Hear ‘Emotional Anchor’ Song From Netflix Series ‘One Piece’

After winning a Children’s and Family Emmy for the song “My Sails Are Set,” from the first season of Netflix‘s One Piece series, songwriters Giona Ostinelli and Sonya Belousova felt energized to work on music for the second season. Now, as the second season, One Piece: Into the Grand Line, premieres on the platform, the composers are spotlighting “Am I Enough (Tony Tony Chopper),” a lilting paean to the show’s Tony Tony Chopper. The song, which features singer Au/Ra, poses big, painful existential questions to the character: “Tony Tony Tony Chopper/Heal what fell apart/Cure my broken heart/Am I enough?” she sings over orchestral strings before arriving at, “Yes, I am!”

Ostinelli and Belousova tell Rolling Stone that they see “Am I Enough (Tony Tony Chopper)” as the season’s “emotional anchor,” picking the Tony Tony Chopper character, who is “vulnerable, yet quietly powerful,” as the perfect subject. “We built the song as a transformative journey from the vulnerable ‘Am I enough?’ to the triumphant declaration, ‘Yes, I am!’” they say via email. “At its core, it’s an emotional anthem about identity, found family, unconditional love, and, ultimately, learning to see your own worth. The song becomes Chopper’s emotional journey — in musical form.”

The composers describe One Piece: Into the Grand Line as the “most ambitious musical world we’ve ever built.” The first season, a live action adaptation of a Japanese anime, concerned the character Monkey D. Luffey’s treasure hunt, which Rolling Stone’s critic found “lively and thrilling,” and the second continues the story.

Belousova and Ostinelli, who have scored the recent Marvel movie Red Sonja and penned the song “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher” for Netflix’s The Witcher, used a 90-piece orchestra, five choirs, a big band, soloists, and guests, including Au/Ra and the Hu, to expand the musical universe for the second season. “As the season becomes more grandiose and epic, the music grows bigger and bolder alongside it,” they say.

They also used a variety of unusual instruments, including “a nyckelharpa flown in from Sweden, two tagelharpas from Italy and Estonia, an African ngoni, and a collection of Viking horns in various sizes,” and they’ve prepared a new version of “My Sails Are Set” “in the most unexpected form.” The full soundtrack, which includes the song “Pray to the Sun” (featuring the Hu and Declan de Barra) and “Whisky Peak Saloon” (featuring sax by Leo P.), is so long and expansive that it spans four CDs.

The composers say they’re continually inspired by the universe of One Piece, which they describe as “endlessly imaginative.” “At its core it’s a story about belonging, finding your crew, and discovering where you truly fit in the world,” they say. “Because we get to build the entire musical landscape of the series, whether it’s songs like ‘Am I Enough (Tony Tony Chopper)’ or score, we have the freedom to dive deep into that universe and shape a sound that feels as limitless as the adventure itself.”

From Rolling Stone US.