In an impressive example of fanart, One Piece’s most fearsome pirates are reimagined in godlike fashion using the classic Japanese Ukiyo-e art style.
In new fan art depicting three of the most dangerous pirates to ever sail A play‘s, Grand Line, artist @Justin96636 uses the classic Ukiyo-e art style to bring a decidedly traditional twist to modern legendary manga. While the artist has already garnered acclaim for his work, such as the mythical reworking of Goku and Freieza’s famous fight, this latest piece is truly divine.
The Ukiyo-e movement emerged in Japan in the early 17th century in response to the leisure life that ordinary people began to enjoy after decades of war and conflict. Unlike older art styles, Ukiyo-e used carved wooden blocks to imprint images on paper, silk, and other materials. The style is one of the earliest examples of mass-produced artwork. Much like contemporary manga and comics, one of the main subjects of Ukiyo-e artists was artistic depictions of legendary tales from ancient Japan and China where brave heroes, evil monsters, and fantastical dragons battled. As a result, the Ukiyo-e art style is the perfect way to tell a story as mythological as A play.
The fanart posted on Twitter comes from @Justin96636, an artist who specializes in, among other styles, the reimagining of manga characters from A play, dragonball, Doraemonand The attack of the Titans in Ukiyo-e style. He often posts his work on one of his social media accounts. In a recent post on his Twitter account, he shared a stunning image of a God-like Kaido in full battle mode. Just like the artwork of A play creator Eiichiro Oda himself, the image crackles with energy as every possible space in the image is used to convey the rage projected by Kaido. The image perfectly captures the exaggerated facial expressions, gestures and movements that were common in musha-e, the Ukiyo-e subgenre of works depicting heroes, warriors and military battles.
Also shared on @Justin96636 Twitter is another dazzling image recreating the panel of A play Chapter 966 where Gol D. Rogers and Whitebeard’s swords crash together causing a seismic event. The image, however, reinvents the scene by incorporating the Ukiyo-e style, like capturing the excitement and drama of battle, but in a way that emphasizes boldness, colors and l pageantry of the dress of the “warriors”. More impressively, the image depicts Rogers and Whitebeard battling in the clouds like two gods battling for control of the sky.
Although there are few mentions of gods in A play, there’s no denying that Gol D. Rogers, Whitebeard, and Kaido performed countless “godlike” feats during their adventures on the Grand Line. Roger doesn’t even need a Devil Fruit to be One Piece most powerful hacker. His treasure itself has reached such mythical proportions that it’s hard not to consider the belief and devotion of Luffy and the others as a form of worship. @Justin96636 uses Ukiyo-e style to perfectly reinterpret A play’Pirate Titans with just the right stuff for an epic tale of lost treasures and adventures on the high seas.
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