I've binged the first season of the One Piece Live action, it's... I want to say "good" for a manga/anime adaptation but I think I'll settle on "decent at best" as a show overall. I mean, it's clear that they put a LOT of effort and care in its making but it also has some serious flaws.
The good:
- The story is mostly intact. Understandably there's been some changes (some characters were cut, some were introduced earlier, a few new plot points were added) but they mostly serve to condense the story, not change it.
- Like the story, the characters are mostly true to their manga/anime counterparts, there are few visual alterations (Luffy doesn't wear chanclas, Ussop doesn't have such a long nose etc) but the mannerisms, motivations, goals, attitudes are there.
- Details! LOTS of details! From the characters in the background to the main characters' outfits (they change clothes every few episodes but they still use the outfits they would wear in later arcs). Even the figurehead of the Going Merry, they could have make it look like the original but instead they changed it to a far more expressive one that looks like it was hand carved by some really skilled craftsman.
The bad:
- There is some tonal shift between episodes, like they haven't made up their minds how they want to portray the world. Zoro is introduced cutting a person in half which isn't really in the style of the source material or the following episodes either. Similarly Buggy (a clown themed pirate) at first feels more like the Joker (from Batman) but later settles to his true, goofy persona.
- The world feels a lot more grounded to reality than in the manga/anime. By itself that's not a problem but, to me, it makes the more fantastical elements feel jarring when they come in screen.
- Most of the special effects are good but the fishmen look BAD, like something out of Hercules/Xena or even the Power Rangers.
- The biggest problem in my opinion, is that they seem to have some screenwriting or, i should say, pacing issues. While watching I felt that a lot of the emotional beats fell flat, like there wasn't enough build up, to justify and make them feel earned.