Summary
- One Piece is considered the best anime/manga live-action adaptation on Netflix, but Alice in Borderland is just as good, if not better.
- Netflix has a history of failed live-action adaptations, but Alice in Borderland broke the curse before One Piece and deserves more recognition.
- Alice in Borderland captures the essence of the original manga’s action and drama, proving the live-action medium’s potential for anime and manga adaptations.
One Piece is rightfully being labeled as the best anime/manga Netflix live-action adaptation, but one underrated manga adaptation on the streaming platform is nearly as good as One Piece, if not better. Based on Eiichiro Oda’s long-running manga of the same name, Netflix’s One Piece does not completely commit to the narrative structure of its source material. However, it succeeds because it makes clever casting choices, balances between spectacle and cohesive storytelling, recreates its source’s character gimmicks and action moves in the live-action medium, and, most of all, does not shy away from embracing the oddities of the original manga and anime.
Live-action One Piece‘s success on Netflix has been surprising because the streaming giant has a long history of failed live-action adaptations that almost made audiences believe that anime and manga may never seamlessly traverse to the small screen. However, in all of these failures, Netflix did succeed with one manga adaptation long before One Piece affirmed that live-action adaptations of anime and manga hold potential. This live-action adaptation may not be as renowned as One Piece, but it deserves more acclaim and recognition than it gets.
Netflix’s Alice In Borderland Is Based On A Manga Of The Same Name
Although relatively obscure compared to One Piece, Netflix’s Alice in Borderland is another live-action series based on a manga of the same name. Alice in Borderland‘s original manga only has a total of 18 volumes. Owing to this, the depth of its overarching lore may not be as deep, and its roster of characters may not be as diverse as that of One Piece‘s. However, the series still does an incredible job at bringing life to mangaka Haro Aso’s works in the live-action medium and capturing the essence of the original manga’s action and drama. Since Alice in Borderland also has a three-episode anime adaptation, the Netflix live-action series is technically an anime adaptation as well.
Alice In Borderland Broke Netflix’s Live-Action Adaptation Curse Before One Piece
Netflix’s live-action anime adaptations like Cowboy Bebop and Death Note have a bad reputation because, even though they borrow the key story elements from their respective anime and manga source materials, they fail to capture the sense of wonder that original manga and anime bring to the table. Even when it comes to humor, many comical elements from anime rarely translate well to live-action. Another major issue with Netflix’s live-action adaptations was that they seemingly lacked enough budget to recreate the slam-bang action scenes from their anime/manga counterparts.
Netflix’s One Piece often gets the credit for lifting the live-action anime adaptation curse. However, Alice in Borderland deserves the title more than One Piece because it premiered way before it and cemented its place as one of the most promising live-action manga/anime adaptations on Netflix with its scintillating set pieces, gripping storyline, loyalty to its source, and ability to keep viewers white-knuckled with its survival games. One Piece undoubtedly paved the way for other shounen anime adaptations, but Alice in Borderland was the first to prove the live-action medium’s potential after Netflix consistently failed to do justice to popular anime and manga series.