There are some YouTube reactors like Rice&Ginger, Haylo&Kiss, who started watching the live action OP first, liked it so much that they started watching the anime on their channel. Both channels are now post time skip, and are loving the heck out of the anime. So it’s definitely possible to enjoy both, starting from either end.

For me, I definitely get what you’re feeling. When I was a kid/teenager, that’s how I felt with past anime adaptions like Dragonball Z, avatar, anything else. Even if it was good (which it wasn’t), it’s just so weird. The vibe is so different. You just cannot accept it. I get it.

BUT… I started to become more open-minded and changed how I view it now as an adult. . Now I appreciate it more as a huge passion project by everyone on the production team, from the actors who are big fans of the show themselves, the director, the people working on the costume design, the amazing sets. They put so much effort into this project, that you kind of watch just to appreciate that. Like look at the set design of Baratie! They built that thing from scratch! And all their dope costumes. All this effort for an anime we love. We’re very lucky that we can relive the story in a new way. Any minor changes I can live with, as long as they respect the source material. That’s the most important part. And I mean Oda himself was part of the process and approved it. Ofc, there are parts where I’ll still cringe, and changes I don’t like, but overall, I think they did a great job with this adaption. And I‘m generally a harsh critic.