One Piece Season 2 Title Cards Hint at Early Introduction of Rumbar Pirates

One Piece Season 3 Is Officially Introducing A Straw Hat Pirate Long Before Their Anime Debut Netflix By  Rob Sperduto Published 38 minutes ago

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Warning: Spoilers for the One Piece Reverse Mountain and Thriller Bark arcs are discussed below.Netflix dropped the title cards for One Piece season 2 earlier this week, and buried among the teases for Chopper, Laboon, and even Roger was something that caught me off guard. One of the cards features a skull designed to look like the Jolly Roger of the Rumbar Pirates, complete with a violin replacing the letter "I" in the show's logo.

That's Brook's crew, or rather, it was Brook's crew, decades before he became the skeleton musician who eventually joins the Straw Hat Pirates much later in the saga. During his arc, Brook has one of the saddest backstories in One Piece, and it's hinted at much earlier than newcomers might realize.

The One Piece title card hints Netflix is planning to introduce the Rumbar Pirates much earlier than the anime or manga ever did, which means we might be getting our first glimpse of Brook long before Luffy meets him in the Florian Triangle, which is a departure from the source material, but fits squarely in one particular flashback.

One Piece Season 2's Title Cards Reveal The Rumbar Pirates

Netflix

The Rumbar Pirates are mentioned briefly in the manga and anime during the Reverse Mountain Arc, right as the Straw Hats exit the East Blue and enter the Grand Line for the first time, and it will be one of the most important arcs in One Piece season 2.

After getting swallowed by a whale, the crew meet Crocus, the lighthouse keeper, who tells Luffy about Laboon, the giant island whale who's been waiting for decades for his own crew to return.

In the flashback, the Rumbar Pirates (whom Crocus was part of) befriended Laboon when the whale was just a calf, promised to come back after circling the Grand Line, but abandoned Laboon and never returned. That early in the story, it's one of the most emotional backstories for any character, as Laboon refuses to move on, believing that one day the Rumbar Pirates will return.

The manga quickly progresses, and the Rumbar Pirates aren't mentioned again until one of the weirdest arcs in One Piece, Thriller Bark, hundreds of chapters later. In that arc, it is revealed that Brook, alongside his crew, are poisoned by enemies, and though they always intended to return to Laboon, Brook watches as, one by one, his crew dies before his eyes. Until it's his turn.

That's a lot of ground to cover and a long time until we actually meet the Rumbar Pirates in full depth, but Netflix's title card suggests the live-action version won't settle for a brief mention in season 2. The fact that it's gotten its own dedicated title card, though, points to the show giving the Rumbar Pirates actual screen time rather than relegating them to that one expository scene during Reverse Mountain.

The best arcs in One Piece have always been about setup and payoff, and the live-action adaptation has already shown it's willing to plant seeds early. For example, season 1 revealed Garp as Luffy's grandfather in One Piece much earlier than the anime did, before the confrontation at Marineford becomes relevant seasons down the line.

The Rumbar Pirates getting introduced now follows that same logic. By the time Brook actually joins the crew—assuming the show lasts that long—his backstory won't need to be explained in flashbacks; it'll already be part of the world.

One Piece Season 2 May Reveal Brook's Origins Before We Meet Him

Image: Netflix

Although the safest bet is that season 2 shows the story Crocus tells in the manga, about the Rumbar Pirates during their time with Laboon, Netflix hasn't played it 100% safe so far. Netflix's live-action adaptation has already made big changes from the One Piece manga, so there's no reason to assume the Rumbar Pirates will be limited to that single flashback from the Reverse Mountain arc.

We could see glimpses of their journey into the Florian Triangle, of the crew's final moments, poisoned weapons cutting them down one by one as they play their last song for Laboon. We could even see Brook himself, violin in hand, recording "Binks' Sake" on a Tone Dial before his death, knowing the promise to Laboon would never be fulfilled.

It's the kind of emotionally devastating backstory One Piece does better than almost any other series. If Netflix is committing to showing the Rumbar Pirates in season 2, there's a strong chance they'll lean into that tragedy rather than skim past it.

The only thing we know for certain is that Brook won't be a skeleton yet. The live-action show is setting up his story years before Luffy ever meets the walking, talking pile of bones in the Florian Triangle.

When Will Brook Join The Straw Hat Pirates In Netflix's One Piece?

Brook's reaction to hearing Luffy's dream in One Piece

Brook officially joins the Straw Hat Pirates at the end of the Thriller Bark Arc, which happens in Episode 381 of the anime and Chapter 489 of the manga. That's a long way from where Netflix's live-action adaptation currently sits.

Season 2 plans to cover the early Grand Line arcs: Loguetown, Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island. One Piece season 3 has already begun filming and is confirmed to adapt the Alabasta Arc, one of the longest and and best arcs in One Piece. Even after Alabasta wraps, there's still Jaya, Skypiea, Water 7, and Enies Lobby before Thriller Bark enters the picture.

If Netflix maintains its current pacing, Brook's proper introduction as the skeleton musician is at least four or five seasons away, assuming the show even makes it that far, which is a massive if. Live-action anime adaptations rarely last long enough to reach their endgame, and One Piece is an exceptionally long story with no clear endpoint in sight.

So introducing the Rumbar Pirates now makes sense. Even though One Piece is another hit for Netflix, no studio can bank on any show lasting another five seasons, bu Netflix can plant the seeds for Brook's story while the opportunity still exists. If the series gets canceled before Thriller Bark, at least the Rumbar Pirates will have been acknowledged. If it does make it that far, the emotional payoff will hit even harder.

200 8.6/10 7/10

One Piece

10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-14 Action Adventure Fantasy Release Date August 31, 2023 Network Netflix Showrunner Matt Owens Directors Tim Southam, Marc Jobst, Josef Kubota Wladyka Writers Tiffany Greshler, Diego Gutierrez, Allison Weintraub, Lindsay Gelfand

Cast

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• Iñaki Godoy Monkey D. Luffy
• Emily Rudd Nami

Franchise(s) One Piece Genres Action, Adventure, Fantasy Creator(s) Matt Owens, Steven Maeda, Eiichiro Oda Powered by Expand Collapse

• One Piece

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