The One Piece live action series has defied all expectations to become the first live action
anime that actually isn’t terrible. And part of why it works so well is that the creators,
Steven Maeda and Matt Owens, clearly love and respect the source material - thanks to that,
they’ve included plenty of Easter Eggs in the series for hard core fans to recognize. So here
I go with the run down of every single Easter Egg I could find in the One Piece live action.
Starting in episode 1, we get to see a few familiar faces present at Roger’s execution.
The most notable was a Young Dracule Mihawk and, of course, a young Shanks, both of whom are very
recognizable. However, there’s also this figure in a green cloak that we have to assume is Monkey
D. Dragon, the leader of the revolutionaries. We also get a blond kid who could be Smoker
and barely get a glimpse of a young Buggy. And this one is a little less clear, but look at
the jewelry on this woman. Is this Crocodile? Did the live action just confirm CROCO-MOM??
In the port, we can also see Mihawk’s ship - a little cross-shaped raft. However,
as we cross over to Luffy, we see him talking to a seagull - but not just
any seagull - this is a newscoo, a certified delivery bird for the World Economic Forum,
One Piece’s paper of record. And on that newspaper, we see a headline about a war
on Broc Coli Island - a war which will be ended by the Germa 66 two years from now.
Roronoa Zoro makes his appearance on Sixis Island. Readers familiar with the Ace light novel will
know that this is where Ace was stranded at the very beginning of his adventure. However, the
more obvious Easter Egg was Zoro fighting against Mr. 7 of Baroque Works. Some may be surprised to
know that while it wasn’t depicted in the manga, Zoro killing Mr. 7 actually is a canon event. When
the crew starts fighting against Crocodile’s criminal organization in the Alabasta Arc,
we find out that Mr. 7 did try to recruit Zoro but was killed when he attacked the pirate hunter.
During this scene, Zoro also lights candles with matches from a matchbox that reads
“Beast of Baldimore” - Baldimore being the home of Dr. Vegapunk,
where Franky trained during the time skip.
In this flashback to a young Luffy hanging with Shanks’ crew, we can clearly hear a
very recognizable song for One Piece fans: Bink’s Sake, which the crew sings with Brook to celebrate
their victory at Thriller Bark. However, some fans speculate that this song is more than just
a certified pirate banger: its lyrics might actually hold clues to the One Piece itself.
As Luffy prepares to break into the Marine base, he speculates that he could fly into the base by
hitching a ride on a bird. This is a reference to how he made it to Orange Town in the anime,
when a bird catches his head in its beak and carries him to the next island.
In Shells Town, we can see a Buggy Pirate, as well, in addition to the ones that Nami “clowns”
****out of their ship, previewing Buggy’s triumphant introduction in the next episode.
Axe-Hand Morgan also brags about his defeat of Captain Kuro of the Black
Cat Pirates and we can see scars on Morgan that appear to come from Kuro’s claw gloves.
And when Luffy and Nami steal Morgan’s safe,
we can see that its opening mechanism is in the shape of the World Government symbol.
Moving into Episode 2, once the crew breaks open Morgan’s safe,
we also see Kuro’s bounty poster, which Morgan has kept as a keepsake.
Speaking of bounty posters, though, the live action Netflix team put work into
absolutely covering this thing with bounty poster Easter Eggs. Throughout the series,
we can see bounty posters appear with the introductions of new characters, which is a
reference to One Piece’s so-called “Oda Boxes” which introduce characters and their bounties.
However, we also see a lot of bounty posters for characters that have yet to appear in the series:
pirates such as Bellamy, Foxy, Cavendish, Don Krieg (who we do actually see later in the story),
Jango (who we do not see in the story), and possibly some others that we still missed.
During Cabaji’s monologue to Zoro about how in the live action version of the story,
Zoro killed his brother, he mentioned that the killing took place in the Goa Kingdom. Fans of the
series will recognize the Goa Kingdom as Luffy’s home and the island that houses Windmill Village.
Fans may have been sad about some of the changes to the Orange Town storyline,
despite the actor selected for Buggy absolutely killing it in this role.
Netflix evidently didn’t have the budget for Richie the giant lion,
but they at least refer to him while Buggy is berating Mohji the lion tamer. In addition,
we get to see the mayor of Orange Town and his incredibly recognizable hairstyle take on a new
role among the rest of the enslaved townspeople instead of trying to fight back against Buggy.
The biggest change of this storyline is probably not getting one of the saddest backstories in the
East Blue…I’m talking about, of course, the little dog Chou-Chou, who diligently
defended the pet store after his master died. However, toward the very end of the episode,
we do get to see Chou Chou for a brief moment seeing off Luffy and co with the rest of the
citizens of Orange Town. Things like this really show that despite needing to change parts of the
plot due to time and budget, the creators really did want to honor the hardcore fans of One Piece.
