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One Piece, a popular manga series with fans from around the world, will be combined with kabuki, Japan’s traditional performance loved by many, to create a new cultural revolution. The announcement of the One Piece kabuki play was made on Dec. 21 at Jump Festa 2015’s “One Piece Jump Super Stage,” held at Makuhari Messe.
Ennosuke Ichikawa IV will star in this new “Super Kabuki II” play. The play will be held at Tokyo’s Shinbashi Enbujo theater, the country’s leader in cultural performances, in October and November of 2015.
This project, which will surely surprise both manga and theater fans, is a joint project between Shueisha and Shochiku. Shueisha, a major player in the publishing industry, publishes Weekly Shonen Jump, which One Piece is serialized in. Manga is a huge part of its business. Shueisha has also accomplished many achievements in expanding and diversifying its works.
On the other hand, Shochiku is a large movie and theater production company. It has supported kabuki for many years, with kabuki being a main pillar of the company. This project will bring the two top dogs in these industries together. While manga and kabuki are two entirely different genres, they are proud symbols of Japanese culture today. The One Piece kabuki play is expected to draw lots of attention from around the world.
“Super Kabuki” was started by Ennosuke Ichikawa III in the 1980s. Combining traditional kabuki with modern art, “Super Kabuki” gained huge popularity for its bold take on the norm. Yamato Takeru and several other masterpieces were created under the “Super Kabuki” series.
In 2014, Ennosuke Ichikawa IV started “Super Kabuki II,” following his predecessor’s wishes with the goal of transforming kabuki to a new level. The kabuki play, Sora wo Kizumu Mono ~ Wakaki Busshi no Monogatari, which was in theaters during March and April, received great reviews.
One Piece will also feature Ennosuke Ichikawa IV, who succeeded the family name in 2012. While fans have high hopes for certain famous stars to appear in the play, the official title and details are currently unknown. More information will be announced in the spring of 2015. New details will also be released in Weekly Shonen Jump and official homepage of the manga, One Piece.com.
■ Message from Eiichiro Oda:
“We’ve been working on this since last year, but we weren’t able to tell everyone about it until now! At the beginning of the project, I went to go watch my first kabuki play, and boy, was it ever beautiful! I’ve never seen such a gorgeous stage filled with true Japanese beauty. The one who decided to take on this project is none other than top kabuki star Ennosuke Ichikawa IV. I could tell he was a prodigy when I met him. His gift for coming up with an amazing show blew me away. I knew this project would be in safe hands if I left it up to him. Expect amazing things from the One Piece kabuki play!”
■ Message from Ennosuke Ichikawa:
“I’ll be taking on the job of creating a kabuki play out of the immensely successful, one-of-a-kind hit manga series that is One Piece. To make a kabuki play out of such a famous series with a countless number of fans from not only Japan but around the world will be a difficult but rewarding challenge. It’ll be a great adventure for me, personally. I’d like to produce a play that all generations can enjoy, so I hope to see everyone at the theater!”
Source: animeanime
