Highlights
- The Arlong Park arc in One Piece Live Action is considered the best in the series, despite some changes from the manga. The changes were necessary and enhanced the story.
- Arlong Park in the live-action series looks like an amusement park, which is an important detail tied to the backstory of Arlong and the Fishmen.
- Hachi, a major character in the arc, is inexplicably missing in the live-action series. However, fans hope to see him in the future Sabaody Archipelago arc.
The Arlong Park arc is one of the most iconic ones in the entirety of One Piece. When speaking of the East Blue Saga, it is the arc that fans hold closest to their hearts, undoubtedly. This arc is also one where the vast majority of One Piece fans fell in love with the series simply because it is just that special.
In One Piece Live Action, the Arlong Park arc is just as good and certainly the best one in the series. That said, there are many differences between this arc in the live-action series when compared to the manga. Of course, that doesn't inherently mean the changes are bad. The vast majority of the changes were important for the series to work as well as it did in live-action form and some others only elevated the story even further.
7 The Look of Arlong Park
One big change made to the Arlong Park itself in the live-action series is its appearance. Arlong Park looks like an amusement park in One Piece Live Action.
This is a subtle detail that not every fan noticed but it is extremely important, given that Arlong and many other Fishmen were awestruck by the Sabaody Park when they were kids. He, along with the other Fishmen, tried to emulate Sabaody Park and ended up creating Arlong Park instead.
6 Arlong's Introduction
Arlong's introduction itself is something that is very different between One Piece Live Action and the manga. In the manga, Arlong is introduced to the fans in the Arlong Park arc itself.
This comes right after Nami sails to Cocoyashi Village after stealing the Going Merry. However, in One Piece Live Action, Arlong is introduced much earlier in the story. He meets Buggy and asks him to pay tribute. He then sets out in pursuit of Straw Hat Luffy.
5 No Hachi
Hachi is a major character in the Arlong Park arc in One Piece. This character serves as the second strongest fishman in Arlong's crew, and he wields six swords in combat. He ends up fighting Zoro when the main action of the arc goes down. Hachi is also one of the Fishmen who Nami doesn't mind as much.
This is because he isn't always cruel and there is a lot more to his character than just serving Arlong blindly. For some inexplicable reason, he wasn't involved in this arc at all. Perhaps, fans will see him get introduced much later in the Sabaody Archipelago arc, where he introduces the Straw Hat Pirates to Rayleigh.
4 Zoro's Capture
In the Arlong Park in the manga, Zoro is captured by the Fishman and later on, saved by Nami. However, in One Piece Live Action, Zoro is not captured at all. Instead, he simply follows Luffy's orders and inquires about Nami wherever they go.
Later on, he ends up fighting in the final fight and does his part in saving Nami and her village. Zoro's role in this arc is very different when compared to the manga. However, it is just as exciting, to say the least.
3 Zoro and Sanji Vs Kuroobi
In One Piece Live Action, Zoro and Sanji combine their strength to fight against Kuroobi. For a decent portion of the fight, Kuroobi is able to deal with both of these powerful fighters at the same time. However, when Zoro starts giving out due to his injuries, Sanji takes over and finishes the fight off by himself.
He launches a powerful barrage of kicks and ends it with his Mutton Shot. In the manga, both of these characters get into individual fights. It is safe to say that their teamwork is always incredible for the fans to witness.
2 Nojiko Kept In the Dark
One major change in the Arlong Park arc in One Piece Live Action comes from the characters of Nojiko and Nami. In the manga, Nami confides in Nojiko after she sees her near Bellemere's grave. Nami reveals to her that she plans on collecting 100 million berries and saving everyone in the village by buying it.
In One Piece Live Action, things are quite different, as Nami resolves to not let anyone take her burden and shoulders it all by herself. She joins Arlong's crew and makes the same promise to him, however, she does not tell anyone in the village that she intends to save them by paying off Arlong.
1 Nami's Backstory
Nami's backstory is largely unchanged in One Piece Live Action. However, one key aspect pertaining to it is that, in the manga, Nojiko explains her entire story to the crew, aside from Luffy, who is not interested in hearing it. In One Piece Live Action, Luffy hears her backstory as well. While fans may think of it as a bad change since it removes the fact that Luffy did not care about her past, it actually makes a lot of sense given that Nojiko herself did not know the truth about Nami.
What Luffy hears from her does not alter the fact that he does not need to hear the truth of the situation. In fact, it even strengthens his belief in her even further because, in Nojiko's eyes, Nami was clearly evil. However, despite hearing that, Luffy persisted in his belief that she was good and ended up being proven right. This is powerful in its own way and fans should appreciate that.
One Piece Live Action is available to watch on Netflix.