How One Piece's Live-Action Nami Changes Make Her Origin Story Better (2024)

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Netflix's One Piece season 1.

The character of Nami in Netflix's live-action One Piece undergoes several changes from her anime counterpart, though nearly all improve her character. As with any adaptation of beloved source material, Netflix's One Piece was always going to be scrutinized, closely inspected, and judged based on its fidelity to the show on which it was based. In the case of One Piece, fans of the original anime largely praised Netflix's live-action adaptation due to the faithfulness the retelling holds to the original story.

That said, Netflix's One Piece alters some story elements from the anime to an extent, with most adjustments allowing for a condensed timeline. Given that the One Piece anime shows no sign of ending soon and currently consists of over 1,000 episodes, Netflix's One Piece was naturally going to have to streamline the story in some ways. One of the ways in which Netflix has done this is through the character of Nami, played by Emily Rudd in Netflix's One Piece live-action cast. As such, here are the changes to Nami's story found in Netflix's One Piece, changes that actually mark an improvement in character from her animated counterpart.

Netflix's One Piece Brings Nami Into The Group Earlier

Undoubtedly the most significant story change in Netflix's live-action One Piece concerning Nami is that she is introduced to the series' protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, much earlier. In the original show, Nami is not introduced until the fourth episode as part of the Orange Town arc. Nami is found stealing a map to the Grand Line from Buggy the Clown Pirate when she encounters Luffy and Roronoa Zoro. After aiding the duo in defeating Buggy and his band of pirates, Nami reluctantly joins the Straw Hat crew to escape Orange Town.

In Netflix's One Piece, this timeline is changed somewhat. In the live-action adaptation, the map to the Grand Line is in the possession of a Marine named Axe-Hand Morgan, with Nami and Luffy forming an uneasy alliance to steal it in One Piece episode 1. This is an Easter egg to the One Piece anime as Luffy and Zoro initially team up in the original show against Axe-Hand, only with Nami also present in the live-action retelling. As such, Netflix's One Piece depicts Luffy, Nami, and Zoro as the original trio of the Straw Hats by having all three steal the Grand Line map together in episode 1.

Live-Action Nami Is Way Stronger Than Her Anime Character

Another change to the character of Nami in Netflix's One Piece comes from her personality traits, specifically her bravery and strength. In the original One Piece anime, Nami is somewhat more cowardly than her live-action counterpart. While she still stands up for her friends and what she believes in when necessary - sometimes against insurmountable odds to prove her compassion - she is not overly brave on regular occasions and oftentimes leaves it to the stronger members of her crew like Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji to protect her in combat. In Netflix's One Piece, this is certainly not the case.

As soon as the live-action One Piece introduces Nami, it is clear she is much more self-sufficient than the anime version of Nami. From her skills with her bo-staff to her direct opposition of pirates, Marines, and other threatening enemies, Nami's bravery is significantly increased in Netflix's One Piece. This change was likely made to reflect the more modernized aspects of female characters in modern cinema, rather than make her the damsel-in-distress style character that the original anime depicted her as when it began in 1999, though this depiction has since been improved in the anime as the world has evolved.

One Piece's Nami Backstory Change Makes Her Story Sadder

Finally, another change in Nami's character in Netflix's One Piece relates to her backstory. Her backstory in the live-action show reveals that her adoptive mother was killed in front of her and her adoptive sister by Arlong. In a bid to save her town from Arlong and his pirates, Nami joins his crew and vows to earn 100 million berries - One Piece's currency - in exchange for the pirates leaving the town alone. In Netflix's version of this backstory, Nami does not tell anyone of her plan, leaving her surviving sister and other members of her childhood town to resent her as they deem her actions as selfish motivations to survive.

While Nami's backstory remains largely the same in Netflix's One Piece as it does in the anime, there is one significant change that makes her live-action story more tragic. This change is that she did not tell anyone of her plans whereas, in the anime, Nami's sister knew the real reason she was working for Arlong. In changing it so that Nami's motivations are hidden from her sister and the other townsfolk, Netflix's One Piece makes her character much sadder and therefore allows Nami's character to be more sympathetic than her anime counterpart.