One Piece resident archaeologist Nico Robin receives a statue at the Kumamoto Earthquake Museum

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The small village town of Minamiasu in Kumamoto now has its own permanent resident from Straw Hat. Today, the latest one-piece statue has been unveiled at the former site of the Tokai Aso University campus, which was badly damaged in the Kumamoto earthquake in 2016. The campus has been renovated into the Kumamoto Earthquake Museum, making it a fascinating home to the archaeologist of the Straw Hat Crew, Nico Robin.

Robin statue watching the reconstruction of Minamiyasu village!

Please come see Robin!

Ex Tokai University Campus Hours 9:00-17:00 Closed Tuesdays Free admission #statue Robin pic.twitter.com/VVaX9UUnFP

– ONE PIECE Staff[مسؤول](@Eiichiro_Staff) October 9, 2021

The new museum was built to help convey history, lessons, and warnings about earthquakes in the region and beyond. In 2016, Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, destroying local towns and cities, killing 50 people. Eiichiro Oda, creator of One Piece and a resident of Kumamoto, has donated 800 million yen (7.5 million US dollars) to the recovery effort. 500 million yen (4.7 million US dollars) as Luffy and 300 million (2.8 million US dollars) in his name.

The prefecture restored his generosity by erecting statues of all Straw Hat crew in various areas around Kumamoto Prefecture. This was done not only to thank Oda and recognize the achievements of the legend of their hometown but also to drive tourism to the areas hard hit by the earthquake. In August 2020, it was estimated that a statue of Luffy alone in front of the Kumamoto Prefectural Office in Kumamoto City brought an economic value of 2,671,970,000 yen (US$25,069,357) to the area, far outstripping the cost of 10 million yen (US$93,833). for each statue.

A live broadcast was held for the unveiling of the Robin statue, in which the mayor of Minamiaso, a small village of just over 10,000 inhabitants, gave a speech and the Minamiaso Junior High Brass Band performed a performance of the iconic One Piece opening “We!”

Stream starts at 34:55

During the broadcast, it is noted that due to the prevention measures of COVID-19, no guests were invited to reveal, which is why they broadcast the event live to One Piece fans around the world. Although Hiroyuki Nakano, the editor of Weekly Shonen Jump, made his way to Kumamoto to give a speech as well as reveal a Robin illustration drawn exclusively for the unveiling.

This color paper has been introduced!

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– ONE PIECE Staff[مسؤول](@Eiichiro_Staff) October 9, 2021

Nine one-piece statues are currently built or are under construction in Kumamoto, with Luffy in front of the Kumamoto Prefectural Office in Kumamoto City, Sanji in Mashiki City, Usopp in Aso City in front of JR Station, Chopper at Kumamoto City Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Brook At Mifune’s Dinosaur Park, Frankie in front of Takamori Station in Takamori, Nami at Mu no Sato in Aso, and finally the newest robin is unveiled at the Kumamoto Earthquake Museum in Minamiasu. Zoro will be the next statue to be erected in Ozu Central Park sometime in the future.

Sources: One Piece on Twitter, One Piece on YouTube

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Daryl Harding is a Japan correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japanese stuff called TheDoctorDazza, runs tweets on DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.

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