Reviews- One Piece eps 1- 4, new Sigur Ros album

 

Another month brings another big Netflix launch but curiously of a title I -and I’m sure many others- have never heard of. One Piece is an adaptation of a manga comic whose sales it is claimed make it one of the top ten most read books ever. Its been adapted before as an animated series and now Netflix has lavished considerable resources on this live action version.  The first eight episodes can now be watched; each around an hour long, each containing considerable spectacle. Its about a band of juvenile `pirates` in an unnamed land who join in a race for a fabled treasure called the One Piece. What they lack in age or experience they make up for with assorted skills enabling them to overcome a series of mad pirates.

 

It is a heightened swashbuckling experience that draws from old fashioned adventures with a dash of modern fantasy. The bunch are led by the oddly named hero Monkey J Luffy who shares Huckleberry Finn’s relentless optimism (and straw hat) and is played with vigour by Inaki Gody.  Emily Rudd plays the enigmatic thief (and spy) Nami who seems to have her own agenda while both she and monosyllabic master swordsman Zoro (Mackenyu Arata) are reluctant team mates though when it counts their skills come in useful, Episode four introduces Jacob Romero Gibson’s Usopp a character who seems to share Luffy’s excitable love of adventure and is skilful with a sling shot. There is another crew member to come later in the series. Nobody quite seems to know- or at least says- what this One Piece is and I would not be at all surprised if it turns out to be a golden fleeced Onesie! In a show like this anything can happen.

The result of this amalgam is pacy, energetic fun. There is more than a whiff of Pirates of the Caribbean and Sinbad in lots of dust ups, pirate centric material and a succession of bonkers characters. The stunts are well orchestrated with just enough looseness to avoid the choreography becoming obvious. As a bonus there are some fantastical creatures that pop up unexpectedly whether giant sea monsters or quirky snail phones. Oh and the ship they end up in has a masthead designed to look like a goat. Yes, really. Chuck in elements of any quest series for the overreaching story arc and you have a menu that feels both familiar and fresh. 

There is much to like. A vivid palette really brings this odd world to life and you start to notice smaller aspects, intentional or not, such as instances of modern clothing or cameras that seem to curve the background or the games and icons the designers have created. There are shades of real-life culture such as the pirates’ lore or displays of martial arts yet also some different elements. 

As a central character, certainly after four episodes, Luffy is difficult to read. His optimistic, weaponless approach as he strolls confidentally into dangerous scenarios armed with nothing but wit and charm can play either way. It could become irritating but so far is just on the right side of that.  I’m not quite so sure about his ability to stretch his limbs indefinitely though which is one of those things suggesting the show is aimed at a younger audience. It probably looked fun in the comics but for live action it’s not as effective. We have seen some of Luffy’s backstory and the end of part four suggests revelations to come so it will be interesting to find out if his approach changes as things get more difficult.

The show opens with an execution but not before its victim declares open season on the ultimate treasure- the One Piece. Vincent Regan’s military ruler Garp seems to be in charge of the place, it’s always interesting to see an actor you remember as a heroic type (does anyone recall Invasion: Earth twenty five years ag?) playing the bad guy. Anyway, years later (probably seven years, the series seems to like to do callbacks to seven years ago) we meet Luffy, a teenager of indeterminate age who as we learn in flashback was orphaned and brought up by `good pirate` Shanks. The straw hat he wears belonged to this character whose apparent demise we see in part two. For an opener the first episode ticks most boxes and definitely intrigues enough to make you want to watch more.

Part two is a bit more sluggish, I think in an attempt to provide some more familiarity with the characters and sees the trio come upon a town that’s been enslaved by a circus run by notorious pirate Buggy. Played by Jeff Ward sporting an oversized red clown nose he is an antagonist whose verbose speeches rather slow the episode though his performance is enjoyably manic.

Effectively a two parter, episodes three and four expand the range of their predecessors moving the action primarily to a large mansion where a girl called Kaya is waited on by the mysterious butler Klahadore and his two cohorts. They turn out to be pirates waiting for Kaya to turn eighteen so they can get rid of her and claim the shipyard she will then own. What starts off slowly builds momentum especially when the scope of Klahadore’s powers become clear, leading to a tense pursuit around the vast building. Celeste Loots is excellent as Kaya gradually learns the truth of her situation while Alexander Mantiatis is a terrific villain.

In tandem with this we see flashbacks both to new character Usopp’s background in a cry wolf story and also the enigmatic Zoro. The latter turns out to be an affecting story of promises and loyalty explaining why he carries an extravagant three blades. These episodes start to unlock the series’ potential to tell different stories and rounds out characters other than Luffy who has hitherto dominated the narrative. He’s unconscious for a large portion of the story enabling the others to take the initiative. Director Emma Sullivan exploits the mansion’s every bizarre nook helping create a very effective tension throughout.

One thing I’m not so sure about is what age group the series is pitched at. The plots don’t trouble the thought processes too much suggesting a young adult – or younger- demographic, yet some of the action is a bit much for that audience. Characters are eviscerated in various ways and our heroes- however much joi de vivre Luffy espouses - are not beyond killing enemies themselves. All that being said this first half of the series is easy to like and I’ll definitely be watching the other half this weekend.

 

The band for whom the phrase `shimmering shards` may have been invented Sigur Ros emerge from a decade’s hibernation with a new album called `Atta`. I say `new` but it has actually been released to stream for a few months and is now on CD as well. In some ways it sounds exactly like you might expect a Sigur Ros album to sound and in that respect is unlikely to convert anyone who doesn’t already like them. Its even more symphonic than before courtesy of an actual orchestra who add extra classical grandeur to the band’s already landscape sized music. At times it is so grand it feels like they’re going to start playing national anthems and only a cathedral would be a big enough room to properly listen to this in!

Yet this is not some over powering Wagnerian work, rather a more elemental ebb and flow of sound. To listen to it is a beautiful thing, slow and sonorous conjuring up distant locations probably lit by spectacular sunsets rather like one might see in the nature programmes some of this music will inevitably end up soundtracking. The thing about Sigur Ros though is that their lyrics are in a made up language so you can’t translate them and Jonsi- he of the celestially high voice- could be singing about his shopping list for all we know.

Interviews with the band suggest this is an angry album though there is no trace of that emotion in the music we hear. If anything the opposite is true- the sequences feel sometimes throughtful, sad or maybe inspired. Whether consciously or otherwise they do seem to suggest just how difficult the time since they last released an album has been- two tax scandals, accusations against their (now former) drummer and perhaps a sense too that Sigur Ros’ time has passed. Best though I find to listen out of any of that context because if this album really is raging against people’s indifference to climate change and the way the modern world is headed then perhaps it does so by taking you away from that world for fifty six fascinating minutes. Every note is rich, interesting, and even if it sounds more profound than it is, this is music as a balm for the soul. An escape and goodness knows we need that these days. I’ve listened to it a lot.