I know many fans got this from the OG portrayal so I know this is a me thing.

Sokka is another standout. I saw an interview where the actor was like "I tried to interject and ad lib humour where I could" and I appreciate it, because a lot of them made me cackle. There was some really good humour there. As for his arc and conflict; I think it's really interesting that he tries to live up to his dad's image of a warrior, and doing it very much out of duty. It isn't so much that he wants to be a warrior, but he wants to be good enough and I think that came through wonderfully. He can be a warrior, but it ain't his passion. It also offers very interesting bonding possibilities and parallels with Zuko. My heart broke at that ice-dodging scene in episode 5, as well as his heart-to-heart with Katara in episode 4 (fucking SIBLING LOVE TRIUMPHS). Also absolutely loved the fact that he supported Katara being a warrior in the North. His flaws in the OG are self-esteem issues (nailed here), and a certain level of arrogance, that affected his attitude towards girls at times. The latter has been removed but considering it only lasted until episode 4 in the OG series anyway, I don't see it as a terribly big deal. We can still get his "it'll totally work out this way" arrogant moment at pretty much any point in the story in the future.

Katara has trouble emoting. I don't know how much experience her actor has with acting, but I hope she gets better with practice. There are some very nice bonding moments she has with Sokka and Aang that bring emotion out, but she's very stone faced a lot of the time. One could read it as a symptom of seeing her mother being literally burned alive but that depends on how her arc is written in future seasons, and how it's acted. I really like the parallel with Sokka, of him trying to be a warrior out of duty, while Katara wants to be that and has trouble getting the opportunity to do so. This came out really well in episode 4. The fact that she was made a fucking commander of sorts at North was amazing moment of proving to her that she can be, that she is, a warrior. I'm kinda sad her temper has been left out of the writing, because with her being a self-taught water bender (which I'm okay with because we see her practising every fucking episode) there's a threat of her sliding into so-called Mary Sue territory. Hopefully Toph's inclusion brings her temper out next season. She's also missing some of her naiveté, although having a crush on the first good looking outsider (with fucking mirrored shots) just like her brother is hilarious.

Aang is... to mature. He gets a lot of really good and morally and ethically right speeches, and while he expresses that he's scared and doesn't know what he's doing, it still feels too mature. He also doesn't have that many dumbass child moments (what was that episode he just went "oops" in, that was funny and felt childlike, and then there was the water fight he had with Katara). It could be because we're going through stuff so fast but it'll be hard to fix later. I kinda like how his connection with Katara is being the last of their kind and loss – and then the small really good acting in ep7 when Katara says stewed sea prunes taste like home, and you can just see him go "oh, there's still someplace she can belong to, unlike me." I loved his calligraphy brush discussion with Zuko, because there was the beginnings of a bond there. As a friend said, it's nice they removed the Disney princess like love at first sight thing from the OG. If this turns into a romance (I have thoughts on that... later) I feel like it has a better chance to grow organically. No, I never shipped Kataang, please refer to the context part of this post.

Suki had a fun isolated, but curious, and socially awkward vibe to her. She's obviously different from the OG, but it's a fun and interesting difference, as the most characterisation we ever got for her was badass. Yue was interesting, more assertive and playful, which I liked. I also liked the fact that she had obvious duties and was expected to be the next chief. Even if the Northern Water Tribe sexism was kept, this felt like it added some dimension to it. June flirting with Iroh was hilarious, enough said. Mai and Ty Lee are blanks of wood. Their writing, and the direction they were given was horrible, and they're a prime example of that awkward standing and bad framing issue I mentioned way earlier. Ty Lee could have at least been bending herself into a pretzel, and Mai could have been using a knife to dig stuff from under her nails or something. I hope they get better writing and direction in the future.

Iroh was honestly pretty enjoyable. There were some moments of skilled evasive answering, but I was left missing him saying that Zuko was like a son to him. They do have really good chemistry though and you can see the care between the characters. I hated the long monologue at the end of episode 6, that felt very much beneath whatever target audience they were aiming for, and failed show not tell. Not perfect but can improve. Also, that one part where they played Leaves on the Vine, I almost died.

Ozai being a manipulative, abusive game addict is different but offers him some agency and motivation besides megalomania, which I appreciate. He had a peculiar expression when he burned Zuko, and that smells like hidden lore to me.

That's probably every character I feel like addressing at this point. However, I did mention romance in Aang's section, and I have to agree with the other whispers on the net. The fucking scarf scene. At this point, it's more likely for this show to be Zutara than Kataang IMO. BUT before people go and blow up about it, some points; cartoons offer more leeway in visual age differences, I feel like they would need to extend ATLALA plot line to last several years (instead of like, 9 months it's in the OG) to make it visually make sense. The Fortuneteller (as well as Katara's obsession with love?), and Aang's love at first sight have all been written out. Cave of Two Lovers was used for sibling love on the first season, and we ain't visiting that location again, not with how efficiently we did pretty much all of the Omashu stuff this season. Most of the Kataang iconic moments have been left out deliberately. Does this mean we'll get Zutara? Of course not, but due to the scarf scene, as well as that rivals thing they have going (we literally have two fights between Zuko and Katara this season, and the water sprout she used to thwart his fireball in episode one, and if that isn't a traditional beginning of a rivalry, nothing is), it's certainly more likely at this point than Kataang.

But we'll see, just like with everything else. It's an okay start, it's far from perfect, but it does offer new viewpoints that I find fascinating.

What's in the future.

I already explained my Return to Omashu-Imprisoned-Avatar State mash-up idea above, and that we'll likely miss the Library. I also think Avatar Day will be left out. I do however think, that we'll get the Deserter next season. We also need a way for Aang to learn about the Comet coming again and if Library is out (and probably also the Desert), best chances are IMO the Swamp or the Fortuneteller (remixing those two together is also possible). Or maybe Yeong Yeong has spies and they tell him about the Comet and he tells the Gaang. I also think they'll be foreshadowing/setting up White Lotus a bit more than we got in the OG.

