One Piece Director, Producer Reflect on Heart-Wrenching Bonney and Kuma Episodes

toei animation We pull out all the stops when it comes to what makes it special one piece The panel is located new york comic con 2025. Not just cameos Ian Sinclair and Madeleine Morrisvoicing Brooke and Lilith respectively, but there are also special appearances Long Taithe producer is one piece Animation and current series director, Matsumi Wataru. as usual, Ian SinclairHis overwhelmingly positive performance set the tone for the entire panel as he assisted the panel moderator in asking questions to the other three panelists. He mentioned that he was honored to be a part of franchise He was a fan of the series for more than a decade before he was cast as Skeleton Musician.

Emotions ran high throughout the group as Koike and Matsumi answered a few questions about Eggman’s arc. Without spoiling too much for those up to date, this arc has a strong emotional thread surrounding the characters of Kengo Kuma and Bunny. In fact, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that Kengo Kuma’s story and ultimate fate is one of the most tragic elements of the entire series. franchise. There was a lot of discussion about episodes 1136 and 1137, which detailed Kuma’s backstory. Matsumi served as episode director for episode 1137, while Koyama Yasunori Is the director of episode 1136. Koike spoke on behalf of Koyama, who was not present at the panel, to answer questions about their overall approach to maximizing the emotional impact of the material.

The backstory was originally planned to take up the second half of episode 1136, as the director wanted to ensure viewers could spend as much time with Kuma as possible. The idea is to show him as a character that people can see themselves wanting to chat with. The style and presentation also help mitigate the emotional impact of this episode, which is markedly different from the rest of the series. The idea is to emulate a retro aesthetic, with animations similar to traditional cel animation, while the graininess of the screen mimics old-school camera lens views. Koike explained that Koyama even drew on his memories of his father when directing the relationship between Kengo Kuma and Bunny.

Episode 1137 brings us back to reality, with Bonnie in a dire situation, but the build-up to Kuma’s backstory pays off as he ignores his situation. Prime Directive Becoming a mindless robot instead protecting his daughter at the 11th hour. The two parts come full circle, and the episode ends with the arc’s opening theme GRe4N boysAccording to Matsumi, they themselves are big fans of the show. Apparently, the band re-recorded the song specifically for the end credits. You can really tell there was a lot of compassion for the material and I’m in tears just thinking about it now.

Morris’s comments revolved around this sentimental theme, as she shared her experience one piece. she was franchise For a while she worked on sound design and background roles, with Lilith being her first major role. She talked about how friendly everyone on the show was and doing their best to match the energy of the Japanese show. The more she worked on the series, the more she felt like part of a family. The crew created unique character illustrations for her and Sinclair as a celebration of their work.

I’m curious how these episodes sound in English since more English is also revealed in this panel dubbing The series is expected to launch soon. We’ve also gotten a first look at some of the costumes our characters will be wearing in the upcoming episodes, which suggests the animation team is doing their best to do future episodes of the series justice. The panel ended with a nice little teaser for a future episode, with Luffy exhausted after using the Gear 5 and having to eat a pile of stinky meat given to him by one of his giant friends to regain his strength – a nice comedic note to end on an emotional panel.