LEGO ONE PIECE announced!

In a world where the LEGO ip list now includes Netflix…

One Piece isn’t my cup o’ tea, but I know a few people who really dig it. Perhaps this could open up a few other Netflix titles in the future.

Lego licenses getting wilder and wilder. At what point are they going to drop their self-imposed restrictions (since people do want it. I'm indifferent, but whatevs).

massive but not based on orignal IP

Amazing. Looking forward to the set reveals and One Piece MOCs now that we will have official minifigs. The question now is how many Berry will they cost.

Where were TLG when Cowboy Bebop got the live action treatment?
Okay, it got dropped after the first season, but some great (not grey) spaceships etc.

Enjoyed One Piece on Netflix, and it's always good to have more ships in the cataloge.

Cue the "We got LEGO One Piece before GTA IV :skull:" comments...

@Fingerinsocket said:
"In a world where the LEGO ip list now includes Netflix…

One Piece isn’t my cup o’ tea, but I know a few people who really dig it. Perhaps this could open up a few other Netflix titles in the future. "

Yes, please! I would KILL for Lego Rilakkuma sets.

@StyleCounselor said:
"Ha, ha!

I thought that rumor was completely BS. Shows what I know.

Bring it on. Should be fun."

We had actual photos of parts so it felt pretty confirmed (I don't know how early on you are talking though

Well I've never heard of the IP, but I'm always interested in new sets that aren't grey spaceships!

Did NOT see this coming

@Euroseb11 said:
"I almost dropped my phone when i saw this. Been a One Piece fan on/off since 1999(,fell out of it during Skypia arc but went back into it deep at the Water Seven arc, prefer the manga but watch the anime weekly, anyway i digress..) so it's intruiging that they choose the Netflix route rather than the anime route... I reckon it was WAY easier since there are already a number of TV series IP Lego out there...and tbh ever since they did that one 'Stranger Things' set 75810 then Netflix already had its foot in the door chez Lego, just a matter of time before they mutually decided their next big collabo theme sets.
Not too bothered about the sets, since they'll be fantastically designed I'm sure (and i think they'd have to pass the strict Oda test of approval!) but i reckon they'll be the Going Merry ship, Baratie Restaurant, and possibly Nami's village...oh and Arlong Park of course!

On a more Lego angle, could this possibly be heradling a return of the Pirates theme..!??? I dare to hope... In the meantime aaaaaarrrrrrr. I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE LEGO PIRATES!??"

Agreed. Skypiea has some interesting themes, but it’s a bit of a slog. I got stuck there for awhile, too.

I'm intrigued. Never heard of One Piece. But I guess it's a good fit because LEGO does a pirate theme and LEGO sets are made up of bunch of pieces.

Lego Going Merry? Please??

@ninjabiomech said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
"Ha, ha!

I thought that rumor was completely BS. Shows what I know.

Bring it on. Should be fun."

We had actual photos of parts so it felt pretty confirmed (I don't know how early on you are talking though"

I missed those.

Yes, we are now getting anime themed LEGP sets.

Another theme to be cancelled. Can't wait.

Don't know the first thing about One Piece but if this means a new pirate ship set, I'm in!

@Murdoch17 said:
" @Syren_Neostar said:
"OMG, I did not see this on my Lego Bingo card!"

Nobody did."

agreed...

@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"Cue the "We got LEGO One Piece before GTA IV :skull:" comments..."

GTA VI to be correct. GTA IV was 17 years ago.

Can't wait to see what the One Piece piece looks like (0.O)

@naota_XD said:
"Hmm...
I thought more people would be disappointed that it is based on Netflix live-action adaptation instead of anime/manga..."

I think we've seen what happens when Lego trys to print faces in anime style. e.g. Clone Wars (@.@)

I only got into One Piece because my nephew started watching the anime version but that was before the Netflix announcement. I am just looking forward to seeing how the minifigs turn out

More pirate ships cheer. How could there not be...
unless only minifigs

You know its going to be one ship with the main characters and maybe some LEGO Ninjago movie shark minifigs in a rowboat as adversaries. And the set will cost... factoring inflation and todays' exchange rates and the price of gold versus LEGO in the scalpers market... well you know.

@dodrian said:
"I'm not sure what One Piece is, but I'm sure LEGO Pirates fans will rejoice!"

Eh, maybe. Pirates have great minifigs too. One piece is probably not going to have to great ones. (And will probably use fleshy tones instead of yellow too.)

@dukeps said:
"Don't know the first thing about One Piece but if this means a new pirate ship set, I'm in!"

comic books I think, a cartoon series over 1k episodes 1999 TV series. 2023 netflix series actors- 8 episodes

Very popular.

@TheBrickBulbasaur said:
"A bit disappointed it’s not based on the manga (the best-selling in the world!) r"

Not really. Sales figures are based on total sales within the series rather then sales of the complete series. ( IE: 1 sale of a single volume vs 1 sale of an entire 100 volume run) And others such as Naruto, Demon Slayer : Kimetsu no Yaiba and Doraemon have less total volumes and have sold nearly the same number of sales while also having been around for less time.

I have NO IDEA what this is, but hopefully we get some good Pirate pieces out of it!!

