One Piece (Season 1) ‘Netflix’: Recap & Ending Explained: The long-awaited live-action version of One Piece is now on Netflix. Fans have loved Eiichiro Oda’s manga for over 25 years. It’s about a 17-year-old pirate named Monkey D. Luffy who wants to become the Pirate King. “One Piece” is one of the most famous comics ever, known for its amazing story. It has a rich world, exciting adventures, characters you’ll recognize, and mysterious things happening. Now that season 1 is out, let’s catch you up on what’s going on in the show.
*Spoilers Ahead*
One Piece (Season 1) ‘Netflix’ Recap:
The live-action One Piece on Netflix starts 22 years prior to the main plor’s timeline, set in Loguetown. The Marines from the World Government have caught Gold Roger, who’s the Pirate King. They plan to make a big show of his execution to stop piracy, but it doesn’t go as planned. Gold Roger tells everyone to find his treasure, the One Piece, right before he’s executed. This causes chaos and marks the start of the Great Pirate Era. Vice Admiral Garp is watching the execution, and we catch quick glimpses of Monkey D Dragon, young Mihawk, Shanks, and Smoker, even though we learn more about them later in the manga and anime.
Episode 1: Romance Dawn
There is a line between East Blue and South Blue called The Grand Line. Beyond that lies the greatest treasure in the world. Throughout this whole sea, pirates and the Marine coexist. Pirates rule the sea while the Marine tries to maintain the law within these realms. The first episode opens with a scene in Loguetown where the Pirate King, Gold Roger, is finally arrested by the Marines on behalf of the World Government.
Before taking his final breaths, the people witnessing the death of the pirate king seek to know where he has hidden all his treasures. Gold Roger says that the greatest treasures in the world, i.e., wealth, fame, and power – he has named as ‘One Piece’ together. He says that the treasure is open to all, and anyone can own it once they find the treasure. The people wreak havoc right at that moment, and amidst the great turmoil, Gold Roger is killed by the Marines.
Cut to the present, we are introduced to Monkey D. Luffy, the protagonist of the story, who is left alone to seek the Pirate King’s treasure. He doesn’t know where to go and ends up on Pirate Alvida’s ship. Alvida is a woman pirate who sees herself as the greatest of all time, which she is not. On Alvida’s ship, Luffy meets Koby. Koby is the same age as Luffy, and he is a prisoner of Alvida. Alvida does not like Luffy, and a fight takes place in which Luffy shows his superpowers. Luffy has the ability to stretch limitlessly. With the help of his power, he leaves the ship with Koby.
Later, Luffy and Koby visit Shells Town, the 153rd Marine Base where Koby will fulfill his dreams by joining the Marine force, and Luffy will leave after stealing the map that leads to One Piece. There they meet Roronoa Zoro, the Pirate-Hunter, and Nami, the thief. Together they face all the odds and, after refusing to team up with Luffy initially, they end up teaming up with Luffy. Together they successfully steal the map from Captain Morgan, aka Axe-hand (as Luffy named him). Koby stays on the island, and the three of them leave with the map, trying to find One Piece.
We are also given a hint on how Luffy gets his powers by eating a devil fruit. When he was little, there was a pirate named Shanks who was a very gentle and kind person. Unlike most pirates, Shanks used to solve any matter at hand with calmness and less violence. Luffy failed to understand the reason behind it; however, he always wanted to be a part of Shanks’s crew. Shanks rejected him again and again because he was too little to be a part of the pirate crew. But Luffy was very rigid about joining.
At the end of the episode, we see two antagonists who are in search of One Piece as well: Garp and Buggy. Garp is the person who captured Gold Roger in the first place. All we know about Garp at this stage is that he is chasing the Baroque Works, one of the great Pirate Groups. He stops chasing them when he hears about what Luffy did and decides to come back to Shells Town. However, we don’t know much about Buggy or their objectives yet. But, we can assume Luffy and his crew are going to face the toughest opponents in their upcoming One Piece hunt.
Episode 2: The Man in the Straw Hat
In the opening scene, we go back to the past where Luffy is trying out his new skills in stretching. We also get to know the reason behind the name ‘Devil Fruit.’ It is because whenever someone eats a fruit like this, the fruit is making a deal that cannot be evaded. Well, Luffy is not worried about this; he even names it ‘Gum Gum.’ One important thing that we learn in this is that the powers Luffy has achieved by eating this Devil Fruit are not going to work on the sea as the mother ocean has forbidden the fruit.
