The longest and most important arc piece’s history, The Arc of Wano, has provided a gorgeous cover for its upcoming volume, as well as a video showing the making of this stunning illustration.
Since arriving on Wano Island, Luffy and the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates have experienced their greatest challenge yet. This time their enemy is Kaido, one of the Four Emperors and known as “the strongest creature in the world”, and his powerful Beast Pirates. Contrary to what happened with Big Mom throughout Cake Island, this time the Straw Hats must launch an all-out battle against the Emperor, all in an effort to liberate the people of Wano from Kaido’s oppression and return the country to into the hands of the rightful rulers. This long and complex storyline begins with an infiltration mission, then organizes an uprising, and ends with an open attack on Kaido’s fortress on Onigashima.
In the final battle, the Straw Hat Pirates led an alliance composed of three pirate groups, samurai from Wano, and the Minks from Zo City. Standing in front of them are the thirty thousand soldiers of the Beast Pirates and samurai loyal to the usurper Orochi, and more importantly, Kaido’s senior officers, the Flying Six and his three plagues, Jack, the Queen and the King. When Luffy challenges Kaido, pirate captain Kidd and Law against the new Big Mom, Quinn and Jin prove to be the rebels’ toughest opponents. The task of defeating them falls to Luffy’s most trusted companions, Sanji and Zoro, who are the strongest members of the Straw Hat crew after Captain. The battles between Sanji and the Queen and Zoro and the King will take up much of the upcoming volume 102, which is why they appear on the cover, as shared by Twitter user @Orojapan1.
At the center of the cover are Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, the “Monster Trio,” as their weaker crew members often call them. The Queen and King stand menacingly at the forefront, ready to defend Captain Kaido’s ambitions and crush all who stand in his way. However, Sanji and Zoro realize that winning this battle means that Luffy’s dream of becoming the Pirate King can finally come true, and they fully embrace their roles as two wings who will lead the captain towards his goal. These are some of the best fights in the series, and the covers do a great job of showing just how epic they are.
The video shared by Orojapan is also a great way to learn how to achieve your cover illustration. Eiichiro Oda still draws them with pen and paper (even though the layout is usually done digitally), so the video showcases Oda-sensei’s artistic process. A full video of the cover production process will be released online on April 4, piece Fans should make sure to get Volume 102 as soon as it’s released.
source: @Orojapan1