Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action Season 2 is diving straight into the Grand Line, stirring up plenty of debate. Recent images have revealed Laboon, the scarred giant whale guarding the entrance, and Clive Russell as Crocus, its eccentric caretaker.
Despite the show’s massive production scale, one major change has fans worried.
Crocus Doesn’t Appear to Live Inside Laboon in Season 2
In Eiichiro Oda’s manga and anime, the Reverse Mountain arc shows Crocus living inside Laboon. His small home floats on a piece of land inside the whale’s belly, surrounded by the sea and an oddly painted sky.
However, new photos from Netflix show Crocus’ home seemingly located on the Twin Cape lighthouse, with Laboon leaping nearby in the water.
For casual viewers, this might seem like a minor change. But for fans who understand the symbolism of Laboon’s belly, it’s a tough shift to accept.
Originally, Crocus living inside the whale, a creature refusing to move forward, symbolized his own trapped, sorrowful cycle. The surreal image of a home inside a whale under an artificial sky is unforgettable and emotionally represents a deep symbiotic bond between human and animal.
If Crocus truly lives outside Laboon in the Netflix version, this change risks replacing the arc’s strongest metaphor with realism, which has never been One Piece’s style. While the realistic approach looks impressive, losing the dreamy, melancholic tone that made the Reverse Mountain arc special could weaken Laboon’s emotional story in Season 2.
The Story of Crocus Can Still Work
That said, previous major plot changes in Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action have been well received by fans. If Crocus doesn’t live inside Laboon here, his loyalty and bond with the whale might be highlighted in other meaningful ways.
While Laboon bears scars on the outside, Crocus carries scars within. Both are characters who never stop waiting, each for different reasons but centered on the same point: the pirates who broke their promise, and Laboon’s unwavering belief they will return. Whether Crocus lives inside or near Laboon, that loneliness and loyalty can still resonate if the show captures the right tone.
This also opens the door for Brook, the Straw Hat crew’s future musician who first appears in the Thriller Bark arc. In one of the most emotional flashbacks, Brook reveals the entire Rumbar crew was poisoned and never got to reunite with Laboon. Since Season 1 hinted at future characters, an early appearance by Brook is entirely possible.
It seems the Straw Hats will still travel inside Laboon, though. Rather than relying solely on special effects, Sanji actor Taz Skylar revealed the production built a Laboon whale “the size of a cruise ship.” He added that “inside it has a shipwreck, and it’s much larger than a normal whale.”
This suggests that no matter where Crocus lives, we’ll still see the Straw Hats journeying inside Laboon. The key is how carefully Crocus’ backstory and the promise of Luffy’s return are portrayed.