With Netflix’s “One Piece” adaptation off to a great start with the launch of its pilot episode, the show continues to maintain its bingeable status.
The second episode picks up with the newly created Straw Hat Pirate crew having just stolen the map to the Grand Line sea route. While Nami is trying her best to crack the safe containing the map, the crew is attacked by a foe familiar to fans of the anime and manga. Both new and veteran viewers of the franchise are introduced to Buggy the Clown.
For die-hard fans, they’ll recognize the clown pirate as the comedic relief villain. But in the live action, Buggy bears a darker tone and it is arguably an improvement on the clown’s manga character.
Luffy, Nami and Zoro are knocked unconscious after their ship is pelted with gas and they later find themselves tied up in the center of a large carnival. Buggy, who was teased at the end of the first episode, reveals that he is after the map to the Grand Line but Luffy has eaten the map.
Zoro and Nami make it back to Luffy after being set free and help him. Later a fight erupts between The Straw Hat Pirates and Buggy, who continues to tip the fight in his favor. Luffy develops a plan to trap Buggy’s individual body parts in trunks.
After locking away most of his body, Luffy delivers the final strike, knocking his head, hands and feet flying out of the tent. The Straw Hats set the townspeople free, and they continue their journey on the Grand Line.
In the last mysterious scene, Nami is seen making a suspicious call to an unknown person, informing them that she has the map.
So far, “One Piece” has shown that its live action counterpart can balance different genres. The first episode was a combo of comedy and action and episode 2 added a drop of horror to it.
Besides the clown-themed horror scenes, Episode 2 also takes time to carve out Luffy’s origin story.
Fans got to witness the iconic scenes in which Luffy gets his signature hat from the pirate Red-Haired Shanks.
It begins to feel like a classic superhero origin story when Luffy begins training with his newfound devil fruit abilities and combats a bad guy. Shanks fills in a fatherly role for Luffy, and provides the rubber-powered young pirate with motivation to move forward in life. The second episode does a good job of spotlighting the story’s emotional weight.
The popularity of the live-action series has been paying off, as “One Piece” has been renewed for a second season.
Yet in a recent interview with Deadline, the masterminds behind the Netflix series said that they have 12 seasons planned. 12 seasons could create a small problem, as season 1 only has 8 episodes and ends on a storyline that was the source material’s beginning.
“One Piece” continues to be a decent addition to Netflix’s library. The main mission the show can and should focus on is introducing a new generation of fans to the pirate crew. New fans will be so inspired by the show’s adventurous atmosphere that they may binge-watch the show in one sitting.
