This article contains spoilers for the One Piece anime, particularly the Arabasta Saga.

One Piece season 2 will have a lot of important moments from the manga to tackle, but three scenes will particularly make or break Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Arabasta. Now that the East Blue is behind them, Luffy and his friends are heading toward the Grand Line. As One Piece season 2’s cast continues to grow, the live-action anime adaptation now faces different challenges from when it debuted on Netflix in 2023.

Whereas One Piece’s first season had to prove itself as a worthy live-action rendition of the immensely popular anime, season 2 will have to raise the stakes and show it can cover the manga’s bigger arcs. A lot happens during the Arabasta Saga, from a giant whale guarding the entrance to the Grand Line to war for the fate of a kingdom. Netflix’s One Piece has shown it is not afraid of embracing the source material, and it will hopefully continue to capture the essence of Eiichiro Oda’s work.

One Piece Season 2 Must Nail Chopper’s Incredible Backstory

Chopper has a very emotional origin story.

Tony Tony Chopper’s introduction is arguably the most anticipated moment going into One Piece season 2 not only because of how popular the character is but also due to the technical challenges of bringing a humanoid reindeer into live-action. However, in addition to nailing Chopper’s character design and visual effects, Netflix’s One Piece also has to get his backstory right. Chopper has one of the saddest origin stories in One Piece, going from a lonely reindeer whose pack wouldn’t accept him to the assistance of a very peculiar doctor. Everything about Chopper’s origin story is enough to make viewers cry.

One Piece season 1 did a great job of establishing the backstories of its main characters, which is one of the reasons why the Netflix show was such a good adaptation of the manga. Oda has given all of the Straw Hats detailed backstories in the source material, and not just for the sake of worldbuilding. The pasts of Luffy and his friends are what define who they are today, meaning their origin stories are always brought up in some way. Naturally, there are characters whose complete origins cannot be revealed right away, such as Sanji or Robin.

Luffy vs. Crocodile’s First Fight Has To Be A Major Moment In Season 2

Crocodile has to feel like a major threat to Luffy.

Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and leader of the Baroque Works, is expected to be One Piece season 2’s main villain. Assuming One Piece will get to Arabasta already during season 2, there has to be at least two fights between Luffy and Crocodile. Luffy eventually defeats the big bad and helps Princess Vivi save the Kingdom of Arabasta, but their first encounter does not end well for the Straw Hat pirate. Crocodile easily defeats Luffy in their first fight and almost kills the show’s hero.

In a classic “anime time” trope, Crocodile announces that his fight against Luffy will last three minutes. As soon as the time was up, the villain took down Luffy and let him die. Fortunately for Luffy, Miss All Sunday Nico Robin saved him, a decision that would later grant her a place on the crew. The final battle of the Arabasta Saga is technically the most important one, but Luffy’s first fight against Crocodile is what sets the tone for the final arc. Its live-action counterpart must convey how strong and ruthless Crocodile is.

The Straw Hats’ Farewell To Vivi Must Be An Emotional Scene In Netflix’s One Piece

This classic One Piece scene has to work.

Whether Princess Vivi is a Straw Hat pirate comes down to semantics. From Luffy’s perspective, Vivi is and will always be a Straw Hat. She first meets the group during the Reverse Mountain arc as Miss Wednesday, with the series later revealing she had infiltrated the Baroque Works. Once Vivi tells Luffy of what is happening in Arabasta, they welcome her into the crew and promise to help her. Vivi participates in a couple of adventures with the Straw Hats, including Little Garden and Drum Island, before they head to Arabasta.

Aware that one of the members of the Baroque Works was a shapeshifter, the Straw Hats came up with a strategy to make sure they would not be fooled – they painted an x-mark on their wrists. More than a code to help them against Mr. 2, the x-mark became a symbol of the Straw Hats’ friendship with Vivi. At the end of One Piece’s second saga, Luffy and his friends raise their arms and show off their marks as they bid farewell to Vivi. It’s an emotional moment that only works if Vivi’s relationship with the Straw Hats is properly established.