One Piece Sequel - Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation Release Date

Before the official launch of the One Piece manga, Eiichiro Oda unveiled a collection of one-shot stories, later compiled in the "Wanted!" volume that featured five side tales. Among these narratives was one that delved into the life of the renowned swordsman Ryuma, a figure from approximately 400 years ago, whose legacy still captivates the land of Wano. Netflix has recently revealed its plans to premiere an anime titled "Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation," adapted from Eiichiro Oda's manga of the same title.

The anime, directed by Sunghoo Park, who also oversees the composition, is brought to life by his studio, E&H Production. Takashi Kojima serves as the character designer, Fuminao Akai as the art director, Ryoji Nagasawa as the color designer, Lee Ju-Mi as the director of photography, and Keisuke Yanagi as the editor. Akiko Fujita takes on the role of sound director, while the music, composed by Hiroaki Tsutsumi, is produced by Takeki Kobayashi.

Derived from the One Piece universe, the series narrates the story of Ryuma, the legendary swordsman originating from the Land of Wano. Sunghoo Park, renowned for his meticulous work in directing Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1, has established E&H Production as the studio behind the Monsters anime. The anime, titled "Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation," is an original net animation that was unveiled in July 2023. According to a tweet by Pewpiece, the anime adaptation will consist of a 25-minute episode, available for streaming on platforms like Netflix and Prime Video.

For those unfamiliar, the Monsters anime unfolds a canon story set 400 years in the past, depicting significant events in Wano's history. One Piece enthusiasts will finally unravel the legend surrounding Ryuma's confrontation with a dragon. Drawing inspiration from Eiichiro Oda's one-shot, the Monsters anime will bring to life the backstory and legendary exploits of Shimotsuki Ryuma.

Introduced in One Piece's Thriller Bark arc, this legendary swordsman from Wano, identified as Roronoa Zoro's ancestor, is credited with the slaying of a dragon. Eiichiro Oda, in SBS Volume 247, clarifies that despite appearing as a zombie in Chapter 450, the character is indeed Ryuma, the samurai protagonist of the "Monsters" short story. In the One Piece world, Ryuma is remembered as a legendary warrior who succumbed to illness but left an indelible mark in history.

Roronoa Zoro

Roronoa Zoro, also known as "Pirate Hunter" Zoro, is the combatant of the Straw Hat Pirates, and one of their two swordsmen. Formerly a bounty hunter, he is the second member of the crew and the first to join, doing so in the Romance Dawn Arc. As a master of Santoryu, a swordsmanship style which he created during his childhood training in Shimotsuki Village, Zoro is among the four most powerful combatants of the Straw Hats, alongside Luffy, Sanji and Jinbe. His dream is to become the greatest swordsman in the world, in order to honor a promise he made to his deceased childhood friend Kuina. In addition to his infamy as one of the Straw Hats and as a former bounty hunter, Zoro is also regarded as one of twelve pirates who are referred to as the "Worst Generation". He currently has a bounty of 320,000,000 beli.

During and after the two-year timeskip, Zoro gains a new scar running down over his left eye, which is now implied to be critically injured as it is always closed. His frame gets larger, showing considerable more muscle mass and his hair gets shaggier while slicked back. Zoro now wears a long, open dark-green coat closed on his waist and is held by a red sash, in which his three swords are now tucked into, and his black bandanna is tied around his left forearm. His coat exposes his bare chest, revealing his green haramaki underneath the coat. He has also grown noticeably taller, as he is similar in height to Robin. During the Punk Hazard Arc, he wore a white furry coat for protection against the cold weather on the frozen side of Punk Hazard, which he took from Brownbeard's Centaur Patrol Unit. During the Dressrosa Arc, he wore a black suit and a white dress shirt with the top button undone. He also wore black sunglasses and a fake white mustache as a disguise. His sunglasses were destroyed in his clash with Admiral Fujitora. Additionally, he discarded the mustache upon his identity being exposed. After the battle against the Donquixote Pirates, Zoro took off his suit jacket, and unbuttoned his shirt leaving his chest and scar exposed. During the Zou Arc, Zoro wore a dark-blue t-shirt with his green coat and haramaki over a pair of long, black trousers and boots. During the Wano Country Arc, Zoro wore a white yukata with black details and a green cloud pattern on its bottom. He wore a dark green jittoku haori with a mon of a black sun over a khaki gear, and zōri with a black strap. Zoro also styled his hair in the chonmage style. After agreeing to allow Shusui to return to Ryuma's grave and remain in Wano, Zoro was given the legendary blade Enma in exchange, which was entrusted to him by Kozuki Hiyori, the daughter of the sword's original owner, the legendary Samurai, Kozuki Oden. During the raid on Onigashima, Zoro donned a black version of his normal coat and a new bright red sash. He also briefly wore a Beasts Pirates uniform created by Kin'emon, before he and Luffy were discovered by the enemy pirates.