This fall, Mercer Labs’ digital exhibition rooms have been transformed as part of a new collaboration with Toei Animation, the legendary studio behind the mega-hit series “One Piece.”
If you’re a fan of “One Piece,” you already know the basics: Monkey D. Luffy, a teen boy with the ability to stretch his body like rubber, assembles a crew of misfits in his quest to become King of the Pirates, pitting him against rival crews, corrupt kings and even the World Government.
It’s almost impossible to overstate the popularity of “One Piece.” The original manga series, written and drawn by Eiichiro Oda, has sold well over 500,000,000 copies since its inception in 1997, and is steadily approaching its 1,200th chapter. Netflix’s live action adaptation is one of the streaming services’ biggest recent successes. (You may also have recently encountered “One Piece” in the context of several worldwide political movements taking up Luffy’s Jolly Roger flag as a symbol.)
If you’re not familiar with “One Piece,” you might want to crack open a copy or check out the show before navigating ONE PIECE x MERCER LABS, Mercer’s new digital exhibition celebrating the franchise. There’s not much hand-holding, so you won’t know who any of the characters are, or what’s going on in the story. But there’s still some decent eye candy — Instagram-friendly mirrored rooms featuring scenes of Luffy’s pirate ship the “Thousand Sunny,” thematic light shows connected to climactic fights and a nautical ball pit evoking a distant beach.
The exhibition is loosely connected to the series’ Wano Country Arc, which takes place on an isolated island inspired by feudal Japan. Much of the exhibit riffs on specific aspects of the setting, including one dark room with an immersive sound system, featuring the soothing sounds of the shamisen. The main hall drops you into a wall-to-wall collection of clips from Wano Country featuring fan-favorite characters — an environment that, for older attendees, might evoke the AMV era of anime fandom. Another room is dominated by pink floral designs surrounding clips of a pink dragon.
The most interactive room in the exhibit features coloring pages in the form of “Wanted” posters — ubiquitous within the world of “One Piece” — along with several sets of crayons. Attendees can fill in wanted posters for characters like Luffy, Nami and Tony Tony Chopper. Once they’ve finished drawing, they can run their art through a scanner, after which it will be projected onto the walls and floors of the room.
The exhibit at Mercer Labs is pegged to New York Comic-Con, but the exhibit isn’t what fans might expect from a typical con activation. Instead, the imagery of “One Piece” has been integrated into Mercer’s spaces. But that didn’t stop the line that snaked around the block as the exhibition opened on the eve of Comic-Con, with legions of “One Piece” fans ready to experience their favorite series in a new context.
ONE PIECE x MERCER LABS runs through November 30, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Tickets start at $58 for adults, $53 for students, seniors and children ages 4–17; children under four enter free.
photos: Peter Murdock
