Monsters (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese one-shot manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It was published by Shueisha in the Autumn Special issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump in October 1994. An original net animation (ONA) adaptation titled Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation (MONSTERS 一百三情飛龍侍極, Monsutāzu: Ippaku Sanjō Hiryū Jigoku) was produced by E&H Production and premiered on Netflix in January 2024.

Monsters
Key visual of the anime adaptation
GenreAction[1]
Manga
Written byEiichiro Oda
Published byShueisha
English publisher
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Jump Autumn Special
DemographicShōnen
PublishedOctober 30, 1994
Original net animation
Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation
Directed bySunghoo Park
Written bySunghoo Park
Music byHiroaki Tsutsumi
StudioE&H Production
Licensed byNetflix
ReleasedJanuary 21, 2024
Runtime25 minutes
icon Anime and manga portal

Characters

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Ryuma de King (リューマ・ド・キング, Ryuma do Kingu) / Shimotsuki Ryuma (霜月リューマ, Shimotsuki Ryūma)
Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (vomic [ja] and ONA)[2][3] (Japanese); Robbie Daymond[4] (English)
A wandering samurai who holds the title as the strongest swordsman. By the events of One Piece, his corpse and sword are stolen by Gecko Moria to serve him on Thriller Bark. He ultimately entrusts his sword to Roronoa Zoro.
Flare (フレア, Furea)
Voiced by: Maaya Sakamoto (vomic),[2] Kana Hanazawa (ONA)[3] (Japanese); Brianna Knickerbocker[4] (English)
A young woman working as a waitress at a bar in a small town. She was the sole survivor of a dragon attack that destroyed her village, leading her to respect Cyrano who she falsely believed to be her savior.
Cyrano (シラノ, Shirano)
Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka (vomic),[2] Hiroki Tōchi (ONA)[3] (Japanese); Ray Chase[4] (English)
A master swordsman second to King, the strongest swordsman. He is in fact a thief who orchestrated the Great Disaster seven years ago that left Flare the only survivor of her village.
D.R. (ディーアールの, Dīāruno)
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (vomic),[2] Mitsuaki Madono (ONA)[3] (Japanese); Kyle McCarley[4] (English)
A thief in town who frames Ryuma for stabbing him. He is in fact a cohort of Cyrano who framed Ryuma.
Restaurant Owner (マスター, Masutā)
Voiced by: Takuma Terashima (vomic),[2] Katsuhito Nomura [ja] (ONA)[3] (Japanese); Kyle McCarley[4] (English)
The master and bartender of the cafe that Flare works at.
Roronoa Zoro (ロロノア・ゾロ, Roronoa Zoro)
Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai[5] (Japanese); Christopher Sabat[4] (English)
A central character of One Piece who inherits Ryuma's sword on Thriller Bark in the future.

Media

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Manga

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Written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, the Monsters one-shot was published by Shueisha in 1994 in the Autumn Special issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump (with cover date October 30).[6][7] The chapter was collected in the Wanted! Eiichiro Oda Short Stories [ja] volume, which released on November 4, 1998.[8] The character Ryuma would later appear as a zombie in Oda's One Piece manga series during the Thriller Bark story arc, thus officially linking the events of both works.[9][10][11]

Viz Media published the one-shot digitally on January 22, 2024.[12]

Original net animation

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In July 2023, it was announced that Monsters would be receiving an anime adaptation,[13][14] which was later revealed to be an original net animation that would go on to premiere worldwide on Netflix on January 21, 2024,[15][16] and January 23 in Japan.[17][a] Medialink sub-licensed the ONA in Asia-Pacific for streaming on their Ani-One Asia YouTube channel.[18]

The ONA was directed by Sunghoo Park, who was also in charge of composition, and animated by his studio E&H Production. Takashi Kojima served as character designer, with Fuminao Akai as art director, Ryoji Nagasawa as color designer, Lee Ju-Mi as director of photography, Keisuke Yanagi as editor, and Akiko Fujita as sound director. The music was composed by Hiroaki Tsutsumi and produced by Takeki Kobayashi.[19]

Notes

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  1. ^ Premiered on January 22 at midnight JST, which is effectively January 23.[17]

References

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  1. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (December 18, 2023). "New 'The One Piece' Anime Sets Sail for Netflix, Oda's 'Monsters 103' Adaptation Underway". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e MONSTERS:「ONE PIECE」尾田栄一郎の短編がボイスコミック化 細谷佳正がリューマに 坂本真綾、大塚芳忠も. Mantan Web (in Japanese). September 6, 2021. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Tai, Anita (January 14, 2024). "Anime of Eiichiro Oda's 'Monsters' Manga Unveils Cast, January 22 Debut in Trailer". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation (2024) – English Dub Cast". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  5. ^ "Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation (2024) – Japanese Cast". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on January 24, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
  6. ^ 尾田栄一郎氏の初期短編読切『MONSTERS』初のアニメ化決定 監督は『呪術廻戦』朴性厚氏. Oricon News (in Japanese). July 22, 2023. Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  7. ^ 週刊少年ジャンプ 特別編集増刊1994年Autumn Special. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  8. ^ 『ワンピース』尾田栄一郎の短編『MONSTERS』のアニメは2024年1月より世界同時配信。主人公リューマたちのビジュアルが公開. Famitsu (in Japanese). December 15, 2023. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  9. ^ MONSTERS:中井和哉がアニメにサプライズ出演 竜役だった! ナレーションも 尾田栄一郎の伝説の短編原作. Mantan Web (in Japanese). January 22, 2024. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  10. ^ Beveridge, Chris (January 15, 2024). "Eiichiro Oda's 'Monsters' Anime Adaptation Sets Cast & New Trailer Ahead Of Next Week's Debut". The Fandom Post (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  11. ^ Field, Luis (January 22, 2024). 尾田栄一郎先生の短編作品がアニメ化 リューマのバトルと「粋な演出」に絶賛の声『MONSTERS 一百三情飛龍侍極』. Magmix (in Japanese). Mediavague Co., Ltd. [ja]. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  12. ^ Mateo, Alex (January 22, 2024). "Viz Media Publishes Eiichiro Oda's 'Monsters' 1-Shot Manga in English". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  13. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 22, 2023). "Eiichiro Oda's 'Monsters' 1-Shot Manga Gets Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  14. ^ Pineda, Rafael (December 14, 2023). "Anime of Eiichiro Oda's 'Monsters' Manga Reveals Visuals, January 2024 Netflix Debut". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  15. ^ Tan, Melvyn (January 14, 2024). "Netflix Reveals Monsters 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation Anime's Trailer, January 21 Premiere Date". Anime Trending. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  16. ^ Netflix [@NetflixAnime] (January 14, 2024). ""ONE PIECE" author Eiichiro Oda's 1994 short story "MONSTERS" is receiving its first animated adaptation! MONSTERS 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation streams worldwide from January 21 on Netflix!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 14, 2024 – via Twitter.
  17. ^ a b 尾田栄一郎原作「MONSTERS」リューマ役に細谷佳正、フレア役に花澤香菜 予告も公開. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  18. ^ Pineda, Rafael (January 8, 2024). "Ani-One Asia Streams Metallic Rouge, Sengoku Youko, Monsters Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  19. ^ 尾田栄一郎原作のアニメ「MONSTERS」2024年1月配信開始 キービジュ&キャラビジュ公開. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. December 15, 2023. Archived from the original on December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
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