On to episode 2 of One Piece! The first episode proved to be a faithful adaptation even while moving things around, will episode 2 keep the momentum? Let’s find out…
1. Crew Chemistry
One of the most important elements of One Piece is the crew and their chemistry. Last episode I touched on how well each of the actors embodies the characters, but the real test is how well they get along.
So far, it’s been solid. While Luffy brings optimistic energy and an insistence that they’d make a great team, Zoro and Nami have been sniping at each other, providing a bit of conflict. But as the episode goes on, they have no choice but to trust each other, and we see them start to work better together. Zoro, too, winds up fully on Luffy’s side by the end of the episode, admitting that he believes in his new captain (or rather, he doesn’t need to, because Luffy believes in himself enough).
This also gives us more material for Nami, as her hatred for pirates is made more clear, even as Luffy insists that he’s a different kind of pirate (a line that repeats itself near the end, once he proves it) and as she sees the damage Buggy’s crew did to the town they’re on. We also get to see her thieving skills in action, although the last episode gave us plenty of that too. Considering it’s setting the stage for Arlong Park, this is some solid setup.
2. Buggy the Clown
Episode 2 focuses on Buggy the Clown as the main antagonist, and this episode is a more significant divergence from the manga and anime than the last. While the manga and anime had Luffy and Zoro arrive at Orange Town to find it occupied by Buggy’s pirates, Nami infiltrating Buggy’s crew, a dog defending his home, and battles against Buggy’s crew, this episode handled it all quite differently.
Instead, Buggy and his crew go after Luffy to steal the Grand Line map, then bring them to Orange Town (although they never mention the name), where Buggy has already captured all the villages and chained them to their seats so they have to watch his circus and applaud as demanded. (Yes, they’re literally a captive audience.) Buggy then tries to torture Luffy to get the map from him, until Zoro and Nami rescue him.
Buggy himself is less shouty than his anime and manga counterpart, but is portrayed in a way that’s even more threatening. While he’s still Buggy the Clown, he’s less “ha-ha funny like a clown” and more of a creepy clown that would fit right in with Pennywise and The Dark Knight’s Joker, only with more of a flair for showmanship.
Yet in spite of all these changes, there are still several key elements that remain. Buggy’s crew is still very much visually accurate to their manga and anime counterparts, Buggy still has an explosive temper if anyone says something even close to mentioning his nose, his powers work the same, his shared backstory with Shanks remains, he still pisses Luffy off by damaging the straw hat, and he’s still defeated in the same way. Additionally, the damage he’s done to the town is still quite severe, even if we don’t see his “Buggy Bombs” in action.
The episode also makes a change to Cabaji, one of Buggy’s minions. Instead of making him a pirate that Zoro ends up fighting, Cabaji actually holds a grudge against Zoro for hunting them and killing his brother. It builds on Zoro’s past as a pirate hunter and creates more personal stakes, but mostly just sets up some nice one-liners from Zoro.
So Buggy and his crew serve as another example of how the adaptation can make changes while still remaining true to the core of the story and character. If any of the characters differed too much from their anime/manga counterparts, it would have been a bigger issue, but instead it’s a solid example of adaptation distillation.
3. Meet Garp
This episode also gives us some material that wasn’t in the manga, with Garp making an early appearance. Yes, he was in the last episode as well, both during the intro sequence with Gold Roger and at the end, but this is where he gets properly introduced (along with his assistant, Bogard).
Continued belowHis entrance is connected with Koby’s story, as the live action show will be following Koby and Helmeppo. In the manga, we see brief glances of what happens to them after Koby and Luffy parted ways, before making a reappearance after the Water 7 arc, while the anime provided a bit more of a look at their training.
For now, we’re given a solid introduction to Garp as he meets with Koby and discusses his connection to Luffy while determining Koby’s loyalty to the Marines. We see him punish Axe-Hand Morgan for his corruption, placing him as one of the “good Marines,” but he’s also making it his mission to hunt Luffy down, and is taking Koby, Helmeppo, and the rest of the recruits with him, so it’s still placing him as an antagonist to our protagonist.
Fans of the original already know how the two are connected, but for now, it serves as a good setup that also kicks off the next stage in Koby’s character arc.
4. The Flashbacks
Episode 2 also concludes Luffy’s flashbacks from the previous episode, showing us not only how he got his powers, but his signature straw hat.
Like in the previous episode, this is very true to the manga and anime in all but a few minor ways (and it’s probably best that they didn’t show the mountain bandits beating up Luffy, so that’s a very reasonable change). Notably, most of the changes they did make serve more setup and foreshadowing for things that come way down the line—mainly in how Shanks shouting away the massive sea serpent (which was very nicely rendered, I might add) serves as a very early introduction to the concept of Haki.
The fight against the bandits is also given a slightly extended scene, showing off the strengths of multiple members of Shanks’ crew, rather than just defeating them quickly in a matter of panels. Perhaps most notably is how this gives Yasopp a chance to show off his marksmanship, because in a matter of episodes, we’re going to meet his son, Usopp.
But minor adjustments aside, it still takes us through Luffy’s backstory, down to Shanks losing an arm for him and the iconic “passing of the hat” scene, and how it establishes Luffy’s goal of becoming the king of pirates.
The flashbacks themselves are interspersed throughout the episode, usually when given a little setup from the topics of discussion, but it also nicely intersperses the flashback to young Luffy drowning with scenes of Luffy trapped in Buggy’s glass cage.
5. Foreshadowing and World Building
Yes, this episode did a lot to set up for future moments, some of which may not even happen for many a season (like Shanks’ use of Haki), and others that will pay off soon (like Yasopp’s larger role). But one of the biggest is the very end, where Nami gets a miniature Den Den Mushi/Transponder Snail (the snails they use as telephones) to contact an unknown associate. (Anime and manga fans know exactly who it is, but we’ll get to that later.)
Additionally, the episode takes a little time for some world building, as Makino explains how Devil Fruits work in Luffy’s flashback, and Nami explains what the Grand Line is, as well as how the world is divided into North/South/East/West Blue, the Red Line, and the Grand Line.
It’s nothing major, but it provides important setting information early on, so we as viewers can understand these concepts. Now it’s established that many different kinds of Devil Fruits and powers exist (which pays off quickly as we meet Buggy and see his Chop Chop Fruit powers in action), and we have an understanding of the world of One Piece. It’s important to establish this early on, so now we can enjoy the rest of the ride and see as the world widens.
So, episode 2 was certainly more of a departure from the original, but is still a solid example of adaptation distillation that maintains the important bits.
