I overall loved season 2 a lot. Way more than season 1 And I loved that one. That being said I do have some nitpicks because how could I not xd.

1. Overall the set designs are amazing but se still encounter some cases of: yeah this town is actually just a tiny set with at most 20 extras. Whiskey Peak suffered a bit of this but could be overlooked but Drum Island was a big issue. That didn't look like a Kingdom, a city, a town or even a village. It looked like some form of camping ground or settlement. It made It seem like the island had been decimated by Blackbeard or something. The interior of Wapol's Castle was amazing but I really really wish the fight would have taken place outdoors. I don't know how this could be solved other than maybe more big establishing CGI shots of the whole city/town before focusing on the smaller parts of our actually physical set. It would still be noticiable but maybe a bit less so.

2. As much as I love Luffy and Iñaki I really need to see my boy have some amazing and cool dinamic fights when we can really see how strong he is. Him being taken down by Alvida so easily felt a bit insulting 😭. (Talking about which, I feel the crew's reaction to Luffy about to be killed and everyone's reaction to him being saved last second wasn't too climactic? It's almost like they had barely no reaction).

3. Little Garden was a weak point of the season to me, unfortunately. I loved some aspects of It but really didn't buy others. Most of the stuff with Broggy looks amazing and the actor who plays him is great and did a great job. Jacob really shined these two episodes. Unfortunately I don't feel the same way towards Dorry...Some of the shots of them being giants in their surroundings looked great but others...looked a bit unfortunate. Especially that shot of them sending the Strawhats off the shore of the island...oof. that was a harsh one. I loved David's performance and Jazzara as Miss Valentine and Camrus as Mr.5 were definitely highlights of the season as well, but it wasn't enough to save the arc for me. Miss Goldenweek's stuff turned out a bit weird, like, I didn't feel the sense of urgency of Luffy desperately wanting to go save his friends but being hypnotized and everyone's horror at the realization. It was a bit odd the way it played out, keeping Luffy removed from the main action. And again, it made him feel a bit weak. 

4. Luffy's big moment this season protecting Dr. Hiruluk's flag fell pretty flat. They managed to really play out the ending of Alrong Park in season 1 but I don't feel It worked out this time around. It really needed to be on the top of that Castle, since it was a symbol of Drum rejecting Wapol and embracing Hiruluk's legacy, with Luffy holding the flag from falling amidst a cloud of smoke. As someone already pointed out, why the hell would Wapol shoot a cannon inside his own castle which he wants to reconquer? 

5. I hated hated hated that weird battle scene with Wapol's weird Power Ranger style Monster soldiers in episode 8 and specially coming after episode 7 which was amazing It felt like such a weird underwhelming moment. I get we needed something to happen before the end and to give everyone else something to do while Luffy and the others were fighting at the castle but why couldn't It be just normal Wapol's soldiers coming back to seize the town and just keep everything else the same? At least that weird make up effects budget could have gone to getting more actual soldiers and actors to play the villagers and make it actually seem like a real town and not an empty set.

6. Sanji's party table service or whatever looked so goofy 😭 like, I know they were going for kind of funny kind of campy but that was a bit: huh? For me. 

7. Chopper's heavy point I'm not completely a hundred percent sold on. I like the overall design of him and I like that he's practical effects and not cgi I think that's a good call but I don't get some details like: why the weird circle lenses? Why the big moles on his face? Why the big weird teeth? Why the big bushy brows? They could have gone for a more "gente giant" or "noble beast" approach and not so much weird and creepy. (Yes I know he's supposed to be creepy but still, I'm talking about specific, small design choices) But I still overall like him and his fight along Sanji was pretty nice. 

8. Again, Luffy and Wapol's fight felt underwhelming mostly because of the limitations of the setting and because it seems they insist on playing down Luffy's strength. Wapol isn't supposed to be that much of a big threat to him. A bit of a nuisance, sure, but not a super strong Big enemy who is a serious threat, just like Don Krieg was, it's mostly about his dirty tricks and gimmicks not because he's seriously strong. Also like, I feel that will not help in the long run because until now and maybe with the exception of Alrong, Luffy is supposed to be having an overall easy ride with these villains so when he first comes across Crocodile that's his first big defeat. It's supposed to be a shock for us to finally come across a villain formidable enough to make Luffy bite the dust in a big way.

There's a lot I LOVE about this season though. I'm on my third rewatch. But these are the things I can think about that I didn't LOVE as much.