Anime is and continues to remain niche.

My son made me watch the Netflix show, and to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. It's very fun and silly, with well-drawn characters and impressive visuals. The characters and sets are bright and colorful, which should translate well into Lego. When I first heard the rumor about Lego picking up the license, I assumed they'd be doing one giant set (like LOTR gets these days), presumably the Going Merry. The fact that it's an actual theme with multiple sets is surprising to me.

@JDawg5 said:
"My son made me watch the Netflix show, and to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. It's very fun and silly, with well-drawn characters and impressive visuals. The characters and sets are bright and colorful, which should translate well into Lego. When I first heard the rumor about Lego picking up the license, I assumed they'd be doing one giant set (like LOTR gets these days), presumably the Going Merry. The fact that it's an actual theme with multiple sets is surprising to me. "

watch the netflix 2023 episodes, don't remember if any well-drawn characters in that one. real actors actresses

@Meadius said:
"Haven't read/watched One Piece yet but this is a really cool announcement. I hope this opens the doors to some other anime/manga Lego themes, Dragon Ball in particular could be really fun and I think it's decently likely based on the leaked Lego Goku model from Fortnite."

If it anime, think off 2023 or season 2 from netflix

I'm not usually all that enthused about LEGO's numerous licensed themes, but consider this an exception. One Piece is part of the reason I got into LEGO Pirates years ago, and it's cool (albeit quite unexpected) to see it now in an official theme.
Going Merry seems an almost-certainty, and I can envision a set of Luffy vs Ritchie outside Chou-Chou's pet shop.
I am curious how they'll manage Zoro's sword held in his mouth...(to non-OP fans; yes that is a thing. One Piece has lots of silly, yet charming ideas just like that)

I much prefer the manga/anime over the Netflix show, so depending on what the final designs look like will determine if I open my wallet or not

@winbrant said:
" @Euroseb11 said:
"On a more Lego angle, could this possibly be heralding a return of the Pirates theme..!??? I dare to hope... In the meantime aaaaaarrrrrrr. I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE LEGO PIRATES!??"

I would think this pretty much cements the fact there will be no return of the LEGO Pirates theme as we know it and we will just be supplied these via ICONS sets. But never say never :)

Pretty much how the SW license initially prevented a true Space theme, by LEGO's own admission, as they did not want to compete in this same "space". But over time, with increasing consumer base, it has shown that space can be shared what with last year's Space, albeit City, lineup."

I'm not so sure that's true -- the City Space sets seem to have sold especially poorly, with large clearances on most sets in the lineup. While I love those sets, they don't seem to have appealed to the average consumer.

The theme itself, I don't care (but we'll see - you never know) as for new parts and new part recolours, bring them on!!!

The Netflix One piece show seems to be missing the 'Robin' character.

THE ONE PIEEECEE

THE ONE PIECE IS REAAAAAALLLL

Could be good, if they do a good job of it. The Going Merry is an obvious set.

I was genuinely expecting a release date of 1st April!

@Murdoch17: Ever see a man eat his own head? (One of favorite line from "Team America: World Police":))

Is it 'just me', or is anyone else worried about TLG taking all these new IPs, while simultaneously underservicing/ignoring IPs they have (*COUGH*DC Comics*COUGH*)...I mean, they even have STAR TREK COMING FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD...CAN'T FOR 'THE FLAT OF THE RA...'...breathe, breathe...I just WISH TLG would do MORE with what HAVE and RELIGATED to the CORNER of their ATTIC before they take on more licenses...:|

And yet another IP.
I can understand that the IP-fans will love this.

I understand that some builders like to follow just the model and follow instructions.
It hurts to see however that the creator himself here has lost his creative spark.

@brick_r said:
" @Murdoch17: Ever see a man eat his own head? (Ove of favorite line from "Team America: World Police":))

Is it 'just me', or is anyone else worried about TLG taking all these new IPs, while simultaneously underservicing/ignoring IPs they have (*COUGH*DC Comics*COUGH*)...I mean, they even have STAR TREK COMING FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD...CAN'T FOR 'THE FLAT OF THE RA...'...breathe, breathe...I just WISH TLG would do MORE with what HAVE and RELIGATED to the CORNER of their ATTIC before they take on more licenses...:| "

I'm starting to think it's a process of elimination. One Piece and Star Trek are extremely popular IPs, more than any DC film that isn't Batman. LEGO can't phase out DC entirely because of how popular Batman is but they'll lessen their output. It's all motivated by profit but I don't think it's necessarily a terrible thing. I like DC but I also like seeing a lot of IPs that aren't American, like Horizon (Dutch), Minecraft (Swedish), and Nintendo (Japanese). While the live-action One Piece is American, the manga is Japanese, it's always cool to get cultural variety.

I'm really excited for these sets for some reason, even though I have never seen the show as of now.

This officially might be as bad as clickits.

I do not know a thing about One Piece but i am pretty certain that this theme screams MINIDOLLS! I could be wrong... but i bet in this case OnePiece will probably fail as a Lego theme and fans might be very disappointed. I can imagine that minidolls make sense here since its taken from a life action series.

Only time will tell.