Anyway, at present, we see Luffy, Zoro, and Nami are traveling by sea, and Nami is finally able to open the locker that they stole from the Marine camp. There they find the map to the Grand Line. But suddenly they are attacked by Buggy and his pirate crew. Before going unconscious, Luffy puts the map inside his belly so that no one could find it.
Later, we are introduced to the world of Buggy the clown, and how he treats his prisoners. He literally organizes a circus where he keeps the prisoners as a crowd, tying up their legs, leaving the hands free only to clap on his command. There, Luffy, Zoro, and Nami are held captive. Buggy tortures Luffy to a certain extent when Luffy gets to know that Buggy knows Shanks.
We see the time when Shanks saves Luffy from other people and giant creatures in the sea. He even lost his arm while saving Luffy. But right before leaving him, he gives him his straw hat after Luffy told him that he won’t be joining his crew but will make his own crew someday; even better than what Shanks had at that time. Shanks smiles at him, his eyes filled with pride seeing Luffy finally get out of his rigidity and ready to take on any challenge in this ruthless world.
Anyway, Buggy too has eaten one of the devil fruits which he names ‘Chop Chop’ fruit. Well, thanks to the fruit, Buggy can make numerous pieces of his own body so it is quite impossible to beat him. But, with the help of Zoro and Nami, Luffy is finally able to close most of Buggy’s body parts inside different boxes. The three of them get rid of Buggy and free the prisoners. Nami sees how ruthless Buggy is as a captor. But on the other hand, Luffy frees the captives. As time progresses, both Nami and Zoro are drawn to the goodness and honesty that Luffy carries within his pure soul.
Meanwhile, Garp returns to Shells Town and inquires about the Luffy incident. Since he is very distinct about his motives and has a cunning vision to see beyond everyone’s lies, he soon finds out that Koby helped the ‘Straw Hat Pirate’ escape. He questions him and understands that Koby really wants to become a Marine and he will have no bond with Luffy in the future. Garp then punishes Captain Morgan for his incompetence as a leader and forms a group to find Luffy. His main motive is to regain possession of that map.
At the end of the episode, we see Nami contacting someone else about the map. There is a chance that something dark is cooking inside her head. Luffy trusts Nami as a navigator, but will she force him and Zoro in the wrong direction? We’ll get to see in the following episodes.
Episode 3: Tell No Tales
We rewind the clock to seven years ago in Syrup Village where a boy named Usopp is playing his usual game of shouting that pirates are coming. The villagers, used to his tall tales, don’t take it seriously. Seven years have passed, but Usopp continues with his playful stories. Little does he or anyone in the village know that Luffy and his friends, a group of wannabe pirates, have already arrived in the village with the intention of purchasing a ship.
The ship Luffy, Zoro, and Nami were using has sprung a leak and Nami’s communication snail is perhaps dead. So, they’ve come to Syrup Village in the Gecko Islands to buy a new ship. While their initial plan was to steal one, Luffy is against it. He believes they can acquire a new ship through negotiation because he wants to be a pirate, but a kind-hearted one who doesn’t resort to theft.
The trio encounters Usopp, who leads them to Kaya, the heiress of a wealthy family that founded the village shipyard. It happens to be Kaya’s 18th birthday, and she will soon inherit the entire family fortune. Kaya is under the watchful eye of her butler, Klahadore, along with the chef Buchi and the housemaid Sham. Kaya graciously invites Usopp and Luffy’s group to a dinner celebration.
Unbeknownst to Kaya, a sinister plot is brewing involving the poisoning of her by Klahadore, Buchi, and Sham. At the dinner table, Kaya is presented with a poisoned soup by Buchi. However, Luffy intervenes, passionately negotiating with Kaya about buying her ship and creating enough chaos to prevent her from consuming the poisoned soup. Kaya is entertained by Luffy’s antics but Klahadore ultimately escorts her away.
