One Piece Season 2's Story Split Means Season 3 Must Avoid A Streaming Problem That's Getting Worse

One Piece season 3 is looking increasingly likely to happen on Netflix, but the story it will cover means one streaming pitfall must be avoided. When the live-action One Piece adaptation first entered production, expectations were predictably muted due to the long line of failed attempts at translating popular anime and manga franchises into the format. One Piece miraculously bucked that trend, enjoying widespread acclaim from fans and critics alike. As such, anticipation for One Piece season 2 is that much hotter, with the cautious trepidation that preceded season 1 replaced by a feverish enthusiasm for more live-action adventures.

At the time of writing, One Piece season 2 is without a release date. Filming is confirmed to have wrapped, and a LEGO collaboration announced a late 2025 release window that Netflix then hastily rescinded. With One Piece season 1 releasing in August 2023, it seems there will be at least a two-year gap before the voyage continues. Such long waits are rapidly becoming commonplace for Netflix - and, indeed, streaming more generally - with Stranger Things and Wednesday just two prime examples. One Piece season 3 cannot afford to follow the trend.

One Piece Season 2 Will Lead Directly Into Season 3's Arabasta Saga

One Piece Season 2 Sets Up Something Bigger

While the wait for One Piece season 2 has felt longer than one of Eiichiro Oda's famous flashbacks, season 1 at least concluded on a definitive note. Iñaki Godoy's Monkey D. Luffy successfully defeated Arlong to become the strongest pirate in the East Blue, then sailed toward the Grand Line and the next chapter of his journey to become Pirate King. While One Piece season 2 will pick up the Baroque Works teases scattered across previous episodes, the new installments will otherwise cover different islands, fresh characters, and as-yet-unseen villains.

The battle against Baroque Works that will dominate One Piece's second season serves as a direct prelude to the fight for Arabasta.

That will not be the case for One Piece season 3. According to Oda himself, Netflix's upcoming season will adapt from Loguetown to Drum Kingdom, leaving the Arabasta saga for season 3. Whereas One Piece's first two seasons had the benefit of a clean narrative break, therefore, seasons 2 and 3 will be more like "Part 1" and "Part 2" of the same story. The battle against Baroque Works that will dominate One Piece's second season serves as a direct prelude to the fight for Arabasta that will be covered in season 3, with Joe Manganiello's Crocodile the overarching antagonist throughout.

One Piece Season 3's Story Means It Can't Take As Long As Season 2 To Release

Viewers Shouldn't Have To Wait As Long For Resolution

One Piece live-action cast standing together

While two or three year gaps between seasons are becoming the norm for major streaming shows, the natural story bridge between One Piece seasons 2 and 3 means the next wait cannot be as lengthy. One Piece season 2 won't necessarily end on a cliffhanger per se (though it certainly could), but the finale will still leave major questions unresolved. Can Luffy defeat Crocodile? Can Vivi save Arabasta? What does Baroque Works really want? All of these story threads will run throughout One Piece season 2, but are unlikely to be answered until season 3.

The best way to enjoy One Piece's forthcoming tale will be for season 2 to release in one go, then for season 3 to follow between 12 and 18 months down the line.

A year or 18 months between One Piece seasons 2 and 3 might be tolerable, but waiting two years or more to resolve plot points audiences are already invested in will only generate frustration. It would be like One Piece's debut season ending with Luffy still working up to his battle against Arlong, and while Nami's reason for betraying the Straw Hats is still unclear, then two/three years passing before One Piece season 1's finale eventually gets released.

For similar reasons, One Piece season 2 must also avoid another increasingly common, and equally controversial, streaming issue: the dreaded split releases. Netflix's standard model for TV originals used to be dumping all episodes at once, but the platform's most prominent titles are gradually shifting toward a system where seasons are split in half and released several months apart.

This must be avoided for One Piece season 2, and also for season 3, because the next two runs are already acting as a two-part narrative. If Netflix splits One Piece season 2 and then does the same for season 3, audiences will effectively be getting one big arc separated over four different releases, which risks diminishing the story's momentum and impact. The best way to enjoy One Piece's forthcoming tale will be for season 2 to release in one go, then for season 3 to follow between 12 and 18 months down the line.

The Reason To Be Optimistic About One Piece Season 3's Release Date

One Piece Season 3 Won't Necessarily Be As Late As Shanks Was At Marineford

It goes without saying that an effects-heavy production like One Piece, which also incorporates dazzling sets and purpose-built ships in order to authentically recreate Eiichiro Oda's world, takes time to put together. As much as waiting for new episodes can be annoying from a viewer's perspective, a high-quality end product is worth the wait, and season 1proved beyond doubt how stunning One Piece can look in live-action. Speeding up the conveyor belt at the expense of One Piece's production values is not an effective way to secure the live-action show's future.

A shorter gap between seasons 2 and 3 is within the realms of possibility.

Having said that, there must also be a balance between meeting a high bar of quality and getting episodes onto Netflix in a timely manner. The need to craft season 2 with care must be balanced against the fact that it would be detrimental to the show's enjoyment if One Piece seasons 2 and 3 were separated by a large gap. Fortunately, there are several reasons to be hopeful that One Piece season 3 will come around sooner rather than later.

While Netflix has not officially green-lit One Piece for a third season quite yet, all indications suggest production is happening almost immediately off the back of season 2. Actor Brashaad Mayweather claimed One Piece was "filming two seasons, seasons 2 and 3 back-to-back," while fellow One Piece cast member Vincent Regan said, "I guess they'll start filming season 3 pretty soon" in December 2024. A listing on the WGA website alsoshows a listing for One Piece season 3, seemingly solidifying the prospects of a continuation.

One Piece's first two seasons also had to contend with delays caused by extenuating circumstances that, hopefully, future seasons will not. One Piece season 1 unfortunately collided with the early days of the pandemic, while season 2 was one of many shows that fell victim to the Hollywood strikes. Consequently, One Piece's current production rate may not provide an entirely accurate reflection of how the schedule will always be, giving hope that a shorter gap between seasons 2 and 3 is within the realms of possibility.