With the surge of anime reaching its peak in the United States, there’s no limit to where Luffy and the Straw Hat pirate crew may end up. From the Universal Studios Hollywood attraction to a collaboration with Dodger Stadium, the main stage for these berry plunderers is headed for a summer slam in the heart of Inglewood, Los Angeles, where we experienced the inaugural One Piece Fest 2026, an interactive festival filled with celebrities, voice actor guests and live music performances of the intro theme songs. It was a non-stop pleasure cruise for all ages, so let the festivities begin!
A Day at the Museum
One Piece Fest had up to seventeen- that’s right, seventeen displays, backdrops and props of different scenes and settings from One Piece. On the first floor, they had Thriller Bark, Enies Lobby, a Netflix booth and Drum Island/Alabasta.
The second floor was a Crunchyroll bar that was giving away free swag, including posters and keychains, Zou, Fish-Man Island, Dressrosa, Marineford, Punk Hazard, Impel Down, Sabaody Archipelago and Amazon Lily.
And for the third was the Land of Wano, Whole Cake Island, Egghead and Bandai, where on one side you could peruse their figurines of Presto and Mugiwara, and on the other side you could try your hand at the One Piece TCG and duel with other attendees interested in the game.
A Little Rusty on My Hissatsu Technique
Taking some cool snapshots inside the Cosm was great. Then we headed outside to the East Blue Carnival area where we got to try our hand at Usopp’s Target Range, have Shanks place the iconic straw hat on our head, grip Zoro’s swords between our teeth, and pose with the 15-foot-tall inflatable Chopper.
At 12 p.m., they had an hour-long panel with the English dub voice actors of One Piece: Ian Sinclair, who voices Brook and Scopper Gaba; Brina Palencia, who voices Tony Tony Chopper; and Mathew David Rudd, who voices Loki. Then at 1:30 p.m., they had a live performance with none other than Hiroshi Kitadani, an outstanding vocalist and guitarist since 1994, who had been singing the opening theme songs to One Piece since the beginning, and was now singing his heart out for a live audience once again. Classics such as “We Are!”, “Over the Top”, and “UUUUUS!” really brought back good memories. It was like reliving our first experience watching One Piece for the very first time.
Say Iñaki Godoy Three Times Fast and He’ll Appear
Why settle for the anime when you could catch the Netflix live-action adaptation of One Piece. On the ground floor of the Cosm, they had real props from the show on display: Tony Tony Chopper’s hat and pirate flag, Dr. Hiriluk’s hat, Nami’s coat and the famous Log Pose from Nanimonai Island. But just like in the anime, the island is only mentioned but sadly was not present at the fest.
The Bazaar
And now the place we’ve been dying to go: The One Piece Fest Bazaar. Nothing but the best merchandise this side of the Grand Line from Bandai-Namco, One Piece Mugiwara Store, Girl Crew, Crunchyroll, Gee, ABY Style, Bioworld, Team Liquid, Funko POP and the One Piece Card Game. We almost lost it all at the Bandai-Namco booth when they were featuring the One Piece Grand Line model ship collection, which we’ve been trying to complete for years.
Thankfully, they only had the flag models like the Going Merry and the Thousand Sunny versions, which we already have. But the Trafalgar Law earrings from the Girl Crew booth, however, were just too cute to pass up.
The Mugiwara Store
As mentioned in our previous article, the Mugiwara store for the more must-have One Piece memorabilia fans had a booth at One Piece Fest, and on display were beautiful works of art. Sketches, concept designs, plushies, and posters all under one awning. Just a taste of what’s to come later in the Fall at the Westfield Century Mall (opening date still TBD).
Final Thoughts
The main takeaways of One Piece Fest 2026 were that it occurred in August during a month-long heatwave, a whopping 90~110 degree scorcher almost as hot as Portgas D. Ace’s Sunshine Flame. The line formed around 8 a.m., so anyone who’s been there the longest was tapping out by around 11:30 a.m., with many patrons sidelined along the curb or seeking shade inside the dome.
The large items sold at the bazaar, like the exclusive figurines, ranged from $80 to the $200s, but it evened out with gachapon machines inside, so the price tags sort of evened out. Lastly, the decor of the interior of the Cosm was more for a nice, chill place to sit and reminisce about all the different scenes from the anime, but not all of them were interactive, just an opportunity for a photo op.
The carnival was where the fun was, but it was outside, and the heat really took the fun out of the experience. If Toei Animation decides to do this again next year, consider a larger indoor venue or a different time of year, not in the summer.
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