Later that night, Klahadore’s true identity is revealed as Kuro, the captain of the Black Cat Pirates. He kills Merry, Kaya’s accountant. A confrontation ensues between Zoro and Kuro, but Sham strikes Zoro from behind with a vase. Meanwhile, Nami is caught stealing by Kaya but showing kindness, Kaya befriends her. Luffy, unaware of the poison, drinks the soup in the kitchen. Sham and Buchi toss Zoro and Merry into a well with his swords.
Usopp manages to escape after learning of Klahadore’s true identity. He desperately tries to alert the villagers that pirates are genuinely present this time, but they dismiss him, thinking he’s just playing another one of his games. Usopp, the son of one of Shanks’s crew members, knows nothing about how to help his friends back at Kaya’s mansion.
Meanwhile, Garp is grooming Koby into a capable leader. He learns about the possible presence of Luffy in the Gecko Islands and assembles a crew to search the area. Koby finds Usopp, who’s lost hope, and extends a helping hand when no one believes that real pirates have arrived.
We are also introduced to the menacing pirate Arlong, who has Buggy as a captive. Buggy informs Arlong about Luffy’s quest for the One Piece. Luffy has consumed a substantial amount of poison. Is he still alive? If so, can he survive encounters with Kuro, Buggy, Arlong, and, of course, the Marines? These questions will be answered in the upcoming episodes.
Episode 4: The Pirates are Coming
Usopp, whose name is inspired from Aesop, known for the fable ‘The Boy who Cried Wolf,’ is introduced to us in a similar fashion. There are many such connections you’ll find in the One Piece saga. Anyway, moving on, we get a glimpse of Zoro’s backstory about his childhood friendship with Shimotsuki Kuina, a woman who once vowed to become the world’s greatest swordsman alongside him but tragically died in an accident.
Meanwhile, Koby and Usopp visit Kaya’s place and have a conversation with Kuro. Kuro, with his seemingly polished behavior, somehow convinces the Marines that Usopp is unwell and spreading lies in the village. Later, he hands Luffy over to them. Nami has grasped the situation and is now trying to protect Kaya from the Marines. Initially, Kaya doesn’t believe Usopp’s words but when Nami informs her about the poison in the tea, she begins to realize the truth.
Luffy remains unconscious until now and then vomits out the poison from his system. Zoro comes to his aid and helps him escape from the Marines, with Koby trying to stop them but failing. Luffy goes to rescue Kaya from the mansion, accompanied by Zoro. Luffy confronts Kuro, while Zoro takes on Buchi and Sham. They battle through the night and finally succeed in freeing Kaya from their clutches.
Grateful to Luffy and his crew, Kaya happily offers them the ship Luffy desires. Luffy names it ‘Going Merry,’ after Kaya’s accountant. Kaya also allows Usopp to join Luffy on his quest. Meanwhile, we see Koby expressing his apologies to Garp, who advises Koby not to be too hard on himself for the failures. Garp is pleased to see that Luffy has finally left the village and embarked on his journey. He knows that he can finally catch up with them at sea. Towards the end of the episode, we witness Luffy’s ship under attack by Garp’s men. However, Luffy referring to Garp as his grandfather raises more questions about their relationship, which may be answered in later episodes.
Episode 5: Eat At Baratie!
At this stage, we already know that nothing can stop Luffy from reaching his goal, not even his grandfather, Garp. The Marine ship starts firing cannons at Luffy’s ship. Garp underestimates Luffy’s powers but soon Luffy expands himself and catches a cannon, bouncing it back at Garp’s ship. The cannon hits the perfect spot and the Marine can’t follow Luffy’s ship anymore. They disappear into the huge fog.
Nami is mostly concerned about Luffy’s relationship with Vice-Admiral of the Marines, Garp, so she asks Zoro to inquire about it. Zoro hesitates and fails to gather any information about it. However, in a backstory, we see the young Luffy playfully building a ship, marking it as a pirate ship. Garp comes from behind and knowing that his grandson wants to become a pirate, becomes very angry. He scolds him and breaks the ship Luffy has built. He wants him to become a Marine.
By the smell of food, Luffy navigates his squad, and they end up in a restaurant in the middle of the sea named Baratie. There, they meet Sanji, one of the finest chefs in the world who is looking for All Blue, a place where rare kinds of fishes live. Being a chef, it is Sanji’s dream to go there and collect the best spices. He is working under Zeff, the owner of the restaurant, who doesn’t admire his talent in cooking.
