When I got a job at a geek shop in Oslo, there was a large section with manga books that I often stood and looked at with interest. Over the years, I bought countless volumes of Attack on Titan, Full Metal Alchemist, Fairy Tale, and One Piece, among others. I have thus followed Monkey D. Luffy in cartoon form for many years, and even though I haven't read all of the more than 100 manga volumes - or seen a fraction of the more than 1,100 anime episodes - I have still followed Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, and Nami, who make up the Straw Hat Pirates, on many entertaining adventures. It's been just over two and a half years since we got to know them in live-action format on Netflix, and you can read our review of the first season here.
Now the whole gang is back. The journey from the East Blue Sea to the infamous Grand Line began in the first season, but at the same time there were a lot of introductions and other things to get through. So, as season two gets underway, we can say that the journey is both beginning in earnest and, above all, picking up speed. Conveniently, Luffy and the gang make an early first stop in Loguetown to seriously prepare for the upcoming dangerous journey that will take them up Reverse Mountain and then finally to the Grand Line, where Season 2 takes place. It quickly becomes clear that the second season raises both the tempo and production levels a few notches and it's a really entertaining journey to follow.
The design of the locations is fantastic, and it's clear that Netflix has pumped a lot of money into the production of the series.
My first thought about the whole thing is that it's a bit like experiencing a Japanese role-playing game. A kind of road trip... sorry, boat trip, where we follow this strange gang on their journey from one island to another. Each stop naturally involves adventures and dangers of various kinds, where dangers lurk in the places they visit, and since they are pirates, they are also wanted, much to the delight of the charismatic, eccentric, and naïve captain Luffy. The pace is fast, and even though the formula itself is quite predictable in how the episodes follow each other, after the first two episodes I am completely sold. The first half of this season is incredibly charming and entertaining in every way, and despite some rather repetitive action sequences and similar approaches to how the journey progresses, it never loses its heart or pace.
However, it starts to falter a bit in the second half of the season, as if the famous problem of the episodes being a little too long is brought up too often. At the same time, there are a lot of stories and characters to be presented and given space, and it's not always possible to achieve a perfect balance. Somewhat similar events pile up on top of each other, and as fun as it is to see Luffy swing his rubber arms or Zoro show off his sword skills, it becomes a bit too repetitive.
Thankfully, One Piece has a huge gallery of colourful characters to mix and match, where no hairstyle, outfit or make-up is too crazy to fit in. Sure, it's a bit of a cosplay warning at times, but you buy it when everything else is so crazily designed. Telephones are enormous snails, one of the new main characters constantly walks around with two cigars in the corner of his mouth and the rest in his jacket pockets. We encounter giants and talking animals, and both heroes and villains shout out the names of their special attacks before executing them... Yes, hopefully you get the point. One Piece is fantasy in every magical way imaginable and you have to try to ignore the fact that some things look a little ridiculous, because that's how it is and that's how it should be, and I get caught up in all the madness that happens. One Piece is a happy pill in so many ways, from the beautiful visuals to the characters, the design of the environments, and most importantly, it works very well.
Chopper appears and is adorable!
Already in the first season, most people, including me, were satisfied with how it looked and how entertaining it actually was. I often think it works even better in season two. In many ways, I think this is as good as it gets when translating the whole thing from cartoon to "reality". Sure, changes have to be made and events have to be cut, but it's clear that there's a fantastic source material to draw from and that it's been about making it all work in this format. For the most part, it does, with a few exceptions regarding pacing and certain characters tending to disappear for long periods of time as if they don't really know what to do with them all.
Overall, however, it's very playful, charming, and after watching the eight episodes of the second season (all of which are about an hour long) in a single day, it really feels like I've experienced and been part of an incredibly grand adventure. When the credits rolled on the last episode, there was one thing in particular that made me very happy, and that is that the series has been renewed for a third season. Sure, the wait will be long, but I'm already looking forward to more adventures on the high seas.