Reverse Mountain and Laboon in One Piece Live-Action Season 2 Episode 2

Episode Reviews, Live Action Adaptations

6–9 minutes

Reverse Mountain and Laboon in One Piece Live-Action Season 2 Episode 2

I did not expect this episode to get me the way it did. I knew Laboon’s story was coming. I have known it for years. And it still got me. That is the thing about One Piece, when it is working properly, the emotional weight does not depend on surprise.

If you’re curious how the entire season holds up, you can also read my full review of One Piece Live-Action Season 2.

Episode 2: Good Whale Hunting (Reverse Mountain)
Director: Emma Sullivan
Screenplay: Ashley Wigfield
Runtime: 1:03:34
Airdate: March 10, 2026
Stream it here on Netflix

Guide to My One Piece Live-Action Season 2 Episode 2 Review

Spoiler-Free Thoughts

A person stands on a cliff overlooking a vast ocean, with a beached whale visible in the water. A lighthouse is positioned on a distant rocky outcrop, surrounded by towering cliffs and scattered clouds in the sky.

I knew Laboon’s story was coming; I’ve read the manga, watched the anime, cried over it before, but the live-action version still blindsided me with how hard it hit. By the time the credits rolled, I was sitting there sniffling, grinning through the tears at my screen. This is the moment Season 2 stops warming up and starts sailing full-speed into the wild, emotional, ridiculous heart of One Piece.

A person wearing a straw hat and a woman in a blue top are gazing at a scenic view of the ocean and clouds from a high vantage point.

The Merry navigating that channel is chaotic in exactly the right way, and Luffy using his arms to haul the ship clear of the rocks is one of those moments where the rubber powers translate better to live action than you might expect. It is physical, it is visual, and it moves fast enough that you do not have time to question it. The practical effects on Reverse Mountain already feel bigger and more dangerous than anything in Season 1. You can feel the shift; we’re not in the East Blue anymore. The ride up Reverse Mountain is chaotic and brilliant, and I would love to experience it as a ride at an amusement or water park.

Close-up view of a large whale partially emerging from the ocean between two rocky cliffs, with waves crashing around it.

Then Laboon appears, and the scale is perfect: an enormous, scarred whale that looks like he’s been bashing his head against the Red Line for fifty years. I was wondering how they would do the inside of him; they went for a real, fleshy, biological stomach instead of the manga’s dreamy sky ceiling. It’s claustrophobic, gross in the best way, and it grounds the whole sequence. The stomach acid as a genuine hazard is a smart replacement. It raises the stakes, it gives the crew something to actually work against, and it produces the best ensemble moment in the episode.

The custom One Piece logo with the skull and crossbones on the left and the violin bow slicing right through the letters on the right, it’s absolutely gorgeous and such a perfect musical tribute to what’s coming. I am still not 100% sold on the Hollywood-reference naming for the whole season.

An elderly man with a bald head and long grey hair wearing a red shirt and glasses, adorned with distinctive blue-and-yellow horn-like headpieces, stands in an outdoor setting with wooden structures in the background.

Crocus is an absolute gem, cranky and grumpy on the outside but kind at the heart of it, the kind of old man who reminds me of a few uncles of mine.

Spoilers Ahead: Full Deep Dive

If you’ve seen it (or don’t mind knowing everything), here’s where it gets juicy. If you want to skip spoilers, click here.

Aerial view of rocky cliffs surrounded by turbulent water, with a small boat navigating through the churning sea.

The crew’s ride up and down Reverse Mountain is chaotic and brilliant, Usopp white-knuckling the helm, Zoro and Sanji snapping the whipstaff with their strength, Luffy stretching both arms to pull the Merry to safety. Then Laboon swallows them whole, and we’re inside that dark, pulsating whale belly.

Three characters stand on a ship's deck, gazing at a dramatic seascape with crashing waves, surrounded by green foliage.

The lighting is a bit dim in places (I sometimes wish it were brighter so I could drink in every detail, even if it wouldn’t make sense inside a stomach), but you still see everything that matters.

Two young women standing close together in a dimly lit setting, one with short orange hair wearing a blue patterned top, and the other with long teal hair in a light green coat, both looking towards the camera.

The human chain to save Usopp, with Miss Wednesday suddenly jumping in to help,that unexpected teamwork and her fight against Nami earlier? I did not see that coming. It is brief, but it establishes clearly that Vivi is not decorative. She knows how to handle herself, and watching Nami recalibrate mid-fight is entertaining. Fun, tense, and very in-character.

A young man with green hair smiles while reaching for a bamboo stick in a dimly lit, wooden room.

Zoro producing a spear contraption from a shovel and a bamboo pole is the sort of solution that makes complete sense for him. The fact that it then snaps under pressure when Usopp grabs it is even better.

