It looks like One Piece is about to take over the global stage in a new way. Not long after its first live-action TV series went live, One Piece is ready to expand even further. After all, the team at Toei Animation has secured Monkey D. Luffy a spot at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with a balloon of his own.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Yes, that is right! Luffy is going to appear in this year’s biggest Thanksgiving Day parade. Toei Animation has commissioned a massive balloon for handlers to parade across New York City. One Piece fans can expect to see Luffy take on the city skyline on Thanksgiving this year, so you won’t want to miss the Macy’s parade for a minute!
After all, there is more going on at the holiday parade than just One Piece. As we know, Toei Animation tackled the holiday event several years back with help from Son Goku. The star of Dragon Ball was gifted his own Macy’s Thanksgiving Day tribute on the heels of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. A balloon of Super Saiyan Blue Goku has been found in the NYC parade for several years now. Between the Saiyan and the parade’s Pokemon float, anime is slowly yet surely taking over the pageant. So at this point, don’t be surprised if we see All Might crash the parade one year!
“We’re thrilled to have the celebrated anime franchise One Piece join the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with our Monkey D. Luffy giant character balloon,” Masayuki Endo, President and CEO of Toei Animation, shared. “Over the past 24 years, One Piece has built a huge global audience and today, the franchise is now more popular than ever before โ both in the U.S. and around the world.ย We’re excited to introduce One Piece to the tens of millions of people that watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade every year โ especially the friends and families of current One Piece fans!”
For those unfamiliar with Luffy’s role at Toei Animation, well โ it would put things lightly to call him a legend. Created by Eiichiro Oda decades ago, Luffy is the lead of One Piece and the captain of the Straw Hat crew. The pirate leads the best-selling manga of all time, and One Piece has had a massive resurgence in the past few years. From its anime to its Netflix adaptation, One Piece is bigger now than ever, so it is only fitting for Luffy to get his own Thanksgiving Day cameo!
What do you think about this One Piece addition to the Macy’s parade? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!