One Piece Season 2, Episode 1 featured an unexpected appearance of Bartolomeo during the Loguetown Arc, and he was not supposed to be there based on what happened in the anime. The sophomore season of Netflix's live-action adaptation introduced many new characters not seen in Season 1, including Miss Wednesday, Miss All Sunday (Nico Robin), and future big bad, Mr. Crocodile.
The premiere also introduced Bartolomeo (Nahum Hughes), the green-haired, fanged pirate, who instantly became Monkey D. Luffy's biggest fan during the Straw Hats' encounter with Buggy the Star Clown and his lackeys.
So Why Is Bartolomeo in One Piece Season 2?
One Piece Season 2's inclusion of Bartolomeo is actually surprising, considering that he doesn't appear this early on in the story in the manga and in the anime.
One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda's manga and anime were known for revisiting or referencing earlier events to establish connections between characters, and the live-action series had the luxury of actually showing things to fill in the blanks later on.
Bartolomeo's appearance in One Piece Season 2 served that purpose because of what happened during his introduction during the Dressrosa Arc. When he was introduced, Bartolomeo referenced that he was actually in Loguetown at the time that the Straw Hat Pirates were there.
Bartolomeo witnessed Luffy's near-execution by Buggy on the same platform where Gol D. Roger was executed. Bartolomeo became a fan of Luffy, and he was inspired to quit crime and become a pirate himself.
Bartolomeo's introduction is an interesting tease, similar to how One Piece Season 2 also laid the groundwork for Luffy's Gear 5.
When Was Bartolomeo Introduced In the One Piece Manga & Anime?
Bartolomeo was introduced during the Dressrosa Arc, long after the events of the Loguetown Arc. At that point, Bartolomeo revealed to Luffy that he was there during Buggy and Alvida's duel with the Straw Hats at Loguetown.
In the manga, Bartolomeo first appeared in Chapter 705, introduced as a gladiator in the Corrida Colosseum who was booed by the crowd for his aggressive personality. Meanwhile, in the anime, Bartolomeo made his proper debut in One Piece Episode 636 in the same manner of entering the colosseum block battle.
As the biggest fan of the Straw Hat Pirates, Bartolomeo's admiration for them is off the charts because he was willing to go to great lengths for them, which includes putting himself in harm's way for the sake of Luffy, Nico Robin (read more about her powers here), and the others. He later assisted the Straw Hats in overthrowing the dangerous Donquixote Doflamingo.
When Exactly Was Bartolomeo In Loguetown In the Anime?
The One Piece anime never showed Bartolomeo in real time during the Loguetown Arc because the character had not yet been made by creator Eiichiro Oda during the early East Blue Saga. Bartolomeo's first appearance was in silhouette during a flashback sequence in Episode 633 of the anime, before his eventual debut in Episode 705.
The character's background presence in Loguetown was then retroactively revealed through flashbacks in the Dressrosa Arc during Bartolomeo's passionate, fan-driven conversation with Luffy about his admiration for the Straw Hats.
This revelation explains why Bartolomeo's appearance in Netflix's One Piece Season 2 is a game-changer for fans: the show actually made his canon backstory visible to viewers, and this could also mean the live-action adaptation will adapt the Dressrosa Arc down the line.
