On April 3, the official One Piece website released an interview with the One Piece TV anime staff regarding the Whole Cake Island Arc. The TV anime series officially entered the Whole Cake Island Arc on April 9.

Please tell us anything in particular that you are giving your utmost care and attention within the Whole Cake Island Arc.

Fukazawa (Director): With the addition of the Big Mom Pirates and Germa 66, we now have new relationships between characters that further complicate the plot. But at the center of it all there’s the fact that “Luffy needs to bring back Sanji.” We’re being very careful so that the audience is always aware of this core component. We tried to bring this out visually in the poster as well, so we have something slightly different this time without the usual fun vibes.

Yoshiike (Art Director): And Luffy and Sanji are the main focus.

Fukazawa: Yes. There are new characters depicted in the poster as well, but we used a composition that would allow the viewers to easily figure out who the main characters are. When I read the original manga, it felt like I was reading a story about youth. The Straw Hats, who normally share strong bonds with each other, can’t be true to themselves and clash, get in fights, shed some tears, we have Luffy’s earnest conviction, and so on. And at the center of the clash are Luffy and Sanji, so the poster reflects that as well.

Fukazawa: Until now, we had Mr. Hisada act as both our character designer and animation director, but starting with the Whole Cake Island Arc, we’ll have Mr. Hisada focus on being the character designer and have Mr. Ichikawa be our animation director. Our arsenal has been upgraded like never before! Mr. Ichikawa, is there anything in particular that you tried to be mindful about?

Ichikawa (Animation Director): I made sure that I “draw everyone in-character.” I actually got to work on One Piece as an animation director two years ago for One Piece: Episode of Sabo and last year for One Piece: Heart of Gold, but prior to those, I only helped out on a few TV episodes. So I’m always learning new things as a newcomer, and I’m giving my all into drawing Sanji in-character as much as possible, both at his coolest and at his worst.

Yoshiike: Due to the nature of my job, I wasn’t extra-conscious about having to make anything a certain way because we’re in the Whole Cake Island Arc now. Once you read the manga, I think coming up with designs fitting for Whole Cake Island is pretty straightforward. In fact, I think it’s more important to be mindful about how we alter them through performance. For example, the Whole Cake Island area has a sweet image, so let’s suppose we decided on making the sky pink. But will that sky stay pink for an entire year? What’ll happen to that pink sky when Luffy and the gang are angry? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves. I think we’re due for a lot of hard work in that regard.

Please tell use your favorite character of the Whole Cake Island Arc.

Fukazawa: There are too many that I can’t decide, but my favorite character as of late is Nami, even though she’s not a new character.

Yoshiike: That’s news to me. You only named animal characters in the previous interview. *laughs*

Fukazawa: Did I? *laughs* Nami seems a bit different this arc…or rather, I feel that she’s the heroine of the Whole Cake Island Arc, so I may have strong feelings for her this time. I also really like Big Mom. Even Doflamingo, the evilest villain of all time who gave Luffy such a hard time back in Dressrosa, is a mere Warlord. And we’re going to have to come up with a way to present her as an Emperor, a being that surpasses Warlords, so in that sense, she’s going to give us a hard time as well. *laughs*

Yoshiike: Speaking of which, we recorded a song the other day.

Fukazawa: That’s right. And we had the voice actress create the character’s voice there, and after listening, I genuinely thought that “this woman is dangerous.” *laughs* I came to realize then and there that this woman is continuously brimming with madness, so much so that she would destroy a kingdom for the sake of sweets.

Koyama (Producer): Recording Big Mom’s song was an intense experience.

Fukazawa: The acting was stiff at first so I talked to the voice actress, explaining that Mom just can’t wait for the Tea Party of Hell and she can’t help contain the excitement, and asked if she can act that out. The performance gradually intensified from there. We created something that far surpassed our initial expectations.

Ichikawa: I’m really looking forward to drawing out the Germa 66. I’ve been drawing things of a similar nature while working on a certain title about warriors of the constellation… *laughs* I hope I can make use of the skills and experience I’ve built up over the years.

