News
One Piece Anime Enters Anime-Original Arc Starting on March 19
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
This year's 14th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine is announcing on Monday that the One Piece television anime series will enter an anime-original "Marine Rookie" arc starting on March 19. The new arc will feature new Marine soldiers making their appearance. (Note: the kanji characters used to mean "rookie" in the arc's title are the same kanji used for the Eleven Supernovas who are the top rookie pirates in the series.)
The issue also reveals the arc's story. The arc will focus on Luffy and those who are with him traveling to rescue Sanji. After Luffy uses up all their food during their journey, the group infiltrate a Marine base to resupply. Suddenly, three rookie marines who used to be part of Aokiji's unit appear before Luffy. Weekly Shonen Jump is also revealing a key visual for the arc, which features Luffy wearing a Marine coat, fighting three Marine soldiers.
The cast for the new characters in the arc include: (Note: character name spellings aren't official.)
- Natsuki Hanae as Grant, who has a strong sense of justice.
- Hiroki Yasumoto as Bonam, a member of the Longarm Tribe.
- Makoto Furukawa as Sappa, a dual-sword wielder.
- Youhei Tadano as Vice-Admiral Prodi, who seems to be an old friend of Garp.
One Piece is approaching the end of the Zou Arc, which premiered on July 28 in the show's 751st episode. The anime had featured a short anime-original "Silver Mine Arc" after the Dressrosa Arc ended before launching into the Zou Arc.
Update: Corrected translation of new arc summary.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history