Netflix's 16-Episode Fantasy Series Proves What Fans Have Been Saying For Years

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Published Aug 12, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones.

You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep."

Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant.

When it comes to fantasy TV, fans have had some extremely strong opinions, and one Netflix show has proven the importance of listening to them. While that is not to say that fan service should be the goal of every upcoming fantasy TV adaptation, some shows with enormous potential have sabotaged themselves by inexplicably moving away from the factors that attracted their fanbase in the first place. The most egregious examples have included The Witcher, The Wheel of Time, and even The Rings of Power, all of which have failed to represent the source material, or even capture its tone.

The source material for Netflix's 16-episode masterpiece was once considered "unfilmable" for its sheer scale and manga origins. However, the makers achieved the two most important factors for a successful adaptation. One of these is listening to fans, who have always maintained that a live-action adaptation should be faithful to the source material. The other is building on expectations to create a spectacle that not only reflects the original visuals, but surpasses them. Netflix's One Piece should have been a disaster, but the pirate-themed show is now offering other upcoming Netflix live-action adaptations a blueprint.

The cast of One Piece standing in front of a statue

For those who have not seen One Piece, the story follows the young pirate Monkey D. Luffy, who has stretchy powers and dreams of finding a legendary treasure before becoming King of the Pirates. However, he lacks an important skill for life on the water, and that is the ability to swim. Luffy's adventures introduce him to new allies, chasing dreams of their own, as they take off on adventures and fight their world's corrupt government. With the original manga spanning over 100 volumes, this is a lot to take onboard, but the makers' approach was extremely clever.

The heart of the manga's story is people pursuing the freedom to chase their dreams, and the live-action One Piece made some necessary changes to the source material to put this theme front and center. This means that despite its reputation, the One Piece TV show is not an entirely faithful adaptation, but it reflects a strategy often used in successful video game adaptations like Arcane and Fallout, which stepped away from the player-controlled story to focus on the aesthetic and themes that drew the fanbase in.

ComicBook reported that One Piece's creator Eiichiro Oda had two conditions for the adaptation, with the characters' backstories and abilities needing to remain the same. This, combined with keeping the manga's tone, provided an anchor which makes One Piece feel like the most faithful fantasy TV adaptation of all time despite its occasional changes, like building up Arlong as an antagonist and introducing Vice Admiral Garp early. This strong foundation provided the perfect set-up for the cast and aesthetics, which are virtually identical to the original despite this approach being comparatively risky.

The source material's exaggerated and cartoonish tone might not have translated well to screen, but the cast of One Piece have "committed to the bit," delighting fans and establishing a distinctive aesthetic style that does not overshadow the strong emotional core of the show. Instead of dulling the silliness down, One Piece allows it to become part of the narrative, working closely with Oda to create a show that new viewers can follow, giving established fans a faithful adaptation, and proving to other creators that an accurate retelling is a recipe for success that other shows should have learned from.

The Worst Live-Action Adaptations Have Completely Changed The IPs They're Based On

Luffy from The One Piece in front of Goku and Beerus

Whether a movie or TV show, the worst live-action adaptations of anime shows are still referenced today. Dragonball Evolution, Cowboy Bebop, and Avatar: The Last Airbender all had three things in common, yet they have all made the same mistake. Each of these original series had a signature visual style, like Cowboy Bebop's neo-noir and Western combination, a deep core message that tied all the events together, and a passionate fanbase. The live-action versions have completely changed the source material, removing the first two factors and losing the third as a result.

Comparing the One Piece animated and live-action

Title	Style	Year	Seasons	Rotten Tomatoes critics' rating	Rotten Tomatoes audience rating
One Piece	Animated	1999	32	-	92%
One Piece	Live-action	2023	2	93%	95%

It is understandable that this frustrates fans of great animated TV shows, many of whom now approach potential live-action adaptations with trepidation after the failure of previous attempts. This applies to One Piece, which was only met with cautious enthusiasm due to the involvement of Oda, who told The New Tork Times, "I read the scripts, gave notes and acted as a guard dog to ensure the material was being adapted in the correct way." If other upcoming live-action fantasy adaptations used One Piece as an example and prioritized accuracy, this lack of faith from fans could be reversed.

Source: ComicBook, The New Tork Times