Netflix built the Baratie from One Piece and has the video to prove it

Netflix is not messing around with its much-anticipated (and feared) adaptation of the seminal manga and anime One Piece. And by not messing around, we mean they’re spending a lot of money. After all, this is Netflix, and money solves all their problems, especially when their problem is spending too much money. Case in point: The massive size of the Baratie set for One Piece, as shown in the new behind-the-scenes video released earlier today.

Joined by showrunners Steve Maeda and Matt Owens, actor Iñaki Godoy, who plays Luffy in the series, introduces glimpses of One Piece’s expansive set in South Africa. The video comes as a promo for Netflix’s Geeked Week, the streamer’s second annual mini Comic-Con, during which it teases upcoming genre properties.

Netflix isn’t putting all its eggs in one ship, though. The video also offers brief looks at the similarly massive
“Massive Love Duck” and “The Going Merry.” But the teases here only
amount to a couple of shots of the Love Duck’s bow and an unfinished
“Going Merry” ram.

The video properly communicates that Netflix is spending m-o-n-e-y on this one. Building sets like this feels like an investment in continuing the show because, presumably, the studio would like to use them more than once. For example, the Baratie is a water-bound restaurant, complete with a bar out front that resides inside a fish’s mouth. If you have Netflix money, you might as well build the fish. Nevertheless, as we’ve seen with some of the other high-profile manga and anime adaptations from Netflix, money doesn’t automatically win you a fanbase, respect, or a second season.

So no, there isn’t a trailer here. You’re not going to see any footage of the boats in action. This is one of those Netflix “Geeked Week” promos that basically say, “Yeah, we’re working on it.” However, Godoy’s emphatic “roll it” did feel like an even more satisfying and convincing preview for the show. Let’s see these Straw Hat Pirates already.