Luffy finds Sanji very interesting since he is a vibrant cook and a great fighter as well. He even sees him as a kind-hearted person as one night, while they are serving Zeff’s command, Sanji helps a random pirate who hasn’t been fed in a long time without even asking any questions. Luffy offers him to join his crew; however, Sanji declines the offer very gently.
Meanwhile, we see Garp calling Dracule Mihawk, one of the seven most furious pirates in the world, and asks him to bring Luffy alive. Mihawk is the greatest swordsman among mortals. Beating him and taking away the title has been Zoro’s dream ever since he lost his friend Kuina. So, at Baratie, when Mihawk arrives to find Luffy, Zoro challenges him to a duel.
Zoro loses the duel, but seeing how brave he is, Mihawk leaves without killing him. Before leaving, he asks Luffy about his dreams. Knowing that Luffy wants to be the King of all Pirates, Mihawk finds him very interesting and allows him to go on his quest. Zoro, on the verge of losing his life, promises Luffy that he will never disappoint him again. Will he remain alive? Let’s see what the next episode holds.
Episode 6: The Chef and the Chore Boy
Mihawk reports back to Garp and tells him that he wants to see how his grandson ends up when he reaches the Grand Line. Mihawk thinks that maybe Luffy is the one who can find the One Piece. Garp is initially very angry about this, but later, when confronted by young Koby, he realizes that his approach to catching Luffy has been wrong. He gathers the crew around and declares that there will be no half-measures from now on. He goes full throttle now against his grandson.
Meanwhile, Luffy and his squad are trying to get help for Zoro. Sanji and Zeff come aboard, and together they try to heal his wound. Soon, Luffy learns about how Sanji and Zeff met. We hear one of the darkest yet most compassionate stories up until now.
Zeff finds Sanji as a kid while he was a kid-chef on a passenger ship, the Orbit. A storm comes, and the ship falls apart. Zeff saves Sanji and brings him to an island, giving him a smaller bag filled with food. After almost 50 days, little Sanji decides to grab Zeff’s bigger bag so he can eat his food, only to find out that in that bigger bag, there is no food but only treasures. Zeff eats his own leg to survive and he keeps Sanji alive because he too believes in finding All Blue just like Sanji. As their dreams collide, their bond remains immortal.
Anyway, the Baratie is soon attacked by Arlong and his men, who want the Straw Hat Pirate along with the map to the Grand Line. Nami warns Luffy about this, but he decides to fight. After a good bit of fighting, Luffy fails to harm Arlong, and just when Arlong is about to deliver the final blow, Nami arrives and says she has the map. Nami reveals that she has been faithful to Arlong since the very beginning. Remember her calling someone? She is in touch with Arlong the whole time.
Luffy has lost one of his crew members, Nami, and the map to One Piece. He is on the verge of losing Zoro too. They all talk to Zoro to ease his recovery process. Even in the past, Nami read to Zoro the tale of Mont Blanc Noland or Noland The Liar and his lies about a kingdom made of gold. Since Nami betrays them, Luffy now demands Zoro’s presence sitting beside him. Zoro wakes up slowly, and seeing him alive makes Luffy very happy. Later, we see Zeff asking Sanji to get out of the restaurant and look for his dream, the All Blue. Sanji decides to join Luffy in his quest.
This time, their main objective is not One Piece but to follow Nami. How? Well, just as Arlong brings Buggy to follow Luffy, Luffy brings Buggy as well to follow Nami. Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji are on their way to bring Nami back to their crew. Will they succeed?
Episode 7: The Girl with the Sawfish Tattoo
This episode is all about Nami and how Luffy tries to get her back in the crew. With Buggy’s help, they reach Coco Village in the Conomi Islands, where Nami grew up. When they arrive, they see that Arlong and his crew have been causing a lot of trouble in the village. The villagers are forced to gather money, and Nami takes it away from them on behalf of Arlong.
Luffy notices that everyone in the village is scared of Nami except for one person, a girl with blue hair. Nami tells Luffy and his friends to leave the island and never come back. Luffy goes to find the blue-haired girl, who turns out to be Nojiko, Nami’s sister. Nojiko explains that although they’re not related by blood.
