One Piece’s ‘Hungry Days’ Commercials Prove the Series’ True Strength Is Its Cast

CBR

By Lee Russo

Published Oct 26, 2020

One Piece....but in high school!? A series of bizarre but heartfelt ads managed to keep the spirit of One Piece, even with a new backdrop.

From May 2019 to February 2020, Nissin Foods Ramen released a series of One Piece tie-in advertisements titled "HUNGRY DAYS." These commercials featured the beloved characters in a modern-day high school setting, wrapped together with incredibly fluid animation by Shaft (Madoka Magica, Nisekoi) and even a full-length music video performed by BUMP OF CHICKEN (Pokemon GOTCHA!).

It feels so surreal to see so many of One Piece's characters and moments reimagined with a high school backdrop. The number of little callbacks sprinkled throughout these ads speaks volumes to the love of One Piece poured into making them. There's one very quick screencap from the music video that shows a beaten up Luffy and Usopp sitting at their desk but looking away from each other. It's the only on screen for a second, but it calls back to their fight during Water 7.

One Piece's world has always been larger than life, but those emotional moments still hit just as hard even with this modern-day reskin, and that's because at the heart of them are very human characters that Oda writes. It doesn't matter if Luffy is standing at the top of a castle to guard a skull and crossbones flag with cherry blossoms against Wapol during the Drum Island Arc or if he's beside a fence defending a branch of cherry blossoms. The emotion behind that scene is still there because of how important the symbol of cherry blossoms is to Chopper. Cherry Blossoms were what Chopper's adoptive father, Dr. Hiriluk, dedicated his life to bringing to Drum Island. Whether or not it's the real thing doesn't matter -- what matters is the fact that Luffy is standing up to protect what's important to him.

This tracks with every other classic One Piece scene depicted in the HUNGRY DAYS commercials. The Vivi commercial condenses the Alabasta princess' relationship with the Straw Hats in 30 seconds, and although it doesn't hit every single story beat, it captures the crux of it: If we meet again someday, will you still call me your friend? Like the end of the Alabasta arc, that question is answered with the Straw Hats raising their arms to display the mark, a sign of their eternal friendship.

The scene of Robin in the music video alone at a train platform gives a sense of the isolation and loneliness she's feeling. Cutting back to her friends on the opposite side, standing resolute, all the emotion of the Enies Lobby arc comes rushing back, a clear callback to when the Straw Hats were standing triumphantly on top of the courthouse when Robin was being held hostage at the Tower of Law by CP9. It's subtle, but the emotion, posture and how the screenshots are frame all manage to point towards this famous One Piece scene. Although the homage lacks the grand world-shaking conflict between the cold hammer of justice versus the freedom of human life, it still display's the scene's emotional core for Robin.

A spinoff anime that explores this high school alternate universe take on the Straw Hats could be great. It could be a remix the East Blue saga, or maybe just be a fun slice of life romp. Whether or not Luffy and his friends are sailing the Grand Line or hanging out on a high school roof, it doesn't make a difference. The characters in these ads still work because their stories and personalities still have all the emotional weight behind them.

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