While I'm Thrilled Netflix's One Piece Is Introducing Baroque Works Characters In Season 2, It's Left Me Wondering How They'll Eventually Depict Mr. 2
With every passing day, we at CinemaBlend are getting more excited to stream One Piece Season 2 with a Netflix subscription. The latest castings have helped with that a lot, as exciting names like David Dastmalchian and more got added in key roles tied to the Baroque Works criminal syndicate. I'm excited about it, but it's also got me thinking about how the show will eventually handle Mr. 2, a major character within this group.
When a story has been told over the course of a few decades, there are bound to be instances where something feels dated or offensive in more modern times. Mr. 2 is a perfect example of that, and I do wonder how the show will work out a way to include this character and remain faithful without upsetting anyone.
Mr. 2 Is A Character With A Problematic Representation In The Anime
One Piece's manga and anime have run since the late '90s, and it's more than fair to say that the world overall has changed in a lot of ways. This includes the way we address individuals who identify by non-binary and gender-nonconforming pronouns, which is the case with Mr. 2 in the anime. This Devil Fruit user can clone others to mimic their appearance, meaning they can appear as both male and female.
As such, Mr. 2 always pointed out they were both male and female, but many One Piece characters, including the Straw Hats, used he/him pronouns to identify the character.
Gender fluidity and non-binary pronouns weren't normalized in the mainstream a few decades ago, of course. Also, Mr. 2 as a character's identity is played more as a joke than anything. This makes me wonder how they'll depict them in Netflix's show, because it seems logical that they'd change some things about this character's story to make it more respectful of their identity.
Will Mr. 2 Be Changed For Live-Action Or Excluded Entirely?
When it comes to how Mr. 2 will be depicted in Netflix's show, it's an interesting conundrum. We've seen Netflix's One Piece differ from the anime before, however, completely changing up a character hasn't happened yet. I have to wonder how anime fans will respond if Bon Clay shows up and does not resemble the version of themselves from the anime, especially given how faithful the live-action show has been to character design thus far.
I Love The Attention To Detail
Ultimately, Mr. 2 became an ally of the Straw Hats, and played a massive role in a One Piece arc down the line that fans still celebrate to this day. Additionally, the anime modernized with the times, and began to introduce characters with more gender fluidity. Of course, all of that is far into the future of the animated show, and ultimately something the Netflix series may never get a chance to adapt.
Netflix's One Piece has done a great job adapting the anime in Season 1, but how they handle this problem, as well as address other characters like Chopper and such, will be a real test to determine whether or not it can keep the adaptation as close to the actual anime as possible.
However, when it comes to representing Mr. 2, I'm sure they'll do so with respect and accuracy. Based on how they've adapted the show so far, I have no reason to doubt the team behind the Netflix series. I'm sure that when it's time to introduce Mr. 2 they will come into the show in a faithful way that also respects their identity.
One Piece Season 2 is expected to stream on Netflix in 2025. Filming is currently underway in Cape Town, and while that's exciting, I wonder if we'll get the biggest fan casting we've seen yet or not. We shall wait and see!
