Fans of the increasingly wacky and complex pirate world of One Piece will surely be either thrilled or horrified to know that there will be an all-new, super extra special New Year’s Eve broadcast of a One Piece animated film in Japan. As a fan, whether you fall into the thrilled or horrified category will probably depend on whether or not you currently reside in Japan, as the special is apparently set for just one single broadcast in the anime’s native country only.

While I appreciate pirates as much as the next guy and actually made a pretty valiant effort to read the One Piece manga series in Japanese during college, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m woefully out of the loop when it comes to the antics of Monkey D. Luffy, Chopper the… I dunno, reindeer? and those two women with a chronic case of breast elephantitis, so bear with me here while I attempt to (poorly) wrangle the details of the special:

The special will apparently be an extended addition of the much-beloved ninth One Piece film and possible winner of longest anime film title ever, “Episode of Chopper Plus: Bloom in the Winter, Miracle Cherry Blossom,” which itself is based on a well-liked chapter in the manga series known as the “Drum Island” storyline. The special will feature new scenes that follow up on the original story and characters and, in addition, will feature a heartfelt message from Luffy and gang celebrating the anime series’ 15th year on the air.

Details are sparse outside of that, but one of the producers for the special says it will be sure to make series fans cry tears of joy, so be sure to have tissues at the ready if you plan on watching.

Source: Hachima Kikou

Photo: One Piece Wiki