Netflix’s One Piece Season 2 Review
This show is legit
WARNING: THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN Spoilers from Netflix's One Piece as well as from the long-running anime and manga. There may be discussions of violence, as well as racial identity. CONSIDER WHEN AND WHERE IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO READ THIS PIECE.
Netflix’s highly anticipated season 2 of One Piece has finally dropped after plenty of character teaser trailers and promotional ads. Much like season 1, Netflix has a serious Luffy problem. We’ll get to that later, but there’s no need to prolong the judgement call: this second season is even better than the first. We’re beginning to scratch the surface of the good stuff in One Piece lore and I fully give my trust to the Netflix crew after a 16 episode track record. This is, in my mind, without a doubt the best western live-action adaptation of an anime ever made.
Grander than before
Continuing off a reasonably tame first season that introduced the legendary world of Eiichiro Oda’s long-running manga series to a broader audience, the second season of the show has now moved into the Grand Line and onto grander adventures. Seriously, things are only beginning to get bigger, stranger, and more epic than ever. I’m not the most hardcore One Piece fan, but I do consider myself a fan of the series and have followed the story for many years now so I’m at least well versed in the lore up until the time skip.
I don’t know how to review this live-action show as a viewer being introduced to this world for the first time because that’s not what I am. I would imagine it would feel daunting because even manga readers will attest to the immense vastness of detail to recall in this expansive universe of lore.
Season 2 jumps straight back in where we left off with the live cast and runs for the fences with the Loguetown arc in episode 1. While the show eases you back in with familiar faces for this reintroduction, Loguetown and the entirety of episode 1 of season 2 rapidly introduces viewers to important characters that will build out the world for many arcs to come.
You have recurring characters like Smoker and Tashigi who helm the Navy aspect of the plot for this season, succeeding Garp and Koby. On our heroes’ side, the addition of Princess Vivi is a focal point in season 2 and these season 2 episodes act as her time serving as an honorary Strawhat. Let’s also not forget the entire villainous organization of Baroque Works which throws every day of the week as well as double digit numbers at you for codenames to remember. Just within the first few episodes, the live-action show just explodes into the grand world of this wondrous but sometimes convoluted world. It can be potentially overwhelming for people who aren’t manga or anime viewers. In fact, I personally know anime fans who refuse to even attempt to watch One Piece simply due to the enormous undertaking of taking in an encyclopedia’s worth of lore from over 1,000 episodes of the anime and counting.
Luffy faces off with Smoker
If that doesn’t scare someone off, season 2 also begins to toss important one-off guest roles that hold immense value to the future story within One Piece in the likes of Crocus, Dr. Kureha, Laboon the whale and the Rumbar Pirates. There’s so much to take in as a first time viewer. With that said, as someone who does know One Piece, I’m here to say that the team behind this show absolutely gets the source material. From casting actors and actresses to take on the mantles of these iconic characters, to giving each of the Strawhat pirates a reprieve in their rapid firing of plot progression in order to show bonding interactions and character development, it's all handled with precision and care.
This is a major spoiler so stop now if you aren’t up to date with your One Piece lore. In season 2 of One Piece, several vital players in the future One Piece story make cameos much earlier than they do in the original manga and anime source material. This is a delight for long time fans as while we are reliving a plot that we’ve previously digested, these revisions flesh out the world so much more. If Oda-sensei had been able to go back in time to revise his work, these are the additions he would have done.
Emily Rudd (Nami) stated in an interview that the early cameo introductions of Sabo and future Strawhat member Brook were approved by Oda-sensei himself. If you go back in time and watched the Loguetown anime scenes for the first time, it would have absolutely made sense that Sabo would be there when Dragon saved Luffy from Smoker.
The Laboon story was an early indicator in the manga that the world of One Piece was not all fun and games and that this was where things would begin to get serious. Laboon’s original crewmates, the Rumbar Pirates, were a music loving bunch who we were told were not capable enough to survive the treacherous world of the Grand Line. It is one of the most satisfying and ultimately emotional moments in the One Piece story when the plot expands on this later on leading to Brook’s background being revealed. Your viewing experience will differ whether you’re an anime viewer or a first time watcher of this story, but it’ll be excitng nonetheless and that’s what I think is essential for a good adaptation.
Speaking of Brook, I’m 100% in love with all of the casting choices. The internet discourse over the racial identities of these characters is absolutely ridiculous. From the undercover runaway Vivi, to the femme fatale Miss All Sunday, it literally feels like these characters were ripped right out of the paper pages of the manga. Baroque Works is not an easy group of characters to translate to live-action. In fact, most of the citizens of the One Piece world aren’t easy to bring to life. Look at Chopper the reindeer mascot doctor. Chopper is only scratching the surface of the craziness that One Piece will eventually bring out to the fold, but I’m extremely confident after watching season 2 that the producers will accomplish this task with a high level of accuracy. They’ve proven nothing but respect and quality with the 16 released episodes of the show.
Miss Wednesday about to attack
THE LUFFY PROBLEM
I do have one major issue with Netflix’s One Piece and that’s with their captain and the supposed main character. Before I get too deep into it, let me just say that actor Iñaki Godoy gives a valiant effort bringing the energetic Luffy to life. I’m not suggesting that he’s the issue.
Let’s dissect why Luffy is such a beloved shonen character. It’s a bit deeper than people think. He’s got the traditional pea-sized brain that shonen leads typically have. He’s got the trademark appetite. Like other traditional shonen heroes, Luffy will do anything for his comrades and will fight for what he thinks is right. Those are huge contributors to what makes Luffy beloved by millions of people around the world. But that doesn’t distinguish him from Goku, Naruto, or Natsu.