I don't quite have my thought together enough to make any other guesses, but we will get Toph, Ba Sing Se, and Azula's Mean Girls Squad, but no clue yet how they'll be remixed. Season 2 has a much clearer timeline structure, whereas season 1 had a lot of episodic stuff that doesn't timeline wise offer too many roadblocks for remixes, as we saw with what they did with Omashu.

I think that's about everything I can think off. If you have comments, please be nice. This was mostly rambling, and tin foil hat baiting.

#avatar the last Airbender live action #avatar the last airbender #atlala #natla #netflix avatar the last airbender #review #thoughts #spoilers #non-spoilers #I'm sad people prefer the term natla to atlala #I'll keep calling it atlala for funsies #season 2 speculation #character analysis

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nymph1e · 7 months

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So my brother and I sat down to watch LA ATLA. At first we were torn between "why tf would they do that?!", "ok it's fine we need to treat this like an original show it's not BAD", and "[insert random fact about the original show that was done really cleverly and with great thought imposing over whatever tf the LA was doing instead]".

We got to about halfway through the first episode and my brother said something:

"You know the biggest actual flaw to this show? It spends the entire time telling you how much you want to watch a different show." And I honestly think that's the best critique I could come up with for the LA ATLA.

With OPLA you still compare stuff, you still question choices, but you don't really get the urge to go off and watch the East Blue arc RIGHT NOW. The show stands by itself.

The LA atla show though? Even when it's doing well it just makes you want to watch atla. To see how it was done originally. It reminds you of how clever and lightness and funny the original show was, how it handled serious topics with respect but didn't allow itself to get dragged down. You sit in front of a screen watching okish cgi and you think about how beautiful atla is. How optimistic it was, how the sound design worked, the animation, the bending, the art.

Is it a bad show? Maybe. Maybe it's good. Idk

Because instead of continuing to watch a show that only made us want to watch another, my brother and I switched over to atla and watched about half of the first season.

#avatar the last airbender

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kookoofufu · 8 months

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I got my best friend to watch OPLA, she's on episode 6 and here are some updates:

She's a Sanji girlie, which she was worried was a hot take. She'll go through the 5 stages of grief once she learns how much of a gremlin he becomes in the animanga

She also thinks Luffy is attractive ("a good man"), not the first of my friends to think so. I blame Iñaki Godoy.

Her initial reaction to the crew was that Zoro and Nami should date, an actual hot take, I love it

She was extremely appreciative of Kaya and Nami bonding, so she will probably be very disappointed in the animanga sexism/boy-centrism, if she ever gets into the series

She was very happy when I told her Nami isn't the only female crewmember

She was shocked and appalled to learn that people are horny for Buggy, but surprised and delighted when I told her that he becomes very important (while remaining a cringefail loser)

She thinks I'm weird for being in love with Mihawk, the goddamn traitor

I just know she's going to fall in love with Robin in s2

#one piece #opla #one piece live action #my stuff #I cannot see Luffy as attractive for the life of me but inaki is bringing in the numbers #i couldnt help telling her some light spoilers to intrigue her. i need to drag someone else into this hell with me

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supernaturallyginger · 1 year

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One Piece Live Action Review

Now that I've had time to watch and digest all the episodes it's time to discuss how I feel about the adaptation. This break down will be full of spoilers, so read at your own risk.

One Piece Live Action is good, actually.

Live action anime adaptations have a tendency to be soulless cash grabs that either don't give a shit about the source material or bank too much on just showing things the fans recognizes in place of an actual story.

OPLA loves the source material. It is clear that this production is a celebration of the manga series. The easter eggs and small nods to the series are not just there to make you point at the screen and say "There's the Thing!" They are apart of the world. Taking a note from Oda's writing to make the world of OPLA fill just as rich as the manga.

However, it is not a one for one recreation of the East Blue saga. How could it be? It would be impossible to take ~100 chapters of story and cram it into an 8 hour tv show season without it being a powerpoint of Luffy's Greatest Hits.

The story had to be changed to fit the medium and the pacing. Overall, I think the pacing is good and the changes made are for the better. But it's not perfect.

Episode 1 (aka mostly Zoro's intro):

Of the entire season, this was the weakest episode in my opinion. It had the most to introduce which is quite a challenge and it does so fairly well, but there are changes made here that I'm just not a fan of and I believe make the story weaker.

Zoro's introduction being changed to his face off with Mr. 7 is fine. It shows us him praying for Kuina, him being sassy to a bad guy, and ultimately him killing Mr. 7. Awesome start!

Unfortunately, we suffer when we cut to Zoro at Shells Town. He's only tied and imprisoned for a day, if that. And that's not even where Luffy first sees him. Instead, Luffy first sees Zoro at a bar starting a fight. Taking away the impact of him seeing Zoro's strong will after being tied up for days.

And it gets worse... Luffy just let's Zoro out, no strings attached and Zoro fetches his own swords. It takes away from the charm of the original scene where Luffy (a little bastard) blackmails Zoro into joining his crew to get his swords back. This change takes away two things: a showcase that Luffy is willing to be a stubborn shit to get what he wants and Zoro's willingness to give up his resolve because Luffy kept his word and brought him his swords.

While we're here, time for a Zoro tangent;

I'm really not a fan of how the character was adapted. This is not Zoro, this is some smug, emotionless samurai. All the beats were there. There were references to him being lost and a few jokey moments, but they are all delivered in the same monotone. Rarely is this Zoro shown to emote. Nor does he ever get to be goofy because YES! Roronoa Zoro can goofy. He's just a teenager in the East Blue saga, and yet OPLA plays him like he's alcoholic Batman.