@HOBBES said:
"The Netflix One piece show seems to be missing the 'Robin' character."

As of the point it’s at, she has not been introduced yet. It actually only has half the crew so far.

@Grizbe
Fair, just went with the face-data fact for that, which I think especially displays how long it’s been running

Yeah, no, this is some April Fools shit. I'm interested. I don't care about One Piece but I definitely want to see some pirate ships and fishmen and all that stuff.

Never heard of One Piece before the rumors started. But that's to be expected since I really dislike anime & Netflix. If the prices are reasonable and there are great Pirate parts I'll be interested maybe. Will have to wait to see pictures of the actual sets.

@PurpleDave said:
"So, you’re saying we should expect the City Pirates theme to launch in about 15-20 years?"

If Lego were still doing endless Police subthemes I’d probably throw a “Pirate Police” or “Space Police revival” joke here

I'm surprised at the amount of comments stating amazement at this announcement. We've known about this for months.

@PurpleDave said:
" @VaultDweller_197 said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @Morgan19 said:
""For the first time, LEGO play and the exciting world of anime meet."

Exo-Force?"

*Avatar: The Last Airbender has joined the chat*"

Technically was not an Anime"

Depends on who you ask. While “anime” is defined in the western world as being animation from Japan, I’ve heard that Japanese apply that term to all animation. For their own productions, the source claimed they use the term “Japanimation”, which is heavily frowned on in western fandom. Go figure.

@VoidSeeker:
You license whichever version someone asks to license. It’s not like TLG has to go knocking on doors anymore, so it’s really up to the other party to make introductions, and as @Euroseb11 pointed out, this isn’t the first Netflix license in their stable.

@winbrant:
So, you’re saying we should expect the City Pirates theme to launch in about 15-20 years?

@DaLegoNerd1 said:
"Can't wait to see what the One Piece piece looks like (0.O)"

They posted a picture of it. Didn’t you see? Just the hat. One of them. SDCC raffle. The carnage will defy the imagination."

That is indeed a one piece piece, but I'm really looking forward to THE one piece piece

@Glacier_Phoenix said:
""For the first time, LEGO play and the exciting world of anime meet."

And there doing it based off the live action series..."

Makes way more sense. One Piece minifigures that look like the manga are not going to translate as well as the live action actors.

@Lyichir said:
" @Oli said:
"I do not know a thing about One Piece but i am pretty certain that this theme screams MINIDOLLS! I could be wrong... but i bet in this case OnePiece will probably fail as a Lego theme and fans might be very disappointed. I can imagine that minidolls make sense here since its taken from a life action series.

Only time will tell."

I don't know why you'd assume this, since mini-dolls are still only really used for themes/sets targeted mainly at girls. A shonen series like One Piece would hardly be the typical subject for a mini-doll theme."

i wouldnt be so sure about that. When i look at that action show banner it just wouldnt fit with Minifigures in my opinion. It could be just me but isnt the main target audience girls? As far as i know there are way more females into Animes of any kind then males and i bet there could be as much girls into OnePiece then boys if i am not totaly wrong. Maybe Lego will try to get the girls and boys together like they did with Friends/City space but in one theme.
I doubt that any boy in the target audience age range which is into that series wouldnt mind wether the hero is a minifig or minidoll as long as its this main character..
I could be wrong too and in the end it doesnt matter to me anyways since i am not that much into pirates and even less into OnePiece.
This just looks like a LEGO experiment and minidolls would do their justice in that theme in my opinion.

It is a huge anime!
I got to see some leaks, a torso with brown vest, with those extremely long arms. Then the main character’s hat with and without molded hair in it.
Also that orange pirate hat with a skull and cross bones graphic and blue hair molded into it. Plus some various colored pirate head scarfs with molded hair.

I blame Harmony Gold for this.

We could’ve had some nice veritechs, maybe battle pod or something, but those IP grifters just won’t allow it.

@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"Cue the "We got LEGO One Piece before GTA IV :skull:" comments..."

Edit: I meant to type VI (6) instead of IV (4)

Dangit

@Doctor_Hugh said:
"I'm surprised at the amount of comments stating amazement at this announcement. We've known about this for months."
You maybe, but apparently not many more.
Then again, since enough people don't know the source material, or don't have Netflix, why should they follow news and rumours on the subject?
I for one had never heard of this format until I read this article.

I— wHAT?

@Oli said:
"I do not know a thing about One Piece but i am pretty certain that this theme screams MINIDOLLS! I could be wrong... but i bet in this case OnePiece will probably fail as a Lego theme and fans might be very disappointed. I can imagine that minidolls make sense here since its taken from a life action series.

Only time will tell."

No way minidolls... luffy (main character) screams for specialized arms... similar to the minion super heroes sets and minidolls can't accommodate that.

I bet you a pirates 3 in 1 that this has minifigs instead of minidolls.

Yet another license?? This one I genuinely was not expecting to happen.

@VaultDweller_197 said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @Morgan19 said:
""For the first time, LEGO play and the exciting world of anime meet."

Exo-Force?"

