Thanks Aohige in Chapter 752 Spoiler thread for the information.
From the cover page:
Not sure if this is news or not, but they're going to do a special anime episode in end of August featuring the 2 year training period of Luffy.
The episode name is 3D2Y and airs August 30th.
Completely new material, not re-runs or montage.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mugiwara_23
It will be cannon?
canon or non canon ?
Thanks Aohige in Chapter 752 Spoiler thread for the information.
I'm intrigued, but its seems pretty limited in what they could show. All I could think of them showing would be Luffy using the three forms of Haki against wild animals, or maybe (if we're lucky) some Silver Haki vs Luffy Haki if its during the time period where Rayleigh is still on the island. None the less if done right it could still be entertaining. Guess we'll find out in two months…I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with.
Seriously? I don't know what to think about this.
I hope they show the other crew members, not only Luffy…
It does say Rusukaina. So I guess it mainly focuses on Luffy's training with Rayleigh.
Me too, I hope to see the other mamber of the one piece's crew
How long is this TV special? The usual 30 minutes or an hour or so?
I figured we would have seen an Episode of Ace, first.
The special is airing on Saturday night in the same slot Episode of Nami, Episode of Luffy, and Episode of Merry did. Without commercials it will probably last over one hundred minutes.
This sounds great! I really wanna see this. Hopefully it won't just focus on Luffy, though.
First half might be about the whitebeard War. Then 2nd half with the crew.
This is what they should have made A FILLER ARC OUT OF!
Instead we get one episode. Weee.
Oh well, maybe it will be good seeing as how it's new material.
I just pray they don't take all the good animators away from the anime, its been so good this arc and were reaching some climactic moments soon
Cautiously optimistic here. They could easily turn this into another jumbled mess akin to the Episode of Merry if they try to bite off more than they can chew. I'm hoping for at least 90% new material, instead of a complete rehash of the anime like we got in the last 2 specials.
I think this has a potential.
Looking forward to seeing this.
@Elektrik:
I just pray they don't take all the good animators away from the anime, its been so good this arc and were reaching some climactic moments soon
Technically, it should be almost done at this point, so it already has taken some of the best animators.
@Mr.:
Cautiously optimistic here. They could easily turn this into another jumbled mess akin to the Episode of Merry if they try to bite off more than they can chew. I'm hoping for at least 90% new material, instead of a complete rehash of the anime like we got in the last 2 specials.
Aohige stated that it's completely new material. @Aohige_AP:
Doesn't say, just that the episode name is 3D2Y and airs August 30th. Completely new material, not re-runs or montage.
If this is going to be mostly filler I'm not sure what I think about it, I liked the idea of what happened in those 2 years remained a mystery. How much more exciting could it be other than just training?
If this is going to be mostly filler I'm not sure what I think about it, I liked the idea of what happened in those 2 years remained a mystery. How much more exciting could it be other than just training?
Introspection into the mind of Luffy? Tender moments between him and Rayleigh? That with the normal One Piece fun sounds like a great special.
Aohige stated that it's completely new material.
I think he meant newly animated instead of reused footage or reruns patched together being passed off as a "special", which they have done in the past. Aside from the very brief clue on the showcase of this special, the actual content of this very broad "3D2Y" timeskip period remains relatively unknown though I'm hoping we get plenty of "filler" during the training and etc. That is by far the more interesting content, though I really just hope the special is focused instead of trailing off into incomprehensibility by trying to cram in too much of the Whitebeard War set-up and the reunion content.
I really hope it's not just a retread of the anime content (though an uncensored "half-beard" would be welcome)
Toei might also try and tie-in the other Strawhats' training arcs
Oh great, another cash grab with a budget of 5-years-of-series. Hey, I have a great idea. How about spending the money on the actual story and not useless cash grabs/recaps.
Oh great, another cash grab with a budget of 5-years-of-series. Hey, I have a great idea. How about spending the money on the actual story and not useless cash grabs/recaps.
Why would they do that? It's easier to sell a single Blu-ray release of a storyline like this than it is to sell a 650 TV episodes.
@Yuugi's:
Why would they do that? It's easier to sell a single Blu-ray release of a storyline like this than it is to sell a 650 TV episodes.
Maybe if they didn't charge and arm and a leg for their DVDs, then maybe that crap would sell.
@Yuugi's:
Why would they do that? It's easier to sell a single Blu-ray release of a storyline like this than it is to sell a 650 TV episodes.
I am not sure I see your point. They can just as well (Not sure if they actually bother to) release the series' sets by arc. These specials do not cover 650 episodes. They cover an arc each, usually. Are you saying people should just buy whatever they find interesting and not care for the rest of the content? "Oh, this gear second luffy looks cool, I am just going to skip the other 200-something episodes, they look boring!" I do not think that is something I would really agree with but hey, everybody has his opinion.
