Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece took fans and newcomers by surprise. Not because no one was expecting the release of the series, but because it was actually pretty good. A good pilot is one thing, but the bigger challenge would be to keep the high quality consistent.

This is where this next episode comes into play. As the first episode covered the entire Romance Dawn arc, this second episode would have to cover all of Orange Town, which it does. Orange Town is a tough one, as it introduces one of the series' most popular antagonists (and one of the strangest): Buggy the Clown and the Buggy Pirates.

So, how did they deal with this part of the series? Did they manage to keep the good quality that was present there in the first episode? Is it possible to really bring characters like these to life? Well, we’ll go through all that in a moment, but first, let’s do a quick summary of the events in the second episode!

The Man in the Straw Hat (Episode 2) | Summary & Recap

Cracking the Map

The episode opens on a flashback to ten years before the main story. A young Luffy eagerly shows off his new rubber powers at Makino's bar, impressing Shanks and amusing his crew. Shortly after, Luffy's joy turns to disappointment and sadness when Shanks reveals this is their last visit. His crew is leaving town permanently after this voyage. When Luffy asks if Shanks will ever return, the pirate says that this is farewell.

Back in the present day, Nami finally manages to crack open Morgan’s safe and get her hands on the map to the Grand Line. With Luffy oblivious about navigation, Nami gives him (and the viewers) a thorough lesson on their world's geography. The planet is encircled by the massive continent-spanning Grand Line and Red Line which divide the globe into four linked oceans.

As Nami shares her skepticism about the legendary One Piece’s existence, their chat is interrupted by an ambush. Buggy the Clown's crew suddenly attacks, knocking them out with a mysterious red gas.

The Man With the Red Nose

The trio awakens caged in a circus tent, surrounded by scores of chained-up villagers who are forced to cheer the flamboyant show at gunpoint. The villainous Buggy dramatically reveals he also seeks the One Piece treasure and the map of the treacherous Grand Line. Nami cleverly finds a way to escape by exposing Luffy's rubber powers to the crowd.

Once outside the tent, she's horrified to see Orange Town's state under Buggy's iron-fisted rule. Her shock froze her in her tracks, allowing her to be recaptured by Buggy's men. Buggy instantly recognizes Luffy's straw hat as it once belonged to his old crewmate, Red-Haired Shanks. He asks Luffy if he also feels betrayed by the infamous pirate.

Chop-Chop Battlegrounds

Meanwhile, Zoro faces off with Buggy's vengeance-seeking crewmate Cabaji, who subjects Zoro to a deadly knife-throwing act while he's bound to a spinning wheel. Nami carefully picks the lock of her birdcage prison and launches a surprise attack on Cabaji, assisting Zoro's escape.

Now freed from captivity, the pair rush to save Luffy from agonizing drowning in a water torture tank Buggy designed to exploit Luffy's Devil Fruit weakness. Though they arrive just in time to rescue their captain, the precious map still ends up in Buggy's grasping hands regardless.

After a bombastic battle against Buggy's formidable chop-chop Devil Fruit powers, Luffy manages to seal away his severed body parts inside a chest, reclaiming the stolen map and freeing the grateful citizens of Orange Town from tyranny.

In a subplot at the Shells Town Marine base, Koby tells Vice Admiral Garp about his past friendship with Luffy. He then courageously dedicates himself to the Marines who now vow to hunt down Straw Hat Luffy.

A Promise That Binds

As Luffy and his small crew sail onwards, he recalls his tearful promise made to Shanks as a child - to one day become a great pirate in his own right, return the treasured straw hat, and surpass the legendary man who inspired his epic journey. In an act of selfless heroism, Shanks had sacrificed his left arm to save young Luffy from the monstrous jaws of the sea beast.

Back in the present day, Nami fixes Luffy's straw hat after it was cut during his battle with Buggy. Luffy’s unwavering resolve to accomplish his dream to find the One Piece remains stronger than ever. Meanwhile, the sneaky navigator secretly informs a mysterious contact that she's succeeded in acquiring the valuable map.

The Man in the Straw Hat (Episode 2) | Analysis and Review

A Chilling Take on a Classic Villain

This arc was an important test for the live action. It had to depict one of the most iconic and bombastic antagonists of the series, clown pirate Buggy. His Devil Fruit is very unique and could be a difficult thing to pull off. There is also the emotional element of this arc, regarding the plights of Chouchou the dog and the citizens of Orange Town.

When we put it like that, there are some clear strengths in this episode, but also some weaknesses we just can’t let slide by. For an adaptation, we have to talk about how the characters are adapted to this new live-action world, but also how the story is portrayed. With a story as big as this one, you have to make some tough decisions when it comes to cutting parts of the story.

There are some things that immediately jump into our attention when we watch this episode. The biggest of which is the completely different approach to the arc when compared to the source material.

