The first ratings of the One Piece series have been shared by Netflix. Are the numbers already enough to secure a Season 2?
[Updated September 6, 2023 at 9:14 a.m.] One Piece achieved good audience scores for its first week on Netflix. The series is at the top of the most viewed programs this week on the streaming platform, with 18.5 million views recorded by the VOD giant. However, it failed to break the records of Wednesday or Squid Game, two of the biggest series seen by the streaming platform.
Difficult for the moment to know if such figures will be sufficient to renew One Piece for a season 2. We will have to wait to see if the hearings increase in the coming weeks to have an idea of ??the success of the series: if the figures are in increase, this indeed means that the program has succeeded in federating a wider audience than that of manga fans, who probably watched the series in the first hours of its online publication. Remember that the One Piece series represents a hell of an investment, since it cost $18 million per episode, making it one of the most expensive series.
Many fans hope to discover the rest of the series. The finale of One Piece also teases the arrival of a new antagonist in potential future episodes (warning, spoilers). We can see, from behind, a character who looks like Smoker, an officer of the Navy, who has given himself the mission of capturing Luffy. He is the main antagonist of the Loguetown arc in the manga, and returns regularly in the sequel.
Monkey D. Luffy is a young man who has always dreamed of adventure and piracy. After ingesting a devil fruit which gives him elasticity powers, he leaves his village to set out to conquer One Piece, a treasure which will allow him to become the king of pirates. But to carry out his mission, Luffy will have to put together an exceptional crew to face the creatures of the oceans, the Navy, and the sea pirates. The One Piece series is the adaptation of the cult manga by Eiichiro Oda.
The first season of One Piece only adapts part of Eiichiro Oda’s river manga. The eight episodes of the One Piece series deal with the first 12 books of the series, after the Aarlong arc and when Nami permanently joins the Straw Hat Crew (which also marks the end of the East Blue Saga).
One Piece has been a true pop cultural phenomenon for 25 years. Since 1997, Eiichiro Oda’s manga has defied all predictions to establish itself as one of the most popular Japanese comics around the world. In total, more than 500 million copies have been sold worldwide, including 4.5 million sold in 2021 in France alone.
The author of One Piece is also entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for the “largest number of copies in circulation of the same series of comics by the same author”. Note also that the series is still being published, since the 105th volume will be released in France on September 30. Japanese fans will be able to discover the 107th volume by the end of the year.
The first season of the One Piece series was released this Thursday, August 31, 2023 at 9:01 AM. It is on Netflix that fans of the manga can discover the eight episodes of this live-action adaptation of the cult manga. To see the series, it will therefore be enough to have a subscription to the streaming platform, the prices of which vary from 5.99 euros / month with advertisements to 17.99 euros / month.
The One Piece series was highly anticipated by fans of Eiichiro Oda’s saga around the world. The first season was released on Netflix on August 31, 2023. For now, it is not yet known if a sequel will be released. It would not be difficult to offer a season 2 to the series in terms of plot, since the first season adapts the first 10-12 volumes of the manga, which currently has 106 in Japan (as of July 4, 2023)!
If season 2 of the One Piece series is confirmed, we could also see new crew members, such as Chopper or Robin, but also Ace, Vivi, and the terrifying Crocodile, big bad and leader of Baroque Works. This should open onto the Alabasta Saga. It is therefore a very dense and eventful arc loved by fans that could be discovered.
However, the show would need to be a big hit with Netflix subscribers, as Season 1 cost $18 million per episode, becoming one of the most expensive shows in history (behind House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power in particular). For its first week, Netflix recorded 18.5 million views, a nice score which does not however beat the records of other series like Squid Game and Wednesday. If a season 2 is confirmed, fans will need to be patient, as it took three years from the start of production on season 1 (2020) to its release on Netflix on July 31, 2023.
