When it comes to new takes on iconic IPs and stories from the nerd culture sphere, it can be easy to be a stickler for accuracy. Beloved IPs are usually, well, beloved for a reason, and the idea of making a change makes you, as a fan, feel like you’re sitting at the blackjack table hoping the next deal isn’t a bust. This counts even more when it comes to live-action adaptations, whether it be from books, Nickelodeon cartoons that seemingly had no right to be as good as they were, or, most relevant to this article, anime. But sometimes, every once in a while, a major change to the source material is a big ole’ delight. And that’s the case with season two of Netflix’s live-action One Piece adaptation and its surprise shift to introduce a major character way earlier than fans expected.
Of all the anime out there, you would’ve been declared a loony if you predicted that the story of a silly boy with stretchy powers and pirates capable of destroying entire ships with a sword would be the one to break the live-action curse. But alas, season two of One Piece is here, and just like the inaugural adventure, there are some notable changes from the source material worth talking about… And in a good way at that. But, as mentioned, one season two change in particular is sure to have all the One Piece sickos out there abuzzing…
…and that’s the surprise reveal of One Piece‘s fan-favorite pirate Brook and the difference it makes to Laboon the whale’s narrative. But who is this unassuming lad with a violin introduced in episode 2, and what makes him so special? Let’s dive into Brook’s surprise introduction in live-action One Piece season two and what it means for the story ahead.
Live-Action One Piece Introduces Brook, a Future Straw Hat Pirate, in Season 2, Episode 2
If you haven’t seen the One Piece anime or manga, you might not even know you saw a major One Piece character appear in the live-action season two, episode two. But Brook, a future Straw Hat Pirate, indeed, appears in One Piece season two.
In the flashback to Laboon the whale’s past, Brooke is the joyful violin player aboard the Rumbar Pirates’ ship. You can hear his signature One Piece laugh before you see him, “Yo, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!” He chortles. And then live-action Brook finally appears as he steps up next to Captain Calico Yorki and offers to share their booze with Crocus. Brook’s most beautiful moment in season two of live-action One Piece, though, is when he plays Laboon a beautiful song called “Binks’ Brew” on his violin, much to the whale’s infectious delight. Of course, this song contains a little bit of foreshadowing as it contains the line “After all is said and done, you’ll end up a skeleton.” Oops! More on that in a minute.
Who Plays Live-Action Brook in One Piece Season 2?
Martial Batchamen plays Brook in One Piece season two, and he does a wonderful job bringing this pirate to live-action.
As the One Piece season two flashback ends, we see Batchamen’s Brook promising Laboon that they’ll reunite and have more adventures in the future. And hopefully, that will come true. But in the meantime, you might be asking yourself, who the heck is One Piece‘s Brook, and how does he become a Straw Hat Pirate?
Who in the Jolly Roger Heck Is One Piece‘s Brook?
Brook is a joyful musician who once voyaged with the Rumbar Pirates on One Piece, a crew that entered the Grand Line many years prior to the Straw Hats. After entering the Grand Line, the Rumbar Pirates, much to their dismay, had to leave their beloved whale pal Laboon behind, promising they would return following their epic adventures. But while it’s easy to laugh at the absurdity of One Piece and be left in awe by its action, it is also a story of many tragedies; the fate of the Rumbar Pirates is perhaps one of the greatest testaments to exactly that.
Despite their good nature and intentions, the Rumbar Pirates hit the worst kind of luck, with their captain and many of the crew falling victim to an incurable disease and enemy pirates plaguing them with poisonous weapons of their own. Their reunion with Laboon, that sweet, kind whale, never came to be on One Piece.
Brook Survives His Crew’s Dark Fate Because He Ate a Devil Fruit, But He Turns Into a Skeleton
As the last of its crew played one last rendition of the joyful ‘Binks’ Sake’ song, only Brook survived…sort of. Brook did die on One Piece, just like the rest of his crew, but happened to have eaten the Yomi Yomi no Mi (the revive-revive fruit), which grants the user the power of one single resurrection. While such a power can certainly be perceived as a blessing, the death of Brooks’ crew left him alone for 50 (!) years on the Grand Line. And as a bonus, because apparently life wasn’t cruel enough to members of Rumbar Pirates, his soul took so long to find his body after death that nothing was left but his skeleton, giving Brooke his iconic One Piece appearance.
