3 Years Before One Piece, Netflix's 10/10 Action Fantasy Series Was The Best Live-Action Manga Adaptation

Netflix’s live-action One Piece has done what once seemed impossible. Across two seasons, the streaming giant has delivered a vibrant, emotionally grounded, and visually spectacular adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s bombastic and epic manga saga. Against all odds, Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) and his crew have leaped from page to screen without losing what made the original manga and anime so great.

For years, One Piece was considered unadaptable. Its exaggerated tone, surreal powers, and larger-than-life characters felt destined to collapse under live-action constraints. Yet, somehow, Netflix’s live-action version doesn’t just work; it’s a legitimate masterpiece. By embracing the spirit of the source material while refining its structure, One Piece has become a benchmark for how to successfully adapt a beloved manga property.

However, this success didn’t emerge in a vacuum. Three years earlier, Netflix’s Alice in Borderland quietly achieved something just as impressive. Adapting the manga of the same name by Haro Aso, it proved that live-action manga could be just as intense, stylish, and faithful as the on-page stories being brought to the screen. Without Alice in Borderland, Netflix’s One Piece might never have found its winning formula.

Alice In Borderland Laid The Foundation For Netflix’s One Piece

A Blueprint For Success That One Piece Perfected

Before Netflix’s live-action One Piece raised the bar, Alice in Borderland showed audiences what was possible when its first season arrived in 2020. The series follows Ryohei Arisu (Kento Yamazaki), a directionless gamer transported into a deadly alternate Tokyo where survival depends on completing brutal, psychologically complex games.

Rather than dilute the premise of the manga, Alice in Borderland leans into Haro Aso’s high-concept storytelling. The live-action Netflix adaptation preserves the tension and unpredictability of its manga roots while restructuring events for a tighter, more cinematic narrative. This balance between faithfulness to the source material and creating a cohesive plot with appropriate pacing for an 8-episode season became its greatest strength.

Alice in Borderland also set a new standard with its visuals. Its desolate cityscapes and intricate game arenas feel immersive without relying on excessive spectacle. Every set piece both serves the story and feels like it was pulled directly from the pages of the manga, grounding its more fantastical elements in a believable world. That approach would later become essential to One Piece’s success.

There Are No Excuses For Bad Live-Action Manga Adaptations Anymore

Netflix Has Twice Proven That The Formula Works

For years, live-action manga adaptations carried a reputation for disappointment. Projects like the live-action Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, and Dragonball Evolution became cautionary tales, often criticized for missing the essence of their source material.

Then Alice in Borderland arrived and completely changed the conversation. It proved that a faithful yet flexible approach could satisfy existing fans while attracting new audiences. By respecting the source material’s themes and structure, it avoided the pitfalls that plagued earlier attempts at live-action manga adaptations.

Following on from Alice in Borderland, One Piece pushed things even further when season 1 arrived on Netflix in 2023. If a series as exaggerated and expansive as One Piece can work in live-action, it eliminates the long-standing excuse that some stories are simply “unadaptable.” The failures have never been due to the source materials, but to flawed execution in how they were adapted.

Ultimately, Alice in Borderland walked so One Piece could run. It demonstrated that respecting the source material while adapting it intelligently is the key to success. One Piece may be the more ambitious production, but its triumph rests on foundations laid years earlier.