If Oda wrote it then I'm in.
^Agreed. This has the potential to be a good special, if ever.
Maybe if they didn't charge and arm and a leg for their DVDs, then maybe that crap would sell.
The people buying the home videos for the TV series now are as good as it is going to get. Every time you reduce the price of something you have to do it with the guarantee you will not only make back the amount you were before the price reduction, but even more so to justify taking the risk of changing the status quo. There is no proof to suggest reducing the prices will increase profits.
I am not sure I see your point. They can just as well (Not sure if they actually bother to) release the series' sets by arc. These specials do not cover 650 episodes. They cover an arc each, usually. Are you saying people should just buy whatever they find interesting and not care for the rest of the content? "Oh, this gear second luffy looks cool, I am just going to skip the other 200-something episodes, they look boring!" I do not think that is something I would really agree with but hey, everybody has his opinion.
It's easier to have a complete story on a single disc that requires no further investment than hundreds of discs for a still-running 650+ episode series. The One Piece cartoon series is a long-running series. Long-running series with no end in sight are planned from day-one to be cheap, disposable trash. There is no financial incentive to increase the number of allotted drawings, the lengthening of production schedules, and the increase in number of talented animators for a 650+ episode TV series. By creating these specials, however, the production committee partners can create something with higher prestige. A two-hour broadcast of a nigh cinematic-quality special story viewers can easily watch with basic familiarity with the franchise and can also be used as a vehicle for a up-and-coming musician or idol. This is what happened with Episode of Nami. Some schmuck whom avex wanted to push did a bit part in the special and a special cover of We Are. It was pushed by Fuji Televi on a variety program to boost viewership and sell a few extra CDs for their music label partner. The specials themselves are airing on what is labeled a 'premium' Saturday block, after all. That's worth a heck of a lot more to viewers than the TV series.
Fuji Televi orders a special. Fuji Televi gathers money for the special. Toei Animation has a lot of money and some time to make a 100-ish minute special, so obviously the smart idea is to employ talented animators for the special. Who the Hell in their right mind wastes so much money for a premium production by giving it exclusively to bad animators?
She/Her
Don't like the gender you were assigned at birth? Change it!
Want to be a girl? Click here!
What's gender dysphoria, you ask? Click here to find out!
@Yuugi's:
The people buying the home videos for the TV series now are as good as it is going to get. Every time you reduce the price of something you have to do it with the guarantee you will not only make back the amount you were before the price reduction, but even more so to justify taking the risk of changing the status quo. There is no proof to suggest reducing the prices will increase profits.
And there is no proof suggesting sales won't rise. How many people would want to pay for One Piece, but can't justify the huge prices to make a consistent commitment.
And there is no proof suggesting sales won't rise. How many people would want to pay for One Piece, but can't justify the huge prices to make a consistent commitment.
True that, but the media sales of OP are pretty good for a long-running shonen. Only a very selected few like Gintama used to sell better, for this kind of show.
Anyway, another reason Toei and Fuji have been doing specials for the Saturday night timeslot is because of the buzz, it works as extra advertisement for the franchise. The ratings are always higher than Sunday morning episodes, and of course, they do it because the movies aren't yearly anymore.
If Oda had a hand in this special, count me in. I personally hope they managed the best animators at their disposal between this special and the anime.
The last thing I want is for Dressrosa to have a noticeable huge dip in animation quality.
And there is no proof suggesting sales won't rise. How many people would want to pay for One Piece, but can't justify the huge prices to make a consistent commitment.
If the production committee members thought it was a good idea to sell home videos of their show for dirt cheap they would. Historically-speaking, lowering home video prices never work. One Piece already sells at a rather low price point. Lowering further isn't likely to suddenly give us Love Live numbers.
Not that this would likely lead to better production values for the weekly episodes. Toei Animation is involved in over a dozen animated series right now, produces films, and film-length specials all year long. To produce higher-quality episodes the production committee would have to accumulate both more money, more talent, and more time. One hundred forty animated series have been created this year alone. That doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for time and staff, especially when Toei is so busy their sub-contracting partners are further sub-contracting work out just to get things to air on time.
@Yuugi's:
If the production committee members thought it was a good idea to sell home videos of their show for dirt cheap they would. Historically-speaking, lowering home video prices never work. One Piece already sells at a rather low price point. Lowering further isn't likely to suddenly give us Love Live numbers.