The final Easter Egg of Episode 2 comes during Luffy’s flashback, just before Shanks gives him
the straw hat. We can see WoopSlap the mayor of Windmill Village in an anime-accurate costume.
Even though he didn’t have lines in this version, they still made sure to include this fan favorite
character. In this scene as well, we see a crate from the Galley-La shipwright company.
Now onto Syrup Village and episode 3!
During Usopp’s flashback, we can just barely see a poster announcing the death of Victoria Cindry,
the famous actress who will eventually be made into a zombie by Dr. Hogback on Thriller Bark.
On the title card for episode three, fans who were disappointed by liveaction
Usopp’s lack of a long nose can rest assured that at least this
recreation of Usopp’s Jolly Roger has a *somewhat* elongated nose. At least,
longer than Jacob Gibson’s nose - the actor who portrays Usopp in this version of the story.
In fact, the title card changes for each and every episode to reference a specific character. In case
you didn’t know, Oda has designed specific Jolly Rogers for all of the crew members, even if these
images don’t appear in the actual series: #1 is the standard logo which stands for Luffy. #2
features Buggy the Clown. #3, again, is Usopp’s. #4 is Zoro, prominently featuring the Wado
Ichimonji. #5 is actually not Sanji, but Zeff. However, once we get to #6, we do get Sanji’s
title card, whose skull has a swirly eyebrow even though this version of Sanji does not. For episode
#7, we get Nami’s title card. And finally, for episode #8, we get Arlong’s title card,
which prominently features the symbol of the Sun Pirates. This emblem of Arlong’s former crew did
not get as much focus as in the source material due to Hatchan being absent from the live action.
Anyway! Back to Episode 3:
As we rejoin the crew and see Nami studying the Grand Line map,
we can see her trying to figure out what exactly is going on with Reverse Mountain.
When Luffy first meets Merry, he claims that it feels like the ship is speaking to him,
which feels like a reference to the Klabautermann from the Water 7 arc.
When Usopp tells a story to Kaya, he mentions the Island Eater Goldifsh - one of Usopp’s
many lies that will come true one day if the live action crew makes it to Little Garden.
While in Kaya’s mansion, Zoro could care less about the food,
but much like his manga counterpart really just wants a good drink. In the same scene,
Usopp also tells a lie about the time he slayed a dragon - it’s a stretch,
but this might be implying the existence of very real dragons in the One Piece universe,
such as the one the crew fights on Punk Hazard or Luffy’s future opponent, Kaidou.
In the foyer of Kaya’s mansion, there are also two penguin statues,
which eagle eyed viewers may recognize from one of Oda’s coverstories. Zoro also states
that he recognizes Kuro from Mirror Ball Island - while Jango is sadly absent from the adaptation,
this island is a reference to where Jango ends up in his cover story.
Later, when exploring the mansion, we get the first of many references to Zoro
getting lost easily. It’s good to see the Netflix version keeping Zoro’s gag intact.
Lastly for episode 3, child Usopp’s bandana in the flashback has the logo for the Usopp Pirates,
the three kids who follow him around in the manga, but who are absent from the adaptation.
Time for episode 4, where our first Easter Egg comes on the very first shot:
the bush behind the well is trimmed into the shape of a panda, marking Pandaman’s
official appearance in live action. Though, as we all know, Pandaman is sneaky, so perhaps he’s
hiding out elsewhere in the show as well. Him being stuck in the well in the first place is
likely a reference to the Frog in the Well proverb that Mihawk will later bring up.
First off, Kuina gives her full name as Shimotsuki Kuina. In the manga, we know she’s from Shimotsuki
Village and the daughter of Koushiro, but it isn’t until much, much, much later in
the series that we find out about their ties to the Shimotsuki Family of Wano. We also get
to see the Shimotsuki Famliy Crest all over the Dojo, just as we did in the original material.
Kuina’s father also mentions how rare the Wado Ichimonji is,
which might be a reference to its status as one of the 21 Great Grade swords.
When trying to find his way to the mansion,
Zoro runs into Luffy because he got lost once again. Classic Zoro.
When the Straw Hats sail away from Syrup Village,
we hear an orchestral version of “We Are” the first One Piece anime theme song,
thus causing all One Piece fans everywhere to automatically burst into tears.
To end the episode, Usopp reveals his first draft of their pirate flag,
once again featuring Usopp’s Jolly Roger from the manga.
