As the final saga continues in One Piece, there are still some big mysteries that are surrounding the Grand Line. One of the biggest remains the identity of the head of the World Government known as Imu. While fans have been speculating about Oda’s “Big Bad” for quite some time, Imu has proven how powerful they are in eliminating a member of the Five Elders. Hilariously, one of the first pieces of merchandise is arriving this summer that will bring the mysterious shonen villain to life and it might not be what many Thousand Sunny fans were hoping for.
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Deciphering Imu’s identity is a difficult task in One Piece’s manga, so fans were hoping to have this alleviated in the anime adaptation. Unfortunately, the way that both the Japanese and English iterations of the series portrayed the head of the military raised more questions. Granting the villain a voice that sounded as though it was multiple voices reverberating off one another, Eiichiro Oda and Toei Animation have been sneaky when it comes to Imu’s identity. While Monkey D. Luffy’s Gear Fifth has allowed him to tackle members of the Five Elders and Admirals alike, fighting against Imu and their wild power might be a little more tricky.
[RELATED: One Piece Theory Unpacks the True Power of Imu]
Imu’s Hilarious Merch
In Japan, Banpresto Crane Games routinely will team up with Shueisha in offering One Piece trinkets from across the Grand Line. In hyping the arrival of an Imu plushie, the official One Piece social media account released the following statement that includes a look at other merch dropping next month, “June’s prize items have been released on the official website. The Five Elders are actually appearing in World Collectible Figure! There’s even a stuffed Im-sama doll and a Gomu Gomu no Mi bowl!”
Considering how terrifying Imu has been so far, despite fans not knowing the big bad’s identity, receiving a plush iteration of the mysterious figure is an eye-popping development. Once Imu steps out of the shadow, it’s a safe bet that shonen fans will receive merchandise of the world leader in all their glory. As the Straw Hats continue to fight against Saturn and the military on Future Island in the anime adaptation, anime fans should prepare for Imu to hold a big role in the shonen’s future.
Imu And One Piece’s End
While One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has confirmed that the final saga is well underway, this doesn’t mean that the Straw Hat Pirates’ journey is ending any time soon. It could still be years before we see Luffy and his Straw Hats achieve their dreams, if they can, but Imu is sure to play a major role in the grand finale. As of the writing of this article, we have yet to learn who will be the one to fight Imu but whoever does, it’s sure to be one of the biggest fights of the franchise to date.
Want to stay in the loop when it comes to the Grand Line’s biggest villain? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on One Piece and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
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