ONE PIECE

Recap
Welcome back, crew members!
We left off with the defeat of our Captain Buggy! The defeat was justifiable for our twisty clown, and we will miss our Captain Buggy dearly. The Straw Hat Crew is slowly coming together and becoming a team, while the emotions and backstories are opening up with each episode. We will be exploring the best liar of them all, Usopp. Episode Three will be a whirlwind of emotions as we explore Usopp, and Kaya and see the Going Merry!
Review
Episode three was filled with so much information and a lot more of the plot of Syrup Village Arc. Alexander Maniatis, who plays Klahadore/Captain Kuro, is our main antagonist during this episode. We see Jeff Ward again as he teams up with Arlong, who McKinley Belcher III plays. Once again, Jeff Ward does a fantastic job of capturing who Buggy is and uses his talents to make the character his own. The scheming part and trying to survive Arlong’s wrath as he plots to use Arlong to take Luffy down was a Buggy moment for me. In contrast, Arlong was not supposed to be shown until later in the manga/anime. We are keeping our minds open about this new twist to the live-action of One Piece.
The scene that stands out to me is when Luffy first saw the Going Merry. The admiration and love that this ship had all of us in a chokehold. And this was displayed very well when you see the love that Iñaki Godoy showed in this episode. This episode surrounds itself with finding a ship, denying they are a crew, and seeing Usopp for the first time. At the same time, I do have a bone to pick about Zoro continuing to deny that he is part of Luffy’s crew and making it seem like he is just along for a ride and alcohol. The loyalty that we have known and loved between these two has just completely disappeared. I do have hope this changes down the line for them both,
Jacob Romero Gibson plays Usopp so well during this episode that the lies roll off his tongue easily. The changes made that he works for Kaya’s parent’s shipyard make more sense as he had always been very close with Going Merry during the manga/anime. Celeste Loots plays Kaya’s personality very well, and her diving into her parent’s death gives some closure to what she is currently dealing with while being raised by the house staff. I did enjoy the small talk that Nami and Luffy had with Usopp and Kaya about their feelings for the other. That was a cute moment, and the stoic Zoro just wandering around gave me a chuckle.
The manipulation during this episode was a whirlwind that we all knew was coming, but the deceiving manner of Kuro was played well on the screen. From his wicked smile to his fake admiration for Kaya, he tricked everyone in these moments. What sold it for me was the trait that Kuro does in the manga/anime was kept in for the live action. Alexander Maniatis did a good job on pulling off Kuro fakeness during this episode, he wanted to have everyone at the palm of his hand. And when things started to turn for the worse, he struck out with ruthlessness.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this episode is bringing things forward now, and this will be the first time that this episode will be bleeding into the fourth episode. So, how will things turn out for this very non-Straw Hat Crew? I am even more excited to see Alexander Maniatis play Kuro even more and see how far his ruthlessness will reach. I am hoping for some mending of how the Straw Hats weave together and hope they will slowly fade out, "not a crew," saying that they have done.
Here is to seeing you tomorrow for the review of Episode Four!
One Piece: A View from the Self-Proclaimed Queen of the Pirates (PART THREE) *SPOILERS*
- Writing - 8/108/10
- Storyline - 10/1010/10
- Acting - 9/109/10
- Music - 10/1010/10
- Production - 8/108/10