What Netflix's One Piece Gets Right That Cowboy Bebop Got Wrong

When it comes to live-action adaptations of animes, Hollywood has a less than stellar track record of success. In fact, most adaptations are poorly received and often take liberties with the source material. Even a streaming service like Netflix, where adaptations are a huge draw, has shown a lack of understanding with its adaptations. Cowboy Bebop, for example, was a poorly received live-action show, while the live-action One Piece has shown promise.

Netflix has had its fair share of adaptations over the years, including a poorly received adaptation of Death Note. While Netflix is arguably one of the biggest streaming services, if not the biggest, the streamer has never been consistent with its adaptations. Some have been treated with care, such as One Piece, while others have struggled to capture the magic of their source material. With that said, we take a closer look at why One Piece works as well as it does, and why Cowboy Bebop failed so tremendously.

One Piece: The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Netflix Series

When it comes to One Piece, the anime is admittedly one of the biggest animes in the world, with over a thousand chapters. Given the manga’s continued success, it was no surprise that Hollywood sought to bring the critically acclaimed story to life in live-action. Understandably, fans were skeptical when it was first announced that Netflix would be developing a live-action take on the manga. After all, Netflix hadn’t had the best track record when it came to animes. However, the series surprised nearly everyone when it debuted and proved that those involved wanted to make sure they respected and honored the original series. Not only in the character and set designs, but also in its storytelling. The series never sought to be something different or tried to change the story to be something new. Any changes that were made were necessary and completely understandable. The show isn’t perfect, and that’s to be expected, as live-action adaptations typically aren’t. However, the series shows from the very beginning that it respects the source material, taking care to visually capture the magic of the manga and the overall story.

The series took great care on the physical sets and sought to use a mix of practical effects and CGI. Perhaps the thing One Piece does best, though, is lean into the manga’s strange bits. From the character designs, to the costuming, the weaponry, and even the catchphrases, One Piece doesn’t shy away from the unrealistic elements. It has fun with them, and approaches them carefully as to not draw away from the story. There’s a level of respect there that Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop would’ve benefited from. The show knew what it was from the very beginning, and never sought to try and erase what made the anime so special. Unlike the live-action take on Cowboy Bebop.

Cowboy Bebop: Why Did the Netflix Series Fail to Succeed?

When it was announced that Netflix was set to make a live-action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop, fans were admittedly excited. Not only did Netflix secure top-tier talent, with John Cho set to portray Spike Spiegel, and the talented Christopher L. Yost set to serve as the showrunner, Cowboy Bebop seemed to be in good hands. After all, Yost had already penned Thor: Ragnarok, The Mandalorian, Star Wars: Rebels, and the cult-favorite Real Steel. More importantly, though, everyone involved appeared to want to honor the source material. Unfortunately, though, the series never quite managed to capture the spark of the original anime series. Most of what worked against the series was that it tried to differentiate itself far too much. The live-action series pulled elements from the anime, but even with the elements taken from the anime, it simply felt too different. The Cowboy Bebop anime consisted of twenty-six episodes, with a rather tight storyline being told throughout. Julia and Vicious had very clear-cut roles in the anime, and the latter truly felt like a proper antagonist within the anime. This, however, was not the case in the live-action series. Julia’s storyline was changed, and not for the better, and Vicious was turned into a pathetic villain – a far cry from the threatening presence continually felt within the anime.

The choices made in the live-action series ultimately caused drastic changes from the source material that would eventually ruin the ending established in the anime. This included opting to hold Radical Ed until the very final minutes of the season, suggesting the character would play a larger role in the story going forward. There was no need for the Netflix series to try and change the story told in the anime. It worked so well because these characters weren’t redeemed – the tragedies weren’t ignored. The final showdown between Spike and Vicious is important; seeing Vicious die, and Spike fall upon the stairs after being shot is such a vital scene between the two. The decision to alter that scene and then bring in Ed so late in the game showed a lack of faith in the source material, leaving even the original co-creator of the anime disappointed. Ultimately, Cowboy Bebop showed that the talent involved in bringing animes to life in live-action need to respect the source material – there’s a reason the animes are so successful. Ignoring what the source material did, and trying to change the story and characters is only going to turn fans away. Thankfully, the team behind One Piece seems to have understood Cowboy Bebop‘s shortcomings. One can only hope others continue to learn from Cowboy Bebop‘s failures.

One Piece and Cowboy Bebop are now streaming exclusively on Netflix.