Episode 2:

Oooh boy, give it up for episode 2! And Buggy, my little meow meow Buggy! I love him <3

As for the episode, the change from having Buggy being some shitty pirate just camped nearby and annoying the village to being a pirate who enslaved the village into being his audience was excellent! It's so fucked up and campy and even more fucked up.

Buggy's desires are for attention and fame. He wants what Shanks has and yet he's still stuck in the East Blue, desperate for a map that he can't get his own greedy hands on.

Buggy was such a stand out character in OPLA. I love Buggy in general and this version is a bit different than the pathetic Buggy we love from the manga, but he is like a evil cartoon villain chewing the scenery! I'm so glad they roped him into the plot to keep him throughout the season.

Episodes 3 & 4:

These are fine. Some people aren't fans of the changes and yeah, I agree taking away a lot of Usopp's agency sucks. It really doesn't feel like this is Usopp's arc, more like that he's just some guy who happens to be there.

But I was never a huge fan of the Syrup Village arc. I felt like it was poorly paced in the anime and the changes made at least kept the story condensed and Kuro's plan seemed more well thought out.

Biggest highlight of these episodes was Usopp! Jacob Romero does an amazing job at bringing the character to screen. He has so much charisma that it's hard not to smile when he's in a scene.

Episodes 5 & 6:

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE the Baratie arc! And this adaptation... is fine. Much like how Usopp is an after thought in his arc, Sanji is sidelined here to make room for PLOT.

Changing the Big Bad who threatens Baratie from Don Krieg to Arlong is a great choice. Don Krieg was always a lame, forgettable villain, so having Arlong show up to help push the plot towards the next arc is smart.

Much like Zoro's introduction, I'm not happy with Sanji's either. Specifically with how he meet Luffy. The scene where Sanji is the crew's waiter and has to fight some rowdy pirates is charming. But then Luffy say, "He's a great fighter." and UGGGHHHHHH

Luffy does NOT recruit Sanji for his strength. Nor does he recruit him for his cooking abilities. He recruits him because he is KIND. This is the same gripe I have with the Zoro intro. Luffy sees Zoro fight before recruiting him. When really he's supposed to want Zoro after seeing him tied up and learning that Zoro was captured because he saved a little girl from Helmeppo's dog. While Zoro and Sanji are the two strongest fighters on Luffy's crew, he never recruited them because they could fight.

ANYWAY

Luffy does see Sanji's kindness, only after seeing him fight and trying his food, and the two actors have great chemistry on screen. It's easy to believe that they are becoming fast friends and you can see in Taz Skylar's acting how much Sanji admires Luffy right off the bat. It's cute!

Unfortunately while Sanji is sidelined in his own arc, so two are the reveal of his backstory and the famous All Blue dream talk. His backstory is revealed in a random trauma dump to the crew which is only used to further the Zoro losing to Mihawk story. And the All Blue talk is just dropped randomly and has nothing to do with Sanji learning to pursue his own dreams. That's just done with a short shouting match between him and Zeff. Whatever.

Episodes 7 & 8:

Arlong Park was a good place to end the season. And the adaption of the arc is once again fine. Nami's backstory is rushed and the change to having no one in the town knowing her true intentions is a weird one.

BUT! Something I hadn't mentioned before, the sets are really fun! Arlong Park is a good example of this because it takes the design from the manga/anime and adds its own twist. The twist? Making Arlong Park look like a fairway at an amusement park. Which is a fun (horribly depressing) nod to something fans of the series can pick up on.

Other notable sets are Buggy's circus tent, Kaya's Tim Burton themed mansion, and the Baratie. God the Baratie is an amazing set! The detail of the lighthouse on top is *chefs kiss*

Something else I didn't mention before, is that there is a B plot throughout all 8 episodes following Garp in pursuit of Luffy while training Koby and Helmeppo. It's loosely based on a cover story the manga ran early on and it's fine.

The characterization of Garp is a little odd, as he seems more strict and book smart than his manga counterpart. (I cheered when we saw him finally throw some canon balls!!) But it all lead up to a moment of him meeting Zeff. Two men of the older generation. A former pirate and a marine sitting down over a glass of wine and steaks. And they discuss having to accept the changing world when really the conversation is about accepting their boys moving on follow their dreams. It's a simple scene, but it's one of my favorites.

NOW the Arlong Park battle is good, if not a little short because they have to make time for the Garp stuff. There is one line in particular that really bothers me. There is a moment where Luffy agrees with Arlong and says something like, "Maybe I can't defeat you." and... that's not Luffy.

Arlong Park has one of Luffy's most iconic moments. A moment that defines his character and the entire series.

And I think that's how I feel about the OPLA as a whole.

It's good, but it's not One Piece. Well- it's not the One Piece we already know.

This Luffy is different. OPLA Luffy has a moral compass. He has snappy lines and has maybe even read a book in his life time. He's not the same Luffy from the manga, and that's okay. Inaki Godoy is a joy to watch on screen and his version of Luffy is just as wonderful in his own way.

One Piece Live Action is witty and very charming. Filled with great action scenes, lively sets & costumes, and actors who are giving it their all in every scene.

Despite some changes I disagree with, this was an amazing adaption that is a celebration of the fans and an introduction to the wacky world of One Piece to new viewers.

#one piece #opla #opla spoilers #one piece live action #my writing

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zonaenthusiast · 6 months

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Oh, I just found out people on twitter are now in their OPLA hating train era and I wonder... Why is there never a middle ground? Why does everything have to be an extreme like or an extreme hate?

I can understand it, just a week ago I finished watching it again (the first time after the hype period) and I noticed more things that don't convince me or directly I don't like. But there have always been things I didn't like even then, I've talked extensively about episode seven, some dialogues and some decisions of the series in general.

But still, I still think it's a pretty solid adaptation. Perfect? Absolutely not, but it's a good introduction to One Piece and has served to encourage some people to read the manga or watch the anime (although I wouldn't recommend anyone to watch the anime but read the manga because it's the superior version).

