Nissin Cup Noodle's "Hungry Day" series of beautifully animated commercials takes popular anime characters and re-imagines them as Japanese high school students. Their latest miniseries of commercials focuses on the cast of ultra popular anime and manga franchise (and soon to be live action Netflix series) One Piece and retelling the triumphs and struggles of their individual story arcs through high school life. Titled "One Piece: Aoharu" (the springtime or heyday of one's youth), the series has shown us what Japanese high school life may be like for Zoro, Nami, and Vivi.

The latest and final entry in the series takes perhaps One Piece's most epic confrontation to date, the Battle of Marineford, and depicts it as an event held at the schools annual sports day (where students compete in a variety of athletic games and trials against each other). In this case, the competition is kibasen (literally "cavalry fight"), sort of a game of chicken where one student rides on the shoulders of others, and is eliminated if they are knocked down or lose their bandanna. If you are familiar with the heartbreaking end of the Marineford battle, you can guess who is tragically knocked down.

The video is narrated by legendary Japanese voice actress Megumi Hayashibara, and replaces the soothing sounds of Bump of Chicken used in previous commercials with "Hungry Pride" by Japanese heavy metal band Maximum the Hormone.

Rebecca, in fitting gladiatorial fashion, announces the start of the kibasen event, and then everyone has at it.

Of course, it sets up as the Whitebeard Pirates and allies slugging it out with the Marines.

But just as Ace asks if Luffy can keep going, he's knocked to the ground and eliminated from the competition by Akainu (you aren't allowed to punch a hole through someone on sport's day).

Things get worse when the Blackbeard Pirates (with a sports drink sipping Vasco Shot) show up to ruin things.

A resigned Whitebeard says that "the will has been inherited", and then Luffy rushes to the rescue with some miso-flavored Cup Noodle, saying "eat this!"

The commercial's artwork is once again by manga artist Eisaku Kubonouchi (“Tsurumoku Dokushin Ryo”, “Watanabe” and “Chocolat”), featuring voice acting work from the actual One Piece series.


By - Big Neko.