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From the very beginning, we all knew that One Piece Season 2 would be a bigger challenge than the first. Some of those challenges are literally bigger, like the giants on Little Garden, but many were style and storytelling choices the showrunners had to make. However, One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda made sure they kept the fantasy of the story alive when he gave them a note on Tony Tony Chopper’s appearance in the Netflix series.

During a recent interview, One Piece showrunner Joe Tracz explained how Eiichiro Oda kept reminding them that they were making a fantasy story first and foremost. When it came time to design the horrifically cute Tony Tony Chopper for the Drum Island arc, Oda gave a similar note to the showrunners. “For Chopper, we could have gone hyper real, but Oda from the beginning always said, ‘Think teddy bear,’” Tracz explained. “A real reindeer is a little uncanny. So, in those early conversations about how much do you push the realism versus the fairy tale cuddly quality, he’s always in favor of going with the thing that will move you the most. And maybe a hyper realistic reindeer is not going to move you the way something that looks like the stuffed animal you had as a kid is going to move you.”

That philosophy also extended to the emotional climax of the Drum Island arc. “When you see a cherry blossom tree made up of a mountain peak with spotlights on clouds that are pink from the powder, you either go for a realistic cloud on a mountain, or something that leans into what feels poetic about a tree. That’s the one note he has that I just always feel like I want to take to heart, which is like to be true to the poetry more, sometimes more than the realism.”

Sometimes you need to make sure the style you’re using reflects the story you’re trying to tell, even if you’re adapting a comic book to live action, like on One Piece.

THE ONE PIECE IS REAL...ly important to Popverse! That's why we've put together the key articles to keep your fandom of the manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action-show alive:

• How to watch One Piece One Piece in chronological and release order (All 1,100+ episodes plus the movies!)
• When the next episode of One Piece is coming
• Netflix almost missed casting Superman star Mikaela Hoover as Tony Tony Chopper because the audition materials were too vague
• Netflix enlists a Bridgerton star to show off the first big set piece of One Piece season 2, with a Loguetown that is full of easter eggs from the manga
• Why One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy is the perfect hero for the dark times ahead
• Every difference between the live-action One Piece and the original manga
• One Piece Gear 5 Form: Everything we know about Luffy's latest transformation
• Ranking the One Piece anime's arcs, from best to worst
• Why is One Piece more popular now that the anime is 25 years old? We asked around and found out
• The English cast of One Piece explain what they love about Eiichiro Oda's storytelling - "He's a genius!"