#FROM THE NEW WORLD ANIME SERIES#

#FROM THE NEW WORLD ANIME SERIES#

The “ONE PIECE” series has been running for more than 20 years and this work is truly loved by so many people. The character designer is a big fan of Roronoa Zoro, and so is motivated to draw really cool versions of this character based on individual “taste”. In terms of the drawings, the character designer and chief animation director always work very hard.

What is the secret to producing such high-quality episodes every week? The drawings in this series are held in very high regard. As such work continues every week, a considerably large number of people are involved. About 5,000 original illustrations must be produced for just one episode. On a monthly basis, there are roughly 2,000 workers, including non-full-time workers. As for the art director, someone is in charge of configuration and someone is in charge of art. We established the “ONE PIECE” staff room, which is made up of over 10 people of full-time directors and animation directors, and 10 to 20 lead animators per episode. How many team members are involved in producing the “ONE PIECE” Land of Wano Edition? As the story and characters are already clearly defined in the original manga, I think the most important point when converting a manga into an animation was to create a system allowing us to fully harness the strength of our many excellent staff members. The best case is when this approach resonates with those watching the animation. So, we are conscious of creating rhythm that we feel is cool and leaves a good impression. Incorporating the interpretations of rhythm held by each reader is physically impossible. One particular aspect is the concept of “rhythm.” This “rhythm” will be viewed differently by each audience.

The creation of a single animation episode involves bringing together various aspects including movement, music, and voice actor performances. What considerations must be made when converting the original manga into an animated series? I think this was made possible due to Oda’s wealth of knowledge and uncompromising attention to detail. This setting is drawn based on completely new ideas, so we created a new and exciting land that is unknown to the audience, and yet still seems somehow very familiar. There are even some people with Japanese hair styles but blond hair. Various Japanese motifs are used, but the artwork and streets are very colorful and there are kimonos with novel color arrangements. I thought that a setting is similar to an Edo era Japanese drama but Land of Wano is not Japan. Eiichiro Oda, the writer of this manga, is the only one who could create such a new world for the “ONE PIECE” series. Until now “ONE PIECE” was drawn mostly from the perspective of Western world, so there was some strong interest in somehow adding some Japanese flavor to the story. I think that the appeal of “ONE PIECE” is experiencing the completely different world views of each of the islands that serve as the setting for these stories. ――How does your vision of “ONE PIECE” Land of Wano” Edition differ from the overall series? What do you see as the appeal of this edition? A united team just like the Straw Hat Crew We visited series director Tatsuya Nagamine at the animation studio that masterfully combines unique dialog, color selection, and other factors to fully capture the charm of “Land of Wano” conveyed in the original manga. UT has realized a collaboration with this popular series that has continued to receive high praise from viewers since broadcasting started. Broadcasts of the “Land of Wano” Edition of the hugely popular “ONE PIECE” animation series started from July 2019.

From the new world anime