I'm so tired because this happens all the time with every piece of media in existence. And things aren't usually black or white.

#one piece #live action #opla

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chromatic-lamina · 1 year

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I've got a lot of OPLA tags filtered out, so sorry if what I say is redundant and repetitive, but I finally watched the first episode and it was really good. I'm all for the different dialects of English. Good move. Also, gives it a real pirate-y feel, cos of course they were from all over. I love Mackenyu's Zoro, and I can see their reasoning, given the need to condense storylines, for changing the aspects they did (eg: having Nami at Shells Town). The extra bits here and there are good, and Helmeppo is pretty freaky looking in the manga, and I thought they weren't going to be able to match it, but they kinda did with the "haircut".

Only thing I kinda wished they kept was the Japanese fruit and attack names. They're not so hard to say, and I think most fans who watch the anime at least (in sub) are familiar with them. I know a lot are in English, or non-Japanese languages, but the majority are in Japanese, so fingers crossed (doubt it'll happen though). I think that Shanks' actor coulda done a bit better with the pronunciation of Makino's name, too, but it's within keeping of his own actual accent.

I hope Nami's scaredy-catness comes out later too. I mean, I love that she's hardcore, but being scared is also very human. And, of course, plenty of ZoLu moments there, platonic or otherwise!

@cyborg-franky described Benn Beckman as if the casting agency had decided to go with worn down geography teacher (his wording was much funnier), and he's right. That's another thing they could change. They did Benn dirty. But, yeah, overall, thumbs up from me!

PS: Zoro's inadvertent (but deliberate) flipping off of the Baroque Works' member, and also Helmeppo dancing around in the nuddy, gives hope to Law's signature move (flipping folks off) being included, if the live action ever gets that far. Oh, and cos it's live, the blood was actually a bit, arghhh, bloody.

#one piece live action #opla #chromalami #chromamuesli #episode 01 #opla spoilers #one piece live action spoilers

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gffa · 1 year

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Have you also watched the One Piece anime? After watching the new live action I was like “oooh! I should check out the anime!” But it is like 1000 episodes. Is it worth it?

Hi! I've watched a good chunk of the One Piece anime, yes! I watched up through at least the Arabasta arc, probably up through episode 150 or so, but at the time that was all that was released, so I had to switch to the manga. (I kind of fell out of One Piece for awhile after certain events in the manga hurt my heart too much to keep going for awhile, but I've always intended to go back. So I would say I've read somewhere just past half of the manga?) So, take that into consideration, that I'm coming from "started with the anime, got 150 episodes in, that's all the further the anime was along at the time, so I had to switch to the manga, but I fell out somewhere around chapter 500 or so, but that was long enough that I had plenty of time to compare the manga and the anime to each other, once the anime caught up to where I was in the manga". My ideal One Piece watching order is pretty much exactly what I went through: - Be prepared for the first ~20 episodes to be kind of dull, maybe you'll like them, but most people find them kind of tedious, but idk maybe you could skip the first 30 episodes or so because OPLA covers the events reasonably well - Watch up through the Arabasta arc (episode 150 or so), the pacing of the anime is really, really watchable up to that point and the voice actors are ASTOUNDINGLY perfect in their roles - Switch to the manga for the Jaya arc/Skypiea arc, unless you're having a really hard time with it, Skypiea should still be pretty good pacing (up to episode 195 or so) - SERIOUSLY GET OUT OF THE ANIME AROUND THIS POINT because it has to start stretching out the events to fill time because it catches up to the manga too quickly, so there's a TON of filler, like by the time I went to try to watch the events of the Davy Back Fight in the anime, it was EXCRUTIATING trying to slog through the long, looooooong minutes of characters just STARING at each other to fill time Is it worth it? Yes, yes, and yes. One Piece is genuinely my favorite manga ever, nothing has ever come close to how well done I've found it to be. It's not perfect, it definitely has trouble when it comes to women (though, I think Oda is at least trying to get better about that) and the art style isn't going to be for everyone, but the sheer WORLDBUILDING and PLOT are absolutely NUTS, Oda knew exactly where this story was heading when he started and you can see that dedication unfold as it goes along, things that you had no idea were important back then, that just seemed random, will suddenly be MASSIVELY important, like as an example: When Shanks tells the sea monster to GET LOST! after it chomps his arm, there's a whooshing, the camera in both the anime/manga and the live action make a point of how the air kind of 'shakes' around him, and it's super dramatic, right? THAT'S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT LATER and watching OPLA I was struck all over again HOLY SHIT ODA PLANNED THAT FROM THE BEGINNING. One Piece is a deeply silly and ridiculous series, not everything is meant to be taken seriously, sometimes it's just Oda joking around and being goofy! But there's a genuine story about friendships and a massively internally consistent world that will slowly unfold before you and some of the most epic battles I've ever seen. One Piece is a series that has made me genuinely cry over Luffy's hat more than once, it has made me cry over a ship, that's how powerfully the story can affect my emotions, because it's genuinely such a loveable series. Yeah, I absolutely do recommend it! Start with the anime, but for the love of all things holy, stop at least around episode 200 and switch to the manga, it's a tough adjustment for a few chapters, but it's totally worth it!!

