Summary
This past week, the United States of America celebrated one of its biggest holidays of the year, Thanksgiving. Part of the holiday tradition for many families is sitting down together to watch the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is broadcast around the world on television. One of the highlights of the parade is the giant balloon characters, many of which are pop culture icons. This year, the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy ofOne Piece, was set to have his grand debut in the parade - only for disaster to strike.
Unfortunately for Luffy, while floating down the parade route to the excitement ofOne Piecefans everywhere, his iconic straw hat was caught on a tree branch. Because this particular Luffy was full of helium and notblessed by the Devil Fruitwith amazing flexibility, a hole was torn in the material of his hat. This caused what is known in the parade world as a “deflation event,” in which the over-sized pirate started to sink to the ground as helium escaped from the hole in the middle of the parade route.
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Not to be totally defeated on his debut, though, Luffy was luckily still able to finish the parade route. Hishuge straw hatwas sadly not able to recover and spent the rest of the parade deflated and floppy. But at least Luffy himself was able to continue the parade, and there were no injuries or property damage caused by the deflation event. Fans were happy to see him all the same, even if his hat was not in its prime state.
Monkey D. Luffy was not the only Japanese pop culture icon to be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, though. Pikachu from thePokemonfranchise is also one of the most famous and beloved characters that has joined the parade since 2002, though his design has changed every four to five years. Since 2021, Pikachu has appeared in the parade alongside Eevee, riding on a Pokeball-shaped snowmobile. Goku fromDragon Ball Zalso made an appearance.
Luffy’s tragic accident was not the first of its kind, and also not the first to happen to an otaku icon. In 1993, theSonic the Hedgehogballoon was caught on a lamp post, which not only punctured the balloon but also broke the lamp post, injuring a police officer and a young girl. In 1995 and 1997, the Sonic the Hedgehog balloon was punctured again and had to be pulled from the parade. Since then, Sonic has not had any further deflation events, thankfully.
With the success of theOne Piecelive-action show onNetflixthis year, it is no surprise that Monkey D. Luffy was added to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Not only was the live-action show itself popular, but it also led to a rise in the popularity of the ongoing anime and manga series, drawing in new fans who have found themselves committed to watching an anime that is currentlyover 1,000 episodes long. Luffy may not have had the best debut of all time, but it is an event that will be remembered, and he has taught us that the show must go on, no matter what!
WatchOne Piecenow onCrunchyroll.
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