Netflix's One Piece Season 2 Confirms A Longtime Franchise Fan Theory

Netflix

Heavy spoilers ahead for the "One Piece" anime and manga.

It's a great time to be a fan of the "One Piece" franchise. The "One Piece" anime is about to kickstart the highly anticipated Elbaph arc, while the original manga just finished up the longest and most epic flashback in the entire story. And now, we're getting the second season of the surprisingly great live-action "One Piece" adaptation.

Netflix's live-action "One Piece" does the impossible and manage to retain the ridiculously cartoony elements of Eiichiro Oda's manga without breaking your suspension of disbelief. Whether it's someone hiding machine guns in their powdered wig, an otter assassin riding a vulture into battle, or a talking reindeer doctor, the "One Piece" world is just as fantastical in live-action as it is in other mediums.

And yet, as faithful as the series is, it's the changes the live-action "One Piece" makes to its source material that stand out the most. Notably, the show adapts the manga chronologically. Whereas Oda's manga tends to reveal crucial events long after they occurred or introduce characters after they've secretly already become part of the story, the live-action series simply includes these things explicitly from the start.

Consider, for example, how Netflix's "One Piece" makes Garp (Vincent Regan), the grandfather of our guy Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), a recurring character throughout its first season, well before his connection to Luffy is revealed in the original manga and anime. Season 2 only doubles down on that approach, mostly notably with a blink-and-you-miss-it moment in the season premiere. There, we see a young man who's clearly meant to be Sabo, the Flame Emperor and Luffy's sworn brother — something that aligns with a longstanding fan theory that Sabo discretely appeared in the "One Piece" manga prior to his formal introduction.

Netflix

Many fans may not even realize this is Sabo, considering he shows up for a second, is only in the background, has no lines, and is mostly covered by shadow. Still, there is no mistaking his cravat and top hat with a pair of goggles wrapped around it.

Sabo was first introduced at the very end of the Summit War Saga — one of the best arcs in the "One Piece" manga — when we got a long flashback to Luffy becoming best friends with him. Unfortunately, Sabo was thought to have died in an explosion. Except, it turned out he survived after being rescued by Dragon, the leader of the Revolutionary Army, and subsequently rose to become the army's second in command. Because of this, fans have long speculated that Sabo trained under Dragon for years, including when Dragon happened to be in Loguetown at the same time Luffy and his crew were there.

This is seemingly supported by a couple of panels in chapter 98 of the manga — specifically, a wide shot of a Loguetown plaza depicting a man with a top hat standing among other members of a crowd.

Is this officially canon? Of course not. But it's certainly nice to imagine that Eiichiro Oda actually thought of teasing Sabo in a random wide shot 485 chapters before he made his proper debut in the "One Piece" manga. Still, even if this wasn't intentional, we know for certain that Sabo was a major part of the Revolutionary Army and likely accompanied their supreme commander during the mission in Loguetown. So, for all intents and purposes, there's nothing that says that's not him in the panel.

Toei Animation

Put your pitchforks down. Yes, some folks might consider Sabo showing up at this stage in the live-action "One Piece" series a massive spoiler for one of the biggest reveals in the franchise's history. But there are two two problems with that way of thinking.

For one, you're assuming those unfamiliar with the original manga and anime will even remember a random guy covered in shadow who didn't speak a single line and appeared for two seconds. And two, do you really think Netflix's "One Piece" will last long enough to get to the Summit War Saga? Let's be real. As popular as this show is (and as much as Netflix would like to keep it going as long as it stays that way), big, expensive genre series like this tend to not last long these days. Even "Stranger Things" only made it to five seasons. What are the odds of a show as costly as "One Piece" surpassing that?

In other words, this small cameo might be the only time fans will get to see Sabo in live-action. The same could be said of the other special character appearances in season 2. In an era where our media seems to be driven by Marvel-like fan service and endless cross-promotion, this doesn't seem so bad. 

Sabo appearing is not a tease. It doesn't serve to hint at a spin-off. And the fact that the character doesn't speak (and is barely even in focus) means it's not a wink to audiences to make sure they know he's important. It's simply a little treat for longtime fans. For anyone else, he's just another weirdo in the background.

"One Piece" is now streaming on Netflix.