One of the central concepts of One Piece is nakama, a word that has come to represent the entire story. Literally, it means something akin to “comrade†or “colleague†— someone close to you in a group. Like, say, a crew of pirates. Fans have made it out to be more than that, however. The Straw Hats are nakama rather than just “crew,†and the word means “a bond greater than family.†Like many similar action manga for teenage boys, One Piece is all about found family and friendships that mean more than your own life.
The live-action adaptation understands this with each episode introducing us to a new member of the crew, the nakama, showing us the member’s background, motivations, and, most important for Luffy, dreams. The Straw Hats are not bound by blood or a common goal, but they are bound by a strong friendship (whether they like it or not) and by their desire to follow their impossible dreams. For Luffy, it’s to defy all odds and become the King of the Pirates. For Usopp, it’s following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a great warrior and marksman, someone who isn’t afraid, someone with great (and true) stories to tell. This episode, we find out what makes the crew’s angstiest boy, Zoro, tick.
Turns out Zoro was a terrible swordsman as a kid, and he had a rival he wanted to surpass, a girl in his class named Shimotsuki Kuina, who always beat him. Director Emma Sullivan delivers some fantastic Wuxia-inspired swordplay, the choreography and stunts living up to Zoro’s reputation. And yet young Zoro is nothing like that, losing every time. But Kuina has more on her mind than a petty rivalry. She tells Zoro she may be good now, but eventually the boys will surpass her in size, strength, and speed — which he immediately refutes as a lame excuse. (This moment feels dated, and honestly the adaptation might have done well to tweak this gender essentialism.) Emboldened, Kuina and Zoro vow to become rivals and train every day until one of them becomes the greatest swordsman or -woman alive. Unfortunately, Kuina dies in an accident the very next day, driving Zoro to pick up her rare sword, invent the three-sword style, and take on their vow alone.
As we know, he seems to have kind of forgotten that dream, having become a low-life bounty hunter. A skilled one, sure, but one just surviving rather than thriving. That is, until Luffy showed up, and like Usopp — who was going to spend the rest of his days telling tall tales about exploits he would never dream of doing — Zoro has a newfound resolve. As for Nami, we still don’t know her full motivation, but she continues to slowly open up to the idea of friends.
In the present, Zoro manages to climb his way out of the well he was thrown into last episode. He’s a completely directionless doofus, but while trying to get back to the manor (which is directly in the opposite direction), Zoro finds and rescues Luffy. Usopp led Koby and the Marines to the manor, but they are all fooled by Klahadore/Kuro and ignore his incredibly suspicious behavior once the Black Cat pirates hand in a poisoned and seemingly dead Luffy (don’t worry; he’s fine — just very, very hungry).
The episode shows that Koby is more than a B-plot; he is the third protagonist of the season and a parallel to Luffy. The two have big dreams and are discovering just how different their ideals are from reality. If Luffy’s story is of defying what a pirate is, then Koby’s is of discovering the Marines aren’t all he made them out to be. They’re an abusive, controlling police force that only helps when it benefits them — as evidenced by Helmeppo and his horrible dad, Morgan. Helmeppo doesn’t care about Usopp’s calls for help. Partially, this is because Kuro being alive would mean Morgan’s entire reputation is based on a lie, but it’s also because that’s not his mission. He’s here to bring Luffy in, not help people. And yet, after Zoro beats all the Marines up and a now-awake Luffy pleads with Koby to help, he does. (Possibly out of fear of Zoro’s swords more than anything, but still. Progress.)
Inside the manor, Kaya initially refuses to believe Usopp’s warnings about her butler being a pirate until Nami (of course) does the math and realizes that she started getting sick around the time Kuro joined her staff and started giving her tea all day long. The three get trapped indoors once the pirates lock down the manor, and Kuro begins to hunt them like a slasher villain, a cat-friendly Freddy Krueger. While Zoro’s part of the episode is just stunning in visuals and action, everything involving Kuro works rather effectively as a little horror side story, and the choice of angles, lenses, and lighting help make him an even bigger threat than Buggy.
Thankfully, Zoro and Luffy arrive at the scene just in time to save the rest of the crew. Well, Luffy does while Zoro gets lost and ends up back at the entrance, where he faces the other two pirates, who look like they just stepped off the set of Tom Hooper’s Cats (the butthole cut, of course). Kuro tries to reason with Luffy, to make him understand why he had to trick Kaya and devise this elaborate plan to become rich after being a pirate for years. Despite his riches, all Kuro got was a life of looking over his shoulder, unable to sleep, paranoid about other pirates, about the Marines, about his own crew betraying him. But Luffy pays him no mind. To him, a pirate who gives up on his dream is no pirate at all, so he is just going to beat him up, which he does by pulling arguably his silliest finishing move — Gum Gum Bell, wherein he stretches his neck and hits someone with his head. It is a ridiculous move that translates surprisingly well to live action.
Of course, Luffy wins his bet against Nami (much to her displeasure) when Kaya decides to give them a ship. It’s the one Luffy fell in love with, which was designed by the sheep guy, Merry. Usopp officially joins the crew this episode — after Kaya assures him that she will be safe without him — but he’s not the only new member of the crew. The ship, which Luffy names the Going Merry, is more than just a boat or even a home. It’s an essential member of the nakama. Now we have a crew, a map, and a ship. To celebrate this momentous occasion, we are treated to the one piece (pun intended) of music every fan wondered if the live-action adaptation was going to include in some way or another — “We Are!†(an instrumental version of course). It is an iconic theme for an iconic character.
Though they are quickly acclimating to their new ship and status as official pirates by designing a proper Jolly Roger (poorly, and done by Usopp, who thinks he is the captain), their celebration is cut short. Even though Koby lets the Straw Hats go at the manor (and we see Kuro escape on a dinghy), Garp doesn’t reprimand him. Instead, he intended this to be a lesson for Koby to always have a backup plan. Like, for instance, easily catching up to the Straw Hats’ brand-new ship and opening fire.
The episode ends with the grand reveal that Garp is none other than Luffy’s dear old grandpa! Fun, huh? Don’t you hate it when my grandparent shoots cannonballs at you?
X Marks the Spot
• It makes sense to have the events of the episode play out in the course of one day, but it is starting to get a bit tiresome that most of the season takes place at night.
• Zoro’s three-sword style is used rather infrequently so far, which makes sense given the difficulty of holding a sword with your mouth in live-action. The scarcity has the upside of making it a cool and memorable finishing move, at least.
• Kaya kisses Usopp! It actually happens! Since shonen manga is notoriously lacking in romance, this is an extremely welcome addition.
• The Garp twist arrives much later in the manga, one of Oda’s many recontextualizations of past events. Bringing him in this early and directly involving him in the story may prove to be this show’s secret weapon. It gives Luffy a more personal connection to the Marines, as both his earliest friend and his own grandpa are now relentlessly chasing him. It also gives the audience a personal connection to care about the Marines’ side story. Some purists may scoff at the idea, but so far it’s been an entertaining addition.