New York Comic-Con 2022

New York Comic Con 2022 - One Piece Film Red's Times Square Takeover

ANN's coverage of NYCC sponsored by Ize Press, the new Korean content imprint from Yen Press! From screen to print, K-Comics materialized!

Unlike most conventions, New York Comic Con 2022 has always been more of a celebration of pop culture in general. It's part of the reason why I don't prefer it compared to other conventions that have a more dedicated and specific theme because when the focus is so broad, it can be hard to find moments where everything gets all the fanfare they deserve. But inversely, it's always interesting to see what ends up getting popular enough to be considered a defining element of pop culture that the convention wants to celebrate. This event does both of those things. It's amazing how far we've come these past couple of years to where I can say that I witnessed One Piece take over New York City's Times Square.

I was invited to view the event with a lot of my fellow One Piece fans and despite getting there early, time moved by rather quickly as we all gathered around each other, sang the anime openings, and waved our Straw Hat flags high. Then at 7 o'clock on the dot, half the screens in Times Square showcased the main characters in the upcoming One Piece Film Red movie. Admittedly I was originally a bit underwhelmed as I thought that the takeover would cover all of the screens and practically paint the square red with imagery but after I explored the ground level a bit more, I began to really let the fact that this was a noteworthy event sink in.

Uta cosplayer @maydayelf

Times Square is generally very crowded to the point where it's claustrophobic with tourists, residents and sideshow performances. But this is the most crowded I think I've ever seen as a resident of New York and that's due to the fact that there was now an influx of One Piece fans roaming the streets. In fact, it was so crowded that some of the streets just made it impossible to drive through. I'm very glad I didn't drive into the city because there's a very good chance it would have been extremely difficult to get out.

Another thing that made the gathering feel special was the inclusion of some rather surprising guests. Goro Taniguchi, Shinji Shimizu and Hiroaki Shibata were at the bottom of the big red stairs where most fans were gathering. Not only was it great for them to be there, but they even took the time to take photos with everybody, myself included. Then, in the corner of my eye, I caught Sonny Strait and Luci Christian arriving as well. In fact, the whole English dub cast that was present during the Q&A panel earlier that day also stopped by to share in the festivities.

Image provided by Toei Animation

I don't know if all of that was originally planned as part of the takeover, but even if it was, it's clear that everyone was there because they wanted to and not out of obligation. Moments like this are why it's so great to be a One Piece fan in this day and age. It's a series that continues to expand its influence as the Straw Hat crew continues to expand in their own world. Oda might've confirmed that we are in the final stretches, but I hope there will still be more opportunities for events like this before that time comes.

---