Summary
Netflix’s latestOne Pieceupdate confirms that the live-action show will take even longer to cover Eiichiro Oda’s manga than we thought. WhileOne Pieceseason 2was announced shortly after the release of the first season, there had yet to be substantial updates regarding which arcs it was going to cover. More recently, a few cast members were announced, with other key characters expected to be revealed this week.Netflix’s plans forOne Piece’s future are much clearer now, but I am surprised by the route the live-action series is taking.
One of Netflix’s most-watched shows of 2023,One Piecebroke theHollywood live-action anime adaptationcurse and delivered fantastic versions of Monkey D. Luffy and his friends. Apart from some changes,One Piecelive-action was a very faithful adaptationthat managed to please both fans of the anime and new viewers. Given that the manga and the anime only get better after East Blue, it is safe to sayOne Pieceseason 2 has the potential to be even better than the first season. That said, I’m surprised thatseason 2 will not include the Arabasta arc.
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One Piece Saving Arabasta For Season 3 Means It Will Move Much Slower Than We Thought
One Piece Season 2 Will Stop At Drum Island
One Pieceauthor Eiichiro Oda, who also serves as an executive producer on the Netflix show, recently shared an open letter to fans in which he expressed his excitement for season 2 and revealed which arcs it will cover. According to Oda,One Pieceseason 2 will include Loguetown, Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island. In other words, Arabasta will not be included in season 2.One Piecesaving the final arc of the Arabasta saga for a potential season 3 is surprising, especially because of just how longOne Pieceis.
61-63
64-67
70-77
78-91
Arabasta
92-130
Although the Arabasta saga is quite convoluted and includes a lot of characters and locations, I assumed that the live-action show was going to compress it into eight episodes just like it did with East Blue. It seems thatOne Piece’s producers believethe Arabasta arc requires more than a couple of episodes, in which case it would have to be saved for another season. It is unclear whether a potentialOne Pieceseason 3 would be exclusively about the Kingdom of Arabasta, or if it would also lead into Sky Island.
One Pieceseason 1 did not include Loguetown, which is now confirmed for season 2.
Either way,One Piecenot finishing Arabasta in season 2 means the live-action show could have a much slower pacethan many imagined. Given thatOne Piecehas over 1100 manga chapters, I was ready for the live-action show to rush through some arcs and cover as many storylines as possible per season. However,One Pieceonly covering half of the Arabasta saga in season 2 indicates that this is not the strategy they are going for. Only going from Loguetown to Drum Island in season 2 will allow the series to take more time with each arc.
I’m Worried One Piece Live-Action Will Take Too Long To Get To The Anime’s Best Arcs
It Will Take Several Years To Get To Enies Lobby At This Pace
I’m conflicted about Oda’sOne Pieceseason 2 update. On the one hand,One Piecenot rushing through the manga’s arcs and taking its time Arabasta is great news – it confirms that they are focusing on the quality of the show regardless of how many seasons they might need. On the other hand, it can be frustrating to imagine how many years it will take forOne Pieceto cover the rest of the story.I never expectedOne Piecelive-action to cover the entire manga, but even more realistic goals seem difficult now.
Even if Oda were to concludeOne Piecetoday, the live-action show would still have a thousand chapters left to cover.
For example, assumingOne Pieceseason 3 will be the war for the Kingdom of Arabasta, Sky Island would happen season 4. While some wrongfully perceive Sky Island as a skippable, it is a fascinatingOne Piecearc that could very well make for an entire season.This would leave Water 7 for season 5, with Enies Lobby perhaps only happening in a potential season 6. While these are nothing but predictions based on the structure of the manga and the pacing of the live-action show, they indicate how tricky Netflix’sOne Piece’s future is.
One Piece Live-Action Covering The Whole Story Was Never Likely To Begin With
One Piece Will Have To Be Clever Deciding What To Cover
While saving Arabasta for season 3 makesOne Piece’s future more complicated, the live-action show was never expected to cover the whole story. It must be noted thatOne Pieceis still going, with new chapters and episodes releasing every year.However, even if Oda were to concludeOne Piecetoday, the live-action show would still have a thousand chapters left to cover. It is virtually impossible for a live-action show that can only run so many seasons to do such a thing, regardless of how successful it is.
To put things in perspective, Netflix’sCobra Kaiis ending after six seasons. Likewise,Stranger Things, which has been one of Netflix’s flagship titles for years, will soon conclude with a fifth season.Grace and Frankieconcluded on Netflix with seven seasons in 2022 and remains the longest-running original show on the platform. In an interview withDeadline,One Pieceproducers Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements mentioned having hopes for 12 seasons, noting they have plenty of material to use for years and years.
How Long Should Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Run For?
Even Netflix’s Biggest Hits Can Only Run For So Many Seasons
UsingCobra KaiandStranger Thingsas parameters,One Piecerunning for at least six seasons would be ideal. This would allow the show to potentially coverWater 7 and Enies Lobby, which would be a fantastic way to conclude the live-action adaptation. Naturally, this would mean that Luffy’s story would be left incomplete, but the show could still find a way of having a satisfying ending. That said,I hope that Netflix’sOne Piececan at least cover everything that happens before the time-skip.Ending the series at Impedown and Marineford would work.
One Piece’s time-skip happens in episode 516 of the anime.
Another option would be forOne Pieceto eventually start combining major sagas into one and even changing huge aspects of the story so that it all fits within a reasonable number of seasons. While risky, this could be an interesting way of making sure the live-action show can have a satisfying ending that still honors the manga somehow. It is difficult to predict what the future ofOne Piecelive-action will be like, but the fact that Oda is directly involved in the project makes me confident that even the most surprising creative decisions will be worth it.
One Piece
Cast
One Piece follows young pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his diverse crew as they embark on a daring quest for treasure. Released in 2023, the film brings the adventurous world of the popular manga to life, capturing Luffy’s relentless pursuit of the legendary One Piece treasure.