*Avatar: The Last Airbender has joined the chat*"

Technically was not an Anime"

No, but it was anime inspired just like Exo-Force was. Isn't the only thing that makes it not anime is that it's an American production, not Japanese? Also, as someone else pointed out, this is based on the live action series, not the anime directly. So in a way it's just as much a meeting of LEGO and anime as Exo-Force and ATLA were.

@Glacier_Phoenix said:
""For the first time, LEGO play and the exciting world of anime meet."

And there doing it based off the live action series..."

In all fairness, the live action adaptation of One Piece is actually really good compared to other anime adaptations.

I haven't read the manga series, but the live action series on Netflix was fantastic and if there is a flagship pirate set, I'm in!

Emily in Paris is a much bigger Netflix show and has a wider audience. I think that would've been a better choice than this random Netflix show.

@fakespacesquid said:
" @MegaBlocks said:
"Anime is and continues to remain niche."

The tone almost makes it seem like you’re trying to convince yourself. It’s ok to have sets of new things

@brick_r said:
" @Murdoch17: Ever see a man eat his own head? (One of favorite line from "Team America: World Police":))

Is it 'just me', or is anyone else worried about TLG taking all these new IPs, while simultaneously underservicing/ignoring IPs they have "

That problem lies squarely with the license holders, DC/WB can’t seem to make good content to save their life, so TLG wouldn’t be super motivated to make anything beyond Batman. Hopefully Gunn can turn things around, but until that happens, TLG has no reason to risk DC sets.

Also getting a really big kick out of the “anime is for girls” take from @Oli. Things must really be topsy-turvy in Germany!"

Just wait and see.. i think the target audience for this netflix show lego sets is the same as for example wednesday. Teenagers it is. Its not for girls, i didnt say that at all. When i said the sets could include minidolls doesnt mean its made for girls! If you think so, dont worry you are entitled to do so.

We will see. I am counting on minidolls.

@VaultDweller_197 said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @Morgan19 said:
""For the first time, LEGO play and the exciting world of anime meet."

Exo-Force?"

*Avatar: The Last Airbender has joined the chat*"

Technically was not an Anime"

wwell if wwe're being annoying pedants about it, anime is just the Japanese wword for ALL animation

Hey, why has my first reaction with my thoughts on this news been deleted? Don't think I said anything even slightly controversial?

@Murdoch17 said:
" @Morgan19 said:
""For the first time, LEGO play and the exciting world of anime meet."

Exo-Force?"

*Avatar: The Last Airbender has joined the chat*"

I wonder: does this mean Lego Netflix Avatar the Last Airbender is right around the corner? I'm excited for these but that would be even cooler!

So will the amount of bricks in the set match the Title ?......................:-)

@dudebrick said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @Morgan19 said:
""For the first time, LEGO play and the exciting world of anime meet."

Exo-Force?"

*Avatar: The Last Airbender has joined the chat*"

I wonder: does this mean Lego Netflix Avatar the Last Airbender is right around the corner? I'm excited for these but that would be even cooler!"

No, new Avatar sets are not coming (I wish they were!) - I just was referencing the two 2006 sets. Another example would be the Speed Racer sets from 2008. Those are also based on an anime-turned-live-action.

@dodrian said:
"I'm not sure what One Piece is, but I'm sure LEGO Pirates fans will rejoice!"

The rumor has been floating around awhile, and the majority of the Pirate community, from what I have seen is "No, not really". I am a Pirate fan, and I am not in any way excited about this theme. I hope some good pieces come out of it, but anime is not my cup of tea.

I’m not sure why there saying there’s going to be sets, if there’s just one piece.

@GSR_MataNui said:
"I've heard good things about One Piece but never bothered getting into it. The anime has over 1000 episodes, and rumor has it it's not going to end until around episode 2000. That's a lot to catch up on and keep up with, I just don't have the time."

This is why I recommend reading the manga instead. 1100+ chapters is ofc a daunting prospect, but it's still far less of a time-sink, and you don't have to deal with the sub-par pacing that the anime adaptation gets in the later episodes.

Based on the live action... Ok. It was a nice show. We'll see how it turns out in Lego. Lego came long way since the Avatar sets.

In French ‘piece’ mean part.
I initially thought it was a 1 part set - not very interesting building experience

Most likely not anime. Live action one. and season 2 is coming out. 2nd Not going be a lot of characters like the anime and it is too costly paying actors for netflix. The ship will be interesting that is a nice ship, Do not see how they can make one piece without the ship.
Brickheadz many options.
Could be like wednesday legos also that netflix show.

@MandoEli37 said:
"I’m not sure why there saying there’s going to be sets, if there’s just one piece.
"

Too funny.

The real question is whether they would give us a bigfig. There are some pretty huge characters that show up throughout the series.

@GSR_MataNui said:
"I'm really curious what kind of rock Brickset users are living under. I don't even watch anime but this brand has been inescapable online for, like, the last five years at least. People won't shut up about it! (And are often a bit annoying about it.) "

Outside of "geek" forums cartoons like this anime series don't enter into the public conciousness. Most people in the UK have heard of a Netflix show like Bridgerton, but some Japanese cartoon series with over 1000 episodes are just unknown.

AFOLs seriously overestimate the wide popularity of anime, these sets may sell well, they may not, but considering that people forget that Lego: Avatar Last Airbender existed that shows how well they did.

