One Piece Prequel Anime Unveils Impressive First Trailer

One Piece’s official prequel story, Monsters, is set to receive an anime adaptation, and it’s unveiled a stunning first trailer with a release date.

In 2023, as part of the annual One Piece Day event in Japan, it was announced that the One Piece prequel story, Monsters, would be adapted into an anime titled Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation. Of all of Eiichiro Oda’s pre-One Piece stories, Monsters had always been held in the highest regard, so it’s great to see the story getting the recognition it deserves.

Not much about Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation was revealed following the official announcement, but that’s finally changed. The One Piece YouTube channel posted the first official trailer for Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation, and not only did it reveal the casting for the anime, most notably Yoshimasa Hosoya as Ryuma, Kana Hanazawa as Flare, and Hiroki Tochi as Cyrano, but it confirmed a release date for Monsters on January 21 on Netflix in the West, January 22 in Japan.

Even beyond its connection to One Piece, Monsters: is looking to be a great watch, and it’s bound to be one of the best anime of the winter 2024 season.

Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation’s Connection To One Piece Explained

One of the biggest hooks of Monsters is its status as a One Piece prequel. The main protagonist of Monsters is Ryuma, and Eiichiro Oda confirmed that the Ryuma who appeared as a zombie in the Thriller Bark arc was the same Ryuma from Monsters, meaning that Monsters was a story of Ryuma’s life before he died in One Piece. Ryuma’s history would later be further explored in the Wano arc, where it was also revealed that he’s Zoro’s ancestor, and it can be assumed that Monsters took place before he became a national figure.

There are some notable continuity errors between the stories, however. Monsters combines Eastern and Western aesthetics with Ryuma being a samurai in a cowboy-style setting, but with Wano being established in One Piece to be isolationist for centuries, it doesn’t make sense for Monsters to be a prequel. The anime may try and explain the discrepancy, but if not, it would be easy enough to excuse it by remembering that it’s supposed to be a one-off story, and that wouldn’t detract from it in the slightest.

Monsters Has All The Makings For Being A Great Anime

While Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation being a One Piece prequel is a definite draw, there’s plenty to be excited about beyond that. Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation is the debut anime of E&H Production, the new anime studio founded by Sunghoo Park, the director of Jujutsu Kaisen season 1 and Jujutsu Kaisen 0, and sure enough, the trailer shows off incredible art and animation. Even if Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation will only be a short story, it’s still bound to be a visual masterpiece, and regardless of its connection to One Piece, that will be great to see.