An animator who worked on a recent episode of the popular anime One Piece has been harassed on social media for their drawing of a character during a bath scene.
The character is Jewelry Bonney, captain of the Bonney pirates. In the scene, Bonney is nearly naked as the characters bathed together. This caused controversy because although Bonney normally looks like a woman in her 20s, she is actually only 12 years old chronologically.
Her power from the Toshi-Toshi-no-Mi (Age-Age Fruit) allows her to alter both her own age and others’ ages. She uses this to give people near-death experiences or envision herself stronger in hypothetical future ages.
While the animator drew her with an adult body, some fans were upset because Bonney is canonically a child despite her adult appearance. The animator received harassment online from people who felt this sexualized a minor.
This highlights the complexity of depicting characters who can transform their bodies and ages.
Animator Faces Backlash for One Piece Bath Scene
The animator who drew the bath scene featuring Bonney received intense backlash on social media. Some fans reacted quite negatively, with extreme comments wishing harm on the animator.
However, the animator was simply following the character design and direction set by One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda. As the animator, they did not have control over Bonney’s canonical age or how she was depicted.
Despite this, some angry fans still chose to attack the animator rather than recognize that Bonney’s design ultimately came down from the series creator. The animator even received violent threats from people outraged over Bonney’s age, despite her adult appearance.
Meanwhile, the animator seems to be taking the harassment in stride, with many in the anime industry and fan community coming to their defense. This situation highlights a growing concern over artists and animators being viciously targeted by online mobs over their work.
Both industry insiders and regular fans are noticing this trend of animators and artists facing waves of harassment. There is a sense that this animator is being unfairly singled out for abuse when they were simply doing their job on the episode.
More About One Piece
Luffy, Chopper, and a young girl were struggling against strong winds while a massive iron shark with a wide open jaw tried to eat the Sunny ship. Jinbe took control of steering the ship and safely navigated the danger.
However, the three fell into the sea. Jinbe used his Fishman skills to swim incredibly fast and rescue them from drowning.
Meanwhile, the shark attacked again, using torpedoes to roll and sink the Sunny. The rest of the Straw Hat crew was still aboard the sinking ship. When Jinbe and the others re-surfaced, the shark tried attacking again but failed as Jinbe told them to take a deep breath and escape by diving underwater.
Separately, the remaining Straw Hats were saved when a giant robot appeared and attacked the shark.
Elsewhere, Tashigi was giving medicine to mutated children to reverse their growth. Mocha thanked her, feeling herself getting smaller and closer to normal.
Mocha wished to return home and see the Straw Hats again later.
Tensions Rise on Egghead Island
Tashigi was contacted by Doll about Helmeppo’s request to save Koby from pirate captivity on Hachinosu. Prince Grus suggested taking Seraphims from Egghead Island since it was close. He reminded them of the dangers of risking Koby’s rescue.
Meanwhile, Luffy, Chopper, Jinbe, and Bonney are on the shore of an island. Bonney revealed her identity to them and asked Luffy about his odd wanted poster. She wondered if he was really an emperor and why Jinbe was with them.
Feeling hungry, Luffy suggested finding a restaurant, but Bonney said there were none since they were on a Government island called Egghead, where Vegapunk lived. Luffy recalled the name, and Bonney shared she had business with Vegapunk.
Above water, a girl emerged from the robot that saved the Straw Hats. Franky thanked her, but she revealed the mecha-shark malfunctioned, and she didn’t intend to save the pirates. She introduced herself as the famous scientist Dr. Vegapunk, surprising the crew.
