Just a week away from this month’s Licensing Expo 2022, legendary studio and anime industry leader Toei Animation has released the first-ever licensing report for its One Piece franchise. This new report provides an annual wrap-up of licensing gains for One Piece, the 22-year old hit anime franchise from Toei Animation, and details new license agreements and license renewals as well as highlights significant collaborations across top merchandise categories. Over the past 16 months, Toei Animation amassed more than 20 agreements as a result of its One Piece licensing efforts – including both new license agreements and license renewals.
“We’re excited to release this first-ever report for One Piece – a franchise that has been entertaining fans around the world for over two decades and counting,” said Lisa Yamatoya, Director of Global Marketing for Toei Animation. “Last year’s 1000th episode of the TV series was a historic milestone for One Piece and capped off a year of major licensing gains for the franchise. This momentum has continued into 2022 – driven in part by the upcoming theatrical release of One Piece Film Red later this year.”
The new One Piece license agreements will offer fans a wide range of brand-new goods including apparel from Dim Mak, GCDS and Original Stitch, statues and collectibles from Oniri Creations, Jimei Palace Studio and Mighty Jaxx, sporting goods from VICTOR, gifts and novelties from Monogram International, and a new video game from Bandai Namco Entertainment. The license renewals provide agreement extensions for current One Piece licensees including apparel from Ripple Junction, collectibles from Funko, and more.
Several of these new agreements lead to significant One Piece collaborations worth noting. Both apparel and accessories are two top categories for Toei Animation franchise collaborations and One Piece is no exception. Last year, Toei Animation brought fans five exciting One Piece capsule collections from apparel licensees BAIT, Atsuko by Bioworld, The Hundreds, and Original as well as accessories licensee Seiko Watch. This year, for starters, fans can look forward to not only new One Piece apparel collection drops from Dim Mak, GCDS and Atsuko by Bioworld but also One Piece collectibles and sporting goods from Mighty Jaxx and VICTOR, respectively. And beyond that, there are several, yet-to-be-revealed apparel collection drops already in the works for late 2022 and 2023.
Produced by Toei Animation and based on the top-selling manga title of all time by creator Eiichiro Oda, the iconic TV series One Piece first debuted on Japanese TV in October 1999 and features pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat crew on their epic quest to find “One Piece,” the legendary treasure of the former King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger. Now more than 22 years later, the One Piece franchise encompasses 15 feature films (including the soon-to-be-released One Piece Film Red), home videos, video games, home videos and an ever-growing catalog of licensed merchandise that includes accessories, toys, games, novelties, furniture, housewares, apparel and more.
Last week, Toei Animation announced plans for “One Piece Film Red presents Steve Aoki” on July 2 in Los Angeles at Anime Expo 2022, the largest anime convention in North America. This special one-night only event with two-time Grammy nominated artist Steve Aoki celebrates the upcoming release of One Piece Film Red, the 15th film from the worldwide hit anime franchise One Piece. The movie’s world premiere will take place August 6 in Japan.
The list of new agreements and license renewals includes:
· Bandai Namco Entertainment: Leading video game publisher and developer for the new RPG title ONE PIECE ODYSSEY available on both game consoles and PCs.
· Bioworld: Global manufacturer for an Atsuko-branded collection of apparel and fashion accessories including t-shirts, accessories, and more.
· Boba Bear: Los Angeles-based beverage and boba chain Boba Bear and Bearology for a collection of branded cups, mason jars and other items for One Piece menu items.
· Dim Mak: DJ Steve Aoki’s fashion lifestyle brand for a limited edition merchandise collection including hoodies, t-shirts, accessories and skate decks.
· Funko: Leading pop culture lifestyle brand for a collection of Pop! vinyl figures based on fan-favorite characters from franchise.
· GCDS: Italian manufacturer of culture-wear for a collection of apparel and fashion accessories including crewnecks, t-shirts, hoodies, pants, socks and headwear.
· Jimei Palace Studio: Designer and manufacturer of collector’s statues for a series of limited edition resin statues.
· Mighty Jaxx: Singaporean designer and manufacturer of collectibles and lifestyle products for a collection of vinyl designer toy figures.
· Monogram International: Leading manufacturer of licensed giftware, toys, aged collectibles and souvenirs for a collection of merchandise including 3D foam keyrings and magnets.
· Oniri Creations: French designer and manufacturer of collector’s statues for a series of limited edition1/4, 1/6 and 1/10 scale resin statues.
· Original: Manufacturer of Japanese-crafted Original Stitch branded apparel and accessories for a collection of custom shirts, masks and bandanas.
· Ripple Junction: Leading manufacturer for a collection of apparel and fashion accessories including t-shirts, long sleeves, hoodies, lounge pants, socks, beanies, bags and enamel pins.
· VICTOR : World’s leading brand in badminton industry offering the most technologically advanced badminton rackets, footwear, apparel and badminton-specific accessories available in 60 countries across five continents for a collection of badminton sporting goods.