@UshiUshiKaku said:
" @GSR_MataNui said:
"I've heard good things about One Piece but never bothered getting into it. The anime has over 1000 episodes, and rumor has it it's not going to end until around episode 2000. That's a lot to catch up on and keep up with, I just don't have the time."

This is why I recommend reading the manga instead. 1100+ chapters is ofc a daunting prospect, but it's still far less of a time-sink, and you don't have to deal with the sub-par pacing that the anime adaptation gets in the later episodes.
"

My thoughts exactly. One Piece was actually the first manga I started reading, I bought a Japanese version of the first volume during a trip to Japan (where One Piece is absolutely massive, easily rivalling if not downright beating other juggernauts like Star Wars or Disney. So was just curious. But obviously couldn't read that, so back home quickly ordered an English version.....and was hooked immediately. And only two months later I had ordered and read all 65 volumes available at that moment, Amazon must have really liked me back then....

But than came the waiting, 3-4 months for each new volume.....so I started watching the anime. But this indeed is one case where the anime doesn't quite get to the level of the manga, mostly because of pacing. Drawing 18 pages of manga each week is one thing. Turning those 18 pages in 20 minutes of animation is something else. Especially considering it's a very much action focused series, scenes that can take multiple pages might be over in mere seconds. And thus it got so much filler...still surprised I got as far as 63, but by then I was done with it and just stuck to the manga. I have heard later arcs have gotten better, but never picked it up again, except for some movies. And obviously the live action series (which I really enjoyed but fear will never be completed).

I'm kinda glad that this style of ongoing weekly adaptation is mostly a thing of the past now, most newer series just get a new season whenever there's enough new material instead of continuously moving on at a snails pace.

@ElephantKnight said:
" @dodrian said:
"I'm not sure what One Piece is, but I'm sure LEGO Pirates fans will rejoice!"

The rumor has been floating around awhile, and the majority of the Pirate community, from what I have seen is "No, not really". I am a Pirate fan, and I am not in any way excited about this theme. I hope some good pieces come out of it, but anime is not my cup of tea."

I can kinda imagine that. Even when One Piece borrows a lot from traditional pirate fare, it is still set in a very unique world with its very own timeline, and with quite a lot of downright bizarre stuff. Blending modern stuff into a seemingly much older world, at least compared to ours. The live action series even more so than the manga/anime, in which that happened a lot more gradual over many years. And I can totally see that as a big turn-off for people not familiar with the source material and expecting a more traditional pirate story. One Piece just isn't that.

@Goujon said:
"Soooooooo

THE ONE PIECE IS REAL?

In all seriousness I’m actually hyped to finally have some brown parts packs on the market. Sell the figures for the retail price of the set and I get to sit happy with a ton of pirate ship building parts! "

Finally someone who understands.

@Fire said:
" @VaultDweller_197 said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @Morgan19 said:
""For the first time, LEGO play and the exciting world of anime meet."

Exo-Force?"

*Avatar: The Last Airbender has joined the chat*"

Technically was not an Anime"

No, but it was anime inspired just like Exo-Force was. Isn't the only thing that makes it not anime is that it's an American production, not Japanese? Also, as someone else pointed out, this is based on the live action series, not the anime directly. So in a way it's just as much a meeting of LEGO and anime as Exo-Force and ATLA were."

Most of Avatar's animation was done in Korea. A lot of anime is done in Korea too. so is original language the only thing that makes something anime or not? Art style is much more important.

I wouldn't call ATLA an anime, but if I were to describe it, "basically-anime" would come up a lot.

Pretty weird to make sets on a theme of something so niche that only about 5 people have even heard of it

@WizardOfOss:
The ironic thing is, a lot of Japanese animation is probably produced in Korea. Certainly a lot of western animation is farmed out to Korean studios, at least for the in-betweening. Regarding the terminology, I mean, you’ve been there quite a few times. Even if you’re not familiar with the term, you’ve likely encountered the phenomenon of “nomunication”. Some Japanese will just about fall over themselves to try out/show off their English language skills when they encounter someone who speaks it fluently, while others require at least a token amount of inebriation before they’ll utter a single word. Japanimation may just be viewed as the English translation for the term you mentioned. Or that may no longer even be the case, since my information is likely around 20 years old at this point.

BTW, I only learned that Emily in Paris was a thing when someone decided it was the logical choice to shoehorn into the broadcast Paris Olympics coverage. And then I had to hit Wikipedia, because all they did was namedrop it and assume everyone had heard of it before. And then I still wasn’t sure if they were pulling my leg.

@ShilohCyan:
Gender preference is probably going to depend on precisely which series you’re referring to. The only girls I’ve known who were into anime liked Neon Genesis: Evangelion, while guys favored Robotech, Dragonball, or One Piece. I’m not into any of it myself, so my sample pool is admittedly pretty anemic, but aside from Pokémon, I have not encountered a single anime series that had coed appeal…except Teen Titans. And then strictly Millennials. Anyone older or younger tends to favor the vastly superior Teen Titans Go! series.