Not that this would likely lead to better production values for the weekly episodes. Toei Animation is involved in over a dozen animated series right now, produces films, and film-length specials all year long. To produce higher-quality episodes the production committee would have to accumulate both more money, more talent, and more time. One hundred forty animated series have been created this year alone. That doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for time and staff, especially when Toei is so busy their sub-contracting partners are further sub-contracting work out just to get things to air on time.
That seems like a terribly inefficient and destructive way to run an animation company. I'm surprised their staff aren't dead.
I don't think he meant 140 is the number of shows that Toei's working on, that would actually be the number of shows for the entire industry. In 2014 Toei's "only" had One Piece, Toriko (ended), two Pretty Cure series (one ended), Avengers, Tanken Driland (ended), Majin Bone, Matsutaro, and Dragon Ball Kai (recut) and a few movies.
Toei Animation is the largest of the animation studios (and they're only a subsidy of a larger company), so they can afford to work on a number of ongoing series at once.
That seems like a terribly inefficient and destructive way to run an animation company. I'm surprised their staff aren't dead.
It makes money and keeps people paid doing the work they like to do. Toei Animation is the one studio in the industry with a union for their animators (led by Idea Takeo, an animation supervisor for One Piece) and has mostly managed to survive in this post-bubble economy. Still, there is always little room for error when it comes to the entertainment industry.
I don't think he meant 140 is the number of shows that Toei's working on, that would actually be the number of shows for the entire industry. In 2014 Toei's "only" had One Piece, Toriko (ended), two Pretty Cure series (one ended), Avengers, Tanken Driland (ended), Majin Bone, Matsutaro, and Dragon Ball Kai (recut) and a few movies.
Toei Animation is the largest of the animation studios (and they're only a subsidy of a larger company), so they can afford to work on a number of ongoing series at once.
Yeah, I meant in general. Still, look at credits. Damned near nothing Toei Animation does is entirely in-house. No studio can afford to have many on-contract staff, almost all directors, writers, and animators are freelancers. Toei Animation themselves only have about five hundred employees in total. For every part of their business, not just animators. When you have that many titles being produced within most times a month and a half of airing you're simply not going to have any staff. Directors complain on Twitter about not having anyone available when they start a new series. Space Dandy especially taxed the industry because with its high-budget and good production schedule it was able to keep talented freelancers working on the series for months at a time.
@Yuugi's:
It makes money and keeps people paid doing the work they like to do. Toei Animation is the one studio in the industry with a union for their animators (led by Idea Takeo, an animation supervisor for One Piece) and has mostly managed to survive in this post-bubble economy. Still, there is always little room for error when it comes to the entertainment industry.
How much does Toei even pay their employees? I hear it isn't all that much anyways, so all the extra stress on the staff can't be good for their health or creative levels.
That's what i'm hoping, not Ace and Sabo's flashback (which was as good as it gets in the series already).
:wassat::blink:
Are you saying you liked the Ace and Sabo flashbacks? I found those to be some of the least appealing episodes. When I go back and rewatch episodes/arcs I'll go back and rewatch the Sabaody, Amazon Lily, Marineford (war of the best), the stories of the seperated crew, and a few of the key episodes from then until the current ones. Every time I'll skip the Sabo episodes which I thought dragged on and weren't all that interesting the first time around (we already knew what would happen to Luffy and Ace after their weak kid years).
@One:
:wassat::blink:
Are you saying you liked the Ace and Sabo flashbacks? I found those to be some of the least appealing episodes. When I go back and rewatch episodes/arcs I'll go back and rewatch the Sabaody, Amazon Lily, Marineford (war of the best), the stories of the seperated crew, and a few of the key episodes from then until the current ones. Every time I'll skip the Sabo episodes which I thought dragged on and weren't all that interesting the first time around (we already knew what would happen to Luffy and Ace after their weak kid years).
But as an adaptation of the source-material, they were excellent. In fact I'd say for that brief arc, the anime was actually better than the manga, and that Toei's expansion of the source-material greatly helped make the story more enjoyable. Heck, I even enjoyed the 100% filler episodes in that arc. I did not care much for the Sabo-arc in the manga, but in the anime I actually found it pretty decent.
I actually remember quite a few people praising the Luffy flashback in the anime, it's filler included.
I wonder when they'll finally reveal that the person Dragon saved was Bluejam.:ninja:
As for this special, what does "new material" mean exactly? Newly animated or an original story? When I saw the name I was expecting it to just be a retelling of the build up to the time skip.
@Yuugi's:
It's easier to have a complete story on a single disc that requires no further investment than hundreds of discs for a still-running 650+ episode series.
