A massive upcoming villain in Netflix’s live-action One Piece means season 2 must give Monkey D. Luffy a secret power that would otherwise have manifested much later in his journey. Eschewing the typical pitfalls of Netflix’s live-action anime adaptations, One Piece was roundly praised as a faithful and worthy adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s legendary manga and anime series. One Piece season 1 made minimal deviations from Oda’s East Blue saga, but did sprinkle in a handful of significant changes. A major upcoming villain could force season 2 to make another.
Exactly which manga chapters One Piece season 2 will adapt is currently unclear, but it is reasonable to assume that Netflix’s sophomore run will cover the Alabasta saga. Luffy’s next major opponent after defeating Arlong is Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords and the oppressor of Alabasta, so it would be logical for One Piece season 2 to end with the climactic fight between Luffy and Crocodile. An unintentional consequence of introducing Crocodile, however, is that Netflix’s One Piece would also need to introduce a brand-new Monkey D. Luffy power.
Netflix’s One Piece Season 2 Must Now Introduce Luffy’s Haki (Because Of Crocodile)
Netflix’s One Piece season 1 introduced Devil Fruits as the main source of power in its fictional universe, but those not-so-tasty treats are only half of the equation. The other power commonly used by strong pirates in One Piece is Haki – a multipurpose ability that anyone can wield with enough talent and training. It was relatively late in the manga that Oda properly introduced Haki, but if Crocodile is cast as One Piece season 2’s final villain, the Netflix adaptation will have little choice but to begin showcasing Haki way earlier than the source material.
The late debut of Haki in One Piece created a plot hole around why top-tier pirates who definitely should have been trained in Haki didn’t use it during their early appearances, and Crocodile is one of the most egregious examples of this problem. As a Warlord, Crocodile should have been proficient in Haki, but never used the ability during his battle against Luffy in Alabasta. The real-life reason for this is obviously because Oda hadn’t yet invented the Haki concept when he was writing those chapters, but the inconsistency is harder to explain from an in-universe perspective.
Netflix’s One Piece adaptation has the benefit of hindsight, so can weave examples of Haki usage into season 2’s Luffy vs. Crocodile battle in a way the anime and manga never could. Not only would this avert the inexplicable oddity of having a Seven Warlords-level pirate who doesn’t know his Conqueror’s from his Kenbunshoku, it would add a fresh flavor to One Piece season 2’s action scenes after season 1’s fights were enthusiastically praised.
Haki In One Piece Season 2 Would Improve Luffy’s Story Too
Beyond just avoiding a plot hole with Crocodile’s powers, debuting Haki early could also benefit Luffy’s story. Not only is Luffy one of the most powerful Haki users in the entire One Piece cast, he also possesses Conqueror’s Haki – the one form that users must be born with instead of learning. While he cannot control it, therefore, Luffy can actually use Conqueror’s Haki already in Netflix’s One Piece. Again, the only reason this power didn’t manifest more often in One Piece‘s earlier chapters was because the idea had not yet formed in Oda’s brain.
As Crocodile’s villainous Baroque Works organization pushes the Straw Hats to their limits in One Piece season 2, Luffy’s hidden Conqueror’s Haki ability may begin creeping out. It also makes sense that Luffy seeing Crocodile use Haki would stoke Luffy’s interest in his own abilities, which would then lead neatly toward One Piece season 3’s potential main villain, Enel, who uses a power called Mantra that Oda later confirmed to be an early version of Haki. Put simply, Netflix’s One Piece will save itself a lot of trouble in future seasons if it debuts the idea of Haki in season 2.
Haki Has Already Appeared In Netflix’s One Piece
Enel’s Mantra is not the only One Piece power that has been retroactively attributed to Haki. In both the live-action and original versions of One Piece, Luffy’s flashbacks see Red-Haired Shanks scare away a sea beast with one glare. While this scene was initially just Shanks intimidating the creature into running away, One Piece later clarified that Shanks was using Conqueror’s Haki. This makes the ability even easier to include in One Piece season 2. If Luffy sees Crocodile using Haki and begins to feel his own Conqueror’s ability simmering from within, he might make the connection to Shanks protecting him as a child.
None of these dots were joined in the original One Piece manga and anime, but only because the Haki concept was not yet developed. Netflix’s adaptation has the opportunity to do what Eiichiro Oda probably would have done if Haki was part of his One Piece world from the very beginning by confirming Crocodile as a Haki user, building intrigue over Luffy’s ability to wield Conqueror’s Haki, and reexamining Shanks’ confrontation with the sea monster from season 1.
One Piece (Live-Action)
- Release Date
- August 31, 2023
- Cast
- Iñaki Godoy , Mackenyu , Emily Rudd , Jacob Romero Gibson , Taz Skylar
- Seasons
- 1
- Streaming Service(s)
- Netflix