#lumi.txt #one piece #one piece live action

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panda-puma · 11 months

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oh, I've had a hunch that Sanji got... cranked up to 11 in the anime. after OPLA I became manga-only reader, as I wanted the rawest possible OP experience and also bcuz reading is quicker than watching the anime 😅 (I'm still not even halfway through -- recently started Impel Down -- but it is such a great story, I already love it so much!!!) but I also started dipping my toes into the fandom. and I saw people hating Sanji for being a gross pervert. but while reading the manga, this man gave me more of a love-sick puppy vibes??? all the swooning and fussing over Nami and Robin seemed almost sweet (him running towards them with flowers in Skypiea or cotton candy in Long Ring Island? c'mon, that was adorable) he has his moments but they aren't even that bad, tbh. I wondered that maybe it was a misguided hate towards his special treatment for women (chivalry?????) rankling feminists, tired of men treating women like wilting flowers in constant need of man-help but no, people seemed very dead-set on him being a straight up pervert and I realised... oh, those are anime fans... oh, no... what happened here, and I got discouraged from trying to watch the anime, since if it changed Sanji, one of the main characters, it was very likely to change other things, especially given how old the anime is. and then I realised that it already changed things even in the first episode and I kind of... stuck to the manga for now. maybe I will watch some movies just to see the One Piece world prettily animated 🤔

(Long post) First of all, some recommendations for you so you can enjoy the animation ^^ If you want to enjoy One Piece animated with an "Oda feel", watch the movie "Strong World". The script is written by Oda and you can watch it after finishing Thriller Bark. Like with the rest of the movies, the content is not Canon content, so what you see on them doesn't really happen in the real One Piece story (even if some of the enemies pasts are canon), but this one is the best and more on character we can probably see.

After that, Oda was executive producer in "Film Z" (supposed to be after FishMan Island Arc, but preferably after Punk Hazard Arc to avoid spoilers) and "Gold" (watch after Dressrosa Arc). His involvement with these movies is not so big, tho, so watch them with that in mind. (For example, in "Gold" Oda only rewrote the script of the climax of the story, because he was specially unsatisfied with how that part was done. They had to redraw the last 10min of the movie OvOu)

Also he was a producer in "Red" (watch after Wano Arc), and he made a lot of interesting comics and things that are canon pre-Movie... but the Movie on itself is weird. They changed many things of his initial notes and the characters are very "out of character" in my opinion. It has very good music and animation, tho! But yeah... watch with caution ^^U

(I was not gonna mention it at first, but why not... there is also "Stampede", but "Oda stated that he would not have allowed the movie's story to be produced if it was not a commemoration of the anime's 20th anniversary." So... I wouldn't watch it if you expect anything that makes sense in his world or characters xDU)

(You also have the OVA "One Piece - Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack", which pre-dates Toei's Anime adaptation. Oda took a lot of interest in this OVA, and he praised it a lot when it came out in 1998) ----------- And second, in my opinion, you made the right decision going to the Manga! As you say, it is the best way to get the rawest version of the story. And also way faster to read it than to watch it xD

I'm glad you love it so much! ❤️ It is really an amazing story, and I hope you keep enjoying it ^^

And now, oh boy, about Sanji... (this is gonna be a very reduced and fast thing I'm gonna write, but I plan on analyze the differences between the Manga and Anime in this other tumblr, if you want to see more eventually):

Your hunch is completely correct. Sadly Sanji's character is completely obliterated in the Anime ^^U

He is reduced to his perverted side (and very veery amped up), or to being mean and fighting all the time. He has nothing of the kindness he shows in the Manga, only the things they can not exclude for the story to make sense. The many fillers also show a different Sanji than the one shown in the Manga. The Anime also shows Nami completely disgusted by him very often, which influences the way we see him as viewers. She just treats him like a slave when she is being "nice". (Nami is also very different in the Anime. They all are different people in the Anime, honestly u_uUU)

So yes, I think most of people who hate him for being gross and a pervert mainly have their first and only contact being the Anime. And it is understandable feeling like that, because it is seriously a bad representation of the character. He is not himself at all.

The Anime reaches an even more unpalatable degree after the time-skip. ---- [((Little Spoiler of right After Time-Skip: Sanji comes back more sensitive to pretty women in the Manga, which translates into many nosebleeds until he recovers. But in the Anime they had always shown him in that level of pervert, or even worse! So they had to amp it even MORE and show him harassing random women and everyone being disgusted around him... something that doesn't happen in the Manga! It makes the character really stand out in grossness))] ----

As you say, Sanji in the Manga is a sweet guy, and only shows as a real pervert sometimes... but it is shown in a funny way. And Nami and Robin react in a non-negative way, mostly just amused that he is such a dummy. But everyone knows he is just harmless.

He totally acts like a love-sick puppy and has those sweet romantic outburst, but he can be a normal human being. And most importantly, treats them mainly as friends and human beings. Anime Sanji could never xDU

Please, feel free to make more asks ^^

#ask #one piece manga #one piece movie #sanji #black leg sanji #nami #cat burglar nami #one piece anime #comparison

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seventeenlovesthree · 1 year

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OPLA episode 1 - first impressions

Just randomly trying to summarize my thoughts here, because they are in no way coherent yet, but hooooly shit, I like where this is going. SPOILERS AHEAD.

I decided to start watching in English, then in Japanese, then in German - because I would assume that'd be the best order to judge both the best and worst parts of this. Best as in "the intentions of the dialogue, the framing and hinting", worst in "Oh God, the cringe is real". So far, there obviously have been a few lines that have been very obvious, because you HAVE to translate a lot of things that work for an anime INTO this setting. More tell than show so to speak, but I feel like that's perfectly fine for the medium.

Luffy is endearing - the first thing you can tell in comparison to anime!Luffy is that he's got that positive main-character-energy that not only speaks his thoughts out loud, but also tries his best to make you see what kind of character you are dealing with. He was brash, stubborn and had very one-dimensional (and toxic) ideas of what and how a man/pirate needs to be - just to be taught kindness, perseverance and a positive attitude and by Shanks and I think that is displayed beautifully here. He does not get shy to approach everyone he meets with good will - on one hand, because he obviously wants to build his crew. On the other hand - it just shows who he is. The CGI works really well for him as well, the "stretchy kind" really doesn't seem too much out of place, but I would assume it's easier to accept it when you are already used to "anime logic".

