Image Credits: © 2025 Netflix, Inc. via IMDb
When I sat down to watch Season two of “One Piece,” I was worried whether or not Netflix could capture lighting in a bottle twice. The first season of Netflix’s campaign to adapt Eiichiro Oda’s magnum-opus into a live-action television show was ambitious to put it mildly. And yet, despite all the worries and negativity hanging in the air after lukewarm or disastrous prior attempts at a live-action anime adaptation, (i.e. Netflix’s “Cowboy Bebop,” in 2021 and “Death Note,” in 2017) the first season succeeded where all others failed! However, the real question was: Could Netflix do it again?
Fortunately, Netflix managed to bottle lightning yet again!
After two years, and six months of waiting, audiences finally reunited with Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), and the rest of the Straw Hat pirates as they continue their voyage to find the legendary treasure known only as the One Piece. In Season two, the Straw Hats arrive at the Grand Line, an infamous sea route, and one where few pirates have ever returned from alive. However, navigating through physics defying ocean paths is only half the challenge; Luffy and his crew must contend with the notorious “Baroque Works,” who stand in their way.
As I said in my review of season one, the trickiest thing about adaptations is how faithful the screenwriters are to the source material. The entirety of Season one faced an uphill battle and was a compressed version of the first story arc, East Blue. This was due to time and budget constraints, resulting in sequences that took place in one spot instead of several like in the manga. In other cases, certain characters were deemphasized to make room for others. With such a high-wire act, it was a small miracle that season one came out as well as it did, and the show’s writing continues to remain more-or-less on-point. While there are abbreviations made to the original story that left some fans skeptical, there is also the welcome addition of new plotlines, such as Captain Smoker and Tashigi (Julia Rehwald) investigating Baroque Works, and incorporating minor characters for some entertaining combat scenes.
With a much bigger budget and resources, the writing of Season two is less concerned with moving at a breakneck pace, and more focused on taking its time to slow down and characterize the cast. This, in effect, allows the crew of the show to incorporate more refined and organic elements of mise-en-scène.
This is made evident in the set designs, props, lighting, costumes and blocking. Series creator Matt Owens, and his new co-showrunner Joe Tracz, clearly have a deep love and respect for the world of One Piece, to the point they spent a lot of their budget on creating real, almost sea-worthy ships like the Going Mary, and creating such enormous sets. And with the benefit of being one of Netflix’s new flagship shows, this allows for even grander designs, such as the entire saloon brawl of Whiskey Peak, with over one hundred stuntmen with their own costumes, props, makeup and fight choreography.
With a laundry list of new characters comes new performances, and with so many wonderful displays, it can prove difficult to pin down who was indeed the best. Lera Abova as Miss All Sunday, Callum Kerr as Captain Smoker, Katey Sagal as Dr. Kureha and Mark Harelik as Dr. Hiriluk are all captivating. However, if I had to choose my two favorites, it would perhaps be Harelik, who gives a phenomenal and heart-squeezing rendition of his character’s classic “When Does a Man Die,” speech from the manga and anime, and Callum Kerr, who is able to pull off a sense of restrained swagger and stoic bravado while chomping on two cigars simultaneously, that it feels like his character practically leapt off the page!
Perhaps the most worrisome performances prior to Season two’s premiere were Charithra Chandran as Vivi, and Mikaela Hoover as Chopper. Chandran’s casting as Nefertari Vivi left some audiences and critics unsure, especially since her character plays such a pivotal role in the upcoming Alabasta story arc of One Piece, and her biggest role prior to this was her breakout role as Edwina Sharma in Bridgerton. On top of that, some audiences and critics were worried that because Alabasta is often perceived as being reminiscent of Ancient Egypt, casting an actor of Indian descent might feel out of place when compared to an actor of Middle Eastern or Egyptian descent. Chandran managed to dash all of these concerns as she does a bang-up job of bringing her character to life, displaying an initial dark side as Miss Wednesday of Baroque Works, before shedding that metaphorical skin to become a hopeful and earnest princess of a beleaguered kingdom as Nefertari Vivi.
The next biggest hurdle to overcome this season was the introduction to the anthropomorphic reindeer and medical doctor, Chopper. When Netflix first released images and footage of Hoover’s character, some fans and critics were skeptical, anxious if the character would look natural, or fall deeply into the “uncanny valley.” Much to my pleasant surprise, Hoover’s performance as Chopper, coupled with some good CGI from the VFX crew, becomes the emotional anchor of the last two episodes!
In terms of any critiques, I would say it is a continuing disappointment to only have eight episodes to chew on, which gives the show a sense of anticlimax, made worse by the two years of waiting which has adversely affected a number on other shows like Netflix’ “Stranger Things.” It also feels like notable enemies such as King Wapol (Rob Colletti), and Don Krieg (Milton Schorr) in season one, are underpowered and less menacing when compared to their manga and anime counterparts.
Regardless of its flaws, it is a delight to see that season two of Netflix’s One Piece continues to capture the magic that makes it so entertaining and engaging. Season three can’t come soon enough!
Kelly Baker is an alumnus from West Chester University.