The recent castings in One Piece live-action season 2 for the roles of major characters like Crocodile and Nico Robin have caused quite a stir among One Piece fans. Ever since these castings have been made official, the internet has been buzzing with fans’ opinions about the actors and the way they might portray their characters in the upcoming season.
While Joe Manganiello’s role as Crocodile has been highly appreciated, some fans might not be happy with Lera Abova joining the cast as Nico Robin. Although the resemblance between Abova and Robin is too much to go unnoticed, the reason behind fans’ dissatisfaction with the cast is her being Russian.
Some One Piece fans are not happy with Abova’s Russian origin and believe that it does not fit well with Robin’s character description. These fans might not know this, but Eiichiro Oda’s real-world cultural inspiration for Robin is Russian. Thus, Abova might be the perfect actress to play the role of the Straw Hat Pirates’ archaeologist.
Some One Piece Fans Are Not Happy With Robin’s Casting
Fans have been waiting for the second season of Netflix’s One Piece live-action season 2. While much of the enthusiasm stems from the story and the adventure in the narrative, fans are also eager to see who will play their favorite characters from the series. Thus, when the creators started revealing the cast of the upcoming seasons, many fans couldn’t hold their excitement.
Although almost every One Piece fan is happy with the current array of actors joining the second season of the series, there are a few who might not have been sharing the same feeling. Recently, a few One Piece fans were seen expressing disappointment with the casting of Nico Robin.
Her Russian origin has become a problem for a few One Piece fans who have connected the entire scenario with the ongoing conflicts going on between Russia and Ukraine.
Casting a russian actress as Nico Robin in the popular show #OnePiece, whose family was killed by terror, feels particularly inappropriate given russia’s current role as a terrorist state. There’s still time to fix this @netflix https://t.co/cxVk9juHyw
— Roman Hryshchuk (@grishchukroma) September 21, 2024
This has resulted in viewers condemning Netflix for casting her as the character who has been most affected by wars in the plot.
Lera Abova Was Born To Play Nico Robin in One Piece
While a few One Piece fans may not have been happy about Abova playing the role of Nico Robin because of her Russian origin, there are others who believe that she was born to be the “Devil Child” of One Piece. And the reason behind it is, in fact, her being Russian.
Many One Piece fans might not know this, but Eiichiro Oda’s real-world cultural inspiration for Robin is Russian. The mangaka revealed this in One Piece SBS Volume 56 when he was asked about which countries the nine Straw Hats would come from if One Piece was set in the real world.
Furthermore, her background is irrelevant because she is not only a wonderful performer, but she also suits the character perfectly. This is why judging her on the basis of her acting would be much better than judging her for her nativity. Thus, fans should just wait for her to portray the role of Robin in One Piece live-action season 2 and judge her acting skills as the character.
One Piece live-action is available to watch on Netflix.
