Ahead of the Fifa World Cup, illustrators of popular manga One Piece released a collaboration video featuring Japan’s national football team, Samurai Blue, honouring the players.
The video, posted on Sunday on YouTube, shows a montage of One Piece characters alongside images of Samurai Blue from different years. It concludes with an illustration of Monkey D. Luffy, the main character of the manga, dressed in Samurai Blue gear and holding a soccer ball, ready for the tournament.
Luffy’s signature straw hat is also painted blue to match his uniform.
The World Cup tournament begins on June 11, with matches scheduled across venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The 2026 tournament marks the first time the United States has hosted the World Cup since 1994.
The mega-events feature a wide range of global megastars, with different artists headlining the distinct festivities across the host nations.
The tournament’s first-ever historic halftime show for the World Cup Final (scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey) will be curated by Chris Martin of Coldplay and feature massive global headliners — Shakira, Madonna and K-pop boy band BTS.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the latest anime episode 1164 was released. This episode dives deeper into the Elbaph arc. The episode is currently streaming on Netflix and Crunchyroll.
Set in the world of pirates, One Piece follows Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy who sets sail with his wacky crew on a perilous journey across the Grand Line to find the legendary treasure One Piece and become the Pirate King. During his quest to achieve freedom in its truest sense, Luffy overcomes formidable enemies, creates meaningful bonds and unravels the world’s secrets.