An elderly man with grey hair and large colourful horn-like decorations on his head is sitting in a cosy, rustic room, gesturing expressively while wearing a red shirt and a necklace. The background features warm, ambient lighting and various photographs on the walls.

But the real heart of the episode is Crocus and the flashback. He’s locked in his lighthouse, being properly grumpy until Luffy’s persistence wins him over. The dialogue gives him room to be awkward and difficult without ever tipping into caricature, and by the time he is prepared to sedate Laboon yet again out of sheer stubborn devotion to a promise, you understand him completely. The way he talks about Laboon, not as a pet, but as a promise he made, hit me right in the feels. Crocus living inside the whale is cut entirely, and Usopp’s throwaway line suggesting he should build a house in there is a neat little nod to what was left out.

A giant whale breaching the surface of the ocean near an ornate sailing ship with a dragon figurehead, under a cloudy sky.

The Rumbar Pirates flashback is where the episode does its most careful work. Seeing Brook as part of a living crew, singing to a small Laboon, gives the whale’s grief an immediacy that a much later reveal could never have matched. The show keeps making this choice, weaving in context early so the emotion is available now rather than stored for later, and it keeps paying off.

A man with long blonde hair wearing a white cowboy hat and a green coat stands in front of a pirate ship, smiling at the camera.

Calico Yorki with that captivating smile that kept me staring every time he was on screen, yes, it was his smile and not the abs, but they helped. That smile, and the specific weight of the moment when he accepts responsibility for Laboon while knowing what it will cost his crew, made him immediately compelling. Knowing their fate and watching him make that decision anyway is quietly devastating. He has been on screen for minutes, and I am already charmed. Yorki quickly became one of my favourite new additions in the live-action.

A man with curly hair and sunglasses plays a violin on a ship, wearing a tall hat and a stylish outfit.

“Binks’ Brew” appearing twice, first from Brook in the flashback and then from Luffy singing it back to Laboon to coax him open, is a genuinely lovely piece of structure. I was pleasantly surprised and properly emotional. Turning a far-future reveal into an immediate gut-punch made Laboon’s loneliness feel ten times heavier right now.

Three characters in a vibrant outdoor setting by a water feature; two are wearing cream-coloured uniforms with the word 'MARINE', and one has blue hair and is dressed casually with a sword at her side.

We also get a fun side trip back to Loguetown, with Garp being way more proactive and clued-in than in the anime, handing out orders, explaining Baroque Works, and letting Smoker chase into the Grand Line. Coby and Helmeppo’s brief banter with Tashigi was cute. Koby encouraging Tashigi to chase her own code rather than just follow orders is a small moment that earns its place.

A massive, stylised whale with a skull design on its side floats in calm waters at sunset, while a small pirate ship approaches it.

Laboon, as both a baby and a full-sized whale, is genuinely adorable and genuinely heartbreaking. Luffy painting the Jolly Roger on Laboon’s head and promising they’ll come back someday? That lands softer than the rival framing from the manga but feels true to who this version of Luffy is. He does not fight Laboon. He just makes him a reason to come back.

Little details that made me smile

A young woman with orange hair and glasses looks at her watch while standing on a ship, with a large flag featuring a skull and smile in the background.

Crocus’s cranky-but-kind dialogue that feels like every stubborn uncle I know.
Sanji, getting startled, not scared, gave me a proper giggle.
Zoro’s “big sword” contraption snapping in half.
Vivi vs Nami fight showing she’s actually deadly with those weapons.
“Binks’ Brew” sung by Brook and then by Luffy with the Nika dance.
The Log Pose being smaller than I expected, such a tiny, perfect detail.
Coby and Helmeppo’s cute banter while encouraging Tashigi’s dream.

Two characters holding lanterns in a dark, rustic setting, with one looking surprised and the other apprehensive.

I’ve only watched it twice straight through and sped through a third time just for screenshots, but every pass made me love it more.

Final thoughts on episode 2

A young man lounging on a ship's bow with a straw hat, wearing a red vest and khaki shorts, against a backdrop of ocean and ship deck.

Eight episodes, five arcs, and Episode 2 already feels like the emotional launchpad the Grand Line needed. The pacing is confident, the tears are real (Laboon got me good), the quirks are all there, and the smart weaving of future characters makes everything feel connected instead of random. Some tiny things (dimmer lighting in the whale) sting a bit, but nothing that hurts the experience. This is the moment the live-action version stopped playing catch-up and started making me care, hard, about a giant whale who’s been waiting fifty years.

So tell me in the comments, did Laboon get you tearing up, too, or were you stone-faced through the whole thing? How did the early Human Brook cameo feel, gift or future-magic spoiler? And be honest: was Calico Yorki’s smile as charming for you as it was for me? Did the biological whale stomach work better for you than the manga’s sky version?

Whisky Peak is next, and I’m already preparing myself for the upcoming chaos.

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