One Piece’s Live-Action Triumph Masks the Manga Adaptation’s Biggest Problem
Netflix’s live-action One Piece is a breakout hit, but here’s the reality check: season 1 adapts less than a tenth of Eiichiro Oda’s epic, leaving a vast voyage still ahead.
Netflix did the impossible: a beloved anime/manga adaptation that actually works. The live-action One Piece is a legit hit. The awkward bit? It has barely nibbled at the mountain of story it needs to chew through.
Where the live-action stands on the manga map
Season 1 adapts just 44 chapters out of the manga's 1166 published chapters, which comes out to 8.15%. That first run covered the East Blue Saga: Romance Dawn, Orange Town, Syrup Village, Baratie, and Arlong Park.
Season 2 is locked for March 10, 2026 on Netflix in the US. It picks up with Loguetown and then moves through Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island, spanning chapters 96–154. If you are keeping score, that bumps the total adaptation to 13.2% (per What's on Netflix).
The show is already renewed for Season 3, which is set to tackle the Arabasta Arc (chapters 155–217). Even after Arabasta, the grand total would be only about 18.6% of the manga. So yeah, the destination is far, far away.
How much story is still ahead?
The short version: a lot. And the manga's Final Saga is still unfolding, which means the finish line keeps moving. After Season 3's Arabasta, here is the road the live-action still has to travel, saga by saga:
- Sky Island Saga — chapters 218–302
- Water 7 Saga — chapters 303–441
- Thriller Bark Saga — chapters 442–489
- Summit War Saga — chapters 490–597
- Fish-Man Island Saga — chapters 598–653
- Dressrosa Saga — chapters 654–801
- Whole Cake Island Saga — chapters 802–908
- Wano Country Saga — chapters 909–1057
- Final Saga — chapters 1058–ongoing
So, is Arabasta Season 2 or Season 3?
This part gets confusing because early chatter suggested the 'next season' would pull from Arabasta. The current plan is clearer: Season 2 goes up through Drum Island. Arabasta proper is Season 3. That lines up with the chapter math above.
Why the show works (so far)
The big reason One Piece landed: it respects the source material. Where other anime-to-live-action swings have whiffed hard (Netflix's Death Note remake comes to mind), this one kept the heart and the beats that matter. Inaki Godoy channels Luffy without turning him into a different character, Baratie and Arlong Park hit the notes fans expect, and when the show does tweak things (expanding Garp's role), it does it without breaking the core vibe.
Netflix even showed off Tony Tony Chopper's live-action design in a new teaser at Jump Festa 2026, and the early look suggests they know exactly how sensitive fans are about these choices.
The long game
Even with the momentum, catching the anime is not the problem. The real challenge is that adapting this much story could take years, maybe decades, and the manga is still writing new chapters. If Netflix wants to see this through, it will have to maintain quality, pace, and scale across a truly massive project.
For now, the next waypoint is set: One Piece Season 2 lands March 10, 2026 on Netflix in the US. Buckle up for Loguetown through Drum Island, and then, if all goes well, get ready for Arabasta in Season 3.