‘One Piece’ season two sails straight to Netflix’s top ten

By Katlynn Rossignol

Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat crew finally enter the Grand Line, where the fabled pirate treasure, the One Piece, is said to be hidden. The voyage is treacherous, and the Straw Hat pirates must face off against old foes and the deadly assassin group Baroque Works. Only by standing together can the crew sail through the rough seas and achieve their dreams.

The production crew behind the live-action “One Piece” understands what it means to pay homage to the original, while creating something fantastically new. What sets “One Piece” apart from other Netflix adaptations, like “Avatar: The Last Airbender” or “Cowboy Bebop,” starts with its writing. 

“One Piece” condenses content from the original Manga and anime series, which has been running for 28 years. With decades of worldbuilding and slowly paced content, the production crew for Netflix’s live-action adaptation had the daunting task of pleasing dedicated “One Piece” fans while bringing fresh eyes to the property. 

Miss Valentine (Jazzara Jaslyn), Miss All Sunday (Lera Abova) and Mr. 5 (Camrus Johnson) investigate a missing agent. 

They nailed season one, creating an incredibly faithful adaptation in a new format. This magic carried into season two through the masterful condensing of the story’s plot points. Action scenes, which spanned five episodes in the anime, were condensed to just their key moments, making them punchier than ever. With foreknowledge of the story’s future seasons, the live-action made sure to set up many plot points that return later in the Straw Hats’ journey. 

A pirate crew would be nothing without the strengths of its individual members. Iñaki Godoy does a phenomenal job balancing the oblivious but good-natured Captain Luffy. The returning cast of Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, Jacob Romero and Taz Skylar continue to faithfully bring the Straw Hats to life, in both presence and line delivery.

It’s the simple moments of characters’ playful banter or nods to the original anime that demonstrate how well the cast knows their characters. The expansive world of “One Piece” also introduced 24 new characters, including key players such as Miss Wednesday (Charithra Chandran) and Tony Tony Chopper (voiced by Mikaela Hoover). 

The costume and character designs are detailed accurately to the anime, using practical effects whenever possible; an impressive feat given the many wacky designs. Behind-the-scenes content reveals the massive sets built to make the unique environments feel as real as possible. Season two featured giants, dinosaurs, talking reindeer and superpowered shenanigans of all kinds. 

The dedication to the practical effects backfired a bit by episode eight. The finale’s action choreography faltered compared to previous episodes due to the sheer amount of costuming in the way, coming across more like old-school “Power Rangers” acrobatics than intense combat. With this scene being the only noteworthy flaw, it is safe to say the practical effects were well worth the trouble.

Zoro (Mackenyu) escapes a deadly trap with not one, but three flaming swords.

Of course, the visual effects wouldn’t have landed without quality audio design. “One Piece’s” sound design is built from the show’s original music, even drawing on musical cues from the score, while continually adding new, catchy tunes. None captures the wacky sounds of “One Piece” quite like the saxophone solos of “Whisky Peak Saloon,” performed by street performer Leo P. and arranged by Sonya Belousove.

Though the effects can be flawed, the charm and passion behind the live-action “One Piece” is undeniable. For fans of superhero content, the show fills a niche that Marvel and DC have left vacant over the past few years; driven, self-sacrificing heroes. The characters inspire hope as Luffy carries his dying crewmate up the side of a mountain, Chopper scavenges the Valley of Death to find a medical miracle and Usopp (Jacob Romero) faces certain death in an unwinnable duel. 

The live-action “One Piece” continues to set the standard for live-action reboots with its second season. Netflix knows it struck pirate’s gold with this show and already has season three in production, as well as a podcast about its production available on its streaming service.  “One Piece” season two offers an engaging story with fun action and likable characters who learn from each other as they pursue their dreams in the Grand Line. 

I highly recommend the show to fans of action, cartoon whimsy and witty writing that respects its fans and source material. 

“One Piece” season two is available to stream on Netflix.

Katlynn Rossignol is a senior Strategic Communications student and A&E editor for Cedars. She loves messy crafts with friends, absurd amounts of the color pink and dancing to the saxophone solo from “Whisky Peak Saloon.” 

Images courtesy of Tomorrow Studios.