The speedy announcement of season 2 of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece inspired a lot of excitement from fans. The sources of the excitement were shared, but everyone had their own priorities.
We wondered if Jamie Lee Curtis would actually play Doctor Kureha, only to recently find out she had schedule conflicts. We wonder what the hell they’re going to do with Tony Tony Chopper, the chibi reindeer and doctor, with fans (very much including myself) enthusiastically tweeting #MakeChopperAMuppet.
But for many, the big, shiny carrot dangled in front of us was Alabasta, one of the most beloved arcs in the entire series. But today, an announcement from mangaka Eiichiro Oda himself revealed which arcs season 2 of the live-action series would cover. And it turns out, the season will stop right before Alabasta.
Reactions from fans were incredibly strong, but they fall into two very different camps. On one end, you have those who fully expected Alabasta to be part of season 2. They’re shocked and/or outraged that it will be left out. One tweet beneath this post is simply, “NO ALABASTA?”
On the other end, you have those saying that this is a good move. And while I understand the fears from the other group, I am thoroughly on this side of things. Let me explain.
Give ‘er time
Alabasta is One Piece‘s first epic arc—a long arc with adventurous journeys and incredibly high stakes. So far, the longest arc that the live-action has covered is the Baratie and Arlong Park, which are both 27 chapters in the manga. Alabasta is over twice as long, clocking in at 63 chapters.
Eiichiro Oda’s announcement reveals that season two of the live action will cover Loguetown, Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island. While several of these are short arcs ranging five chapters, that’s still five arcs in one eight-episode season. That’s a whole lot of ground to cover—five new islands and five new sets of characters in only eight episodes is already more changes than were featured in season one.
Other than causing whiplash, adding a sixth arc would also mean that the adaptation would have to cover the manga’s material at an even more breakneck pace than season one did. And whatever the criticisms of season one were, “the pace is too slow” was definitely not one of them. The smaller, quieter details that make One Piece the treasure it is were often tossed out to get from plot point to plot point, fight to fight.
By leaving Alabasta to a hypothetical season 3, OPLA is making the commendable move of slowing the pace down rather than speeding it up. This will almost certainly make season 2 feel more like One Piece.
Alabasta absolutely has enough material in it to be an entire season of the show. This would be a good move not to just honor the source material, but to deal with the delicate socio-political nature of the arc itself. Alabasta is, on its face, a tale about people gaining freedom from outside oppressors in a location coded to Egypt (“Nefeltari”) and architecture lent from the Middle East, which makes it … timely. (And contentious. A real nail-biter as to how it will be portrayed.)
Why the backlash, then?
If you go by all the reasons above, leaving Alabasta to a third season of the live-action One Piece could only be a good idea. But a huge reason so many fans are (justifiably!) worried and aghast is that, unlike Avatar: The Last Airbender, One Piece was only renewed for a second season. We don’t know that there will be a season 3.
Netflix has a hearty history of canceling shows prematurely. One Piece was the most popular show on Netflix in the latter half of 2023, but that won’t necessarily assure its continued existence. The chance that OPLA won’t get to Alabasta is real.
But here’s my take. One, Netflix is more likely to renew a show from a known IP. It’s doubtful even One Piece‘s notoriety can carry an expensive live-action adaptation all the way through over a thousand chapters’ worth of material. But even a cynic like myself would be shocked if it didn’t carry the adaptation at least through Alabasta (which, comedically, is also where the old 4Kids dub dropped off).
Two, as a fan, I would rather take the chance for Alabasta to be done right, even while gambling on the possibility there will be no Alabasta at all, than be given a rushed version which the fandom would surely groan over. To their credit, the showrunners and the team behind OPLA clearly thought this, too.
In the meantime, let us pray for Muppet Chopper.
Published: Aug 20, 2024 06:02 pm