Of course it is, but One Piece's complete story is all of the episodes, One Piece won't be complete with just a single disc. If Toei didn't release with a DVD format, you wouldn't need hundreds of discs, either.
@Yuugi's:
The One Piece cartoon series is a long-running series. Long-running series with no end in sight are planned from day-one to be cheap, disposable trash.
Naruto, Attack on Titan, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure are not cheap, disposable trash. Maybe because they don't spend as much time making cash grabs and millions of movies?
@Yuugi's:
There is no financial incentive to increase the number of allotted drawings, the lengthening of production schedules, and the increase in number of talented animators for a 650+ episode TV series. By creating these specials, however, the production committee partners can create something with higher prestige.
Toei knows that One Piece fans will always watch the anime, however bad it is, because it is One Piece. They only care about the paycheck and not about the quality of their product. They will use whatever trick they can to get more money. You are talking as if increasing the quality of the series is not an option because it is not going to increase their ratings, and that is true, but Toei have the money and they will not lose a dime by doing so. They can create a series with much "higher prestige" than it has now, and spending that money on specials and movies is not going to make that happen.
@Yuugi's:
A two-hour broadcast of a nigh cinematic-quality special story viewers can easily watch with basic familiarity with the franchise and can also be used as a vehicle for a up-and-coming musician or idol. This is what happened with Episode of Nami. Some schmuck whom avex wanted to push did a bit part in the special and a special cover of We Are. It was pushed by Fuji Televi on a variety program to boost viewership and sell a few extra CDs for their music label partner. The specials themselves are airing on what is labeled a 'premium' Saturday block, after all. That's worth a heck of a lot more to viewers than the TV series.
Of course, this can be said about the series as well, but you think it is better to skip most of the content and just sit through the "good parts". Also, openings/endings have always been a way to push musicians or idols into fame, it is not something the specials created.
@Yuugi's:
Fuji Televi orders a special. Fuji Televi gathers money for the special. Toei Animation has a lot of money and some time to make a 100-ish minute special, so obviously the smart idea is to employ talented animators for the special. Who the Hell in their right mind wastes so much money for a premium production by giving it exclusively to bad animators?
Fuji Televi orders a special. That is the mistake right there. They know they have the money to make good anime, so they waste it on cash grabs, instead of the actual series. They recreate already created material to make up for their "mistakes" in the past, even though the "mistakes" were a product of their low budget! The system itself is hilarious and their strategy seems to be making the series as awful as possible without losing any viewers whilst saving as much money as possible so that more people will buy the recaps, thus giving them even more money in the end.
How much does Toei even pay their employees? I hear it isn't all that much anyways, so all the extra stress on the staff can't be good for their health or creative levels.
It depends on the individual. Generally speaking for the entire industry, in-between animators are paid about $2 a drawing/cel and can handle about fifteen drawings a day ($30 USD a day). Someone who has just begun working as a key animator makes about $40 per cut (shot) and can usually do two-to-four cuts a day, depending on the complexity (the average episode has three hundred cuts). This is how money is spent on a regular television episode of a series. Prices for an average episode tend to run at $100,000-300,000, although those higher figures are not always likely. I think One Piece stays around 100,000 an episode, but that's just a gut feeling considering how few drawings and talent are employed by the series. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann had a budget of $180,000-200,000 an episode. Thanks to the talented key animators and directors employed you can really see all of the money up on the screen in every episode.
The nice thing about the industry is that hard work and talent is always repaid in kind. Iwane Masa'aki of Studio Cockpit has been with Pocket Monster since Episode #3. By Episode #59 he earned the right to provide all of the key animation for episodes himself. He's traded on-and-off over the years, but for the last three or so years he had kept to providing all of the key animation for an episode of Pocket Monster Best Wishes and Pocket Monster XY himself for every four-to-six episodes. That's at least $10,000 an episode, to say nothing of any money he makes from also taking the animation supervisor credit. By all signs Iwane has more than enough money to retire at his age, yet even despite his heavy schedule he continues to pop out solo episodes and even contributes to other episodes in the rotation. Iwane is the series' top regular action animator, too. Yokoyama Kenji used to do solo episodes on One Piece, but the series' production schedule has become so much shorter that in recent years he has other animators to work alongside him.
Of course it is, but One Piece's complete story is all of the episodes, One Piece won't be complete with just a single disc. If Toei didn't release with a DVD format, you wouldn't need hundreds of discs, either.
These specials tell a single story with a beginning, middle, and end. They're not a big commitment. A six hundred episode series some lowest common denominator viewer will likely never watch again is not going to sell to many people.
Naruto, Attack on Titan, and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure are not cheap, disposable trash. Maybe because they don't spend as much time making cash grabs and millions of movies?
