As the crowds of Anime Expo poured into the Los Angeles Convention Center, the welcome wagon was none other than Monkey D. Luffy. A thirty-foot-tall statue of Monkey towering over the main foyer in celebration of all things One Piece, that is.
With the most successful manga franchise of all time unveiling new information on the upcoming feature film, its new tabletop and video games, and more, the Straw Hat Pirates came to dock at Anime Expo.
One Piece: The Card Game and One Piece: Odyssey
The massive Luffy in the main hall was unforgettable, but only the beginning of the spectacles to be found a little deeper into the convention center. Right at the forefront of the main exhibition hall, fans could catch an eyeful of an elaborate replica of the Thousand Sunny pirate ship, arranged by Bandai Namco as part of their promotion for the upcoming One Piece: Card Game, set to launch in Japan later this year. Staff in striped pirate uniforms shuffled looping lines of fans into the display era, which featured exclusive figurine displays, a manga library of the full volumes of the One Piece manga, and demo displays introducing some of the rules of the upcoming card game.
Featuring several of the most iconic characters from the franchise, One Piece: Card Game uses a unique turn-based combat system similar to another Namco Bandai’s other Digimon card game, featuring “Don” energy used to summon characters. Across the aisle from Bandai’s card game booth, another display was setup for the upcoming video game release, One Piece: Odyssey. Featuring cutout displays of the main characters of the franchise and footage showing off highlights from the game, the One Piece: Odyssey booth informed fans of Bandai Namco and ILCA’s production’s goals, lore, and features.
One Piece Film Red: Hyping Up the Upcoming Feature
While the tabletop and video game announcements were spectacles in their own right, things hyped up even further with the official panel for the upcoming One Piece Film Red feature film, held in the main events hall of the convention center. As upwards of a thousand fans piled in for information on the upcoming film project, producers at Toei Animation discussed the importance of the franchise and adequately adapting the vision of original manga creator Eiichiro Oda. Releasing in Japan on August 6 of this year, the international release is being handled by Crunchyroll, which has been actively moving into the theatrical distribution space.
One Piece Film Red: An Exclusive Performance by Steve Aoki
After the long day of announcements and exhibitions, Toei had one last event planned to top things off. As night fell on Day 2 of the convention, the crowds of the convention filtered upwards into the Novo Theater in Los Angeles Live for an exclusive concert by Steve Aoki, inspired by One Piece Film Red. As the sold-out main event began, Aoki greeted the sold-out crowd with the assertion that his concert with Toei allowed him to play so many songs that his normal concert circuit would never accommodate. The anime-tinged lineup included remixes of the One Piece theme, a Ghost in the Shell remix, and a techno karaoke rendition of the Pokemon theme.
In the red-tinged upper-lounges of the Novo Theater, guests were treated to the peak of Toei’s theming. Original Stitch One Piece pillows adorned the couches of the lounge, and bars served cocktails named after the Thousand Sunny, the Straw Hats, and Shanks. Executives with Bandai mixed with actors and influencers, and footage of the most recent One Piece media. The atmosphere was really something, perhaps the kind of place one would almost expect to find the namesake treasure of Gol Roger.
As all of the new events and announcements abound at this year’s Anime Expo, GameZXC is pleased to present full coverage of all of the biggest announcements, screenings, events, and fandom. For full coverage of the event, stay tuned to GameZXC’s anime section.