Regarding the nature of anime, LotR:RotR is being billed as anime, even though it’s based on a British IP, and produced through a New Zealand-based subsidiary of an American country. But the director is from Japan, and the art style is distinctly Japanese. The Animatrix was also billed as anime, with one segment that was strictly American CGI, a couple segments that originated in the US, and the rest of the segments being strictly Japanese in origin.

@Oli:
Minidolls are pretty clearly targeted towards girls, who (at least in the US) never responded well to the minifigure prior to the launch of Friends. Themes that featured minidolls include Friends, Elves, Disney Princess, DC Super Hero Girls, Wednesday, Wicked, and Inside Out 2. The one thing all of these have in common is that the main cast, or at least the main character, are all female. The only theme to feature both minifigs and minidolls was TLM2, which made it pretty clear that the boy’s sets all had minifigs, while his kid sister’s sets had started with Duplo and shifted over to minidolls. Also, images of parts have leaked. Luffy is getting the Incredibles 2 Elastigirl torso, which is minifig.

@fakespacesquid:
Technically, any characters that are original to TLM/TLM2 are licensed, which includes Sweet Mayhem and the sparkle waaahmpires.

@GSR_MataNui:
The IT guy where I work said someone did an edit that either eliminated 60%, or reduced the series to 60%, by trimming out all the typical padding that such a series survives on. I think he said it’s called “One Pace”.

@PurpleDave said:
"The ironic thing is, a lot of Japanese animation is probably produced in Korea. Certainly a lot of western animation is farmed out to Korean studios, at least for the in-betweening."
Oh absolutely. Or even more so probably in Vietnam. Still, what is generally seen as the deciding factor if something is anime or not is if the main production studio is Japanese or not. Usually with a Japanese director (though that are a few foreign ones) and other key staff. But very few studios will do everything in home, that's just too labour intensive and expensive (even without that working conditions in the anime industry already are notoriously bad) . Inbetweens will often be outsourced, as are non-essential backgrounds and other stuff that's not key to the production as a whole. Don't do yourself what others can do cheaper and faster.

And things can get even more vague with western/Japanese coproductions, or nowadays more Chinese/Japanese coproductions, where the one country might do the storyboarding while the other does the key frames. The moment the creative process is no longer primarily done by a Japanese studio with a primarily Japanese staff, it's no longer an anime to me.

Doesn't mean it's no good. There's a lot of great non-Japanese animation, and there might be even more terrible anime. With generally 50-60 new series every single season, there's bound to be a couple of stinkers....

@PurpleDave said:
"Japanimation may just be viewed as the English translation for the term you mentioned. Or that may no longer even be the case, since my information is likely around 20 years old at this point."
All I know and everything I can find confirms that, is that the term was mostly used until the mid to late 80s here in the west, before "anime" took over. Maybe some kept using for like a retro charm?

HYPED. Didn't think the day would come when I got to see One Piece in Lego form***. Like others have said, probably gonna be the Going Merry, which is a fantastic choice!

(mild manga spoiler)

*** Then again, if you're caught up with the manga, we've already seen Lego in One Piece, so why not the other way round?

@WizardOfOss said:
" @The moment the creative process is no longer primarily done by a Japanese studio with a primarily Japanese staff, it's no longer an anime to me."

So, again, WB/New Line have billed LotR:WotR as an anime film. The director and editor are Japanese, as is one of the five production companies involved, but Kamiyama was brought in specifically because the team wanted the anime look, not because he approached them about wanting to play in their sandbox.

"All I know and everything I can find confirms that, is that the term was mostly used until the mid to late 80s here in the west, before "anime" took over. Maybe some kept using for like a retro charm? "

Whatever I saw was merely trying to explain what anime was. Best guess is it was a bonus feature on the Animatrix, because I normally have very little interest in watching anime, so there are very few potential sources. The Wachowskis are also old enough that they would have probably been more used to referring to it as Japanimation rather than anime.

@PurpleDave said:
"So, again, WB/New Line have billed LotR:WotR as an anime film. The director and editor are Japanese, as is one of the five production companies involved, but Kamiyama was brought in specifically because the team wanted the anime look, not because he approached them about wanting to play in their sandbox."
Wouldn't consider that anime, and neither do MyAnimeList and AniDb, the two biggest anime databases. Not that everyone agrees, but still...

"hatever I saw was merely trying to explain what anime was. Best guess is it was a bonus feature on the Animatrix, because I normally have very little interest in watching anime, so there are very few potential sources. The Wachowskis are also old enough that they would have probably been more used to referring to it as Japanimation rather than anime."
They were old enough, internet was still in it's infancy so nothing like noways communities, so yeah, I can see that. Though considering the name "Animatrix" clearly alludes to Anime....it's still a bit weird.

@WizardOfOss said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"So, again, WB/New Line have billed LotR:WotR as an anime film. The director and editor are Japanese, as is one of the five production companies involved, but Kamiyama was brought in specifically because the team wanted the anime look, not because he approached them about wanting to play in their sandbox."
Wouldn't consider that anime, and neither do MyAnimeList and AniDb, the two biggest anime databases. Not that everyone agrees, but still...