Shingeki no Kyojin: Attack on Titan was made in a mad-rush and aired six months before it should have. Episodes were airing in complete, missing broadcast times, and generally would tossed together in four-to-six weeks with over forty animators, a dozen animation supervisors, two or three episode directors and multitudes of animation studios credited as having worked on each episode. That tells you something about the production committee's appreciation for their work.
Naruto isn't made by a company working on a seven weekly series and films at once.
JoJo is a late night series aimed at adults willing to pay big money for a property that isn't entirely mainstream friendly.
Making films and specials are a perfectly valid and intelligent business move for long-running franchises. Need I really mention your average schmuck doesn't want to own long TV series because of how little space is available in Japan?
Toei knows that One Piece fans will always watch the anime, however bad it is, because it is One Piece. They only care about the paycheck and not about the quality of their product. They will use whatever trick they can to get more money. You are talking as if increasing the quality of the series is not an option because it is not going to increase their ratings, and that is true, but Toei have the money and they will not lose a dime by doing so. They can create a series with much "higher prestige" than it has now, and spending that money on specials and movies is not going to make that happen.
There is no intelligent reason for the production committee members to place more money into a TV series that is already six hundred episodes long. It would be financially irresponsible, especially when you can make shorter and better things with your time and money.
Fuji Televi orders a special. That is the mistake right there. They know they have the money to make good anime, so they waste it on cash grabs, instead of the actual series. They recreate already created material to make up for their "mistakes" in the past, even though the "mistakes" were a product of their low budget! The system itself is hilarious and their strategy seems to be making the series as awful as possible without losing any viewers whilst saving as much money as possible so that more people will buy the recaps, thus giving them even more money in the end.
Making a high-quality special or film isn't a cash-grab. Dragon Ball Kai is a cash-grab. Something like Episode of Nami is a well-produced work of art one can enjoy with relatively little commitment, especially considering the national fad status of the franchise.
One Piece is a franchise for the lowest common denominator. A cartoon series was created in the first place to sell more volumes of the comic and other merchandise. It exists today solely to push products that are more desirable. A six hundred episode cartoon is not desirable.
We'll I hope they ask Oda for ideas, since that would give us an idea of what Haki is really like.
I'm not keeping any expectations from this special..
So its cannon or not?
@Vegard:
But as an adaptation of the source-material, they were excellent. In fact I'd say for that brief arc, the anime was actually better than the manga, and that Toei's expansion of the source-material greatly helped make the story more enjoyable. Heck, I even enjoyed the 100% filler episodes in that arc. I did not care much for the Sabo-arc in the manga, but in the anime I actually found it pretty decent.
Flashbacks are always better in the anime. I can't explain why toei puts way more effort in those than in the present time episodes…totally cryptic.
Why don't they animate more of the cover story arcs? Why waste time on making filler of/and flashback specials??
I'm hyped, hopefully they show all the other strawhats as well and not just Luffy.
@Yuugi's:
A two-hour broadcast of a nigh cinematic-quality special story viewers can easily watch with basic familiarity with the franchise and can also be used as a vehicle for a up-and-coming musician or idol.
@Yuugi's:
Something like Episode of Nami is a well-produced work of art one can enjoy with relatively little commitment, especially considering the national fad status of the franchise.
Gotta say, I agree completely with everything you've been saying, but not quite this. I saw Episode of Nami some time ago but I remember the animation looking pretty cold, dull and unimpressive. But that's just a matter of opinion, since I really don't care for the animation style used there; so I'll also say that I watched Episode of Luffy in full tonight and didn't see much in the way of cinematic or well-produced animation in it at all. It's got the usual issues of really simple animations for water and smoke, badly-drawn background detail like people's faces, and terrible CG on the Sunny and elsewhere, like a lot of the newer episodes do. Maybe that's because it's the newest special, but either way, it doesn't convince me that Toei is sinking much money into the specials to make them look good, at least. Otherwise your arguments make a ton of sense about Toei's view of a 600-episode series, so I'm not looking for a fight; just saying that outside of several of the movies, the animation seems usually average to me. Maybe at this point they know that the idea of a special's going to be popular anyway, or maybe they couldn't get the best resources to make Episode of Luffy look really good or something.
So yeah, I'm not expecting this special to be really gorgeous or anything, and I can't say I'm too excited about the story it's probably going to be telling, but I'm being hopeful. It'd definitely be nice to see the other Strawhats, although that's probably a slim chance since the description implies it's just about Luffy. But who knows? Guess I'll just keep an eye out here till we get more details.
awesome news!
i think they will show the crew, like Luffy thinking of each guys and we can see them in training.
