Brought on by the success of the Netflix show, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade featured a float based on the iconic anime One Piece for the first time. But things didn't get off to a great start.
Despite having a hoard of handlers to navigate the float, which is in the shape of One Piece protagonist Monkey D. Luffy, it soon bumped into some trees that caused damage. Though Luffy in the anime is incredibly protective of his famous straw hat, it had a big hole put through it in the parade and started deflating.
THE LUFFY BALLOON’S HAT POPPED AND HALTED THE PARADE IM SCREAMING pic.twitter.com/kZi8RFHG8I
— HedgehogColors? @LiSAっ子 (@SpaceKitaaRiSE) November 23, 2023
The rest of Luffy thankfully stayed together, with only the hat flopping down as spectators looked on in horror. There's also irony in Luffy popping at all as he's a rubber man in the show and so any blow he takes bounces back, with even bullets unable to penetrate his skin.
The internet is having fun with the disaster, of course, with plenty of social media users taking the opportunity to poke fun. "Now he is Bucket Hat Luffy," said Irontwigg on Reddit. "Hat D. Flated," posted Shintonty on X/Twitter.
Needs more filler. https://t.co/LtKbkdGXEv
— Moist Esports (@MoistEsports) November 23, 2023
MoistEsports also chimed in with "Needs more filler", a reference to the often criticised notion of long running anime series like One Piece being packed with filler content.
The One Piece Netflix show debuted in August 2023 and saw Luffy and his pirate crew enter the world of live action for the first time. It was packed with references to the anime and original manga series, and a second Season is already confirmed.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.