By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Just a week away from this month’s Licensing Expo 2022, renowned animation studio Toei Animation Inc. has released the first-ever licensing report for its One Piece franchise.
This report provides an annual wrap-up of licensing gains for the studio’s hit anime franchise, One Piece. It also details new license agreements, license renewals, and significant collaborations in the merchandise categories.
Over the past 16 months, Toei Animation has gained more than 20 licensing agreements and licensing renewals as a result of its efforts to further expand One Piece’s international reach.
“We’re excited to release this first-ever report for One Piece—a franchise that has been entertaining fans around the world for over two decades and counting,” said Lisa Yamatoya, Director of Global Marketing for Toei Animation.
“Last year’s 1000th episode of the TV series was a historic milestone for One Piece and capped off a year of major licensing gains for the franchise. This momentum has continued into 2022— driven in part by the upcoming theatrical release of ‘One Piece Film Red’ later this year.”
The new One Piece license agreements will offer consumers a wide range of goods in the categories of apparel, statues and collectibles, sporting goods, gifts and novelties, and a new video game from Bandai Namco Entertainment.
The license renewals provide agreement extensions for current One Piece licensees including apparel from Ripple Junction, collectibles from Funko, and more.
The categories of apparel and accessories have proven to be very lucrative for Toei Animation. Last year, Toei Animation brought fans five One Piece capsule collections from apparel licensees BAIT, Atsuko by Bioworld, The Hundreds, and Original, as well as accessories licensee Seiko Watch.
This year, fans can anticipate new One Piece apparel collection drops from Dim Mak, GCDS and Atsuko by Bioworld, as well as One Piece collectibles and sporting goods from Mighty Jaxx and VICTOR, respectively. There are also several, yet-to-be-revealed apparel collection drops already in the works for late 2022 and 2023.
The One Piece anime series is produced by Toei Animation and is based on the massively popular manga title of the same name by creator Eiichiro Oda.
One Piece first debuted on Japanese TV in October 1999 and has since become one of the most popular anime in Japan and around the world. The series features pirate Monkey D. Luffy and his crew on their epic quest to find ‘One Piece,’ the treasure of the former King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger.
More than 22 years after its debut, the One Piece franchise encompasses 15 feature films (including the upcoming ‘One Piece Film Red’), home videos, video games, and an ever-expanding catalog of licensed merchandise across many consumer product categories.
Last week, Toei Animation announced plans for the event ‘One Piece Film Red presents Steve Aoki’ on July 2nd at Anime Expo 2022, the largest anime convention in North America.
This one-night only event with DJ and music producer Steve Aoki celebrates the upcoming release of ‘One Piece Film Red,’ the 15th film from the One Piece franchise. The movie’s world premiere will take place August 6th in Japan.
The list of new agreements and license renewals include:
Bandai Namco Entertainment: Leading video game publisher and developer for the new RPG title ONE PIECE ODYSSEY available on both game consoles and PCs.
Bioworld: Global manufacturer for an Atsuko-branded collection of apparel and fashion accessories including t-shirts, accessories, and more.
Boba Bear: Los Angeles-based beverage and boba chain Boba Bear and Bearology for a collection of branded cups, mason jars and other items for One Piece menu items.
Dim Mak: DJ Steve Aoki’s fashion lifestyle brand for a limited edition merchandise collection including hoodies, t-shirts, accessories and skate decks.
Funko: Leading pop culture lifestyle brand for a collection of Pop! vinyl figures based on fan-favorite characters from franchise.
GCDS: Italian manufacturer of culture-wear for a collection of apparel and fashion accessories including crewnecks, t-shirts, hoodies, pants, socks and headwear.
Jimei Palace Studio: Designer and manufacturer of collector’s statues for a series of limited edition resin statues.
Mighty Jaxx: Singaporean designer and manufacturer of collectibles and lifestyle products for a collection of vinyl designer toy figures.
Monogram International: Leading manufacturer of licensed giftware, toys, aged collectibles and souvenirs for a collection of merchandise including 3D foam keyrings and magnets.
Oniri Creations: French designer and manufacturer of collector’s statues for a series of limited edition 1/4, 1/6 and 1/10 scale resin statues.
Original: Manufacturer of Japanese-crafted Original Stitch branded apparel and accessories for a collection of custom shirts, masks and bandanas.
Ripple Junction: Leading manufacturer for a collection of apparel and fashion accessories including t-shirts, long sleeves, hoodies, lounge pants, socks, beanies, bags and enamel pins.
VICTOR : World’s leading brand in badminton industry offering the most technologically advanced badminton rackets, footwear, apparel and badminton-specific accessories available in 60 countries across five continents for a collection of badminton sporting goods.
Based in Los Angeles, Toei Animation Inc. manages the film distribution of Toei Animation’s most popular properties, including the Dragon Ball Z franchise, Sailor Moon, One Piece, the Digimon series, and many others to North America, Latin America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Toei Animation’s Los Angeles office also handles all categories of consumer product licensing based on its film and television brands within these territories.