A former Marine named Belle Mere found them and raised them as her own daughters. When Arlong attacked the village and demanded money for each person’s life, Belle Mere sacrificed herself to save the girls. Nami joined Arlong after he killed her mother. After hearing this, everyone, except for Luffy, thinks she has turned evil. Luffy still believes he can help Nami see the good in people.
Meanwhile, Arlong’s hatred for humans grows, and he’s planning to declare war on them with his fishmen gang. He made a deal with Nami that if she could give him a huge amount of money, he would free her village. She kept this deal a secret from everyone, even Nojiko, to protect them.
However, when Nami tells Arlong she has the money, he sends the Marines who are bribed by him to collect it. They take all the money, leaving Nami devastated. Her main goal was to free her village from Arlong’s control, and she rejected her family and friends to achieve it. But when Arlong takes the money, her anger turns into a cry for help.
Luffy and his crew decide to help Nami. On the other hand, Vice-Admiral Garp visits Baratie. Zeff tells him to leave Luffy alone, but since Koby has found out where Luffy is, Garp heads to the Conomi Islands.
A big showdown is coming between Luffy and Arlong, but what if Garp arrives during the fight? Will he save his grandson or capture him? The season 1 finale holds the answers.
Episode 8: Worst in the East
In the climax of season 1, we see how Arlong used to treat Nami very badly. He would chain her up and make her draw maps of the sea. He even made her get a sawfish tattoo on her left arm. But he promised that if she could gather a hundred million Barry, he would let her Coco Village go free. When the time comes, though, Arlong betrays her, and she turns to Luffy for help.
Luffy and his friends head to Arlong Park to take on the fishmen and put an end to their rebellion squad. Luffy faces off with Arlong. Luffy can’t figure out how to defeat Arlong at first, but then he realizes that destroying what Arlong cares about most is the way to win. So he starts wrecking the whole Park that Arlong built. Arlong is so furious at humans that he’ll do anything to protect his legacy. Luffy succeeds in bringing down the Park and defeating Arlong. We also see Nami replacing her sawfish tattoo with something that belongs to her village.
The village can finally celebrate their freedom. But their happiness is short-lived because Vice-Admiral Garp shows up with his Marine crew. He orders them to arrest Luffy and his friends, but Koby steps in. He says he won’t arrest Luffy since Luffy didn’t harm the village. Garp and Luffy have a big fight, and Luffy takes quite a beating. But Garp starts to admire how determined Luffy is to find the One Piece and become the Pirate King. So he lets Luffy and his friends go, wishing them good luck.
Now, Luffy is a wanted man, and Koby gives him the poster with the highest bounty in the East Blue. People who’ve known Luffy in the past and present are proud of him as a pirate. Makino in Foosha village, Kaya, and Zeff are overjoyed when they see Luffy’s wanted poster, which even shows the back of Usopp’s head. Buggy, who escaped during the Arlong Park battle, and Alvida, who’s now with him, also learn about Luffy’s new status. Many of these pirates are now planning to kill Luffy and get the bounty.
One Piece (Season 1) ‘Netflix’ Ending Explained:
Who burns Luffy’s Wanted Poster?
In the final scenes of the live-action One Piece on Netflix, something interesting happens with Garp. Instead of punishing Koby and Helmeppo, he offers to train them to get stronger. Then, Shanks shows up towards the end, and Dracule Mihawk shows him Luffy’s wanted poster. Shanks and his crew celebrate Luffy’s achievements with some special booze. Luffy and Sanji bring some Orange trees from Coco Village onto the Going Merry as a reminder of Nami’s home.
Usopp also has something special to share. He’s made a new Jolly Roger, which is a big skull and crossbones wearing a straw hat. The whole crew offers it to their new captain and friend, Luffy. Each member of the Straw Hats promises to chase their dreams one by one.
As we near the end, there’s a mysterious character who burns Luffy’s wanted poster with a cigar in the final scene of the season. The Going Merry, Luffy’s ship named after Kaya’s accountant who was killed by Kuro, is getting ready to set sail for the Grand Line.
This mysterious person is Smoker, a Marine Vice-Admiral. He might be a key opponent in the upcoming season. What’s interesting is that he was also there during Roger’s execution. The identity of Luffy’s father is going to be one of the bigger revelations in the next season, if shown. Let me tell you one thing though, he too was present when Roger breathed his last. Did you recognize him? Let me know in the comment section.
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