The team behind Netflix's One Piece may have a 12-season plan for the anime adaptation – but now that it's been confirmed season 2 pulled in less viewers than season 1, it's seeming less and less likely it'll ever come to fruition.
According to Forbes, the show's second chapter earned 16.8 million views in its first four days of streaming: 1.7 million down from its predecessor during the same window. In the grand scheme of things, sure, that's not a huge drop. But waning interest from built-in fans isn't a good sign when it comes to longevity potential, especially when it bagged a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score and you consider that each episode reportedly sets the streamer back $18 million.
"There's so much material," producer Marty Adelstein explained to Deadline earlier this week, in reference to the original manga's 1,080 chapters. He went on to say that they could plot out six seasons "easy", but that's the least they imagine when it comes to the adventure drama's future.
As it stands, Virgin River is tied with Orange is the New Black and Grace and Frankie as Netflix's longest-running series. It will soon surpass the latter two titles, though, with its upcoming eighth installment. Given all of their steadily-grown popularity, it'll take some doing for One Piece to match up.
With One Piece season 3 already in the works, season 2 sees Monkey D. Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) and the rest of the Straw Hat Crew head out onto the Grand Line, where they encounter prehistoric jungles, beloved fan fave Tony Tony Chopper, and the notorious Baroque Works assassins.
All episodes are streaming now on Netflix. For more, check out our One Piece season 2 review, or if you've already completed your voyage on the Grand Line, dive into our One Piece season 2 ending explained.
