One Piece Season 2 Can Give Us The Nico Robin Scene That Should’ve Happened In The Anime 24 Years Ago
Netflix's One Piece hasn't made many changes to Eiichiro Oda's story, but adding a new scene featuring Nico Robin should be one live-action tweak season 2 does include. Among the many new faces joining One Piece season 2's cast will be Lera Abova as Nico Robin, otherwise known as Miss All Sunday. A member of One Piece's Baroque Works organization, Robin is technically a villain when she debuts, but ultimately joins Luffy's crew as a member of the Straw Hat pirates and transforms into a beloved protagonist.
With One Piece season 2 focusing on Baroque Works ahead of adapting the Arabasta arc in season 3, Nico Robin's role for now will be serving as the sidekick of Crocodile, the Baroque Works' leader. If Netflix's live-action adaptation follows the manga, Robin will mostly cut a shadowy figure in the background, occasionally stepping out to help further her employer's goals. While authenticity to the anime and manga is a key selling point for One Piece's live-action show, Robin's introduction might benefit from one key moment that did not transpire in Oda's original version.
One Piece Season 2 Can Have Miss All Sunday Fight The Straw Hats
Nico Robin Vs. The Straw Hats Would Be A Worthy Anime Change
Nico Robin's first big appearance in the One Piece anime comes when she sneaks aboard the Going Merry to size the Straw Hats up for herself. While she disarms Sanji, Usopp, and Zoro, she does so playfully, avoiding a proper fight breaking out on deck. In a deviation from the original, it would perhaps benefit Netflix's One Piece season 2 to have Robin and the Straw Hats engage each other more aggressively when this scene occurs in live-action.
A fight between Nico Robin and the Straw Hats would allow the condensed Netflix series to demonstrate more of Robin's character within a single scene. A proper fight could showcase Robin's devil fruit powers, cement her as a capable combatant, and convey her personality all in one go, whereas the corresponding anime episode left Robin's abilities and strength more ambiguous. One Piece season 2 has less space to tell its story, so fighting the Straw Hats would make for a more succinct character introduction, as well as creating a welcome opportunity for an extra high-octane battle sequence.
Not Having Nico Robin Fight In One Piece Season 2 Would Be A Missed Opportunity
A Fight Would More Effectively Set Up Robin's One Piece Future
One Piece's next two seasons face the tricky task of subtly foreshadowing Nico Robin's transition from a mysterious villain to a Straw Hat pirate. This happened far more gradually in the anime and manga, but Netflix's show will not have the same luxury. There needs to be a chemistry and connection between the Straw Hats and Robin from their very first meeting and, weirdly, a clash could be the easiest way to achieve that. Fighting Robin aboard the Going Merry would put her firmly in the Straw Hats' minds, but if she also holds back during that encounter, Luffy will realize Nico Robin isn't a true villain much earlier.
Nico Robin's devil fruit allows her to sprout body parts anywhere she chooses.
Additionally, one of the best changes One Piece made for its first live-action season was allowing Nami more fighting time, depicting her as a capable fighter from the beginning. Even in the anime and manga, Robin is far ahead of Nami in terms of strength, but One Piece season 2 can still continue to afford its female characters more action by letting Robin loose against some of the Straw Hats during their first meeting.
The Problem With Nico Robin Fighting The Straw Hats In One Piece Season 2
Letting Nico Robin Go Wild Against Luffy's Crew Has Its Drawbacks
The biggest problem that would arise if Netflix's live-action One Piece had Nico Robin attack the Straw Hats comes down to power scaling. It would be ridiculous for Robin to take down Luffy's entire crew by herself. Likewise, Robin should not have enough strength to overwhelm Luffy, Zoro, or Sanji, otherwise the crew's entire power hierarchy will come crashing down as soon as Robin becomes a Straw Hat. Similarly, the Straw Hats defeating Nico Robin would damage not only her character but the entire Baroque Works arc. This is likely why the One Piece anime simply showed Robin taking the Straw Hats by surprise and disarming them gently.
Nico Robin beating up Nami, Usopp, and Chopper would immediately create a more personal connection between her and the Straw Hats.
A solution could be to divide the Straw Hats so that only a handful of them actually get involved in the fight against Robin. Perhaps the first crew members to see her are any combination of Nami, Usopp, and Chopper. Robin could conceivably defeat those three in battle without too much trouble. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji might then hear the commotion and emerge from elsewhere. Robin would stand down in the face of being outnumbered and outgunned, then give the same speech as she does in the anime before leaving.
Nico Robin beating up Nami, Usopp, and Chopper would immediately create a more personal connection between her and the Straw Hats - something the entire crew would remember, and an event that would make Robin joining the crew even more shocking. The three characters who lost would also be feverishly warning their nakama about the enigmatic woman whose arms can appear anywhere, building Robin up as a bigger deal to the crew but also enhancing her aura in One Piece season 2 itself.
One Piece follows young pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his diverse crew as they embark on a daring quest for treasure. Released in 2023, the film brings the adventurous world of the popular manga to life, capturing Luffy's relentless pursuit of the legendary One Piece treasure.
- Cast
- Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, Jacob Gibson, Jeff Ward, Vincent Regan, Royston Stoffels, David Muller, Nicole Fortuin, Lindsay Reardon, Milton Schorr, Aidan Scott, Danielle Bitton, Lily Fisher, Ilia Isorelýs Paulino, Maximilian Lee Piazza, Rendani Mufamadi, Kamdynn Gary, Morgan Davies, Taz Skylar, Ian McShane, Rory Acton Burnell, Stevel Marc, Ntlanhla Morgan Kutu, Michael Dorman
- Seasons
- 1
- Story By
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Netflix
