One Piece Joins 2023 Lineup for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
For almost a century, millions of Americans have spent Thanksgiving watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Every year, the biggest names in pop culture get their floats or balloons and march through Manhattan for everyone to see. From longtime staples like Snoopy and the Peanuts gang to modern-day legends like Spongebob, everybody who’s anybody in pop culture takes part in the Macy’s Parade. In recent years, thanks to anime becoming a steady part of American culture, Japanese icons like Goku from the Dragon Ball franchise have gotten to join the parade roster. However, the 97th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will see another anime legend join the lineup. A hero that, truth be told, stands a good chance of being spoken about centuries after his series ends. This year, Monkey D. Luffy sails into the Macy’s Parade.
No, we’re not joking. On October 4th, 2023, Toei Animation announced on social media that “Straw Hat” Luffy will be joining the Macy’s Parade for the first time. He’ll be the fourth character (fifth if you count Hello Kitty) from an anime series to join the iconic Parade, following in the footsteps of Pikachu and Eevee from Pokémon and fellow Shonen Jump protagonist, Goku. That latter fact is even more significant when one considers how Goku was a source of inspiration for One Piece creator Eichiro Oda when creating Luffy. The fact that these two legendary protagonists from Japan are taking part in an American tradition drives home how popular anime has become. What was once a niche interest is openly enjoyed by millions in the West.
It gets better, though: the fact that Luffy’s joined the Macy’s Parade shows just how popular One Piece has become in recent years.
For those who don’t know, One Piece is a shonen series set in a world filled with pirates, fantastical creatures, and people with extraordinary powers. The series itself follows Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate captain who can stretch his body like rubber, as he and his crew seek the One Piece, a legendary treasure hidden by the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger. With an ongoing story that’s lasted several decades and some of the best world-building in all of fiction, One Piece is the best-selling manga of all time. A century from now, it could be counted as one of the greatest works of literature in human history; it’s that good!
While One Piece has always been incredibly popular, both in its native Japan and abroad, the last two years have seen it grow bigger than ever. It’s latest film was a global hit. Official clips for new episodes end up trending on YouTube. And most recently, its live-action adaptation on Netflix managed to defy the curse of LAA’s (Live-Action Adaptions) being terrible. Now more than ever, people are getting into One Piece, making the time to read the manga or watch the anime.
In other words, this is a big win for Luffy. Is it any wonder why he’s one of the most fantastic characters in anime history?
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