The massive ONE PIECE celebration event “ONE PIECE DAY ’25” was held on August 10 at Tokyo Big Sight, bringing together a wide array of content from the franchise. On the special stage for Netflix’s live-action ONE PIECE, Luffy actor Iñaki Godoy made a surprise appearance, speaking entirely in Japanese—from his opening line to the cross-talk with the MC—drawing gasps and cheers from the audience.

Currently streaming exclusively on Netflix, the live-action adaptation’s first season will be followed by Season 2 in 2026. At the event, the world’s first screening of Season 2 footage took place, along with the announcement that Season 3 is officially in production.

Serving as MC was Kappei Yamaguchi, who reprises his role as Usopp from the anime (in the English-to-Japanese dubbing) for the live-action version. As a LEGO-made Den Den Mushi was carried on stage with its ringtone sounding, a voice came through the receiver—it was Iñaki, speaking in fluent Japanese: “Hello, everyone in Japan! I’m Iñaki Godoy, the actor who plays Monkey D. Luffy. Are you enjoying ONE PIECE DAY?” He added, “I wish I could go there. Maybe I will,” before suddenly appearing from the back of the venue.

“Is here okay?” he asked in Japanese while checking his position on stage, then greeted the crowd with a smile: “Hello! I’m Iñaki Godoy. Nice to meet you.” Speaking fluently, he said, “I’m so happy to be here enjoying this with all the ONE PIECE fans,” prompting Yamaguchi to express his surprise.

Godoy shared that he began studying Japanese after being cast as Luffy. “I’m still learning,” he said modestly, “but I’m studying because I want to talk with everyone, and to understand ONE PIECE even a little better.” He added with a grin, “I’ve lived in Japan for a short time. I like yakiniku… and yakiniku… and yakiniku,” earning laughter from the audience.

At one point, the Mexico-born actor even taught fans some Spanish, enjoying direct interaction with them. After the Season 2 footage was shown, he teased, “There will be many new characters.”

The footage showcased iconic locations including Loguetown, Reverse Mountain (Twin Cape), Whisky Peak, and Little Garden, as well as the notorious Baroque Works agents—Vice President and Chief of Operations Miss All Sunday (played by Lera Abova), Miss Wednesday (played by Chahisla Chandran), and Marine Headquarters officer Smoker (played by Callum Kerr). Also revealed were Brogy the giant (played by Brendan Murray), who towers over ships, and the massive whale Laboon.

When asked about memories from filming in Cape Town, South Africa, Godoy joked, “I don’t have any,” explaining, “I’m a bit lazy, so I often napped between scenes,” before recalling, “Oh, I just remembered! I worked out with Mackenyu for about two months. But I got tired. We also played the board game Catan—I’m the best player in the world.”

Discussing Season 2, he said, “The Grand Line is the most dangerous place in the ONE PIECE world, and the pirates there are even stronger.” He also recounted a visit from creator Eiichiro Oda to the South Africa set: “Oda-san kept asking, ‘What’s this?’ about different things, and it was fun.”

As for the “Season 3 in production” message shown at the end of the footage, he told the audience, “It’s thanks to everyone who watched Season 1. Thank you so much. To make the best Season 3 possible… I’ll work out with Mackenyu. Every day… no, on weekends,” making the crowd laugh.

He closed by saying, “Season 2 begins next year. Until then, please watch Season 1 again,” before leading the entire venue in a rousing “Let’s go! Grand Line!” to conclude the event.

ONE PIECE Live-Action Series New Trailer

Source : ORICON NEWS