That Time I Went to the One Piece Panel at Anime North and Forgot How to Breathe (Kinda)
Okay so—first off, yes I’m still emotionally recovering from the One Piece panel at Anime North last year (2024 I think?? The con days are all starting to blur together ngl). I wasn’t even planning on going to that panel. I just kinda wandered in after buying too many keychains (again 😤), and I saw “25 Years of One Piece” on the panel schedule and went “eh sure, let’s cry.” Spoiler alert: I did. 🍖 Luffy, Legacy, and Laughs First off, the panelists were clearly hardcore . Not like, gatekeeping jerks—more like the “I’ve read every SBS and have a Buggy tattoo” kind of fans. The main guy had a straw hat, obviously, but the Nami cosplayer next to him had like a 12-slide breakdown of Zoro's growth arc and even brought up how he lowkey might be one of the most tragic characters. Like?? Yes. Preach. They also had a section called "Who Actually Has the Saddest Backstory?" and the debate got heated . One person in the audience shouted “BROOKE DIED TWICE!!” and someone els...