One Piece: The Two Major Characters Who Don't Survive Netflix's Adaptation

Author of the original "One Piece" manga Eiichiro Oda tends to shy away from killing off characters for good. Fake-outs, therefore, are far more common throughout his expansive series than definitive deaths. Netflix's live-action "One Piece" adaptation, however, is already considerably less death-averse than its source material, amassing a two-character body count in its first season alone.

The first major character to die in Netflix's "One Piece" is Merry (Brett Williams), who works as a butler for the young, wealthy Kaya (Alexander Maniatis). When Luffy (Iñaki Godoy) first meets Kaya at her home in Syrup Village, she's ill and attended to by a caretaker named Klahadore (Alexander Maniatis). However, just before Luffy and crew are able to do so, Merry starts to catch wind of that fact that Klahadore is actually a notorious pirate captain named Kuro. Unfortunately, the price he pays for happening upon Kuro's secret is his life.

Then, in Episode 5, Don Krieg (Milton Schorr) is the second major "One Piece" character to die off. Krieg shows up during Dracule Mihawk (Steven Ward)'s introductory scene as the captain of a crew of pirates Mihawk is effortlessly slaughtering. Krieg tries to fight back only to lose his life within seconds before Mihawk leaves to confront Luffy and his crew.

The fact that both Merry and Don Krieg lose their lives in Netflix's "One Piece" is especially notable given that, while both characters are seriously injured in the original version of "One Piece," neither actually dies.

Merry confronting Captain Kuro in the basement of Kaya's mansion in the live-action "One Piece" series is similar to a moment from its source material in which Kuro attacks and leaves Merry for dead after his secret has just come to light. However, Merry survives and is able to inform Kaya of her caretaker's true identity the next day. His death in Netflix's version, then, marks a notable divergence from this storyline, and even imbues the ship Luffy receives at the end of the Syrup Village arc — called the Going Merry, and adorned with the likeness of a sheep similar in appearance to Merry as its figurehead — with added meaning.

Krieg's death, meanwhile, is even more dissimilar to its source material than Merry's. Whereas Krieg is the main villain and ultimate foe Luffy must defeat during the Baratie Arc in the anime and manga, his quick loss to Mihawk renders him an afterthought, reducing his overall screen time exponentially. That said, neither Merry nor Krieg play any sort of significant role in the original "One Piece" story moving forward, so neither of their deaths should have any impact on the direction of the Netflix series.