At the end of this episode, during the credits that show images of the East Blue map,
we see the Island of Rare Animals, home to fan favorite Gaimon, make an appearance. However,
we also see many other Easter Eggs in the credits maps after each episode:
Featured locations include the Polestar Islands, home to Loguetown. a reference
to the Marines Commander in Chief, Kong, Kumate Island, which featured in Buggy’s cover story,
the Oykot Kingdom, where Belle-mere found Nami and Nojiko, the Cozia Islands,
where the Germa Kingdom went to during Sanji’s second backstory, and my personal favorite: after
episode 7 you can see a sketch of Momoo, the giant sea cow used by the Arlong Pirates in the manga.
Onto episode 5!
On the Baratie, Sanji prepares a Blue Fin Elephant Tuna - which is the same species
of fish that Sanji buys on Loguetown in the manga.
This isn’t a One Piece specific Easter Egg, but during Mihawk’s brutally bad ass introduction,
when he slices up the ship we hear a “Wilhelm Scream” - a
famous stock effect that sound designers often include in films.
And, of course, the pirates Mihawk is fighting are the Don Krieg pirates,
who are the original antagonists of Baratie in the manga. We even still
got to see Gin on the Baratie, as well as the defeated body of Pearl on the beach.
Nami and Zoro play a drinking game - this one is also a stretch, but this could be a nod to
the drinking game that Zoro and Nami play with the undercover Baroque Works agents on Whiskey Peak.
When Mihawk meets Luffy, he recognizes Shanks’ hat and compliments it.
In episode 6, when trying to think of Zoro’s favorite food,
Luffy states that “he really likes rice balls” which is a reference to Zoro’s
signature attack in the manga being called “Onigiri”, the Japanese word for rice ball.
During Sanji’s flashback, child Sanji has blood smeared on his cheek in a swirl pattern,
a reference to his eyebrows in the anime.
When Nami reads to Zoro, she tells him the story of Noland the Liar, a famous fairy tale
in the One Piece world that actually serves as a fundamental part of Skypiea’s backstory. The pages
of the book are manga accurate as well, right down to including another sighting of Pandaman.
At the end of the episode, we can also see another Galley La crate on the Going Merry.
In episode 7, we see Bellemere turn a tangerine into a pinwheel, which sort of combines two
important symbols from the manga. First off, are the tangerine groves that Nami is associated with.
Second, in the manga the village mayor Genzo wears a pinwheel on his hat to entertain the
young Nami and Nojiko and appear less frightening to them. We briefly see him in a flashback with
his signature pinwheel, but this was a nice way to combine those two symbols. It’s a shame,
though, that Luffy never gets to see the pinwheel and remark on how cool it is.
In the Netflix Adaptation, Arlong Park is also much more notably modeled after a theme park,
with several carnival games seen on the premises. One of these being home to the ultimate prize,
Buggy’s body. Making Arlong Park look a lot more like a theme park makes sense,
since later on in the story we find out that Arlong modeled his empire on Sabaody Park,
the theme park on Sabaody Archipelago that banned Fishmen due to prejudice.
Mezumi also evokes the name of another Warlord and future crewmate, Jinbei - and rightly, Arlong gets
angry, foreshadowing the tension between the two when they were both members of the Sun Pirates.
And during Zeff and Garp’s meal, Zeff discusses dining on one of the last wild boars of Jaya,
which is an island that the Straw Hats will eventually visit as part of the Skypiea Saga.
Episode 8 treats us to another Wilhelm scream during the battle at Arlong Park.
When the Straw Hats get the newspaper and see Luffy’s bounty,
Usopp’s head appears in the poster just like in
the original. In that same newspaper we also see a headline about the Revolutionary Army.
Buggy and Alvida meet in a bar, foreshadowing their future team
up at Loguetown and their rise to the same level of power as luffy.
When Garp talks with Koby, he talks about how different marines have their own “Brand
of Justice” - a nod to future marine admirals such as Akainu following “Absolute Justice.”
When the Straw Hats put their feet up on the barrel, we can get a better look at Luffy’s
very controversial shoes. We can see that the costume department actually put a pattern
on Luffy’s shoes that somewhat resemble sandals, a nod to Luffy’s usual footwear.
When Nami is inspecting the map of the Grand Line,
she once again remarks on the odd geography of Reverse Mountain.
“We Are” also plays again, sending our Straw Hats off into the next season of the show.
Then in a post credit scene, we get a tease of Smoker, burning Luffy’s wanted poster, who
many fans were surprised not to see this season. Thankfully, the creators have not forgotten him.
One Easter Egg that is actually several Easter Eggs comes in the form of the
outfits the Straw Hats wear. Practically every outfit that wasn’t manga accurate
came from one of Oda’s color spreads that have the Straw Hats displaying peak fashion.
But despite hiding so many details loyal to the source material, the Live Action
also had a ton of awesome and terrible changes compared to the manga and anime,
that you can watch right here. Shanks for watching.