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The One Piece Day celebrations in Japan have formally kicked off over the last 24 hours, beginning with the world premiere of Film: Red for select Japanese viewers. Celebrations continued the morning after with the unveiling of Jinbei’s bronze statue in Oda’s home of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, and were furthered with the casting of Young Luffy in the live-action series.
It’s an incredibly exciting time of the year for fans, especially considering this year’s festivities are taking place during the time of the series’ actual 25th anniversary. Author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s smash-hit series is one of the most internationally popular and acclaimed manga of all time and is more than deserving of such grand festivities.
Follow along as this article breaks down the biggest news to come out of 2022’s One Piece Day thus far.
One Piece Day 2022 sees Film: Red premiere, Jinbei statue unveiled, and more live-action castings after only the first day
Latest news
As aforementioned, One Piece Day 2022 celebrations are currently underway in Japan, having begun with the world premiere of Film: Red for select Japanese viewers. Since then, celebrations have continued with the unveiling of a bronze Jinbei statue in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, as well as the announcement of a new cast member for the live-action series.
First and foremost, the world premiere of Film: Red was a smashing success, with many Japanese viewers raving over the film’s quality in all areas. While leaks have been circulating online following the end of screenings, this article will instead focus on news pertaining to the film’s quality and fan reaction.
Nearly every Japanese fan online who had the opportunity to see the film is giving it fantastic ratings, with some even calling it the best series film yet. International leakers with Japanese sources are adding to these claims, saying they’ve heard nothing but positive remarks regarding the film as well.
Early Saturday saw the festivities continue with the unveiling of Jinbei’s bronze statue, seeing the lovable Fish-man assuming a sitting position while raising a sake cup. This is likely a reference to his joining the crew, which fans saw take place just before the Onigashima Raid in both the manga and anime adaptations of the series.
Most recently, the announcement of Colton Osorio as Young Luffy in the One Piece live-action series added to the excitement. American fans may recognize him as the young Felipe Estrada from seasons 22 and 23 of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. Fans had known for quite some time that Luffy’s younger years would be displayed, and they finally know who’ll be playing his younger version.
Be sure to keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news as the year of the series’ 25th anniversary continues.
