As part of One Piece‘s 25th anniversary, the series announced today that it will be releasing an original card game in July as part of a collaboration with Bandai Namco. The 25th anniversary of One Piece celebrates 25 years since the manga started its serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump.
Have there been any details released on the One Piece card game?
Quite a few!
To quote AnimeAnime‘s coverage of the subject, the One Piece card game will:
The card game will feature illustrations from the manga, the anime, and brand new art made just for the card game, making this a game that shouldn’t be missed by any fans of ONE PIECE.
In Japan, starting in July, four starter decks will be released, with additional booster packs being available for purchase. These starter decks are themed after different members of the One Piece universe, including the Straw Hats, the Beasts Pirates, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and the Worst Generation.
The One Piece starter decks can be seen here.
Each of the starter decks will include the cards corresponding to their crews and affiliations, synergized to allow you to play the game just after you open the box with the decks themselves, making these starter decks an excellent entry point for anyone who wants to learn how to play the game with their friends and have a whole bunch of fun with them.
What else has been announced as part of this 25th-anniversary project?
Other things that have been announced to be included in the 25th-anniversary project include a new movie, ONE PIECE FILM RED, set to release on August 8th of this year, helmed by the director of Code Geass, a special illustration by the creator of the manga, Eiichiro Oda, and exclusive merch dedicated to the 25th-anniversary event, with more announcements hopefully on the way.
It’ll be exciting to see what else the manga has in store for us this many years into its run!
With the series announced to have about five years left of serialization according to creator Eiichiro Oda, it’ll be interesting to see just what happens to the series and Luffy’s journey to be the Pirate King, considering the events of the most recent chapter of the series suggesting that the current arc might be wrapping up sooner rather than later. Only time will tell what happens to the series, though!