Why Buggy Is the Surprise MVP of Netflix’s One Piece

The world of One Piece has many characters that were a part of the East Blue Saga, with many shonen fans wondering how the live-action adaptation would handle them. From Arlong and his fishmen to Garp to Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates, it was hard to think of how some of these characters would be brought to life. Amazingly, perhaps the most difficult character to give a real-life adaptation, Buggy, might walk away as the “most valuable player” of the One Piece cast.

To give you a rundown of Buggy The Clown, he is one of the most garish, bizarre villains in One Piece history. Having a background with Red-Haired Shanks, the mentor of Monkey D. Luffy, the clown pirate ingested a Devil Fruit known as the Bara Bara no Mi, aka the Chop Chop Fruit. The powers he gained from eating the fruit allow Buggy to detach his body parts and hurl them at opponents, which can sometimes come with a great cost if he isn’t able to reclaim all his extremities. Buggy in the manga and anime adaptation has had a long history of “failing upwards”, becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea and being revered, and feared, by the general population. In Netflix’s One Piece, all of these traits are retained and then some.

Buggy The MVP

Played by Jeff Ward, the live-action take on Buggy is able to combine so many different aspects that made the character work in the original One Piece storyline. While Buggy might be threatening and can certainly be scary, he also is often defeated by the Straw Hat Pirates and can be pathetic when his body parts are stolen from him. Ward has had a long acting career, playing major roles in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Brand New Cherry Flavor, and Hacks. None of these parts however have been quite like Buggy, but Ward clearly got the assignment and was able to bring his talent to Netflix. There will be some clear comparisons to the many versions of the Joker that have been introduced in pop culture over the years, but Buggy is a clown all his own. 

Aside from nailing Buggy’s personality and menace in the first season, Netflix’s One Piece was also able to make his wild powers believable, which is a feat unto itself. Presenting a character that has the ability to detach his limbs and fire them at someone via a “Chop Chop Cannon” is one thing, but having the actor playing that role sell it and convince audiences that it works is something else entirely. The Chop Chop fruit-imbued pirate was even given some hilarious nods to the original story when he finds himself missing his upper torso but is still operating as usual.

It’s hard not to love Buggy here, which is impressive considering how much of a villain he is. At the end of the day, Buggy is only out for himself, aiming to collect treasure, prestige, and perhaps most importantly an audience. Ward is able to take all those desires and merge them into an infectious personality, regardless of what side he’s working on at any given time. Thanks to the events of One Piece’s first season, Buggy will have a big role to play in the series’ future, so here’s hoping that Netflix confirms a second season for the live-action Straw Hat Pirates.

It’s debatable whether or not Jeff Ward is able to surpass the young actors that take on the role of the Straw Hat Pirates, but Buggy most certainly takes the title for the best villain in Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece.