This One Piece Art Imagines Wano in Anime's Classic Style

One Piece fans have been through a lot since the anime began more than twenty years ago. The show has put the Straw Hats through the wringer, and fans have watched the heroes come out on the other side. As for the show itself, it has also undergone some big changes, and one artist decided it was time for the anime's present to meet up with its past thanks to a piece of art.

Over on Reddit, the artist burukajiko decided it was time to meld One Piece together at both ends. The artist posted a piece of artwork that reimagines the ongoing Wano arc with the anime's old-school art. After all, One Piece did look noticeably different back in the day, and this gorgeous piece shows what the anime may look like if it kept that style.

You can find the piece below as Luffy stands to the left with Zoro at his right. The pair are in their Wano outfits with Luffy in his red-and-blue number and Zoro rocking green as usual. While the piece is colorful, this redesign mutes the palate ever so softly to mimic the colors used back in the day, and the choice has One Piece fans all kinds of nostalgic.

it's been a while since I did a OP redraw in old style! 💃💃 pic.twitter.com/hhhm7NdMN0

— in love with wano 🌸 (@burukajiko) August 16, 2020

Luffy looks rounder in this redesign thanks to his lack of harsh line art. His slender form lacks the highlighting that One Piece uses today. In fact, the overall design here evokes a similar feeling to Cowboy Bebop, but we're talking real pirates here rather than space pirates.

The only thing missing in this art is the grainy texture seen in the earliest episodes of One Piece. The animation style and technique used during that time embraced grainy footage. This gorgeous design has a certain antique quality to it, but its high-definition canvas makes it more than suitable for modern audiences. So if the anime wanted to revisit its old art style again, fans would not mind so long as it looked this good!

What do you think of this old-school redesign? Does the throwback still suit Luffy and Zoro? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!