The first season of One Piece was released back in 2023, and it has been a long wait for its second season, which finally released on March 10, 2026.

One Piece Season 2 delivered on heartfelt Straw Hat moments, bigger adventures, enemies, and new islands that have yet to be discovered. The live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda has been named the best live-action adaptation of an anime by many, but does that mean all of it is good?

We’re going to rank every episode of One Piece Season 2 in terms of its world-building, lore, performances and visuals from worst to best.

8. Episode 4: “Big Trouble In Little Garden”

It’s no fault of this episode, but the Little Garden arc across the manga and anime has never been one of my favourites. The most praise that I can give this episode is that it introduces us to Elbaph Island, which manga readers will know is a central part of the current storyline.

Aside from that and the slight development it provides Usopp, I can’t help but not care for the villains that the Straw Hats have to deal with. David Dastmalchian is genuinely a perfect casting for Mr. 3, but not even he is enough to make me suddenly have an interest in the character. It also doesn’t help that VFX and composition with the giants Dorry and Brogy aren’t the best.

7. Episode 5: “Wax On, Wax Off”

As expected, the continuation of Little Garden also isn’t an episode I like much, but unlike the first part, the visuals are much better.

In this episode, we get the introduction of Mr. 0, aka Crocodile, with Joe Manganiello providing that iconic laughter. The Devil Fruit fights throughout this season are outstanding, and the same can be said for Luffy vs. Mr. 3. Usopp and Sanji doing Surekill Flame Star is also an iconic moment for the episode, alongside Sanji vs. Mr. 13, which I’m confident was an homage to The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).

Not the worst episode of the season and by no means a bad episode, but at least it picks up the pace from Little Garden’s introductory episode.

6. Episode 2: “Good Whale Hunting”

Unfortunately, this is one of those episodes that’s actually quite magnificent, but the VFX overall let it down for me significantly. Laboon is an impressive feat and, for the most part, looks stunning, but it seems like One Piece has an issue of big creatures against regular-sized actors. A lot of the wide shots gave off the look that Laboon was still unfinished and not ready to be shown.

Thankfully, the introduction of Miss Wednesday, aka Vivi, and the inclusion of the Rumbar pirates and Brook make this episode a worthwhile watch as it does a lot for the world-building of the show.

5. Episode 6: “Nami Deerest”

The start of the Drum Kingdom arc for the live action and the final chapter of the second season. The greatest thing to come from this episode is the first mention of Blackbeard. We get to see Tony Tony Chopper for the first time, who’s absolutely adorable in the live action and brought to life by Mikaela Hoover’s voice, but we also get the iconic and heroic scene of Luffy climbing up the mountain to meet Dr. Kureha with Nami on his back and Sanji alongside him.

This is an episode that’s easing us into the Drum Island arc, and it does a great job of doing that because it also gives us one of the best episodes of this season.

4. Episode 1: “The Beginning and the End”

This first episode was the welcome back that we needed to get started with One Piece Season 2. The Straw Hats are ready to venture “Into the Grand Line” but aren’t as prepared, so a pit stop to Loguetown is where they head to first.

We all expected this season to start with Loguetown, as the first season didn’t conclude with it, but the number of surprises that they included, which range from Bartolomeo to Sabo’s appearance, is absolutely insane. We also learn of Gol D. Roger’s son and get our first mention of God Valley.

With chaotic fights including Luffy vs Smoker, what more could we ask for with an opening episode? The Loguetown set design was also outstanding, and I don’t think the production designers get enough praise for the work they do on this show.

3. Episode 3: “Whisky Business”

With this episode, the Straw Hats reach Whisky Peak. This might also be the first arc that I can confidently say the live action has adapted to perfection in terms of just improving it, compared to the manga and the anime.

We first get to see how Zoro deals with feeling like he’ll never be able to surpass Mihawk, which leads to him showing off his skills and taking out 100 Baroque Works bounty hunters. It was unexpected to see Mihawk return, especially in vision form, but it works perfectly for Zoro’s character development.

While there’s no Karoo in Whisky Peak (or the whole season) in the live action, they handle Igaram’s sacrifice and Miss Wednesday’s reveal as the princess of Alabasta incredibly well.

2. Episode 8: “Deer and Loathing in Drum Kingdom”

This is an amazing finale to the second season with Luffy defeating Wapol and freeing Drum Kingdom from his reign. We also finally get a new Straw Hat crew member with Tony Tony Chopper joining officially as their doctor. Chopper’s inclusion with the Straw Hats also comes with the emotional narrative between Chopper and Kureha.

Before the episode can come to an end, we get to learn about something called the Will of D. and get the long-awaited reveals of Mr. 0 as Crocodile and Miss All Sunday as Nico Robin, teasing Crocodile as the big antagonist for Season 3 and Robin’s further involvement.

1. Episode 7: “Reindeer Shames”

The emotional and touching narrative surrounding Chopper’s past is what makes this episode the best out of the entire season. We get to learn a lot about him and his relationship with both Dr. Hiriluk and Kureha. It’s also such a great comparison with Luffy as a character because we see how Chopper feels outcast in a similar way to how Luffy felt as a kid, with both of their dreams to become pirates.

There’s so much to learn from this episode when it comes to not only Chopper as a character but also the political turmoil of Drum Kingdom and Wapol’s involvement. It sets up the finale without fail, which builds further on everything from this episode.