Brook Eventually Joins the Straw Hat Pirates as The Crew’s Musician
Thankfully, the Straw Hat Pirates would eventually run into Brook, and thanks to Luffy’s double-edged trait of having no sense of stranger danger, his skeleton appearance did nothing to scare them off. Brook would then officially join the Straw Hat Pirate crew as their chief musician and vibes king, with the comparatively simple dream of one day reuniting with Laboon. The story of Brook, as tragic as it may be, is one of hope.
Brook Hasn’t Yet Reunited with Laboon in One Piece
Brook hasn’t yet reunited with Laboon in One Piece‘s anime/manga, but this interlude in the live-action One Piece season two gives us great hope that he will one day soon.
How Netflix’s Live-Action One Piece Adaptation Changes the Story of Laboon and Brook
In season two of Netflix’s adaptation, there’s a nifty little twist awaiting. In the original manga/anime One Piece story, Brook doesn’t make his first appearance until much later in the “Thriller Bark” arc, when he’s all skeleton-y. We never meet him as a flesh-and-blood pirate, though the flashback is shown. Live-action One Piece season two, on the other hand, reveals him alongside the Rumbar Pirates in Laboon and Crocus’ flashback. In the scene, we see Brook—with his iconic top hat and violin — saying goodbye to Laboon whilst singing “Binks’ Brew,” which fans also didn’t hear for the first time until much later.
What happens next is a beautiful change from the One Piece anime/manga: instead of Luffy fighting Laboon to get the whale to release the Going Merry and stop hurting himself against the rocks of Reverse Mountain, Luffy does something very different. In live-action One Piece season two, Luffy—having heard the same song when he was younger, likely from Shanks’ crew—sings Binks’ Brew” in order to comfort Laboon and get him to release his crew after swallowing them, and their ship, whole. Violin aside, the captain of the Strawhats mirrors Brook’s cheerful demeanor, reminding the innocent creature of his dearly departed friends. And its this gentle reminder of love and mourning that gets Laboon to relent and release Luffy’s crew. It’s a beautiful change to the narrative, and it’s one that feels true to live-action Luffy and the story at hand.
One Piece Season 2’s Change of Laboon’s Story and Early Introduction of Brook Really Works
Complaining about changes to a beloved story is easy, but it’s important to have an open mind when it comes to certain shifts that—while series creator Eiichiro Oda is, indeed, a storytelling god amongst us—might actually be an improvement on the original. It’s not just cheap, “Look, One Piece fans! Look! It’s that guy you know!” fan service on display here. It’s a display of, forgive The Lion King verbiage, the circle of life, and simultaneously a passing-of-the-torch and deeply fortuitous moment. Luffy’s joy is infectious in this One Piece season two sequence, just like Brook’s, and Laboon can sense it. Everyone can sense it, even cranky old man Crocus.
The moment actually reminds me of a line from Avatar: The Last Airbender, in which Avatar Roku tells Avatar Aang that sometimes a friendship can be so powerful, it can even transcend lifetimes.
It’s not a moment that brings Laboon’s friends back in a literal way, of course; this isn’t a fairytale, as sometimes you truly do lose people. They move on, through death or simple life happenstance. Laboon learns now, as will the audience later, that the Rumbar Pirates aren’t coming back. But in Luffy’s replication of Brook, it’s a testament to how some people, as the stretchy himself says, do end up staying with you in one way or another, as long as they aren’t forgotten; “Bink’s Brew” is the way for Laboon to never lose them.
Plus, it serves as a splendid tease for the character should the live action catch up to its source material. And hey, you never know, hopefully Laboon’s dream and Brook’s will come true. One Piece season two certainly gives us reason to hope for a long-awaited reunion to take place.
You can stream all episodes of One Piece: Into the Grand Line right now on Netflix. And you can check out our review of One Piece season two here.
The post ONE PIECE Season 2 Unexpectedly Introduces THIS Major Character appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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