One Pieceseason 2 will end at Drum Island, meaning the Netflix show has the chance to turn a joke anime character into one of its best villains. EasilyNetflix’s best live-action anime adaptation,One Pieceseason 1 covered the East Blue saga and is now moving to Arabasta. Surprisingly, though,One Pieceseason 2will not cover the actual Arabasta arc. It will instead only cover Loguetown, Reverse Mountain, Whisky Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island, thus saving the Arabasta segment for season 3. This means thatDrum Island will be even more important in live-action.
The fact thatDrum Island will beOne Pieceseason 2’s final arcmeans that it will have to deliver not only a good adaptation of Chopper’s origin story but also a set of episodes that conclude the season on a high note. In season 1, the fight against Arlong for Nami’s freedom was the closing act of the story, with Loguetown being saved for season 2. One interesting outcome ofOne Pieceseason 2 not covering Arabasta is thatWapol might have to be a more serious, high-stakes villain compared to his anime counterpart.
Wapol Could Become One Piece Season 2’s Final Villain
Given that Wapol is the main villain of the Drum Island arc, he may also be the final villain ofOne Pieceseason 2 considering the show will not get to Arabasta just yet. Born as prince of Drum Island,Wapol grew up to be a fool, selfish monarch who was willing to do the most awful things to keep his power.This includes banning all doctors but one from his country so that people would have no choice but to come for him when needing medical help, which Wapol believed would keep him in power forever no matter what.
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Miss All Sunday
While Wapol’s plan to cast out doctors was quite sinister, the character himself was always portrayed as silly and pathetic. However, whileOne Piece’s castis full of silly characters that can be threatening depending on the situation, Wapol might need to be portrayed as a scarier, more effective antagonist if he is to be the final villain of the season.Drum Island will not be “just an arc” in season 2 but rather its final chapterand prelude to season 3, meaning that everything about it should feel big and have high stakes.
Buggy The Clown Proved Netflix’s One Piece Can Make Funny Characters Menacing
Live-Action Buggy Felt Both Silly And Scary
One Piececreator Eiichiro Odais a master at making silly characters feel threatened and vice versa, which is something that the Netflix show captured very well. A live-action series is expected to feel slightly more grounded and serious than an anime, andOne Piecemanaged to do it without losing track of what makes the source material so great. For example,One Piece’s live-action Buggy the Clown was as funny as his manga counterpart but in a different way.Live-action Buggy felt very menacing despite his silliness, which is exactly what they should do with Wapol.
Wapol ate the Munch-Munch Fruit, which allows him to eat virtually anything.
Although Buggy eventually becomes more important to the story than anyone could have expected, he is introduced as somewhat of a joke villain. Netflix’sOne Piececould have easily made fun of Buggy without portraying him as an actual menacing antagonist, a mistake that the show thankfully avoided. The series now faces a similar challenge with Wapol, particularly because everything suggests that the king of Drum Island will beOne Pieceseason 2’s “final boss.’Wapol shouldn’t be as serious as Arlong, yet he must also not be just a joke villain with no other qualities.
Wapol Being A Serious Villain Would Make Chopper’s Story More Meaningful
Chopper’s Backstory Is Tragic And Emotional
Chopper’s live-action debut was going to be a huge moment no matter what, but the fact that it will happen in the final arc of season 2 makes it even more special. Wapol is to blame for much of the tragedy that Chopper went through, which is why Netflix’sOne Piecemust get the Drum Island villain right.Chopper has an incredibly sad backstory that is essential to understanding his characterand why he loves practicing medicine, and the live-action version should hit as hard as the one in the source material did.
One Piece Season 2 Will Begin An Usopp Story The Manga Took A Quarter Of A Century To Pay Off
One Piece season 2 will adapt one of Usopp’s most character-defining stories for live-action - one the manga took more than 20 years to resolve.
One Pieceseason 1 did a fairly good job at portraying the Straw Hats’ backstories, although some changes were made. Making Wapol a more serious villain does not mean changing the essence of the character, who should still be somewhat funny and often feel like a joke. However, he and his allies must possess an actual threat to Luffy and the rest of the crew, all of whom should be stronger now than they were when they defeated Arlong.
One Piece
Cast
One Piece follows young pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his diverse crew as they embark on a daring quest for treasure. Released in 2023, the film brings the adventurous world of the popular manga to life, capturing Luffy’s relentless pursuit of the legendary One Piece treasure.
