One Piece Will Take Longer Than I Expected To Bring My Favorite Character To Live-Action

Nico Robin is my favorite Straw Hat pirate, and it will take longer than I expected for Netflix’s One Piece to introduce the true version of the character. After season 1 of the Netflix live-action adaptation covered the East Blue saga, I assumed that the second season was going to cover Arabasta in its entirety as well. However, One Piece season 2 will stop at Drum Island, with the Arabasta arc happening in the yet-to-be-confirmed season 3. In other words, One Piece‘s live-action show will not rush things.

Adapting Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece into a live-action show is not an easy task. From the complexity of the story to the number of characters and locations involved, One Piece is one of the most fascinating shonen manga of all time and has millions of fans around the world. Fortunately, One Piece season 1 did not disappoint and was arguably the best live-action anime adaptation we ever got from Hollywood. Still, with Arabasta only happening in season 3, it will take a while before the real Nico Robin appears on the show.

The Real Nico Robin Won’t Appear In Netflix’s One Piece Until After Arabasta

Robin Will Be In Her “Miss All Sunday” Era During Season 2

One Piece has already cast Nico Robin, with actress Lera Abova playing Miss All Sunday in the upcoming season. However, it is only after the Arabasta saga that we get to see who Robin really is. During Arabasta, Nico Robin is working for Crocodile as one of the members of Baroque Works and takes on the name of Miss All Sunday. The character essentially works as an antagonist during this saga, to the point where I’m assuming Miss All Sunday will be one of the main villains of Netflix’s One Piece season 2.

Luffy saving Miss All Sunday and later welcoming her into his crew is one of the greatest moments in One Piece, not only because it tells a lot about Luffy but also because it marks a shift in Robin’s story. We later learn that Nico Robin had been on her own since she was a child, but after meeting Luffy and his friends, she found herself a family. If One Piece season 3 does cover the rest of Arabasta, we should only get Robin as part of the crew in a potential season 4.

I’m Still Very Excited To See Miss All Sunday In One Piece Season 2

Revisiting Robin As A Villain Will Be A Lot Of Fun

The fact that Robin’s redemption arc (for lack of a better term) only happens at the very end of Arabasta does not mean that she will not be an interesting character in season 2. In fact, having followed Robin as one of our heroes for so long now, it will be fun to revisit her Miss All Sunday era in live-action. One Piece season 1 nailed its villains, from Axe-Hand Morgan to Arlong, and I cannot wait to see what they will do with Baroque Works in season 2.

Interestingly, assuming that Crocodile does not play a major role in season 2 and acts more as a mastermind hidden in the shadows, Robin could be the main villain of the season. In the source material, the Straw Hats only run into Miss All Sunday once before reaching Arabasta. However, Netflix’s One Piece is clearly not opposed to changing things – we got Arlong fighting Luffy at the Baratie after all. Robin is important enough a character to be the big bad of season 2 before Crocodile properly reveals himself.

It Will Take Even Longer For One Piece To Reveal Nico Robin’s Backstory

Robin’s Backstory Should Only Be Revealed During Enies Lobby

Robin joins the crew just in time for Skypiea, but it is only during Water 7 and Enies Lobby that we start to learn about her backstory. Part of what makes Robin and Luffy’s friendship so fascinating is that he does not care about her past and what secrets she might have – Robin is Luffy’s friend, and that is the only thing that matters to him. Therefore, I hope that the Netflix show doesn’t reveal too much about Robin and her past right away.

Related

I Don’t Know How One Piece Will End, But Netflix’s Live-Action Finale Will Be Completely Different From The Manga

It’s highly unlikely that Netflix’s One Piece will be able to adapt the entire manga, raising questions over how the live-action adaptation will end.

Assuming the show runs for long enough, One Piece season 4 would cover Skypiea, with Water 7 and Enies Lobby potentially happening in seasons 5 and 6 at the earliest. With how long streaming originals are taking to release new seasons, it may take quite a while before we get Nico Robin’s origin story in live-action. Regardless, I’m excited to see what the Netflix series does with the character, both as a villain in Arabasta and as a core member of the Straw Hat pirate crew in future seasons.

One Piece (Live-Action)

7/10

Release Date

August 31, 2023

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Matt Owens

Directors

Tim Southam, Marc Jobst, Josef Kubota Wladyka

Writers

Tiffany Greshler, Diego Gutierrez, Allison Weintraub, Lindsay Gelfand

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  Emily Rudd

  Monkey D. Luffy

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