The United States Marine Corps has sent a challenge to fans of the massively popular One Piece series.
Anime NYC's official X (formerly Twitter) account shared a post inviting One Piece lovers to drop by the USMC booth at the upcoming convention. The booth will offer attendees an opportunity to discover what it takes to become a real-life Marine service member. More mysteriously, it will additionally feature an event called the "Battle Dome," which has left audiences curious about what to expect from the attraction. Interested One Piece fans can take a look for themselves by stopping over at Booth #373 when Anime NYC 2023 opens its doors on Nov. 17.
Longtime One Piece viewers will likely find some humor in seeing real-life Marines issue a challenge to the entire anime community, given how often the main characters of the series find themselves facing off against their version of the Marines. As the enforcers of the World Government, One Piece's Marines act as one of the recurring main antagonists in the Straw Hat Pirates' adventures. Despite the organization's role as villains, the Marines remain one of the most iconic groups of the series as a whole, with several high-ranking members such as Sakazuki, Kuzan and Issho even becoming fan-favorite characters.
Monkey D. Luffy Joins Thanksgiving Parade
One Piece fans with plans to attend Anime NYC might also be interested in sticking around to attend the upcoming Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 23, which will feature a giant float of Monkey D. Luffy. Toei Animation, the studio behind the One Piece anime adaptation, sponsored the float and previously shared a video of parade staff unveiling the Luffy balloon, which stands at an impressive 50 feet tall, 43 feet long and 39 feet wide.
One Piece is an ongoing manga series by Eiichiro Oda. The series debuted in 1997 and has since become one of the most popular serialized works of all time, with 107 volumes and over a thousand chapters published at the time of writing. A synopsis for the anime adaptation reads, "Monkey D. Luffy refuses to let anyone or anything stand in the way of his quest to become the King of All Pirates. With a course charted for the treacherous waters of the Grand Line and beyond, this is one captain who'll never give up until he's claimed the greatest treasure on Earth: the legendary One Piece."
The latest chapters of One Piece are available to read for free on Viz Media. The anime adaptation is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Source: X (formerly Twitter)
