The epic confrontation between Zoro and King in the latest episode of One Piece features a surprise cameo Between Us.
Chansard Vincent, a lead animator of the series, recently highlighted a sneaky nod to the popular video game on Twitter, as reported by ComicBook. He shared an enlarged keyframe image from the battle, showing the design of the Between Us avatar in Roronoa Zoro’s aura. The Easter egg blinks and you’ll miss it hidden deep in fast-paced animation, few people can spot it before Vincent reveals it.
The Among Us Hidden Plain Sight
When looking at the image, you can clearly see the outline of one of the astronaut avatars. A green line makes up the shape of the character, with a green block on the face representing the mask. This recognizable figure became hugely influential in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, even though the game was released in 2018. It also impacted the Internet through meme culture, became a popular image to copy and recreate.
The episode in question is titled “The Three Swords Style of the Supreme King! Zoro vs. King,” has received rave reviews for its animation quality, even rating it 9.9/10 on IMDB at the time of writing. This episode is part of the “Wano Country” sequel, which has been running since Episode 892. Another chapter animator, Henry Thurlow, recently promised that the animation quality of the One Piece finale will eclipsed movies like Demon Slayer and Bleach. He stated that the final episodes of the season will be “the best animated episodes in the series.”
One Piece is the work of a lifetime by legendary manga author Eiichiro Oda. Oda has been working hard on the manga for years despite his health, recently admitting that he frequently skipped meals to finish the title. However, it has remained stable since July 1997, with the exception of interruptions due to the health of the author. The manga’s latest chapter, Chapter 1084, “Trying to Kill a Celestial Dragon”, was released on May 21, 2023.
The series will also receive a Netflix live-action adaptation. This upcoming project recently revealed two props from the show, Luffy’s straw hat and a hand-drawn Jolly Roger. The anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll, with the manga accessible via the Viz Media website and a Jump+ subscription.
Source: Twitter, via ComicBook