HEAVE HO, NAKAMA! The Straw Hat Crew is setting sail for LEGO land on a two-part adventure. It’s all set to playfully retell the events of the first two seasons of the hit live-action show. But this LEGO production seeks to add a cheeky twist to Luffy and crew’s misadventures from the East Blue to the fabled Grand Line. By animating actual sets from the LEGO One Piece collection, the special will give fans plenty of inspiration for creating their own adventures at home.
Bard of Bricks
If it came down to a choice of which franchise might benefit the most from a LEGO glow-up, One Piece would easily make the shortlist. From crazy Devil Fruit powers to outlandish villains like the potato-head Buggy the Clown. A LEGO twist gives creators a hell of an ocean to splash around in. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see a minifigure of Dracule Mihawk toting around his massive cruciform greatsword?
Interestingly enough, the LEGO One Piece episodes seem to fall within the live-action canon. The special serves as an onboarding of sorts, narrated by the resident Straw Hat bard, Usopp. In a bid to bring the crew’s newest member, Tony Tony Chopper, up to speed on Luffy’s journey following the massive events of Season 2, Usopp takes the reins as storyteller. Of course, as with any tale told by the famous fabulist, audiences should expect some highly creative embellishments.
The Crew’s Onboard
In a masterstroke, showrunner and producer Tom Hyndman secured the entire live-action cast to voice their plastic mini-figures. In a recent interview, Hyndman expressed that booking the original cast “allowed us to really go wild during the records.” Skipping the grueling process of casting new voice talent and working with an already invested crew “led to some extremely fun and funny improvised moments.” The actors fully embraced their LEGO personas. Hyndman noted there was plenty of “giddy giggling during every recording session.”
Supply and Demand
For collectors, the special will feature accurate 3D renders of real-world One Piece LEGO sets. Nascent swashbucklers can mosey on over to Lego.com to get their claws on sets. There’s The Going Merry Pirate Ship (#75639). The massive Baratie Floating Restaurant (#75640). Those are just two builds in the current 14-set collection.
One Piece fans won’t be waiting long for Usopp’s brick-infused fabulisms. The two-part series sails onto Netflix this September 29th. With series creator Eiichiro Oda involved as an executive producer, fans are sure to get a “Quality Build.”
Stay tuned for future news in the One Piece universe, and as always, stick with Nerdbot for all your pop culture needs; check out the series trailer bellow.
