One Piece received star treatment at Jump Festa 2023, with the most prominent spot of the convention reserved for Eiichiro Oda's best-selling franchise. Fans' expectations were not disappointed and the voice actors of the entire Straw Hat crew gathered on stage to share exciting news from the One Piece world.
The One Piece Jump Festa 2023 panel was predictably dominated by One Piece Film: RED, the smash-hit movie that was released earlier this year. Uta, the main character in the movie, opened the show by performing three of her songs in CGI animation. There was also a box office record announcement for Film: RED, which made more than 185 billion yen in Japan. Uta will also go on a "TV Live Tour", making appearances in several Japanese singing shows over the course of 2023. The panel then focused on other media, sharing the news that the videogame One Piece Odyssey will officially release on January 10, 2023, and that it will include two more playable arcs from the manga: the Marineford Arc and the Dressrosa Arc. The panel concluded with the moment that fans are most excited about: Eiichiro Oda's message. After talking about all the highlights of 2022 for One Piece, the author teased what is coming in the manga in 2023: "That person and that person will fight?! If I were to give it a title, I'd call it a 'BATTLE ROYALE'!! I hope no one dies...!!"
Jump Festa is an annual manga and anime convention sponsored by Shueisha, the publishers of the various Jump magazines were popular manga such as One Piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto, and Chainsaw Man appear. The One Piece panel was perhaps the most anticipated of the 2023 edition, as every year series creator Eiichiro Oda gives his fans an important hint of what's coming in the near future for his manga. Considering that One Piece has finally entered the final part of its three-decades-long saga, all the attention was focused on Oda sensei's words. However, the mangaka made sure to reassure his fans that could be concerned about his previous announcement about the "final saga" that the series will not end abruptly, and they should not worry and just enjoy the journey. The panel also shared a sneak peek at the upcoming chapter #1070 of the manga, which sees the fierce battle between Luffy and Lucci still raging on.
One Piece's Author Teases A Huge Battle That Could Lead To A Character's Death
Compared to other franchises present at Jump Festa, whose fans were mostly waiting for announcements of new anime seasons, movies, or other products, One Piece's most anticipated news concerned the future developments in the manga. This is because Oda was able to weave one of the most intriguing plots in the history of manga, with secrets and mysteries spanning over three decades. The mangaka's foreshadowing is legendary, and his announcement at Jump Festa 2023 did not disappoint, teasing a huge free for all battle coming. It's unclear who the characters involved will be. Perhaps Oda's words were referring to the big battle already going on at Egghead Island between the Straw Hats, CP0, and the Seraphim Pacifista, which the upcoming arrival of Admiral Kizaru could really turn into a "battle royale". Oda's mentioning that he hopes no one will die could also be an ominous foreshadowing that one of his characters is, indeed, going to die in 2023.
One Piece had an incredible year in 2022, with the conclusion of the Wano Arc and the beginning of the final saga in the manga, besides the incredible success that One Piece Film: RED garnered all over the world. The announcements at Jump Festa prove that One Piece shows absolutely no signs of slowing down in 2023 either.