At long last, Netflix’s live action adaptation of One Piece (fondly referred to as “OPLA” by fans) has been unleashed. Overall, OPLA is a solid—it cares about the fans and recreates characters lovingly. But that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. The weakest point in the series is episode four, where OPLA turns heel and tries to temporarily transform itself into a horror show. It doesn’t really work, but not because One Piece and horror can’t coexist. In fact, both the series itself and a previous animated film have tried and succeeded before.
At first glance, One Piece and horror do not seem like elements that go together well. After all, One Piece is largely a very bright, colorful, inviting world, and it’s goofy as hell, but when it works, it works. Prior to OPLA, there have been two different endeavors that brought horror to One Piece, and they both took very different approaches.
One is the canonical arc Thriller Bark, which, if OPLA keeps getting renewed, would probably come around in season 3 or 4 (hit me up if you need a Perona). Thriller Bark is essentially a satire of horror tropes, though it does get a little spooky at the end. The other is a 2005 film called Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, which starts as a shining example of jolly, goofy One Piece and genuinely gets creepy as hell.
Let’s compare all three instances, shall we?
Related: The 10 Best One Piece Characters on Attack of the Fanboy
OPLA episode 4: the declawed threat
Spoilers for episode 4 of OPLA below.
In episode 4 of OPLA, we’re introduced to Kaya, Usopp’s crush who’s about to officially inherit her deceased parent’s vast wealth. Things take a turn when we find out that Klahadore, Kaya’s butler, is actually a ruthless, clever pirate captain known as “Kuro of a Thousand Plans.”
The other two servants at Kaya’s manor are Kuro’s crew. Kuro plans to kill Kaya at midnight of her eighteenth birthday and take all of her wealth for himself. As he closes the emergency shutters around the house, the Straw Hats and Kaya find themselves in a “trapped in a house with a killer” thriller. Kuro legit murders Merry (RIP, bud), so there’s an attempt at real stakes and creating a threat.
Except, it’s not exactly scary. The episode falls into the pitfalls of serialized TV horror—namely, its villain is defanged because he talks a bigger game than he’s able to enact. Kuro talks like he’s the ruthless type who would kill someone the second he lays eyes on them, but our heroes are disallowed by the larger narrative from being maimed or murdered. Kuro is supposed to be clever, and yet instead of quietly sneaking to Kaya’s room and promptly killing her, he sashays around the hallways like Jessica Rabbit, cooing, “Oh miss Kaaaa-yaaaaaa!“
For the curious, the “trapped in the house” vibe to this situation is an OPLA original. In the manga, the Straw Hats fight Kuro’s crew, who had just come to on a ship to rejoin their captain. There’s a battle in a bottleneck in the path to Kaya’s mansion and the town. There’s not much of a horror element to the Syrup Village arc there, but that’s not to say the manga/anime doesn’t go for horror several arcs later.
Thriller Bark: horror satire
Thriller Bark is, hands down, one of my favorite arcs of One Piece. It embraces the idea that the goofiness of One Piece, and of Luffy in particular, seems like it would clash with horror, and it lets them clash. The result is a satire that’s a parade of horror tropes, only to have characters thwart the expectations inherent in those tropes in the One Piece-iest ways possible. It’s hilarious and delightful.
The main villain here is Gecko Moria (great name), and he can control people’s shadows. There are zombies galore. There’s a villainess whose Devil Fruit power allows her the command of ghosts imbued with negativity, who can fly through people and incapacitate them with self-doubt. There is the first of two characters in One Piece obviously inspired by Rocky Horror Picture Show’s Dr. Frankenfurter. There is (sighhhh) a naked shower attack. There is a skeleton who’s a musician. (He joins the crew!)
Thriller Bark doesn’t go for big, scary horror vibes, but it does get spooky, especially towards the end. Without spoilers, it patiently waits to give some of its initially goofy horror satires some actual weight. There’s some freaky final forms which come up in the battle.
You should watch all of One Piece (I swear it’s worth your time!!), but if you want to jump to Thriller Bark for spooky season, it starts at episode 337 of the anime. (And it’s one arc where I think the anime’s additions are really strong.)
Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island: actual horror
Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island was the first piece of One Piece media I ever watched. And look at me now!
It’s also deeply notable because it’s the directorial debut of Mamoru Hosoda. If that name sounds familiar to you, it’s because Hosoda went on to establish Studio Chizu, direct beloved films like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children, and become nominated for an Academy Award for Mirai. Hosoda’s reputation alone should speak plenty about Baron Omatsuri’s quality.
Baron Omatsuri starts its runtime as a prime example of how ridiculous and silly the world of One Piece can be. I knew I loved it watching as, during a boat race, Nami and Usopp’s opponents start grilling meat and sending the smoke back to blind them. The film really leans in to how colorful, fun, and inviting this world looks, which makes it all the more shocking when the film’s tone takes a turn.
That turn happens very slowly. People start disappearing. Eventually, you’re left with some genuinely horrifying imagery. The “everyone has to be okay in the end” rule still applies here, but the imagery after the turn is disturbing and bleak enough that the shock genuinely gets you. Maybe don’t watch this one with kids.
Unfortunately, Baron Omatsuri is not streaming anywhere. Now that both Crunchyroll and Netflix have healthy One Piece film libraries, I hope this changes soon. It’s the closest to genuine horror that One Piece has ever gotten. How to best watch a pirate horror film? Hmm.
(featured image: Toei Animation)
