One Piecestarted as a manga in 1997 which was a huge year for media. This was also the year thatFinal Fantasy 7would be released on the PS1 and redefine RPGs for a generation. Similarly,One Piecehas influenced countless other manga and anime since its inception.
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Both the manga and the 1999 anime adaptation ofOne Piecehave been going strong ever since with no signs of slowing down. Suffice it to say, Netflix has their work cut out for them if they want to adapt every arc in the series into live-action. The first season went through some important arcs, but season two could be extra special for one big reason: Crocodile. More on him and other hopeful notes in season two later. There will be spoilers for both the show and manga.
6Smoker’s Big Debut
The final scene of the show teases a character that fans were probably hoping to see in season one. The show covers almost the entirety of the first arc, East Blue, all except for the grand finale in Loguetown. This small port town is where the Strawhat Pirates stop for supplies before the Grand Line. It is also significant in the story because Gold Roger was executed there.Once Luffy andthe others leave, the Arabasta arc will begin.
Now, in this town, the aforementioned mysterious character teased in the credits appears.Smoker is a Marinewho ate a Devil Fruit which allows him to manipulate fruit. His gruff attitude and love of cigars have given fans some fuel to compare him to Wolverine in theX-Mencomics. Also in Loguetown, Buggy appears alongside Alvida who both seek vengeance on Luffy and his crew. It should prove to be an exciting opener to season two if they stick to the source material.
5Laboon And The Reverse Mountain
Laboon is a whale that the Strawhat Pirates meet at Reverse Mountain. This is the mountainous region that Nami hints at in the last episode. It’s basically a river and a waterfall that ships have to pass through to leavethe East Blue. This whale, which looks like it is based on the whale in Pinocchio, eventually befriends the pirates and helps them through.
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Laboon will have to be a CG creature in the show but it won’t be the first CG sea monster. The flashback with Luffy being saved by Shanks showcases a serpent that took Shanks’ arm. It wasn’t on screen for long, but it looked decent enough for a CG creature. So, hopefully, Laboon will be treated well graphically too.
4Princess Vivi
Princess Vivi is the heir to the Arabasta Kingdom. She comes to meet the Strawhat Pirates soon into this arc and becomes an unofficial member until this story section ends. She’s in it longer than any other temporary party member in the entire series to date. She looksa lot like Namialthough a lot of girls look similar in the manga and anime. That will happen with manga authors who find a style for better or worse.
She is trying to get her kingdom back from an evil organization and Luffy vows to help her out. That’s why she spends as much time as she does with the Strawhats. One of the funniest things about Vivi, besides her sharing a name with the Black Mage fromFinal Fantasy 9, is her duck companion Karoo. This giant duck-like creature looks and behaves a lot like Chocobos in theFinal Fantasyseries and Arabasta is full of them.
3Baroque Works
Reverse Mountain is also the placewhere the piratesrun into their first Baroque Works agents. This is the aforementioned evil organization that is running Arabasta outside of Vivi’s control. It’s not been said yet but that is where Vivi is introduced too. She is a spy working within Baroque Works under the guise of Miss Wednesday.
Every sub-arc of Arabasta will have agents from Baroque Works going after the Strawhats. It’s a good hook for a manga arc because it showcases a lot of unique characters with special gifts. It’s something that season one lacked inOne Piecebut it’s not Netflix’s fault. The power deluge is a slow roll until Arabasta. It will be interesting to see if the live-action adaptation will showcase every agent in this arc or if they will combine a few. As long they keep Mr. 2 campy, that’s all fans will probably care about.
2Tony Tony Chopper
Vivi is a temporary crew member but the Strawhat Pirates will get a permanent one during this arc as well. It will happen toward the end during the Drum Island sub-arc. They will meet a little reindeer boy namedTony Tony Chopper. He will become the doctor of the crew after the Strawhats help solve a sickness crisis on Drum Island.
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Now, it would be beyond awesome if they made Tony Tony Chopper into a puppet. Practical effects will make things last longer which is why the various Muppet-based shows still look good. EvenThe Mandalorianused a puppet via Grogu which is one reason why fans adore that show. However, that requires a lot of time and effort that the showrunners may not want to get into. So, Tony Tony Chopper will probably be CG, but hopefully, he will be the best-looking CG thing in the entireOne Pieceshow.
1Arabasta And Crocodile
Everything in this arc will lead up to the Strawhats escorting Vivi back to her homeland of Arabasta. Here they will have to fight the strongest agents of Baroque Works along withthe ringleader, Crocodile. Besides being a vicious hand-to-hand, or more like a hand-to-hook fighter, Crocodile is also a Devil Fruit user. He can manipulate sand much like Gara in theNarutoseries.
Although, if they ever faced each other Gara would absolutely trounce Crocodile. Fan fights aside, Crocodile put Luffy through the wringer in this finale. He made Arlong look like a guppy by comparison. The anime version of the fight was epic as “Symphony No. 9 in E Minor” was blasted in the background. Nothing says anime like a classical ballad and hopefully Netflix will copy that for the live-action version. Also, Ace, Luffy’s brother, should show up around this final storyline too.
