One Piece’s anime has returned with a bang, surprising fans with two back-to-back episodes of the Egghead Arc over the weekend, as well as a new exciting chapter of the Elbaf Arc. Though it has been an excruciatingly long wait, the series is seemingly rewarding fans for their patience these last six months with plenty of new, exciting content all at once. That said, the festivities have only just begun as One Piece has also blessed fans with a new colored illustration accompanying the latest chapter of the manga, celebrating the anime’s return on all fronts.
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Chapter 1145 of One Piece has been accompanied by a new colored illustration by Midori Matsuda, a prominent key animator and animation director for the series, who has most notably worked on all three anime openings of the Wano Arc as well as the newest opening for part two of the Egghead Arc featuring Gre4n Boyz. The new illustration features the Straw Hats excitedly gathered on a couch in front of multiple televisions displaying Luffy in Gear Five as he seen on Egghead. The Straw Hats are presumably tuning into the newest episode, as evidenced by the digital clock nearby displaying the anime’s new late-night timeslot.
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One Piece Surprises Fans With New Colored Illustration of the Straw Hats
Over the years, Oda’s occasional color spreads have become something manga fans have begun to look forward to. Oda’s art style has evolved greatly over the years, with the series’ color spreads getting more and more intricate and complex. Even so, the latest colored illustration by Midori Matsuda is nothing to scoff with adorable hidden details such as the reference to One Piece’s new time slot and Luffy excitedly pointing to himself while watching himself on screen.
The fun part about the color spread being drawn by one of the series’ animators instead of Oda for a change is that the new illustration captures the anime’s art style instead, which makes sense given Midori Matsuda has also served as the character designer for a good chunk of One Piece’s anime. Matsuda has also worked on the new adorable eyecatchers featured in the latest episodes, and hopefully, fans will get to see more illustrations by him in the near future. Overall, the new color spread has successfully added to the excitement surrounding the return of One Piece’s anime, while giving fans another poster-worthy color spread.
One Piece is available to read on Manga Plus and Viz Media.
