©Courtesy of Netflix

Ahoy, Straw Hats! A cute, toddler-sized friend will join “One Piece” when the live-action series returns for Season 2 in 2026.

During Netflix 2025 : The Live Event on May 31, stars Iñaki Godoy (who plays Luffy), Mackenyu (Zoro), Emily Rudd (Nami), Jacob Romero (Usopp), and Taz Skylar (Sanji) took the stage to preview what’s to come, including a first look at the latest character to board the series, Tony Tony Chopper.

But who is this adorable creature in the giant pink top hat?

A blue-nosed reindeer-boy hybrid, Chopper is as smart as he is cute. With the ability to treat various illnesses, he aims to travel the world and accomplish his dream of curing any disease — which would certainly come in handy for our Straw Hat pirates. He’s also fiercely loyal, loves compliments (but doesn’t want you to know it), and wears his heart on his sleeve. But don’t let his sweet face fool you. This fan-favorite character is a lot tougher than he looks. And whatever you do, don’t call him a raccoon! He’s a reindeer!

Chopper is voiced by Mikaela Hoover (Beef, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Superman), who also performed facial capture for the character.

“What excited me about playing Chopper is the tug of war between his standoffishness and his huge heart,” Hoover tells Tudum. “He tries so hard to hide his emotions and put on a tough exterior, but underneath, he’s a big softy, and his love can’t help but come out.

“I believe there is a little Chopper in all of us,” she adds. “We all want to be loved and accepted. We go to great lengths to keep the people that we love safe. There’s a purity to his nature that reminds us of what’s good in the world.”

The visual-effects company Framestore adapted Chopper for the live-action series, and based his design on ONE PIECE creator Eiichiro Oda’s beloved manga drawing.

Visual-effects supervisor Victor Scalise tells Netflix, “It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve got a great team leading that process with Chopper … I think the audience, when they see him, they’re going to be very happy.”

Curious to learn more about Chopper? Let’s dive deeper with these fun facts:

• Chopper was introduced in the ONE PIECE manga’s 134th chapter (volume 15, issued in 2000). He first appeared in 2001 in Episode 81 of the ONE PIECE anime, which launched in 1999.
• Chopper has been featured as a main character in several spin-offs, including the 2011 manga Chopperman, as well as a standalone Tamagotchi Nano called the Choppertchi.
• Chopper was named Tony Tony Chopper because he’s a “tonakai,” a reindeer in Japanese, with antlers that look like they could chop down trees.
• Chopper is a reindeer that ate the Human-Human Fruit, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit that allows its user to transform into a human hybrid at will. It also gave him the ability to speak.
• Chopper loves sweets, such as cotton candy and chocolate, and detests anything spicy (because it’s not sweet). He puts syrup on his fried eggs, and his favorite drink is a fruit juice blend.
• Chopper wakes up at 7 a.m., takes lots of naps, and goes to bed at 9 p.m. He bathes every three days.
• Jamie Lee Curtis is a massive ONE PIECE fan and calls Tony Tony Chopper her favorite character.
• Masashi Kishimoto, creator of the popular manga Naruto, also lists Chopper as his favorite ONE PIECE character. He noted that the beloved reindeer boy “plays a key role” in the series.
• Jimin, a member of the popular K-pop band BTS and self-proclaimed ONE PIECE fan, displayed a Chopper figurine while teasing his group’s D-7 show in 2017.  

Keep checking Tudum for more updates on Chopper as well as ONE PIECE Season 2, which was created in partnership with Shueisha and produced by Tomorrow Studios (an ITV Studios partner), and Netflix.