Necessary Departures | Anime vs Manga

Any fan of the manga knows that by this point Nami was not traveling with Luffy and Zoro, so the arrival on this island was completely different. When it comes to the island, Buggy’s control and plans are very different. A lot of this comes down to Buggy’s character and the changes made between the two series. That’s where things really get interesting.

We all know that Buggy is one of the funniest and weirdest antagonists in the series, and of course, he has to be. He is a clown after all! But clowns are not all just fun and laughs. Some of them can be downright creepy. As it happens, the original Buggy was more the former. He’s a goofy, cartoony, and dumb pirate clown who happens to luck into all of his accomplishments.

The Netflix live-action adaptation went more in the other direction. They made him a truly chilling and terrifying clown. In “The Man in the Straw Hat,” Buggy is a terrifying clown with a taste for torturing and crime, who has taken a whole town hostage as spectators/slaves in his circus of madness.

This carnival of craziness was set in a completely destroyed Orange Town, as the Buggy Pirates destroyed it and took over. This is a dark twist and, even though it is pretty different from the original, it somehow still works great. It also manages to hit some of the most important beats of the source material.

The circus was an excellent way to make the scenery more manageable, as they spent a majority of the episode inside this tent. One important part missing from the circus, however, was the absence of Richie, Mohji's pet lion. There could be some budgetary reasons for this, but it seems more likely that he was cut for time. That way, we can focus on the new take on Buggy.

The Chouchou Conundrum and Shanks’ Sacrifice

The One Piece fans reading this will be quick to point out that there’s an important narrative moment that cannot take place here if we are trapped inside a tent and there’s no Richie. Of course, that’s Chouchou. For someone who has never seen the source material, the backstory of a town’s dog may not be that relevant, but we know it’s an important emotional piece of the series.

For those unaware, Chouchou was an adorable dog who protected the local pet food store from Buggy and his crew. He stood vigil, keeping the store under his keen watch in honor of his dead owner. Luffy meets the dog after he accidentally eats the key to Luffy’s cage. They tussle, leading to Mohji and Richie attacking them, injuring Chouchou. Mohji burns down the pet food store. Luffy is able to rescue some food from the store for the beloved guardian.

Personally, I think Chouchou backstory is one of those things that hook the viewers and readers into the series. This moment is incredibly emotional and it also helps the narrative in portraying a somewhat more empathic Luffy. While we do get to see a couple of seconds of little Chouchou as the Straw Hats leave Orange Town, the decision to cut this was something that caught me off guard, given how much time and impact this part of the story has.

There’s another important moment for the series in this episode and that’s Shanks losing his arm to save Luffy. I’ve got to be honest with you, this version was excellent. Not only was the Sea King huge and terrifying, but it looked amazing. Peter Gadiot (Shanks) was really on point here.

Overall Score: 8/10

This episode had so much to prove and in many ways it delivered. It also taught us some more important things regarding how directly they are making the adaptation from the source material. Of course, we’ve been told many times that the show is overseen by Eiichiro Oda himself, so we have to assume that any narrative change must have been approved by him. But I believe that as real fans, it is part of our responsibility to view the show and be honest with our opinions.

In this episode, we get to see more of the chemistry between the nakamas, but I do have to mention that Zoro’s affection for Luffy seems a bit strange here, considering the swordsman didn’t join in the same terms as the source material. So, when he openly and straightforwardly claims that since Luffy came his life changed, that felt a little out of character here.

Even with that in mind, Mackenyu still did an incredible job portraying our favorite swordsman, just like Emily Rudd did a great job with Nami. Iñaki Godoy always feels as if you took Luffy straight out of the manga or anime and brought him to life, and here it keeps getting better.

The star of this episode is Jeff Ward as Buggy the Clown. This man really did a number on this portrayal, giving a completely new life and air to the character. This original rendition of Buggy is one of the best things we’ve seen in the series so far. This is the perfect person to adapt a bit differently since Buggy is a recurring antagonist and an important character in the series.

The visuals on this episode were excellent. I was a bit worried about the portrayal of Buggy’s Chop-Chop fruit powers, but they nailed it so perfectly. The same thing goes to the Sea King eating Shanks’ arm, which easily could have looked hacky and bad. This just goes to show that the production value here and the effort they are putting in this series is on another level.

I think the idea of Buggy enslaving the entire town for his mad circus is a shockingly evil thing to do for the Buggy Pirates, even though they are, after all, pirates. It was also a great solution for keeping the show on track and managing to keep the narrative of Orange Town in just a single episode. I still think that the lack of Chouchou’s story is a miss, but given all the hits, we can’t just throw it all out because of that.

Overall, this episode was great. I loved seeing this version of Buggy and Jeff Ward’s performance was simply amazing. This is an excellent example of what they are capable of doing when they have to divert from the source material in order to create their own live-action version.