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The universe of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece has leapt from the screen into a realm of light, sound, and movement, thanks to an ambitious collaboration between Toei Animation and Mercer Labs. The project, titled “ONE PIECE x Mercer Labs,” transforms the beloved saga into a multi-sensory exhibition that celebrates over twenty-five years of the anime’s global influence—spanning feature films, video games, and a passionate fan community that has shaped pop culture for generations.
Staged inside Mercer Labs’ 3D art space in New York City, the exhibition unfolds across eleven immersive environments, each reinterpreting key moments from the “Land of Wano” storyline. Rather than a traditional retrospective, it functions as a journey through imagination: visitors are enveloped by panoramic projections, mirrored oceans, and kinetic light sculptures that blur the boundary between art installation and narrative experience.
Highlights include the “Window Room,” where a circular ceiling screen replays the Straw Hat Crew’s arrival in Wano; the “Infinite Room,” an endless expanse of reflections where the Thousand Sunny seems to drift through air; and the “Dragon Room,” where hundreds of luminous strands evoke the clash between Zoro and King. Nearby, the “Cave Room” blooms with pink hydrangeas, capturing Momonosuke’s transformation into a dragon in an atmosphere that feels almost dreamlike.
For Roy Nachum, artist and co-founder of Mercer Labs, the exhibition embodies a shared desire to merge art, storytelling, and technology. To accompany the installation, Nachum debuts a new oil painting of Luffy among cherry blossoms, integrating his recurring gold crown motif with the optimism of Oda’s world—a symbolic meeting of fine art and anime mythology.
Running from October 9 to November 30 at 21 Dey Street, the experience invites visitors to enter the soul of One Piece, not as spectators, but as travelers through its endless seas of color, sound, and emotion.