Yoshiike: My favorite is Carrot. She’s naive and adorable, I think she’s amusing. *laughs* The response she gave to “Call me Chobro!!” came out of left field, it was glorious. *laughs*

Ichikawa: Their exchanges are so heartwarming. We need characters like them that make us smile to maintain the pacing balance.

Yoshiike: I also like Big Mom in the sense that she’s a complete mystery. She would destroy a kingdom for sweets, acting child-like and not necessarily out of malicious intent, and perhaps that’s what makes her an Emperor. You can clearly feel that she’s on a completely different level than the ambitious Doflamingo, and I find that amazing. Much about Mom’s backgrounds remain a mystery, so I’m looking forward to what kind of role she’s going to play in the One Piece universe. I’m sure she’ll be invaluable in raising the story’s excitement in the long run.

Koyama (Producer): As for me, my favorite is Sanji, but I also like Pedro.

Fukazawa: Producer Koyama is back again. *laughs*

Koyama: I just have to say my piece about this. *laughs* Mr. [Shinichiro] Miki’s Pedro is, first and foremost, incredibly cool. He’s also a very serious guy, but that makes him hilarious at times, and Mr. Miki does an incredible job portraying these traits. I feel that his acting has taught us new things about Pedro that we haven’t quite been able to grasp yet.

Fukazawa: I agree. Mr. Miki’s Pedro is very serious and so cool… But I try my best to find ways to tinker with him so he doesn’t become too serious. *laughs* It’s been very interesting, in a good way, to see his acting and character expand as he was gradually dragged along by the VAs of the Straw Hats.

Koyama: And we can’t leave out the main character of the Whole Cake Island Arc – Sanji. In hindsight, what started off this arc was Sanji following the villains in order to save the Minks and the people he cares about. This story really emphasizes his “kindness” that comes from his self-sacrifice. One of the highlights of this arc is definitely the effect this kindness has in certain episodes.

Ichikawa: I agree. We’ll be seeing so many sides to Sanji in the coming episodes, so I’m tickled with excitement as someone who’ll be drawing them out.

Yoshiike: It’s been a while since Hiroaki Hirata last recorded with us too, right? What were your exchanges with him like?

Fukazawa: He said that since Whole Cake Island is coming up, he’s going to have to prepare by reading the manga and getting into his role. He was very pumped during recording too, we may or may not have had to tell him to take things down a notch. *laughs*

Koyama: Then again, Sanji is in enemy territory all by himself, so I think that enthusiasm worked out in our favor. *laughs*

Please tell us about any scenes you put a lot of effort into creating, or scenes you would like us to pay close attention to.

Fukazawa: We brought this up before, but the scene where Big Mom sings.

Yoshiike: My pick is the scene where Luffy and Sanji fight, just like in this poster. We’re right in the midst of heading toward this scene, so I hope you’d give it your extra attention. What’s your pick, Mr. Ichikawa?

Ichikawa: I’ll second that scene. There are new charms to Sanji this time around, and I hope you’ll all be able to see them. Aside from that, I’m currently struggling with how to make Pudding look cute and attractive. *laughs*

Fukazawa: Even though this is supposed to be an interview about the Whole Cake Island Arc, if we go by the entire One Piece timeline, Luffy will be entering the Four Emperors Arc from here. I think it was in Weekly Shonen Jump Vol. 18 last year, but the cover announced “The Four Emperors Arc Begins” in big letters. We then discussed with Shūeisha regarding this Four Emperors Arc, and they shared with us the general flow of the story down the road. They told us “Luffy will face Big Mom in the Whole Cake Island Arc, and in the following Wano Arc, he’s due to directly confront Emperor Kaido, so we’re in the Four Emperors Arc now! Let’s do our best!” The Four Emperors felt like entities that were so far off, but we’re finally at the point where the Straw Hats will be clashing with them. We’ve heard that we’re due for powerful and passionate developments to unfold henceforth! As readers ourselves, we’re really looking forward to future developments, and we hope to give our all into contributing to the Four Emperors Arc!