One Piece Season 2 is finally available with a Netflix subscription, and boy, was it worth the wait. The latest batch of episodes should hold fans over with its pulse-pounding action and stunning visuals that had me questioning how they had the money for all this. Now, I sort of have an answer thanks to a behind-the-scenes clip of Nami actress Emily Rudd, who showed the remarkably simple way they fake ocean scenes.
Sorry to ruin the theater of the mind, but One Piece does not film its entire season out on the sea. Rudd explained to EW how the production crew makes the ocean look real, using a simple practical effects trick:
There's these little sparkly, silver bits of paper that when they blow the wind on it they'll flutter. And it looks just kind of like sparkling water.
I'm constantly amazed by what studios can achieve with practical effects, and One Piece is no exception. I just assumed the water was CGI in some scenes, or that they used a giant soundstage with water. Never in a million years would I have guessed it was a giant picture of the ocean with bits of foil attached, but apparently that works just as well!
For those curious about how that looks, the Instagram reel shows off exactly how this Hollywood magic works. Check it out below:
It's not quite as convincing without the fans on to make the silver shimmer, but my eyes were fooled when looking through the window! Fortunately, Luffy isn't much in the business of swimming due to his Devil Fruit power, which curses him to drown if he does, so they don't have to worry about too many overboard scenes.
One Piece has surprised me a good deal during its tenure, as it seems the show would rather go practical than rely on CGI. This includes making wild prosthetics for some of the actors and building chunks of the famous city of Logue Town so that the actors can truly feel immersed.
The show may get a bit of reprieve from building too elaborate sets while filming Season 3, which will primarily focus on the Alabasta Arc. Much of the season takes place in desert landscapes, so I don't think we're going to see much of the ocean until the arc concludes. For those bummed out by that, at least we'll get an introduction to the popular One Piece character Ace, Luffy's older brother.
Season 2 of One Piece was just released on Netflix's 2026 schedule, and filming is underway for Season 3. Here's hoping the wait for new episodes isn't too painful, and we get early renewal news to hold us over and guarantee more adventures with the Straw Hat Pirates and practical effects.
