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Lately, Netflix hasn’t been known to roll the dice as often as it used to, but there is still a bit of gambling spirit in them as they approach the second season of their live-action One Piece adaptation. Not only are they bravely attempting to bring Tony Tony Chopper to life before our eyes but the upcoming season is also set to stop halfway through the Alabasta Saga rather than give us the conclusion to the story we’ve been waiting for. It might not give us everything we want from season two but it will certainly set the stage for the yet-unannounced season three of One Piece.

In a recent announcement for Eiichiro Oda himself, it was confirmed that Netflix’s One Piece show would adapt through the Drum Island arc during season two. While this is widely considered the first great arc of the manga and will provide a suitably emotional resolution for the season, it won’t really do much to wrap up the ongoing plot. The Alabasta arc, which immediately follows Drum Island, is where the payoff from everything the Straw Hats do from the moment they enter the Grand Line comes in.

The decision to cut season two off after Drum Island is almost certainly the correct one from a pacing point of view – far less of the material in this part of the manga feels extraneous, so cutting it would leave a big hole in fans’ hearts. Rather than make everything feel rushed by cramming it into one season, Netflix is showing a surprising amount of patience and faith that fans will stick around for another season of the show by using season two to set things up for season three.

Their recent casting announcements highlight this strategy. Anime and manga fans know that Miss Wednesday is really Nefertari Vivi, princess of Alabasta on a mission to save her homeland from Baroque Works, but all the PR around Charithra Chandran’s casting as the character leaves out this vital fact. Sure, it is a spoiler, but it is for something more than 20 years old. If we had to guess, it is because that reveal isn’t happening until later in the show than in the manga. The big reveal could happen sometime during the Drum Island arc to help set up what is coming in the eventual season three of the show.

What makes this a risky strategy by the showrunners is that Netflix hasn’t yet announced that season three of One Piece is in the works. In a (seemingly unlikely) scenario where the third season isn’t produced, this will leave the second season feeling distinctly unfinished when compared to the largely self-contained season one. However, considering how much Netflix seems to have benefited from their One Piece adaptation in 2023, it seems like a reasonable leap of faith for the team. And if it pushes Netflix to give us one more season of the show, it was worth it.

THE ONE PIECE IS REAL...ly important to Popverse! That's why we've put together the key articles to keep your fandom of the manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action-show alive:

• How to watch One Piece One Piece in chronological and release order (All 1,100+ episodes plus the movies!)
• When the next episode of One Piece is coming
• The One Piece English cast shared the life lessons they've learned playing the Straw Hats for nearly 20 years
• Why One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy is the perfect hero for the dark times ahead
• Every difference between the live-action One Piece and the original manga
• One Piece Gear 5 Form: Everything we know about Luffy's latest transformation
• Wondering what ethnicity and nationality the One Piece pirates are? Here is what Oda himself has to say
• Ranking the One Piece anime's arcs, from best to worst
• Why is One Piece more popular now that the anime is 25 years old? We asked around and found out
• The English cast of One Piece explain what they love about Eiichiro Oda's storytelling - "He's a genius!"