What anime series should the LEGO Group explore to follow up ONE PIECE? Here are some of the amazing shows that would be perfect in the LEGO brick.
With the upcoming LEGO ONE PIECE sets revealed, it marks the first foray of the LEGO Group into the world of anime. Although the One Piece collaboration is based on the Netflix live action adaptation of the original manga, it still stays true to the original storytelling and visual designs inspired by Eiichiro Oda’s art. So what other anime series could work as LEGO sets?
Those ONE PIECE sets are full of settings from the show, like 75639 The Going Merry Pirate Ship and 75640 The Baratie Floating Restaurant, plus the characters fans know and love. When the theme launhces, the LEGO Group has lots of activations planned.
There are a plethora of anime that fit within the storytelling the LEGO Group like to adapt – just like the heroic stories and moral dilemmas faced by the Straw Hat Crew in ONE PIECE. Attack On Titan, Dragon Ball Z and My Hero Academia are just a few examples. If the LEGO Group wants to keep appealing to the South East Asian toy market then creating sets based on bestselling stories makes sense, allowing children and adults alike to create stories that are meaningful to them with roots in different cultures.
Blocks, the monthly LEGO magazine for fans, is pulling out the manga volumes and looking at some of the series that could make for perfect collaborations…
Spy X Family
Loid Forger, an enigmatic spy, must face his most dangerous mission yet as world peace is at stake. He must pretend to be… a family man. Spy X Family is a Japanese manga series and anime adaptation that focuses on Loid as he pretends to be part of a normal, loving family. But he’s a spy, his wife is an assassin and his adopted daughter is a telepath. While there’s plenty of action and adventure with adrenaline fuelled spy missions, a lot of the story also focuses on family dynamics and has many comedic moments (their pet dog can see into the future). It’s a perfect fit for a LEGO theme as the main locations are their home on 128 Park Avenue and Eden Academy.
My Hero Academia
In a world where superpowers are now commonplace – and called Quirks – Izuku Midoriya dreams of becoming a hero but was not born with a Quirk. So when his idol, All Might, bestows him with a superpower of his own, Izumi enrols at the best academy to reach his potential. It’s a heartwarming story about chasing your dreams and wanting to selflessly help others. As Izumi has to train at UA High School and often battle villains who lurk in the League of Villains hideout, there is no shortage of locations and characters to inspire a wave of colourful sets.
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Attack On Titan
Possibly one of the greatest and most renowned anime of all time is Attack On Titan. Humankind lives behind walls as they battle against immense Titans to reclaim the world that was taken from them. It’s a gripping story with complex characters, focusing on Eren Yeager as he vows vengeance on the Titans for destroying his home and family. This is the perfect excuse for an entire wave of LEGO mechs to be the giant Titans accompanied by exclusive minifigures of Eren and the Survey Corps.
Delicious in Dungeon
While this might sound a little odd, Delicious in Dungeon is an anime following a group of adventurers who have run out of money and luck. So they have to hunt down monsters and cook them. It’s weird, it’s fun and it’s inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. Set within a sprawling maze with different biomes and loads of monsters, there’s potential for a great variety of sets based on action, adventure and culinary expertise. Oh, and there’s also a dragon!
Studio Ghibli
So the final entry on this list is not a specific anime series, but the incredible Studio Ghibli. Any of the films the studio has produced across the decades would make for incredible LEGO sets. There’s the Cat Bus from My Neighbour Totoro, the steampunk walking home from Howl’s Moving Castle, or the hotel for mythical beings in Spirited Away. These magical stories with the incredible visuals based on Hayao Miyazaki’s art would be beautiful yet incredibly fun models.
These are just some of the anime series that could make for great future LEGO themes. Anime is a broad term that encompasses a variety of genres, so there really are endless possibilities depending on whether the designers focused on action-adventure or more comedic anime. But what would you like to see? Join the conversation on any of the Blocks social media channels.