The live-action Crocodile, portrayed by Joe Manganiello.
However, beyond their individual fights, there is one Straw Hat who is the real MVP of Alabasta, but this One Piece arc is often overshadowed by later ones. Sanji comes in clutch in Alabasta, but the arc is not often associated with him. After all, it was during Baratie that fans were introduced to Sanji and got his initial backstory. Meanwhile, post-time skip delivers the rest of his background during Whole Cake Island, an arc centered around Sanji and his family. While Alabasta is not Sanji-centered, he truly is the unsung hero for it.
Sanji Is The Unsung Hero Of Alabasta
The First Grand Line Arc Features Sanji's Underrated Skills
Even before the Straw Hats touch ground in Alabasta, Princess Vivi's kingdom, they are caught in the cross-hairs of Crocodile's Baroque Works. While Vivi, Nami, Luffy, and Zoro fight for their lives against Mr. 3, who is set to debut in Netflix's One Piece Season 2, Sanji impersonates the wax-themed villain to guarantee that his crew will not be tracked by any more Baroque Works agents, clearing the way for the Straw Hats. Not only that, but he also defeats two more Baroque Works agents and collects the Eternal Pose, which guides the Straw Hats to Alabasta.
Chainsaw Man and Demon Slayer Have the Answer to One Piece’s Pacing Problem
When it comes to the One Piece remake series, developing some of the arcs as movies may help the pacing.
This is an impressive feat for any Straw Hat, but what makes this a more impressive act is the fact that it comes so naturally to Sanji. In the manga and anime, Sanji is one of the Straw Hats' best fighters, but he's also ridiculously resourceful, clever, and brilliant. No one can deny that after he effortlessly pulls one over on Crocodile, a Warlord of the Sea. The Warlords were some of the most threatening pirates on the Grand Line, and Sanji gets the better of one even before any of the Straw Hats meet Crocodile.
That is not the only time Sanji gets the better of Crocodile during the Alabasta saga. When the rest of the crew -- outside Sanji and Chopper -- are captured by Crocodile, it's Sanji who tricks Crocodile yet again by posing as Mr. Prince and convincing him to leave the Straw Hats. While Chopper acts as a decoy, Sanji is able to infiltrate Crocodile's base and free the rest of the Straw Hats. Once again, Sanji demonstrates incredible wit, and he is able to save his crew, and in turn Alabasta, with very little help outside his own intelligence and Chopper's help.
Netflix's One Piece Took Sanji To New Heights
Taz Skylar's Sanji Is A Better Perfect Adaptation Of The Straw Hats' Cook
With Alabasta on the horizon for Netflix's One Piece, audiences will soon get to see the streaming series' take on the arc, as well as these moments with Sanji. Netflix's One Piece could not have cast a better actor for the role, as Taz Skylar brings a suave coolness to the character that works so well already. Now apply that to Alabasta Sanji, and it is a match made in heaven. Alabasta Sanji pulls off his deception with so much ease, and one can only imagine how effortlessly and cool Skylar will be able to do the same, if not better.
One Piece’s Massive Sanji Change Makes The Live-Action Show’s Future Even More Exciting
One Piece season 1 made some significant yet clever changes to the manga, including reimagining Sanji’s character by dropping an annoying trait.
After all, of all the characters translated from the anime to the live-action series, Skylar's Sanji is superior. In fact, Netflix's One Piece made a massive change to Sanji, dropping his infamous womanizer gag. While Sanji is still a romantic and flirt, he is far less obsessive, perverted, and silly. In fact, this gag often undercuts what a great character Sanji can be, and it can overshadow his more serious moments. Without that, Skylar's natural charm is allowed to flourish, making it very difficult for anyone to overlook how cool and badass Sanji is going to be in Alabasta.
The bar for this season is already high. Season 1 of Netflix's One Piece exceeded all expectations, especially given the track record of past live-action adaptations of anime. Along with that, Skylar himself has teased that the show's comeback will be wild, with Season 2 going bigger than Season 1 and potentially doing things never attempted for TV before. Netflix's One Piece Season 2 is highly anticipated, as is Skylar's return to Sanji, and if this season goes well, fans should be excited about what else is in store for Skylar.
After Alabasta, Sanji Has Much More In Store
Taz Skylar Will Have Plenty To Do If Netflix's One Piece Keeps Going Strong
Sanji gets plenty more opportunities to shine after Alabasta, including the arc right after it, Skypiea. When Usopp is about to be bested, potentially killed, by that arc's big bad, Enel, Sanji takes the hit for him, and he does so in one of the coolest ways possible, letting the electricity light his cigarette and surviving a blast that likely would have killed almost anyone else. It's a metal moment, and it is one of Sanji's best and most memorable, a scene that Skylar could easily recreate with the same amount of cool.
I Need One Piece Season 2 To Answer Two Crocodile Questions The Manga Has Ignored For Over 1000 Chapters
The introduction of Joe Manganiello's Crocodile in One Piece season 2 provides the perfect opportunity to answer two questions the manga has not.
Much later on, Sanji gets a whole arc dedicated to himself and his mysterious past. Post-time skip, Sanji separates from the Straw Hats because of his family, the Big Mom Pirates, and a surprise wedding. While Baratie delivers a heartbreaking backstory for Sanji, there is so much more to his past, and Whole Cake Island explores just that, as well as his complicated feelings in regard to his family and himself. This would be a much more vulnerable arc for Skylar to explore, and it would be phenomenal to see him bring this side of Sanji to life.
However, Whole Cake Island is not for a long time. Netflix's One Piece is not even close to hitting the time-skip and has several more crew to pick up before then. While these later Sanji-focused moments won't be for some time, fans of the character can look forward to his criminally under-rated, incredible moments in Netflix's One Piece Season 2, which has a confirmed release date of late 2025, over two years after the first season was released.
