I finished OPLA and here are my thoughts.
There will be a time and place for criticism, but now is not that time. Now is a time for celebration. Of the greatest Live Action anime adaption to be created.
There’s gonna be very light spoilers in this, so read on if you’d like.
I think my favorite part of it all is that you can tell just how much care went into this show. This production team was truly made by fans, for fans. The little nods towards things in the future really made me keep my eyes peeled and had me freaking out over the littlest moments. Things like Binks no Sake playing in the bar, and Nami reading Nolan the Liar were my favorite. I’m sure there were hundreds of other moments, but those were the two that had my feet kicking and giggling like a maniac.
Am i blinded by biasness and clouded with my love for One Piece? Yes. I’m aware of that. But I went into this show knowing it was a new, different adventure than the one I was familiar with. It’s not perfect to the manga, and they’ve said from the beginning it wouldn’t be. I think that’s the hardest part for people: not understanding why “pointless” changes were made (there were only two changes that kind of bothered me, but we can talk about those later). Most of the changes that occurred still felt fluid and natural, giving a lot more screen time to beloved characters who we normally don’t see for hundreds of chapters. I liked that aspect. Not everyone will. But keep an open mind.
Just like when I watched the anime, I found myself smiling and laughing the whole time. Joyboy is still very alive and apparent in this live action. As an anime and manga fan, i loved this new aspect of their journey and this new medium to watch. It kept me intrigued, surprised, and so invested in my crew. Just like when I watched the anime, I had a very difficult time picking who was my “favorite”, because they’re all so enjoyable and quirky in their own way.
Are there things to improve? Absolutely. There always is. All I can hope is that it gets enough love and attention that Netflix will renew it for a season 2, and we’ll all get to explore the Grand Line and Alabasta together.
If you’re on the fence, or didn’t like the first episode and decided to drop it, I implore you to keep going. I think it gets better by the episode. And so much happens, I was never really bored. Please watch it, even if you just have it on in the background. This show is so special to so many people, and the next season cant get better if we don’t give it the chance.
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Okay but Moiraine being so excited to bring Siuan to Cairhien right before the dragon prophesy, but then they can’t go because of the prophesy. So Moiraine never goes back. And then Siuan finally going there under the circumstances of finding out Moiraine has been stilled and not telling her for months and possibly feeling she needs to essentially remove Moiraine from her (their) life’s work and the reason they’ve sacrificed literally everything including their ability to be together. Not me on the verge of tears and I haven’t even started 02x07 yet…
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thinking about a no upside down au steddie fic where steve and eddie run into each other years after moving away from hawkins, and eddie remembers steve and his fall from grace as king, and is kind of intrigued to see what kind of person he is now
and steve doesn’t remember him at all at first, because, look, eddie changed his hair again, and steve’s had a few head injuries (no upside down but i imagine he still went thru some shit with the party and with robin), and he didn’t really think about eddie in high school anyway, and he’s trying to forget about hawkins as much as possible (besides the kiddos, but they’re all moved out for college now, anyway) (obviously he lives with robin)
but steve is different now, happier, more open, flirts with guys, flirts with EDDIE, and eddie….. well, he wants to know more! and he tells steve he knows him from hawkins, and steve’s sunny little smile flickers a little, but he just apologizes for not remembering him and mentions he has some memory problems
and they get to know each other, and eventually as eddie tells him more (and maybe with the help of some yearbooks) steve remembers eddie. and. well. they like getting to know each other. and they like each other. and then they get together
eventually they’ve been together for a while, and eddie thinks he wants to maybe introduce steve to wayne, and he mentions he’s going to go back to hawkins for a long weekend (as he’s done a couple times) and this time he’d like steve to join him
and again steve’s sunny smile flickers a bit, but he says he’d love to meet eddie’s uncle, and… they go to hawkins. and it goes well— meeting wayne, at least, but steve seems a little on edge the whole time they’re there, tense when they drive in, fidgety when they go to the grocery store, et cetera. eddie thinks maybe steve is nervous about staying with the man who raised eddie, which is ridiculous, because wayne LOVES steve.
it’s not til they leave the town altogether that steve relaxes, and eddie realizes it wasn’t “meeting the parents” but rather going back to hawkins. and speaking of meeting the parents, steve didn’t ever bring his own up, even though eddie knew they still lived in hawkins. and the way steve glanced around whenever they went in public, like he was scared of getting recognized
and he asks about it, and steve doesn’t really want to talk about it, but he gives eddie snippets of it. people he wanted to leave behind in hawkins, memories that resurfaced, things he wants to forget
eddie goes back to see wayne sometimes, and the first time he doesn’t know whether to ask steve to come, so he just mentions he’s thinking about going to hawkins for some weekend and steve immediately starts making plans with him as if the invite is implicit. they go back to hawkins several more times, steve still tense and pent up the whole time they’re there
over time steve reveals more and more to eddie. everything that made hawkins hell for him, from the things he himself did in high school to the things people did to him. stuff tommy and carol and billy said to him. some of it is just typical high school bullshit (and oh, the nancy thing.) some of it is the tragedies steve went through, the horrors he had to protect his kids from. the injuries he sustained. more generally the homophobia that permeated the whole town, keeping steve from being himself. the lack of support in the indiana public school system for a high school senior who’s had two concussions and gone through incredible trauma.
his parents. the reason why steve’s mail is addressed to ‘steve buckley’ now, not ‘steve harrington’.
(that doesn’t come out until much, much later, and eddie is kicking himself for ever suggesting steve come back to hawkins.)
eddie, who hardly had an easy time of it in hawkins, is absolutely blown away by what steve had gone through in the same town, right under his nose. the entire persona that steve was trying to leave behind — the cool as a cucumber, unaffected, douchey mask he wore to hide all that he had endured. the head injuries. the emotional tragedies he had gone through. the way he had to be the rock for the kids even as he went through the same things as them.
he tries to tell steve they never have to go back to hawkins again, and steve is having none of it. he tells steve wayne can come visit them in their new city, and steve thinks that’s completely unfair to the man who had raised eddie, seriously, you’re going to make him come all the way up here?
and well i don’t know exactly what the ending is but steve is so stubborn about trying to love hawkins because it was eddie’s home and he wants to be able to go see wayne because wayne deserves to see his kid and eddie deserves to see his uncle and steve doesn’t want to be the problem :(
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