That said, at the same time, Season 2 of One Piece is also being analyzed in terms of the all the ways it deviates from the source material. Arguably, these changes have been for the better, and it seems like One Piece’s creator also agrees, giving his stamp of approval along with his favorite scenes in a new interview.
One Piece Creator Admits Netflix’s Live-Action Plans Are Way Bigger Than Fans Think
Netflix’s most ambitious live-action anime adaptation ever gets yet another promising endorsement straight from the creator himself.
Eiichiro Oda’s Favorite Moment From One Piece Season 2 Isn’t Even Canon
Netflix recently dropped the first episode of its new One Piece Season 2 podcast, starting out strong with Iñaki Godoy, who of course, plays Luffy, and One Piece’s creator himself, Eiichiro Oda. As seen in a clip shared on X by @pewpiece, during the podcast, Godoy asked Oda what his top three moments were from Season 2; moments that he thought the live-action series had absolutely nailed.
Surprisingly enough, Oda’s first favorite moment from Season 2 was that of Luffy singing Binks’ Brew to Laboon from Episode 2, which was completely original to the live-action adaptation. Oda even noted that this was something that had been changed from the manga, but was “a memorable one for sure.”
Top three? In terms of something that changed from the manga, I love the scene where you [Iñaki Godoy] sing to Laboon. That’s a memorable one, for sure.
As for the other two top moments from Season 2, Oda’s picks were just as surprising as his first, with the creator spotlighting the two biggest debuts of the new season.
One Piece’s Creator Spotlights Two New Season 2 Stars
As for his second favorite moment from Season 2, Oda picked the emotional finale of the Drum Island Arc from Episode 8, specifically the iconic scene of Chopper crying from having finally witnessed the cherry blossoms Dr. Hiruluk always talked about. While this moment in the anime did eventually evolve into an internet meme, the live-action did manage to adapt Chopper’s tearful expression in a much more somber fashion.
Also, I’m pretty sure the last scene with Chopper turned out pretty well. And Charithra plays a prominent role and gives a great performance. That’s worth highlighting.
Lastly, for his third pick, One Piece’s creator gave a much-deserved shout out to Charithra Chandran and her performance as Vivi, definitively shutting down all the initial criticism surrounding the casting one last time. Chandran, like the rest of the live-action cast, was handpicked by Oda from the very start, and her stellar performance in Season 2 only goes to show that Oda made the right decision all along.
All that said, the podcast episode with Godoy and Oda is packed with plenty more nuggets of insight, and there’s no doubt future episodes starring the rest of the cast will follow suit. The podcast is listed with six episodes in all, with two out on Netflix so far, which should be plenty to keep fans of One Piece company between binges or rewatches of Season 2 this weekend.