Anime

One Piece Fans Create New Art For “Deflated Luffy”

One Piece’s Luffy debuted as a part of this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but ran into a snag.
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This year, Monkey D. Luffy has had some of the biggest events take place in the anime, manga, and live-action series. Unfortunately for the One Piece star, he ran into a bit of a snag when it came to his debut at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Joining Son Goku from the Dragon Ball series, Luffy received his own balloon to be a part of the parade but had his straw hat deflate thanks to a run-in with a tree. Now, One Piece fans are taking the opportunity to recreate “Deflated Luffy”.

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In 2023, Luffy in the manga is continuing to be a part of the final saga of One Piece, currently using his latest transformation in a bid to defeat the World Government and find Gol D. Roger’s treasure once and for all. In the anime adaptation, the Wano Arc came to a close and this year gave us the animated debut of Gear Fifth, the form that transforms the Straw Hat Captain into a living cartoon. Finally, One Piece received its first live-action television series on Netflix, garnering some major success as the first eight episodes helped usher in confirmation that a second season was on the way.

One Piece: Deflated Luffy Art

Luckily, Luffy’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon was able to avoid total disaster for its debut. Rather than the entire balloon deflating, only Luffy’s Straw Hat was a victim of the random branch that punctured the shonen star. Luckily, fans were able to take the opportunity to create some hilarious art that honored the tragic balloon’s debut.

In 2018, Son Goku led the way for Luffy in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, receiving a balloon of his own to help celebrate the release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly. When Goku’s balloon first made landfall, a number of commentators had difficult in pronouncing his “Super Saiyan Blue” transformation. Luckily, Luffy’s name is much easier to pronounce than the Z-Fighter’s transformation that he relied on in the fight against Broly.

What other anime characters do you think are deserving of their own Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade float? What was your favorite One Piece moment of 2023? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Grand Line.