"hatever I saw was merely trying to explain what anime was. Best guess is it was a bonus feature on the Animatrix, because I normally have very little interest in watching anime, so there are very few potential sources. The Wachowskis are also old enough that they would have probably been more used to referring to it as Japanimation rather than anime."
They were old enough, internet was still in it's infancy so nothing like noways communities, so yeah, I can see that. Though considering the name "Animatrix" clearly alludes to Anime....it's still a bit weird."

What about Animaniacs?

Hellllllllll-o NURSE!!

Animaniacs? Damn, that's a long time ago....
(So weird how the some things that in reality were only a few years apart can feel so much more distant....)

But no, can't imagine there being any intentional alluding to anime there ;-)

The Matrix franchise as a whole has been very much inspired by anime (among others), so for an animated version of that (with several Japanese studios and staff involved), I would be surprised if it was just a coincidence.

@Fingerinsocket said:
"In a world where the LEGO ip list now includes Netflix…

One Piece isn’t my cup o’ tea, but I know a few people who really dig it. Perhaps this could open up a few other Netflix titles in the future. "

What I am really hoping for is Lego "Arcane."

Oooohh, I can see Lego Pokemon happening one day since Lego does anime sets now...

@WaterBottle123 said:
"Oooohh, I can see Lego Pokemon happening one day since Lego does anime sets now..."

Could you imagine them making a line of the first 151 Pokemon in 200+ piece models! I would be buying soooo many!

@WaterBottle123 said:
"Oooohh, I can see Lego Pokemon happening one day since Lego does anime sets now..."

Not that likely since both Mega and Nanoblock already do licensed Pokémon sets.

OMG we're actually seeing lego tackle actual anime now!?

What... Netflix...?

This is just really weird.
Just... what.

I mean... I never watched One Piece. Especially not now that there are literally over a thousand episodes. Maybe if it was Naruto...? No.

I guess they just really wanted to do a pirate theme again and the amount of relevant pirate IPs are so slim they picked this one...?
I mean come on lego. It doesn't HAVE to be licensed... right? Well, I'm happy for One Piece fans. At least, if lego sticks to the anime too.

waaaat

Lego's search to make a set out of everything under the sun continues....?

@WaterBottle123 said:
"Oooohh, I can see Lego Pokemon happening one day since Lego does anime sets now..."

Sure it is anime? 50/50 chance. Netflix 2023 is not anime.
The live-action adaptation of "One Piece" premiered on Netflix on August 31, 2023.
The series is based on the popular manga and anime created by Eiichiro Oda.
new season coming, So is lego one piece. My opinion I'm betting on non anime.

Netflix has 8 episodes live action. New season coming. So you should watch.
Don't let all this anime talk fool you.
like apples to oranges.
Comparing apples and pears (British equivalent)

@Binnekamp said:
"Lego's search to make a set out of everything under the sun continues....?"

If that were true, I'd have my Lego Starbug by now.

@Spritetoggle said:
" @MegaBlocks said:
"Anime is and continues to remain niche."

https://brickset.com/parts/design-4341 meet https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=4430T=C

Boy I hope this joke works."

I'll pay that.

Dang the Pirate theme is officially dead

After watching 1000 episodes I'd say 30% of the anime is about pirates

It sounds like a K-Pop Boy Band name. Good move TLG, keep on ruining your reputation.

@Givememorebricks said:
"It sounds like a K-Pop Boy Band name. Good move TLG, keep on ruining your reputation."

I'm not too familiar with K-Pop, but maybe One Piece actually inspired some of them? After all, most of those boy band members weren't even born when One Piece hit it big. And many of them probably watched it.

But how exactly is this ruining their reputation? And since when does Lego even care about that?

@VoidSeeker said:
"I don't get why they chose the Live Action series over the manga or anime. If done right this theme could last as long as Star Wars, but I guess LEGO just wants the Netflix crowd,"

Far more people have seen the Netflix adaptation vs the manga/anime, so yeah, a far larger possible audience.

As I have never heard of this TV series before, I actually thought this was about Onepiece, the clothes brand.

@daewoo said:
" @VoidSeeker said:
"I don't get why they chose the Live Action series over the manga or anime. If done right this theme could last as long as Star Wars, but I guess LEGO just wants the Netflix crowd,"

Far more people have seen the Netflix adaptation vs the manga/anime, so yeah, a far larger possible audience."

The Netflix series is claiming over 70 million viewers. The manga averages about 5 million copies per issue. And the anime is ranked as the most watched series in the world in 2022…but that’s spread over 1000 episodes, so that’s probably a fair assessment, but even 70 million, while great for a series, isn’t as huge as many feature films get.

Not really a fan of the manga or anime at all, yet the live-action version is just brilliant. The character make-up and VFX are comically absurd when they need to be and the world-building background detail is highly enjoyable. But it's still well-grounded with believable characters.

