Netflix has released the first trailer for Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation today, a new anime from One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda.
Immediately seen by Eiichiro Oda and One Piece fans online, a post on X/Twitter revealed a new trailer for Oda’s new anime series Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation. The trailer offers fans a first look into the new show, as it will premiere on Sunday, January 21, on Netflix. The trailer shows protagonist Ryuma as he meets a variety of personalities and characters talking about dragons, showing him taking on a dragon himself.
Monsters is based on a one-shot short story Oda released in 1994 before One Piece was created and published. The author even gave a nod to the character by bringing him back as a zombie in the Thriller Bark arc as Shimotsuki Ryuma. Oda even confirmed in a One Piece: Volume 47 Q&A portion that they were the same person, but fans have yet to be 100 percent convinced of this fact. So, it is sort of One Piece canon, but very debatable!
The story of Monsters revolves around the young samurai Ryuma as he travels to a town destroyed by a dragon and encounters a young waitress called Flare with lots of trouble. Even Netflix’s description of the series does not deny the facts of the One Piece connection: “Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation by Eiichiro Oda tells the tale of Ryuma, the legendary swordsman that hails from the Land of Wano in One Piece,” the announcement post read. The Land of Wano arc in One Piece is the last season that just finished airing for those still behind or who are only following through with the Netflix live-action adaptation.
It is possible that this new anime will finally provide the solid answers fans have been seeking for, or might be more fully integrated when the One Piece anime remake drops from Wit Studio (Spy x Family). It could even be a major reference for future seasons in the live-action adaptation. All we know is Oda-senpai knows how to tell amazing stories and weave multiple ones together superfluously! Monsters: 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation will be out on Netflix Sunday, January 21.
