The heroes of One Piece might require a bit of unpacking for newcomers, but the villains are often where the series really cuts loose. The second episode of Netflix's live-action take on Eiichiro Oda's beloved manga and anime demonstrates that truth with a deeper dive into Luffy's backstory and a long look into the big-top world of Buggy the Clown.
"The Man in the Straw Hat" was directed by Marc Jost, as was the first outing. Ian Stokes steps in to write the episode's script. Stokes, like the previous and future episodes' writers, cut his teeth on several episodes of Marvel Netflix shows. Something about adapting comic books well enough gave Netflix the idea that these writers would handle manga well, and it's working out so far.
In its second episode, One Piece has demonstrated an anarchic willingness to play fast and loose with multiple genres. "Romance Dawn" felt like the typical combination of slapstick comedy and swashbuckling action, but this episode adds a shockingly large dollop of slasher horror. Luffy, Zoro, and Nami wind up under the thumb of the deadly pirate Buggy the Clown. Buggy is far from the comedically overconfident blowhard of the anime. He's still obsessed with his image and dedicated to flashiness, but the show depicts him somewhere between the Joker and Pennywise. He traps the burgeoning Straw Hat crew on his circus-inspired barge to torture them for the map of the Grand Line. He has chained up the population of Shells Town to serve as a captive audience. It's a lot darker than one might expect this show to go, but it works surprisingly well. The horror elements serve to remind the audience of the unique gradient of power in anime like One Piece. Buggy is scary to the Straw Hats at the moment, but fighting him on equal footing is all the more epic for that fear.
Between clown-based horror scenes, this episode takes time to flesh out more of Luffy's backstory. The live-action recreation of the iconic scene in which Luffy gets his hat is here at last. Shanks is brought to life well as a pirate so assured of himself that he barely has to try. Peter Gadiot is solid in the role, and it's hard not to like the guy. He and his crew represent an interesting best-case scenario for sea bandits. It all starts to feel a bit like a superhero origin story as Luffy trains to use his newfound rubber powers and tangles with a needlessly rude goon. Shanks is a charming father figure for the boy, providing some genuine pathos when young Luffy promises to outdo him one day. The straw hat is a crucial symbol for the series, and this episode does a decent job of establishing its emotional weight.
Elements of the presentation of Netflix's One Piece will surely irk longtime fans. The obvious constraint is time. This 8-hour series sets out to adapt around 15 hours of anime. Some things will hit the cutting room floor. Some fight scenes that were well-loved by fans will be reduced to single exchanges. Some lovable characters will be reduced to cameos. This necessity of the adaptation will irritate some, but anyone who isn't squarely devoted to the original work will likely fail to notice. The show plays with the pieces it's been given well, and though newcomers will miss out on some fun moments, there's a long-running anime for that. This live-action take on the material is very faithful, but it can still be felt struggling against its new medium.
Playing with tone and genre is an excellent way to capture some of the original series' anarchic energy. There are scary scenes and characters in One Piece, but they tend to be framed as setups for action scenes rather than genuine horror moments. Since the live-action format necessitates a reduction of on-screen chaos, consistent drastic tonal shifts could keep things from feeling stale. It's unclear whether One Piece can maintain its current level of energy, and the drastic changes in presentation may turn some viewers away. However, this is a good sign of things to come. After all, plenty of people are turned off by the anime's weird creative choices. It's good to see the live-action adaptation declare it's about fun first and mass-market appeal second.
One Piece remains an inoffensive addition to the overall franchise. It was never going to replace the iconic anime or manga. All it could ever hope to do was pad the already enormous legacy of this ever-popular anime phenomenon. So far, it's a fun way to experience some of the early beats of this impossibly long-running story. Maybe it'll open the door to a new generation of fans who are so inspired by its no-frills swashbuckling adventure atmosphere that they sit down to binge the anime. The bar is low, but Luffy eagerly leaps over it with a flourish.