@Ridgeheart said:
"Maybe, I dunno, the live-action version of this show isn't so bad. And maybe it's mindbogglingly, jarringly, scarringly bad. I guess it doesn't matter, as long as the sets are good. So hey. Let's hope for some good sets. That's why we're here, anyway - because we like shiny bricks and pieces. And who knows, maybe Castlevania can be next. I would do TERRIBLE things to each and all of you for some official Castlevania-sets."
About everyone was surprised how good this series turned out to be, expecially considering the terrible track record Netflix had with live action adaptations of anime/manga (Death Note? Cowboy Bebop? Can we just forget those exist?). Guess big part of that was the direct involvement of Eiichiro Oda, who basically had the last word in all decisions. Even when there will inevitably be some things to complain about, I'd say the series so far is pretty much as good as it realistically could be. Generally great casting, many preactical sets instead of everything CGI, and while the story is strongly condensed, it just works. And in some aspects it even improved on the original, especially the treatment of Coby and Helmeppo, and also Buggy though that also had a lot to do with with Jeff Ward being just brilliant.

I am still a bit worried though how much of the story they will eventually adapt, as even at this pace it will still take many seasons (and thus decades) to adapt it all. And while manga/anime characters don't age (except when they need to), actors certainly will.

As much as I woukld have preferred the Lego sets to be based on the manga/anime, I kinda get why they went for the live action. And honestly, I don't think it will matter that much, the live action is accurate enough. Guess the biggest difference would be in the minifigs, no cartoony faces but "real" people instead.

I've been a fan since late December 2023. I've made it into the Punk Hazard arc.
Probably won't buy the sets (Star Wars, Bionicle (Original series only, thank you), Exo-Force, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Batman are more than enough for my budget to handle), but in the words of Luffy: "That's so cool!"
Who here will accept his endless offers to join his crew?

I'm still not convinced that One Piece is a kids show, though. It's way too brutal and inappropriate.

@Ridgeheart said:
"The first Super Mario Bros. movie."

One of my theatre profs was Bob Hoskins’ dialect coach on that film, and his accent was undeniably the best thing that movie. Also, both Mario films have set records for being the highest-grossing video game movie at time of release, though this one only managed that because it was the _only_ video game movie when it premiered.

"…and anything else Uwe Boll has ever touched."

Germany changed the law at some point, but the factual only reason that guy had a film career was that German law was very generous regarding the ability to use movies that were utter flops as a tax shelter. So, rich Germans would finance his films, knowing they’d save more on taxes than they’d lose on the films.

"I haven't forgotten about Prince of Persia. It was... it was okay. Quite good sets, they gave us camels."

And ostriches. And Dastan’s hairstyle. And a new turban. And Tauriel’s fancy knives. Probably a few other things (I’m guessing the peaked arch?), but it’s been a few years.

@Givememorebricks said:
"It sounds like a K-Pop Boy Band name. Good move TLG, keep on ruining your reputation."

One Piece has been going on longer than some of these bands have even been alive.. kinda ironic that

@Ridgeheart said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"Death Note? Cowboy Bebop? Can we just forget those exist?"

Death Note. Cowboy Bebop. Tekken. The first Super Mario Bros. movie. Street Fighter. Tekken, again. Street Fighter, again. Garfield. Mortal Kombat, G.I. Joe, Mortal Kombat, G.I. Joe. Garfield, again. Double Dragon. Dragon Ball Evolution. Avatar. BloodRayne, and anything else Uwe Boll has ever touched. The Flintstones. Alvin and the Chipmunks. The Flintstones, AGAIN. The Scooby Doo movies weren't particularly great. Inspector Gadget. Fat Albert. Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Squeakquel, and I can only pray that there's going to be a lake of sulfur reserved in hell for the monsters who greenlit that pun. All other Alvin 'squeakquels', but I'm very rapidly losing the will to live here. Why is the room spinning? Is someone burning toast? When there's blood coming from your ears, exactly how much is too much?"
Well, there was a reason I limited it to Netflix anime adaptations ;-)

Some of the above I can consider guilty pleasures, but most....

But then again, it's not all bad. Marvel and DC made quite a number of pretty decent live action films from comics and/or cartoons. Oldboy (the Korean one, haven't seen the US remake) was pretty darn great. Sin City, 300, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, all solid graphic novel adaptations. Apparently the Japanese Death Note movies were more than decent, and there have been many more Japanese live action adaptations that are considered good, sometimes even better than the anime/manga (though certainly not all....). Haven't seen the movie nor read the source material, but apparently Edge of Tomorrow should be quite good too. And heck, even Ghost in the Shell could have been good had they not dumbed down the plot for American audiences...

So even when One Piece was unexpectedly good for a Netflix adaptation, it's not without precedent.

Excited for the idea and the sets that might come. Not excited for the nowadays common quality issues they'll surely have. Not at all excited in the slightest about the exorbitant prices LEGO will absolutely, definitely set for these. All in all, probably a very nice idea and sets but the known "issues" will leave a bitter after taste. I'll wait and see what they'll have to offer, before committing to anything...

Once again Oda shows he is a master at foreshadowing.

@JulieHD said:
" @VaultDweller_197 said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @Morgan19 said:
""For the first time, LEGO play and the exciting world of anime meet."

Exo-Force?"

*Avatar: The Last Airbender has joined the chat*"

Technically was not an Anime"

wwell if wwe're being annoying pedants about it, anime is just the Japanese wword for ALL animation"

Brickset is the Olympic Games of “annoying pedantry”. It’s a hoot to read!