One of Netflix's most expensive series is back with its second season and it's brighter than the first

Netflix's adventure series “One Piece” has returned to streaming with a new season of 8 episodes that follow the crew of the Straw Hat Pirates as they set sail for the Great Current, the legendary expanse of ocean from the manga on which the series is based.

The first season of the live-action series premiered in 2023, and despite releases in the past 3 years, it has so far retained its status as Netflix's flagship series in terms of production budget.

According to Flix Patrol, the first season of “One Piece” had a total production budget of $144 million, on par with season 5 of “The Crown,” the acclaimed Netflix series about Britain's royal house that ended in 2023. The only Netflix series more expensive than that were “The Sandman” ($165 million for season 1), “The Witcher” ($176 million for season 2), “The Problem of the 3 Bodies” (233 million) and “Stranger Things” (270 million for the last season released at the end of last year).

Season 2 of “One Piece” was released in its entirety on Tuesday, March 10, with USA Today noting that the first two of the 8 episodes available for streaming were also shown in more than 200 theaters in the US, Canada and Japan.

At the time of writing, the new season has a 100% approval rating from film critics on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, even higher than the first season (which had 86%). Even if the number of reviews is still small, the situation has also attracted the attention of the financial newspaper Forbes.

The “One Piece” series is based on an oeuvre that rivals the Harry Potter books

“Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates set sail for the extraordinary High Current – ​​a legendary stretch of ocean where danger and miracle await at every turn. As they traverse this unpredictable land in search of the world's greatest treasure, they will encounter bizarre islands and a host of formidable new enemies,” notes Netflix's official description for season 2.

The series produced by the streaming platform is based on the Japanese manga comic series of the same name, created by Eiichiro Oda in 1997. Since its publication, it has been translated into several languages, including English.

Crunchyroll, a reference site specializing in comics and their productions, revealed in early March that “One Piece” has sold more than 600 million copies, surpassing the “Superman” series to become the best-selling comic book series of all time.

According to the cited source, Oda is the eighth best-selling living author, just behind JK Rowling, who has sold 650 million copies of the “Harry Potter” series of novels. Oda is the only Japanese author present in the top 10 and the only one besides Paulo Coelho who does not write in English.

Netflix has already ordered a season 3 for the series “One Piece”

Eiichiro Oda's staggering sales, 51, is due in part to the longevity of his streak and the prolific way he writes. In the three decades since the first edition of the comic “One Piece”, the Japanese author has published no less than 1,155 issues of it.

This has sparked speculation among fans of his work that Netflix has so much source material for its adaptation that “One Piece” could become one of the longest-running series ever produced by the American streaming company.

For now, the only thing that is certain is that the production of season 3 of “One Piece” started last November, according to Tudum, the Netflix news site.

As for season 2, the already familiar cast will be joined by a number of new names, with Eiichiro Oda revealing that he was personally involved in the casting process, something that will surely delight his fans.

“My own casting choices were made from Japan based on photos and videos, but when I saw them all in person I was convinced: they were without a doubt the perfect choice!” Oda wrote in an open letter he published after visiting the set of 'One Piece' in South America.

The Japanese comic book author is notorious for avoiding public outings and being photographed, one of the few photos of him dating back years.