This is a comment that was made a lot on Twitter already - so here's to the bi-/pansexual squad, because this series knows exactly what it is doing with the fanservice eye-candy. Zoro, so far, got the most impressive camera-angles/cinematography. The mysterious, aloof framing, the detailed and VERY immersive fight scenes/choreography - he's not only coming across as stoic and lone-wolfey, they definitely make sure you can TELL he is kind at heart too. You can tell he has experienced pain and that's why he insists that he needs to work alone - but if people show HIM kindness, he cannot not react in return. Whether it's Rika - or Luffy, doesn't even matter. That idealistic, kinda annoying kid saved him (and man, the hearts in Luffy's eyes were so present and all over the place, he was IMMEDIATELY enchanted by Zoro and doesn't grow tired of saying it out loud either). Plus, he didn't insist on getting anything in return, even if he still wanted him on his crew... So what happens? Once Zoro sees that he's in trouble, he jumps in to fight as well. And they IMMEDIATELY work off of each other well. "You go above, I go below". As someone who has ALWAYS enjoyed Luffy's and Zoro's dynamic (platonic and otherwise), I am obviously VERY easy to please here, but man, it works. So well. I cannot WAIT to see their Captain/First Mate dynamic develop. Also... I did not expect them to actually let any character use the middle finger??? I mean, good for you, Zoro, you go be edgy as fuck, but hey... (Also, the gay subtext with Helmeppo was definitely... Something...? But I mean... The gay subtext exists with ZoLu too. "Where does the third sword even go...?" I mean... Seriously...)

On the other spectrum of the bi-/pansexual eyecandy, we have Nami. And while she visibly uses her charms (read: physical attributes) to get what she wants, I am HELLA pleased that she wasn't sexualized yet. I really liked the nudge towards her concept art design! Her cheekiness and smartness come across very well. And, MAN, the dynamic with Luffy is PRICELESS. It really has a lot of sibling energy - but it also leaves a lot open. Of course, we're still at the VERY beginning of it, but as a long-term fan of the series, it's hard not to read anything into it ("I will never join anything with you" is beautiful foreshadowing and also interestingly phrased).

Oh Romance Dawn Trio, my heart. The moment they lined up next to each other, Nami and Zoro on each of Luffy's side, insisting "Not a crew/Not together!" was just... Chef's kiss. I love these dorks and their dynamics so much and I cannot wait to see this further emphasized.

Honorable mentions for other characters - I know it has been said many times before, but I really enjoy the casting. Koby is very relatable and he fits the character so well (I literally cannot wait for his glow-up), Shanks gives the vibe of the "kind and sweet everyday guy-mentor" at this point in time so perfectly, Alvida was great so far and I could go on...

Cringe is dead, I am so excited for episode 2.

#one piece #one piece live action #one piece spoilers #one piece liveblog #opla #opla spoilers #opla live reaction #personal

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thedemises · 6 months

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. . . SOMETHING TO SAVOUR! featuring the straw hats!

contains! . . . lowercase writing, one piece, luffy being luffy, bad writing for a fighting scene 💀, pretty much a oneshot inspired by the live action episode where opla!sanji is introduced, but reader is the waiter, some dialogue lines are somewhat changed as well as those two guys who attempted to kill each other, the reader is called [name] so feel free to imagine that as your own name, bad flirting; brought to you by the waiter! reader. crossposted on ao3. notes! . . . AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- hello :D, hope everyone's doing alright cuz I'm not! but don't you worry about that, I think I'll handle everything just ok 👍👍

sniff... sniff sniff-... sniff...

“hmmm... i smell...”

a familiar young man's nostrils flare as he sniffs the air like a dog seeking for a mere piece of meat, tilting his face upwards to get a whiff of the savour scented air coming from a nearby restaurant a few miles away. he held on to his straw hat by a hand that's placed on the top, just so it wouldn't slip off.

“...MEAT!”

as it were an instinct, monkey d. luffy bounced off the thousand sunny the moment it docked as he went off towards the direction where the smell was coming off from, drooling as he imagined the meat he'll get to eat today. meanwhile, both god usopp & tony tony chopper decides to jump off and followed after to catch up to luffy as well as call out to him.

as the other crewmembers were getting ready to get off the ship (excluding cyborg franky, he was in charge to look after the thousand sunny and was busy with something he urgently needed to fix), most of which watched as their captain, sharpshooter, & doctor headed towards the nearest village ahead through the thick forest.

“we haven't even gotten off and that idiot is already going after food everytime we dock at a new island...”

the navigator, cat burglar nami jutted out her hip as she places a slim hand over her forehead and the other on her hip, seemingly unamused as she closes her eyes shut at her captain's usual antics. but knowing him though, she couldn't name a thing could prevent this—after all, that is luffy's natural nature.

“we only docked here to have restock our suppiles after a month of sailing on the sea and the first thing he does is look for food.”

an amused chuckle erupts from nico robin's throat (including soul king brookwho laughed heartedly to himself), as the lady crossed an arm over her chest while her other arm positions itself to have her chin rest on her hand. robin wore a carefree and calm face, the opposite of what the ginger woman felt.

“it's amusing” her voice was as fruity and pleasant as it always is whenever she spoke, the dark-haired woman calmly walks past the other girl who eventually followed after.

it didn't take long for luffy to search for a restaurant nearby, savory symphony was the name, already dashing towards the place with no signs of stopping—luffy usually listens to his guts than his brain after all, hunger overtaking his mind.

standing in front of the restaurant, he takes a good look at the place overall—the strong scent of food wafting from the entrance to persuade and attract customers, the warm and cozy color scheme of the building; splashing of carefully selected colors going well together with the others, the creative design of the arch way and sign that displays the restaurant's sole name—before luffy heads on in without a second thought, approaching the direction of the hostess who was greeting people coming in or out, while subconsciously licking his lips when imagining the food he'll eat.

eventually, afterwards, the whole crew (not really) got themselves seated at a table by the kind hostess (also, nami had to hit both black-leg sanji and brook for attempting to flirt with the woman +trying to ask what color her underwear was) and waited for a waiter to come and serve them after skimming the menu.

