I’m So Glad One Piece Is Not Skipping This Manga Arc After It Was Not Used In Season 1

My excitement for the live-action One Piece’s second season has just ratcheted up a notch, with more news about Loguetown’s appearance in the show’s upcoming episodes. This hallowed city of the East Blue was sadly lacking from the show’s first season, and hasn’t been the focus for buzz around season 2 either, with the journey to the Grand Line appearing to have taken priority.

Now, with the season’s filming all wrapped up, we’ve got a first look of One Piece’s Monkey D. Luffy and his crew in Loguetown during the 22nd anniversary celebrations of Gol D. Roger’s execution. Gol D. Roger’s legend places both his birth and his death in Loguetown, the town of the beginning and the end. So, Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates couldn’t be anywhere but there in the picture. This detail makes me even more convinced that the live-action series showrunners are putting fans of the manga first with their narrative choices.

One Piece Season Is Including Loguetown After Season 1 Skipped It

It Initially Looked Like Loguetown Wasn’t Included At All

Before Netflix released their photo of Iñaki Godoy and his fellow cast members in Loguetown earlier this month, I naturally assumed that One Piece’s live-action adaptation was skipping the characters' time in the city altogether. Arguably the best moment of the One Piece manga’s Loguetown Arc is the iconic barrel scene, in which each of the Straw Hat Pirates place their foot on a barrel aboard the Merry, and declare the dream they intend to fulfill. The Netflix show cherry-picked that scene and inserted it into the Arlong Park Arc at the end of its first season’s final episode.

The logical conclusion from the barrel scene was that the live-action One Piece had ditched the rest of the Loguetown Arc, as showrunners felt it was less of a priority to include than other story arcs. The surprise inclusion of Loguetown in season 2 is a cause for celebration because it shows that Matt Owens and his production team are going the extra mile to feature every aspect of the manga’s East Blue Saga, which is essential for a proper and faithful adaptation of the manga.

Why The Loguetown Arc Is So Important In One Piece

The Backstory Elements Of The Arc Make Luffy What He Is

Simply put, Loguetown is central to Monkey D. Luffy’s credentials for becoming King of the Pirates. The central hero of One Piece is growing into the image of his inspiration, the legendary captain of the Roger Pirates and owner of the One Piece treasure, Gol D. Roger. Without the full Loguetown Arc, we don’t learn about Roger’s importance to Luffy’s story, or the clear similarities between the two characters. It’s on Loguetown that Luffy sees the first bounty on his head, and laughs in the face of death when he’s seemingly about to be executed, just as Roger did.

There’s no other logical way to introduce Smoker than by Luffy and his crew visiting Loguetown.

The Loguetown Arc also features the return of antagonists Buggy and Alvida, and the introduction of Captain Smoker, who commands the city’s marine base. Smoker will appear again as an adversary of the Straw Hats in future arcs, and will be central to the Arabasta Arc we expect to see in season 3 of the live-action series. There’s no other logical way to introduce him than by Luffy and his crew visiting Loguetown, which is why the inclusion of this arc is ultimately the right decision. What’s more, it could give us our first glimpse in the live-action One Piece of Luffy’s father Monkey D. Dragon.

How Many Episodes One Piece Season 2 Will Dedicate To Loguetown

The Showrunners Have A Lot To Juggle For An 8-Episode Season

Luffy from Netflix's One Piece and a map of the Grand Line

The only concern I have about Loguetown now being included in One Piece season 2 is that it gives the show’s writers an awful lot to do. If the second season is going to comprise eight episodes as the first did, that doesn’t leave much time for them to round out the Grand Line’s Drum Island Arc. The Straw Hat Pirates have Loguetown, Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak and Little Garden to get through before they even reach Drum Island.

Although I’m glad that One Piece will have a live-action Loguetown, I hope season 2 doesn’t dwell on this arc for too long. There’s a lot to get excited about in terms of the visual depiction of the city, but Loguetown shouldn’t take up too much space in the story. One episode should be enough to cover the arc’s main action, with two episodes also feasible if the showrunners want to give Smoker, Alvida and Buggy their due. The most significant thing we’ll get to see, though, is Luffy coming to terms with the history he’s emulating as a Straw Hat Pirate.