One Piece: Season 2 First Reviews: Bigger, Better, Richer, and Even More Engaging than Season 1
Critics say it remains the high-water mark for live-action anime adaptations thanks to its charismatic cast, eye-popping action, unabashed wackiness, and love for the source material.
When Netflix announced it was adapting the long-running Japanese manga and anime series One Piece into a live-action series, fans were understandably a bit wary but hopeful nonetheless. Thankfully, with original manga author Eiichiro Oda on board as a consultant, the end result was a widely embraced success, with season 1 earning a Certified Fresh Tomatometer score of 86% and a Popcornmeter score of 95%. Naturally, fans couldn’t wait for the second season.
Well, One Piece: Season 2 (aka Into the Grand Line) is almost upon us, and the first reviews for it are even more effusive with praise than they were for season 1, with critics calling it an effective expansion of the story’s world, populated by fun characters and infused with an infectious energy.
Here’s what critics are saying about One Piece: Season 2:
We’re pleased to say it is bigger, better, and more ambitious in almost every way than its freshman voyage… The season is jam-packed with standout additions to the ever-expanding ensemble; each of them adds to the fray without the show ever feeling like it’s hitting capacity… One of the biggest jumps in the show’s ambition this season is easily the special effects, both in volume and quality.
— Alison Mattingly, Nerdist
This second season takes everything that worked in the first and expands on that even further with bigger stakes, better connections between the characters, and bolder choices to differentiate itself from both the manga and anime releases. It’s a swashbuckling adventure you won’t want to miss.
— Nick Valdez, ComicBook.com
One Piece: Into the Grand Line builds off the strong foundation its predecessor season laid, while continuing to address adaptation challenges… Instead of replicating the original serialization’s lengthy pacing, One Piece Season 2 compresses some of its worldbuilding so audiences can understand the characters and looming conflicts more cohesively… One Piece Season 2 is even bolder than its predecessor, raising the stakes with more ambitious action sequences and political intrigue, while staying true to the source material.
— LaNeysha Campbell, But Why Tho? A Geek Community
The show simply continues everything that worked about its debut… [Its] cast and characters remain a massive selling point… If I had one small gripe about One Piece season 2 in comparison to its predecessor, it would be that the expanded scope and character roster mean the individual character arcs are not quite as tightly written… If there is any benefit to waiting three years for One Piece season 2, it is the sheer scale of the show.
— Lewis Glazebrook, Screen Rant
All the cast now feel a lot more comfortable in their roles than last season. Godoy is just so great as Luffy; he brings all the exuberance, silliness, charm, and drive you want from Luffy… Everything is better this season, and Eiichiro Oda and all the cast and crew should feel great about their work.
— Julian Lytle, RIOTUS
There’s truly not one weak link in the One Piece cast, and it never ceases to amaze how the show managed to create such a faithful live-action version of such a fantastical world. [The fight scenes] are intense and kinetic, yet surprisingly easy to follow… It expands the world, introduces deliriously fun characters, features non-stop action, and delivers an adventure with plenty of heart and full of hope, which is what Luffy would want. More importantly, it maintains the spirit of Eiichiro Oda’s masterpiece, letting its freak flag fly and flaunting its colors with pride.
— David Caballero, Collider
One Piece hasn’t lost a step in Season 2 – on the contrary, it’s better than ever, providing a rich bounty of imagination underpinned by earnest sentiment, great world-building, and lovable characters… While this is a lot of characters, they’re easy enough to keep track of thanks to their outlandish designs and strange powers, which One Piece Season 2 delights in showcasing at every opportunity… The best thing about One Piece remains the fact that it’s boldly, unashamedly bizarre.
— Jonathan Wilson, Ready Steady Cut
Two seasons in, the chemistry (or Nakana) is stronger than ever, not just between characters but between the actors too. Everyone feels even more confident in themselves this time around, more sure of who they are and the world they’re building… Some minor flaws aside, it’s hard to imagine a better version of One Piece in live action. This is the rare adaptation that justifies its existence beyond animation, thanks to an extraordinary devotion to the source material and the means to make it happen.
— David Opie, GamesRadar+
One Piece remains an imperfect, if entertaining, treat; for those lacking the will or the time to dive into thirty-plus years of manga or anime (the show’s episode count is already in the four figures), it does well in a pinch… It’s goofy, knowingly strange, and wears its heart on its sentimental sleeve, and that’s enough to put some wind in its sails.
— Clint Worthington, RogerEbert.com
We finally get to watch the crew truly bond, and it’s a joy to spend time with their distinct personalities… The stakes feel so much higher in season 2, which is part of what makes it better than the first… This season introduces a host of new characters, yet the narrative never feels cluttered… It always – always – looks amazing on screen. Props to the visual effects department. Truly.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
The strengths of Season 1 are 100 times stronger than they were 3 years ago… The big flowers will undoubtedly go to Miss All Sunday (Lera Abova) and Miss Wednesday (Charithra Chandran)… Worthy of special praise is Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli’s score for One Piece Season 2… This adaptation remains the high bar for manga adaptation and an excellent entry point into this wonderful story.
— Travis Hymas, InBetweenDrafts
Showrunners Matt Owens and Joseph E. Tracz demonstrate a continued understanding of this tale, and while small cuts here and there dampen a few subplots, the big moments come across with powerful sincerity… The setup stage is over and the mainline adventure has fully kicked into gear… It’s a change that this adaptation generally handles well, settling into one-off escapades as the crew raises and lowers their anchor at a steady pace… This adaptation isn’t without a few missteps, though. If there’s a shortcoming in the show’s design, it’s that these fight sequences can’t match the escalating intensity of the source material’s battle shonen brawls.
— Elijah Gonzalez, AV Club
Is it realistic? Absolutely not. But this is One Piece, where the suspension of disbelief is about as big as a suspension bridge. It doesn’t really matter… There may not be 1000 episodes in this show’s future — it’s still Netflix, after all — but this formula won’t get old any time soon.
— Dais Johnston, Inverse
While evidently faithful to the hundred-volume manga series by Eiichiro Oda, there’s something unbearably off about its look and feel… One Piece Season 2 is doubling down on the baffling style that made its first such a pain. For every step forward, it takes two back, with co-showrunners Matt Owens and Joe Tracz chasing one inspired choice with an equally ridiculous one… But something bizarre happened about halfway through the season. I found myself getting on its wacky little wavelength anyway… It’s a clumsy love letter to a tale that’s captivated millions, and it’s also undeniably infectious.
— Lyvie Scott, TV Guide
One Piece: Season 2 premieres on Netflix on March 10, 2026.
