Three years ago, Netflix released the first season of their live-action One Piece series. Against all odds, the show became a massive success, even gaining an audience that is not familiar with the original manga by Eiichiro Oda or Toei’s anime series, both of which have been ongoing since the late nineties. On a personal note, as someone who thinks the source material is one of the greatest stories of all time, I was somewhat mixed on that first season, which felt limited as an adaptation that could never embrace the wacky tone that One Piece is known for.
The surprise success of season one has paved the way for another season, which is not only bigger but also allows the live-action show to finally find its groove. One of the best aspects from the previous season was the spot-on-casting of the Straw Hat Pirates and now that the whole gang is together, we get to see the various dynamics as they journey into the Grand Line.
As much as you enjoy the banter between the main cast, whether it is Iñaki Godoy’s Luffy and Jacob Gibson’s Usopp acting like overly excited boys, or the constant rivalry between Mackenyu’s Zoro and Taz Skylar’s Sanji, it is the interactions and confrontations they have with a lot of new characters. During their initial journey through the Grand Line, the Straw Hats have numerous confrontations with the many agents of Baroque Works, a secret organization whose ruthless methods have caught the attention of the Navy.
Whereas season one’s villains mostly felt lackluster – despite some of them guest-starring here – the colorful agents of Baroque Works are fun foils that embrace how weird One Piece can get, from their outlandish outfits to the disturbing Devil Fruit abilities they possess. Notable standouts include David Dastmalchian who oozes with creepiness as Mr. 3, whilst Lera Abova will win the hearts of everyone including longtime fans and newbies as Ms. All-Sunday whose Flower-Flower Fruit is greatly realized to disturbing effect.
With the diverse range of islands and the many strange creatures that our heroes encounter, arguably the biggest selling point from this season is the introduction of Tony Tony Chopper, the cute human-reindeer hybrid who serves as the animal mascot for the series. Appearing only in the final three episodes, including one that is devoted almost entirely to his tragic backstory, Chopper is well-realized from the convincing CGI that never takes the character’s cuteness, to Mikaela Hoover putting her own vocal stamp that brings out the emotions.
While this show can still feel weirdly claustrophobic from the lavish production design, this season steps up from both an action standpoint, from the Straw Hats carefully steering their ship, the Going Merry, up Reverse Mountain, to Zoro headlining the best choreographed fight sequence in episode three. What also ups the scale is the world-building, not only from how the various islands are visualized, but how this adaptation takes full advantage of the manga with 1100+ chapters.
Although these eight episodes follow closely the broad strokes of the story that will eventually set up the Alabasta arc for the third season, longtime fans will notice the many references to subsequent story arcs. Without going into spoilers, it does raise the question not only about the show’s longevity, but its own relationship with the source material as we have already seen liberties from the start, and based on certain scenes from this season, there is always the possibility that the live-action One Piece could go in a very different direction.
Watch One Piece on Netflix.
