A new One Piece collectible figurine highlights Monkey D. Luffy’s most powerful transformation.
Available on Crunchyroll and retailing for just $29.99, the Gear 5 Battle Record Collection shows the future Pirate King in full Joy Boy mode, his left arm extended and ready to strike Kaido of the Beasts. The pre-order window for this item will close soon and the collection is expected to officially release at the end of March next year.
Of course, the Gear 5 Battle Records Collection isn’t the only example of One Piece merchandise recreating the moment Luffy fully awakens his mythical Zoan Devil Fruit — the Hito Hito no Mi, Model : Nika (also known as Gomu Gomu no Mi) and transformed into a legendary figure from the Void Century. MegaHouse released its own version of the Gear 5 at a much higher price of $269. The expensive statue is currently available for pre-order on Sideshow and is expected to begin shipping in November 2024.
Fans of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga, which first appeared in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump back in 1997, not only show their love and appreciation for the series by purchasing tie-in merchandise; They also bought copies of the story. One Piece is currently the best-selling manga of all time with more than 516 million copies in circulation globally. Notably, the latest volume entered the New York Times best-selling graphic book list, taking fourth place.
There have been many other developments in the One Piece multimedia franchise beyond new opportunities for fans to spend money. For example, Episode 1074 of Toei Animation’s anime adaptation features a brand new opening theme song — “The Peak” by Japanese pop band, Sekai no Owari. The accompanying animation sequence features several key moments from the “Wano Country” arc and shows glimpses of the Gear 5 throughout its runtime.
Furthermore, the first 12 volumes of Oda’s manga can now be read online for free. The move commemorates the premiere of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of One Piece, which took place late last month. To the surprise of many, the new series seemed to have done justice to the source material, with Oda himself in particular praising the live-action cast.
VIZ Media distributes Oda’s manga in North America, while Toei Animation’s One Piece anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
Source: Crunchyroll Store
