Live-Action One Piece Actually Improves One Manga Character

In a world of absolutely terrible anime adaptations, Netflix’s live-action One Piece achieves the impossible by living up to the original manga series by Eiichiro Oda. It’s a faithful, loving, but still occasionally surprising interpretation of the story that both newcomers and die-hard Luffy fans can enjoy, and that trend continues in season 2.

As fantastic as One Piece is in live-action, no one would ever suggest it surpasses the manga. Eiichiro Oda’s story is so revered, it’s up there with the works of William Shakespeare as an example of human storytelling. No one, not even the show’s own creators, could expect live-action One Piece to beat its source material, and that’s okay.

Nevertheless, there are a specific few elements that live-action One Piece does better than the anime and manga, and one of those is season 2 character Bartolomeo.

Live-Action One Piece Makes Bartolomeo’s Story Better Than The Manga

Bartolomeo debuts in chapter #705 of the One Piece manga as a pirate captain who idolizes Straw Hat Luffy. Flashbacks reveal Bartolomeo was actually present in Loguetown when Luffy narrowly avoided execution, and that he’s been in awe of the Straw Hat captain ever since. After assisting in the defeat of Doflomingo’s pirate crew at Dressrosa, Bartolomeo’s “Barto Club” officially joins the Straw Hat family as part of Luffy’s grand fleet.

Bartolomeo is a great character in Oda’s story, but he comes out of nowhere. The comic doesn’t offer much information to explain why Bartolomeo is such a dedicated Luffy supporter, nor does it account for where the sharp-fanged thief has been for the sizable chunk of narrative between Loguetown and Dressrosa.

The biggest manga deviation in One Piece season 2 is that Luffy and Bartolomeo interact at Loguetown. We see Barto underestimating Straw Hat and being proved wrong. We see Luffy inspiring Barto with talk of dreams and goals. We see Barto witnessing Luffy’s immense spirit when he has a front row seat to the botched execution. We see Barto cowering as the Straw Hats valiantly duel two separate pirate crews and the marines.

Suddenly, Bartolomeo becoming enamored with Straw Hat Luffy makes a lot more sense. It isn’t just about him being in the crowd when the Straw Hat captain laughs in the face of certain death. During the brief time they spend together, Luffy has a profound impact on this young man struggling to make his way in the world (and failing spectacularly at being a petty thief).

Now that Bartolomeo has made his live-action bow, Netflix’s One Piece can continue checking in with him across future seasons, allowing fans to see how the Barto Club grows as it follows Luffy’s path across the Grand Line.

Bartolomeo Is A Perfect Example Of One Piece Positively Changing The Manga

Rewriting source material is usually the quickest way for any live-action adaptation to shed fans, but live-action Bartolomeo is a perfect example of using creative license for good.

When Oda first sat down to draw the Loguetown arc, he hadn’t yet conceived the idea of Bartolomeo as a character. Luffy’s number one fan was a retroactive addition via flashbacks only. But if Oda had imagined Bartolomeo right at the start, the character likely would have played a more significant role at Loguetown, interacting with Luffy and teasing his future as a huge Luffy stan.

It’s also important to remember that Oda is heavily involved in Netflix’s live-action One Piece series, so any major changes to the manga were probably approved by the man himself. Season 2’s Bartlomeo story is perhaps a reflection of how Oda would rewrite Loguetown if he could go back in time and incorporate ideas he added to canon much later.

This is the big advantage that adapting One Piece in live-action brings – not changing canon, but using the power of hindsight to make logical, sensible tweaks that enhance the story’s overall cohesion.