Luffy’s uniqueness lies with his Gum Gum fruit powers. This bouncy rubber man is a badass. He fights in an unorthodox manner and he will always take on a challenge and find a way to overcome the odds because he must persevere in order to accomplish his dream.
One Piece follows a very basic shonen outline in the way an arc unfolds. The crew always divvies up their boss fights by tiers where Roronoa Zoro takes on the second strongest bad guy, and Luffy challenges the big boss. Everyone else falls in line with lower level fights. The secondary fights always end first and the dramatic cinematic finish typically is reserved for Luffy pulling out all the stops to win. We got a peak of that in season 1 of the Netflix show during the Arlong episodes. Much like how I felt watching that in 2023, I’m extremely underwhelmed every time Godoy’s Luffy throws a punch or his limb stretches.
Luffy’s powers aren’t easy to make look good on the silver screen. Netflix also doesn’t have the budget to run CGI like a Hollywood blockbuster would for say Mr. Fantastic in the Marvel films. There’s absolutely no power behind Neftlix Luffy’s attacks and as a viewer, it is blatantly obvious that they purposely try to avoid having Luffy do anything that involves his Gum Gum powers when possible.
Luffy’s sitting on top of Going Merry’s head and called to the deck by his crewmates so how does he get there? Perfectly makes sense that the very impatient hero would slowly walk into the screen instead of just zipping across the ship with his stretching abilities. I get it. Save the budget for when you need it. That’s what they did for the Arlong fight too and it was probably the best showing of live-action Luffy we’ve seen so far. Unfortunately they didn’t do Luffy’s fighting techniques justice in season 2. Don’t get me started with the lackluster showing from Luffy in this season’s final boss fight with Wapol. It was just plain poor.
That leads us to Zoro. Netflix’s One Piece feels like the Roronoa Zoro show. Zoro and his three katanas carry the action scenes due to the realism behind swordplay choreography. It’s not expensive and it's rehearsable. In a world where Devil Fruit dictates a majority of the upper echelon fights in the anime, swordplay is now the backbone of Netflix’s live-action action agenda. I don’t blame them as I understand the logistics of throwing out 8+ hours of plot each season and the difficult nature it is to keep CGI running at a high level. Still, live-action One Piece does not feel like anime One Piece when it comes to the fight scenes involving Luffy.
This is the one glaring elephant on the ship that needs addressing as the Strawhats move to Alabasta after this season. Shit hits the fan in Vivi’s desert kingdom and in my opinion, this upcoming arc in season 3 is where One Piece has its first real game changing story beat. They better iron out Luffy’s arsenal of CGI attacks before the war breaks out because it will be a shame for non-anime viewers to experience the Alabasta arc without the all-out scale of fights throughout the kingdom.
The Strawhat crew land on Whiskey Peak wearing their stylish clothing
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While I am adamant that Luffy’s Gum Gum fruit powers are not being exhibited well so far in the Netflix show’s life, I do think everyone else’s Devil Fruits are translated over excellently. This season’s final boss Wapol and the newest member of the Strawhats Tony Tony Chopper are great examples of CGI done right for these crazy plots. A talking reindeer doctor that can transform from a cute little mascot with bubbly big eyes to a large hairy beast monster is far from easy to do for a live-action show. That goes double for a spoiled king who has a metal jaw that can warp his body into a weapon after eating anything. There are a lot of whacky Devil Fruit powers in One Piece and I’m thoroughly impressed with how well many of them are adapted to live-action.
Looking Forward
If the first season of One Piece was a proof of concept that Oda-sensei’s crazy pirate anime world could work in a live-action setting, then season 2 is the confirmation that this is going to be more than a one season hit. This is a legit television show that will get renewed for as many seasons as they want. We all know that the source material isn’t an issue as this season covers up to only somewhere around chapter 150 in the manga. There’s a lifetime of adventures and a vast world of characters to meet if Netflix so chooses to introduce them to viewers of the live-action universe.
The newest Strawhat Tony Tony Chopper
Mark my words, this season of One Piece will be a landmark season when we look back at it years from now. Season 2 legitimized the show in a way that season 1 could not do. Some of that is thanks to the natural progression of the plot to better stories, but the show runners really found their footing with how to adapt the world to real life. From colorful sets, to beautiful episodic outfit changes, to even fan service that you’d expect from an anime like One Piece, this series has distinguished itself from the likes of Netflix’s other live-action endeavors of lesser success like YuYu Hakusho and Cowboy Bebop.
One Piece is not perfect. The anime has long had pacing issues and repetiveness throughout it’s lifetime. Stories don’t have to be perfect. They have to carry an emotional tie to viewers. We have to remember these tales with our hearts. That’s why One Piece as a franchise has thrived for nearly three decades. With Neftlix’s One Piece, there is a strong emotional soul that represents Oda-sensei’s legendary work through the actors, the music, the script, and the delivery of the content. That’s something that I’m looking forward to continuing with great anticipation for the upcoming adventures the live-action cast of the Strawhats will soon encounter for hopefully many years to come.
Alex
With nearly a decade under his belt running his video production team, and countless hours traveling the country to report on pop culture events during his tenure as a contributor for AXS Examiner, Alex has relied on a lot of gadgets over the years. That still hasn’t satiated his need to get his hands on the newest and greatest the world has to offer!