Everyone knows the Straw Hats crew… but why did two complete strangers board the Vogue Merry in one of the openings?
Credits in the world of animation are an institution. Acting as teasers for the season to which they are attached, even to the point of sometimes being accused of spoilers, the openings and endings are also a way for the community to identify with the work; fans recognize in a few notes the song related to their favorite anime.
In One Piece, the openings have long served as an introduction, but also as a way of presenting the characters of the series as well than their role. It must be said that Eiichiro Oda’s work is full of heroes of all kinds, and that each has their own small fanbase: the credits are one way among others to offer images of these protagonists.
However, fans recently identified two completely unknown characters in an anime credits, alongside the other members of the Mugiwara crew. Are these new kids who have been overlooked?
Fan discovers complete strangers in One Piece credits
The user Reddit Jmdin83 indeed spotted a duo of unknown characters among the Straw Hats during the eighth credits, wondering then rightly who it could be.
At first glance, anyone would think it was a set-up, probably for a joke. The two men are strangely reminiscent of other characters in the crew, like Nami or Nico Robin, but never appeared in the anime. So, joke or not?
In fact, the two strangers are not a fan montage. They did appear in the eighth credits of One Piece, but in only one episode: the 303rd. Which is important, because it is a filler episode, one of these sections detaching itself from the manga to tell a new story – and thus allow the mangaka to regain a little head start on production.
It would therefore be the singers of the eighth song of the One Piece credits, entitled “Crazy Rainbow” , a duo of Japanese idols known as Tackey and Tsubasa. Both were added to the credits of episode 303, a filler for the Enies Lobby arc of One Piece, to celebrate April Fool’s Day by surprising fans< a i=2>.
Why not have seen it until then? We must take into account the fact that One Piece has more than a thousand episodes to date, so it is natural to want to save time sometimes skipping an opening.
That said, if showrunners start adding such unique Easter eggs into their credits based on what day an episode airs, fans might just start looking for secrets.
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