“luffy, stop trying to eat the table,” nami speaks, gazing at her captain gnawing at the table with furrowed brows after smacking him on the head. then she sighed when the impatient luffy whined back. “but i'm hungry!!! the food's taking too long...”

“just wait. the waiter isn't here to take our order yet.”

nami turned her attention to the other crewmembers, glancing at roronoa zoro's direction specifically who hadn't finished ordering yet. as in—if he did. “okay, so is everyone ready to order?”

zoro, still looking at the menu with a squinted eye, said while staring down at the menu, “not yet,”

“did ya even read the thing?” sanji spoke while he eyes the grass-haired swordsman with a pointed gaze, holding his lit cigar between two fingers. usopp added along with a raised eyebrow, noticing the swordsman's mannerisms, “yeah, sanji's right. you've been staring at the menu for a while now, not even touching it either.”

then, after a bit of thinking and internal decision-making, zoro handed the menu to sanji who perked up at that as his curled eyebrows raised up.

“oi, you're the cook. pick something i would like.”

“huh? again?”

nevertheless, the crew's cook took the menu without further complaints and began skimming through the choices of varied beverages and meals, thinking to himself which suitable dish to select for the green-haired man (who was grinning smugly to himself for a some reason but, somehow, nobody took notice—too busy with something they're focused on—perhaps, except the observant archeologist).

“yohohohohoho!”

a heartedly laugh erupts from brook's moving jaw (but how would he be laughing in such manner when brook doesn't have a esophagus or vocal cords anymore?) while he examines every inch of the restaurant's interior, feeling intrigued and amazed at the exquisite designing (noticeable inspiration coming from music sheets; the musical symbols, clefs, lines, breaks, key signatures, etc.); after all, he is a musician and that is his passion for his whole life.

just witnessing people appreciate music in a kind way, even if it's only through creating a musical theme for a restaurant, brings him joy.

“the place is quite lovely. i assume the owner has quite a love for music, no?” the tall skeletal man rotates his skull to face the intrigued archeologist, who was also studying the place with an attentive gaze.

robin glanced and nodded with a soft, yet uncanny, smile. “it is indeed. it's no wonder the restaurant's called the savory symphony. It's a musical term, isn't it?”

“oi! listening to what i am saying: this here is my table. close to the kitchen so I can smell the beef.”

a loud voice of a man can be heard out throughout the restaurant, coming from a few tables away from the strawhats—his gruff voice that bounced off the walls made every person in the restaurant to turn and focus their attention on him and the other guy he was arguing with, listening clearly. luffy only stopped chomping on the table to look over at the scene that the others were paying attention to.

“maybe you ought to try a table outside,” the other man begins, jabbing with a thumb over his shoulder to where the exit is, while he casually sits in one of the seats in a relaxed manner. he wears dark glasses and has bubblegum pink hair pulled back in a half-up ponytail. despite his soft features, the sword by his side and his wrist resting on the hilt indicate that he probably is not one to play around.

“hah?”

the red-haired man, who had earlier called out for everyone to hear, got up right at once and tried to frighten the pink-haired man by sizing him up, but the latter remained composed and showed no signs of fear.

“cause’ right now, the only thing I smell is you.” the male with pink hair concluded his statement with a smirk on his face; one may infer from that that he is quite prideful.

of course, the other doesn't take this too calmly.

“RAHHH!” crashing of glasses and plates rang out after the man with messy red hair forcibly knocked off the fragile tableware in rage, frustrated of the guy who sat in front of him so casually—sitting in his chair of his table that he paid for.

the other patrons at the other tables start beginning to feel nervous of the situation escalating before them, yet no one took the place to prevent the two men from making their argument grow into a full physical fight inside the restaurant.

in the background while the duo were arguing as their voices (really, mostly the red-haired) go increasingly louder, there was rustling of clothing—it was faint and quick; like the thing or individual was in a rush to put on the unspecified clothing.

“now, now, gentlemen,” with footsteps that sound a lot like metal clanking against the wooden floor, the two men focus their attention on to the approaching figure instead of themselves—and saw a friendly-looking pretty individual in a formal black suit while holding a platter of fresh bread in one hand

now that he's focused on the person—are they a woman or a man? he doesn't know, but it's rude to assume when you don't know what something, or someone, truly is. plus, the waiter is really pretty—his perceptive gaze becomes lovelorn; if someone were to look a little closer, his pupils would appear to have changed into pumping hearts, and a light blush appears on his cheeks as he admires the attractive waiter from head to toe, almost shamelessly (gaining the cook a side-eye from thr green-haired swordsman, which he chooses to ignore).

however when he looks down at the person's legs, sanji briefly loses that loving expression and replaces it with one of confusion and curiosity. for a second he catches a shiny glint, as if the light bounced off something reflective, but the dark shadows obscure whatever he's trying to see, so nonetheless he made up his mind, shaking his head and assumes he's just seeing things.

“just so you know the rules here: we do not waste food, and there is no fighting at the symphony.”

the redhead doesn't back down and disregards the waiter's mere words with a brush off his shoulder, having an eager expression on his face. “no. this ain’t gonna be a fight. I’m just going to kill him-”

the other lets out a scoff, smirking a bit more as if to challenge the man. “i'd like to see you try.”

before the argument could escalate any further for the two angered men, the worker promptly takes a step forward to interfere and raises a straight hand in a stop motion, the smile (though stiff) never dropping off their face. “i’d like to pour you each a glass of ithürzburger stein,”

glancing between the two men with an expectant gaze, they added with a short bob of their head, “on the house.”

for once, the red-haired man considers this offer as his tense shoulders relax, then he nods and calms down from the anger he previously felt.

