Netflix’s One Piece includes a character named Kuina yet does not explain her death, making some changes to the anime on which it is based.

Warning! This article contains spoilers for Netflix's One Piece.

Summary

• Netflix's One Piece changes the anime by not explaining the cause of Kuina's death, omitting the tragic details revealed in the original anime series.
• The live-action series also fails to mention that Kuina's sensei is her father, which diminishes the significance of his trust in Zoro to carry on her legacy.
• Despite these changes, Netflix's One Piece effectively sets up Zoro's dreams and aspirations, connecting them to his alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates.

Netflix's One Piece includes a character tied to Zoro's backstory named Kuina who tragically passes away, yet the show changes the anime on which it is based by not explaining the cause of her death. Throughout Netflix's One Piece, a central theme of the series is tied to the dreams and aspirations of the Straw Hat Pirate crew. In One Piece episode 4, the goal of Roronoa Zoro is finally explained and is revealed to connect to a childhood friend of his named Kuina.

Kuina and Zoro trained together alongside many other members of their village to become the best swordsmen - or women - in the world. The two establish a strong relationship, training in secret and making a pact with one another to train every single day until one of them becomes the most skilled sword wielder to ever live. This pact is then soured by the tragic death of Kuina which explains Zoro's future aspiration to become the world's best swordsman in her honor, yet Netflix's One Piece changes the story of the anime slightly by not explaining how Kuina passed.

One Piece's Kuina Died After Falling Down The Stairs

In Netflix's One Piece, the sensei of Zoro and Kuina simply explains that she passed away in an unspecified accident before giving the latter's sword to her friend. What the Netflix version of the show does not divulge is that Kuina died falling down the stairs. This is explained in the anime, with the reason behind her death making it all the more tragic in regard to Zoro's character.

The One Piece anime details that Kuina was looking for a whetstone. She intended to use the whetstone to sharpen her sword so that she could continue training alongside Zoro. As such, Kuina's sword was somehow involved in her death, as her search for the whetstone resulted in her accident. The sword is then given the Zoro which makes his dedication to using it from then on much more poignant, though these details are left out of Netflix's One Piece.

How Netflix's One Piece Changes Kuina's Death

Aside from not revealing the true cause of her death, Netflix's One Piece changes Kuina's passing in another way. In the anime, it is made clear that the sensei training Kuina and Zoro was the former's father. Netflix's live-action retelling of One Piece gives no real hint that this is the case. Aside from the sensei also shown to be grieving alongside Zoro, One Piece episode 4 does not explain his familial links to Kuina as the anime does.

This change to Kuina's death does not ruin the show with Netflix's One Piece breaking an anime adaptation streak, but it does make one moment after Kuina's passing lose some of its meaning. This moment is when the sensei gives Zoro Kuina's sword. If it had been revealed that the sensei was Kuina's father, it would have made the moment much more meaningful as he is trusting Zoro to carry on his daughter's legacy. Despite these changes to Kuina's death, Netflix's One Piece does an admirable job at setting up Zoro's dreams and aspirations which tie into his joining of the Straw Hat Pirates alongside Luffy, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji.