Please, One Piece Season 2, Take Care Of My All-Time Favorite One Piece Character

One Piece season 2 is on its way, and I hope it takes good care of my favorite character from the anime. Having been disappointed with most Hollywood live-action anime adaptations, I was cautiously excited about Netflix’s One Piece. If even relatively grounded anime like Death Note and Cowboy Bebop had not received good live-action remakes, One Piece’s fantastical world of giants and demons would be nearly impossible to translate into a live-action series. Fortunately, One Piece season 1 proved me wrong and delivered the best live-action anime adaptation ever put to screen.

There were many great things about Netflix’s One Piece, but the casting and how the characters were written were particularly impressive. Inãki Godoy’s character looked, acted, and sounded exactly like what I imagine Luffy would do if he existed in the real world. The same can be said about all the other Straw Hat pirates. After seeing how well season 1 treated its main characters, I’m confident that One Piece season 2 will get Nico Robin right. Still, nailing “Miss All Sunday” will not be easy.

One Piece Season 2 Will Introduce My Favorite Straw Hat Pirate Nico Robin

Nico Robin Joins The Story As A Villain From The Baroque Works

Although the casting of live-action Nico Robin has yet to be announced, it is safe to say that Miss All Sunday will make her Netflix One Piece debut in season 2. Despite having made some changes to the source material, One Piece live-action followed the structure of the manga very closely. The first eight episodes of the show covered roughly all of the East Blue saga, which accounts for the first 61 episodes of the anime. Assuming season 2 will do something similar, the Arabasta saga will be covered next.

As much as I love the bond between the original Straw Hats – Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji – some of my favorite One Piece moments only happened after East Blue. Likewise, my favorite Straw Hat pirate is Nico Robin, who was first introduced as a villain during the Arabasta saga. Miss All Sunday makes a strong first impression as an antagonist shortly after Luffy and his friends first hear about Crocodile and the Baroque Works. She later returns for the Arabasta arc, during which Nico Robin realizes how special Luffy is and decides to join his crew.

Why Getting Nico Robin Right In One Piece Live-Action Will Be So Difficult

Nico Robin Has A Complex Backstory That Shouldn’t Be Revealed Early

Nico Robin has one of the most interesting backstories in One Piece. It takes a while for audiences to learn where she comes from and why she does what she does, with some major reveals only happening hundreds of episodes later. Nico Robin has to be a convincing villain first before the start of her redemption, which itself is very complex. While Robin did work for Crocodile, it is almost unfair to describe her as a villain during her Miss All Sunday days after we learn more about her past and why she joined the Baroque Works.

One Piece season 1 explored the backstories of all of its main characters, yet season 2 should not do so for Nico Robin. Robin’s journey from Miss All Sunday to a Straw Hat is so meaningful because neither Luffy nor the rest of the crew even cares about her past. There is also the matter of Nico Robin’s powers. The Hana Hana no Mi, or Flower-Flower Fruit, gives Robin one of the most bizarre powers in the One Piece universe. Having loved how Luffy’s stretchy powers looked in live-action, I’m excited to see what Robin’s abilities will look like.

Nico Robin’s Best One Piece Stories Will Not Happen In Season 2

Robin Becomes Even More Important As The Story Goes On

As excited as I am for Nico Robin’s live-action debut in season 2, her best stories will not happen just yet in the Netflix series. Miss All Sunday has a relatively small role during the Arabasta saga, appearing just once before the battle for the Kingdom of Arabasta and then joining Luffy’s crew at the end. It is only during the Water 7 saga, which includes the fan-favorite Enies Lobby arc, that her full backstory is revealed. Nico Robin’s entire character is recontextualized once we learn about her past, which I would love for Netflix’s One Piece to cover eventually.

Considering how successful the first season of One Piece was for Netflix, the show most likely has a bright future ahead of it. Assuming that a potential season 3 will cover the Sky Island saga, Water 7 should happen in season 4. By then, viewers will have created a strong connection to the live-action versions of the Straw Hat pirates, including Nico Robin. Water 7 is widely considered one of the best One Piece arcs, particularly from the pre-time skip era, and it would be incredible if the live-action show got to it.

One Piece (Live-Action)

3.5

Based on the popular manga/anime series, One Piece is a live-action Netflix adaptation of the story from Eiichiro Oda. The show follows the exploits of a band of pirates, the Straw Hats, led by the energetic and adventure-loving Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy is a young man cursed with strange powers after accidentally eating a mysterious fruit. With his friends Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, Luffy will head across the vast ocean to find the legendary treasure, the One Piece.

Cast

Iñaki Godoy , Mackenyu , Emily Rudd , Jacob Romero Gibson , Taz Skylar

Release Date

August 31, 2023

Seasons

1