The Straw Hat Pirates are getting a new mode of transportation… well, sort of. In celebration of its 50th anniversary next year, the Sanyo Shinkansen Line — running between Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures — is set to welcome a trio of One Piece-themed bullet trains, starting with the Setouchi Blue in Spring 2025.
Servicing the Shin-Osaka and Hakata stations, it will feature character artwork on the exterior and decorations inside the passenger cars. Two more designs are coming at a later date, so it’s unclear whether the three different trains are scheduled to operate simultaneously or one after another. According to operator JR West, fans can expect special merchandise and other theming at select stations once they are up and running.
The high-speed rail network spans 17 stations between Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka and Hakata Station in Fukuoka, offering access to cities like Kobe and Hiroshima. In a neat nod to the wildly popular series, the One Piece Shinkansen adopts the tagline of ‘To the Grand Rail!’, echoing the original ‘To the Grand Line’ slogan.
Coincidentally or otherwise, next Spring also marks the return of the long-running anime after a six-month hiatus in October. Egghead Arc Part II is due out in April 2025, with a remastered version of the Fish-Man Island Saga and a special 25th-anniversary episode serving to tide over the wait.
Other related projects in the pipeline include an anime remake in development at WIT Studio and the second season of Netflix’s live-action adaptation series. There’s currently no word on a release date for the latter, but it will cover the Loguetown, Reverse Mountain (Twin Cape), Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island story arcs.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