“okay, I’ll have that drink,”

this pleases the waiter for a moment, glad to not be dealing with not one, but two nuisances in the first few minutes into their shift. however, they changed their mind when the man's calmness completely gets washed away by a wave of bloodlust as his hand slowly reaches over to grab the handle of his axe attached on to his back.

“only after he apologizes for his bad manners.”

“over my dead body.”

the bubblegum-haired male abruptly stands up and goes to unsheath his blade as the other man takes out his double-bladed axe, both reeked in bloodlust and battle hungry gazes as they glared at one another. none of them were backing down from this fight (even if it were petty).

the waiter, however, wasn't letting this happen before their very eyes and interferes the fight from happening—tossing the plate up into the air beforehand—and attacked the two men by sending harsh blows using their legs.

“argh!”

“ugh!”

the red-shaded men let out grunts of pain in unison, the unnamed waiter hitting at least one of their weak spots as the individual knocks both of them down before one of them could slice a hair of theirs. the plate of bread fell down from the air and the waitperson, perfectly on time, impressively caught the plate and each single piece of bread onto its surface.

some people there were impressed by the employee's skills and reaction time, and from the other table where most the strawhat pirates sat; usopp, chopper, and luffy looked amazed at the waiter's fighting skills.

“that waiter's a good fighter,” luffy offhandedly says, with the captain's lips upturn into an iconic grin as tilts his face to the others; that most came to a silent shared agreement.

though, sanji seems to be focused on his thoughts when he got a quick look at the waiter's legs more properly as they lifted a leg to kick the two men. his expression was unreadable so no one wasn't able to tell what he'd been thinking about.

taking a breath, the waiter looks down and kicks the knocked-out swordsman to the head to make sure to themselves that he's completely unconscious for a sometime. a deep, weary sigh escapes their lips as they stepped past the unconscious bodies.

with a hand inside the pocket of their pants as they walk over to the next table, the individual clears their throat and acts quite like as if nothing happened.

“alright everybody, no cause for alarm, folks! please, enjoy your meals!” their voice was loud enough for all of the restaurant's people to hear audibly and clear as they smoothly pass by table after table towards a certain one, meanwhile the staff proceeds to go on doing their jobs like normal and the customers remain back to minding their own business either eating and/or talking to their friends and family.

though some, more likely new customers, were whispers towards another about the scene that just happened. meanwhile, the customers that came frequently and were familiar with the place and all the employees weren't as disturbed or the least bit surprised.

as soon as the unnamed worker approaches the strawhat crew, they place the plate of bread on to the table's surface—instantly, the rubber boy noticed and stretches over to grab almost of the baked goods, though chopper and usopp were luckly enough to have had grabbed some before their captain could get it all—and briefly fixed up their patterned necktie before promptedly speaking.

“hi,” they began, with firmness and exasperation—possibly from the previous scene that recently occured—but yet they still wanted to appear friendly as they put on a front of excellent customer service. one may notice they're vaguely confrontational.

“welcome to our shitty restaurant where the only thing worse than the ambiance—”

the waiter looks away from the strawhats' table to another table where some laughing punks were seated and having a good time; thankfully, they weren't making any noise that would disturb other patrons. As they settle into a stance after previously shifting their weight from right to left, the waiter reluctantly turned to face the pirate group.

“—is the food. my name is [name], what can I get for you?” the waiter stood with their head cocked slightly, their gaze blinked off sideways as if in thinking something else.

“one of everything!”

luffy proudly said that without a trace of hesitation, even as he was stuffing his face with the tasty bread. his voice was muffled as he happily chewed, relishing the taste—the waiter just remained mostly unfazed by his boisterous commentary.

the worker doesn't miss a beat when they added, “so, any drinks? perhaps one of our signature cocktails to help you choke down your meal?”

nami raises an eyebrow in response to the waiter named [name]'s veiled passive-aggression. the ginger woman crosses her arms and legs to make herself more comfortable, as she speaks up with indifference.

“giving us the hard shell right off the bat, huh?”

the instant nami spoke, [name] focuses their gaze and full attention on to the young lady. the waiter's attitude turns a 180° angle with their attention given to the bright ginger-haired pirate—this makes zoro involuntarily scoff in the background.

“ah, apologies, miss, I.. didn’t see you there.” the server chuckles a bit at their mistake, though it wasn't exactly neccesary, “would you care for an apéritif to start? we have several rare micqueot vintages in stock. Or perhaps, you’d like a glass of umeshu?”

with a smirk formed on their face, the corner of their mouth having smile wrinkles that formed over the years from merely cracking a smile or frown, [name] briefly blinks one of their eyes while still staring at nami—basically, winking at her. “you know, something sweet for someone sweet.”

nami reacts to this odd behavior with her face scrunched up into a grimacing expression. “is something wrong with your eye?”

“just blinded by your beauty.” is what the waiter replies with a dazed, dreamy look in their half-lidded eyes. this makes nami cringe slightly more for a brief second but she attempts to maintain a polite face. somewhat.

meanwhile, the other members—excluding luffy, who was looking out for the food from the entrance where the other waiters come out with a tray of food ready to be served to their perspective customers—appeared baffled, curious, intrigued, amused, and smug at the display before them.

sanji, staring flabbergasted, gets a jab to his side; causing him to grunt in pain as he looks at who nudged him—zoro. and that bastard had a smug, smirking face that made the blonde want to personally kick it off himself.

“that waiter acts a lot like you,” the swordman comments, letting out a brief scoff at the exchange between their navigator and the waiter serving them as he turns his head to properly face the cook, “like a carbon copy of you. but possibly, better.”

at that, the black-leg pirate fumes but he internally calms himself down to avoid causing a scene—why does it awfully irk him to have a want to tell off the waiter named [name] to knock it off and away from his dear nami-swan? while simultaneously having a connection with that server even though he probably hasn't met this person yet?

having nothing else to say to spit a remark at the stupid mosshead, sanji stays seated in his place while he watched the scene before unfold.

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