Netflix’s Live-Action One Piece Series Shows The Rings Of Power How It Is Done

Netflix’s One Piece continues to trend globally, effectively showing The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power how it is done. Of course, these are two fantasy TV shows that really couldn’t be more different. Both capture the magic of the genre, but they fall into entirely different subcategories under the broader umbrella. Still, Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings prequel series can learn a lot from One Piece. After all, the latter series has received overwhelming approval, while Rings of Power has been nothing but divisive.

First things first, let’s look at the reception for the most recent season of One Piece. It’s easy enough to gain approval for a single installment, but the sophomore slump has been the doom for dozens of TV shows (especially those on Netflix). We always have to hold out on determining a series’ success until season 2, and One Piece made that pretty easy on us. The installment currently holds a 100% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes—something Rings of Power could most certainly never claim.

Rings of Power hasn’t performed terribly with critics, with Rotten Tomatoes reflecting that 84% of their reviews across the board were positive. It’s the general viewers who have really struggled to get on board with this fantasy series. The show’s overall audience score is 49%—basically a half-positive, half-negative reception. There’s a lot of room for improvement, and maybe Rings of Power season 3 can get there. A great first step would be to take a leaf out of One Piece‘s book and add a bit more fun.

One Piece Remembers That Fantasy Is Supposed To Be Fun

One Piece is, in many ways, absolutely ridiculous. It’s a show that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The original anime is just the same—all heart and intense action baked right into a fictional universe that plays fast and loose with any sort of realism. When Netflix announced that it had a live-action adaptation on the way, a big question was whether the new series would be more grounded. Real people might have called for a more realistic, less outrageous approach. Thankfully, the live-action One Piece made absolutely no compromises. This is a series that is just a whole lot of fun.

In a world where action-adventure continues to take itself more and more seriously, One Piece is a great reminder that fantasy is supposed to be a bit of a wild ride. These stories are meant to stretch out imaginations to the max, and that should be a wholly and truly thrilling experience. It’s something that Rings of Power seems to have forgotten.

The Rings Of Power Shows That No Amount Of Lore Can Make Up For A Boring Series

Despite its divisiveness, Rings of Power has a lot going for it. For one, it’s a truly beautiful series. Prime Video spared no expense in bringing Middle-earth to the screen in a way we have never seen it before. Then, there is the spot-on casting and excellent performances. We also get a great deal of Tolkien lore, even if it is mishmashed with a lot of TV-show-original content or distorted by the condensed timeline. Unfortunately, it’s tough for any of this to shine through since Rings of Power is lacking in that fun sparkle.

Rings of Power season 1 did its best with a couple of fun moments. Dwarves are often a great opportunity for comedy, and the TV show’s Harfoots capture that Hobbit quirkiness as well. Still, with so much exposition packed into such a short amount of time, it was tough to walk away from Rings of Power without the impression that this is a rather dull series. Season 2 of the Lord of the Rings prequel kicked up the intensity with more drama and action, but there was even less fun this time around. Once again, it just felt like something was missing.

Now, Rings of Power cannot and should not ever have the same outrageous, over-the-top tone as One Piece. Netflix’s approach is completely incompatible with anything set in Tolkien’s world of The Lord of the Rings. It just seems that Prime Video could take the lesson that fantasy should inspire some playfulness in viewers. After all, Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films had plenty of fun. Rings of Power should at least try to live up to its predecessor and stop taking itself so seriously.

One Piece Is Living Up To Eiichiro Oda’s Masterpiece

Franchises can be tricky, since any new installment is going to be compared to what came before. In the case of both One Piece and Rings of Power, the bar is set pretty high. Netflix’s live-action TV show rather miraculously managed to live up to the original manga and anime from Eiichiro Oda. It captures all the fun and heart, and, in some ways, enhances the story by making it more accessible to mainstream audiences. Rings of Power doesn’t live up to its broader franchise in the same way.

J.R.R. Tolkien was a very clever author. He had a unique brand of comedy that is woven right into the world of The Lord of the Rings. Jackson’s films captured that essence spectacularly. Not only is the world thrilling, fantastical, and imaginative, but it’s an absolute joy to be immersed in. It’s difficult to say what Rings of Power lost in its own efforts to duplicate its predecessors’ tone and style. Perhaps the scale is simply too large. Regardless, future seasons could benefit from a look at all One Piece has achieved.