Thousand Sunny

The Thousand Sunny (サウザンドサニー号) is the second ship of the Straw Hat Pirates, and currently their primary mode of transportation after the Going Merry was lost. It is a Brig Sloop type ship designed and built by Franky with a little help from Yokozuna, Iceburg, and the remaining Galley-La foremen. Built from Adam Wood, it is a magnificent ship that is at least double the size of the Going Merry. Its features include all of the various requests the Straw Hats had before arriving in Water 7 and then some.

Ship Design and Appearance


The Thousand Sunny is a brig sloop, which relies on the skills of its navigator. The ship has a lawn on its deck, complete with a swing and a slide, as well as an observation tower for a crow's nest. The huge masts give the ship extreme maneuverability. Like the Going Merry, the figurehead is an animal's head, specifically a lion's with its mane in the shape of flower petals. Due to this, the lion was mistaken for a sunflower and a sun during the ship's construction, much to Franky's frustration.

In Volume 46 of the manga, a complete set of blueprints of the Thousand Sunny was given in same fashion of the Going Merry's.

Figurehead, Helm, and Anchors


The figurehead of the Thousand Sunny is a large lion face with two crossbones beneath it resembling a typical Jolly Roger. The mouth of the figurehead can open in order to reveal the Gaon Cannon for frontal attacks, meanwhile the lion's "mane" can rotate similar to a propeller to move the ship backwards if need be. Due to its color scheme and shape, the figurehead can be mistaken for a flower.

The Thousand Sunny's helm is located at the front of the ship. Unlike the conventional steering wheels found on traditional sailing ships of olden times, the Sunny's steering wheel's position on the ship resembles those found on modern ships. The controls for the Soldier Dock System are located along with the steering wheel. A knob allows one to choose which compartments can be opened at the side of the ship and a lever situated next to the steering wheel can then used to open the compartments. A bench is also located near the steering wheel for comfortability.

The anchors of the Thousand Sunny are positioned at each side of the front of the ship. They both resemble large lion paws. The ropes used for these are stored inside the metal ring positioned behind the figurehead.

After the timeskip, searchlights have been installed into the eyes of the lion figurehead.

Men's and Women's Quarters
The men's quarters is located on the first floor of the fore of the ship, while the women's quarters is located above them on the second floor.

The men's quarters can be entered from either door on the first floor. In the middle of the room is a horigotatsu type kotatsu, a traditional Japanese fireplace setting, complete with a sunken table and low sofas. Within the room also are three two tiered bunks which the men sleep in. These are like wooden hammocks. Behind these bunks, at the back of the room, are six lockers where the men can store their clothes. Posted on the wall of the room is a collection of the mens' wanted posters. Only Sanji's poster isn't found here.

The women's quarters can be entered through the door on the second floor. The room is more bedroom like than the room the boys sleep in. It contains two beds, a closet, a dresser, and some comfy sofas among other things. A treasure chest belonging to Nami can also be found.

At the entrance to each room are two washrooms. The room by the men's quarters entrance is a typical household washroom setup. It contains a regular sink and some toothbrushes. The only other unique feature in this room is a bell to wake everyone up in case of emergencies or other important situations. The washroom by the women's quarters entrance however, has several other things other than toothbrushes. It contains a closet where wine and a tea set can be stored. Hot water for the tea set must be retrieved from the kitchen.

In front of these rooms, on the lawned deck, is the hatch leading to the room where the Soldier Dock System is stored.

Kitchen, Dining Room, and Sick Bay


The kitchen, dining room and sick bay are located on the second floor near the stern of the ship.

The kitchen and the dining room of the ship resembles a regular restaurant scene. The kitchen has a professional setup and cooking equipment. This includes a giant oven which can bake anything, and a giant fridge with a lock. The fridge is locked by a four digit code, something Sanji has asked for many times to stop people (mainly Luffy) from stealing food. This code, "7326", is only known by Sanji, Nami, and Robin. This is because the code is combination of their names. 7 and 3 can be pronounced as "na" and "mi" respectively in Japanese and thus refers to Nami. Likewise, 2 and 6 can be pronounced as "ni" and "ro" respectively and thus refers to the two first syllables of Nico Robin's full name. 3 and 2 can also be pronounced as "san" and "ji" and thus refers to Sanji. Next to the kitchen is a mast of the ship and built within it is dumbwaiter that can be used to deliver food to the aquarium bar down below. The area also contains a ladder that leads to a hatch giving access to the deck above the place. A Den Den Mushi can also be found near the couch in the dining room for the Straw Hats to use.

The ship has a sick bay, which the previous ship lacked. It can be accessed by going either through the dining room or by the door at the back leading to the outside of the ship. The room contains various medical supplies and furniture which include a desk, a bed, and Chopper's favorite swivel chair. It is generally used to treat any wounds the Straw Hats might receive. When not in use, it can be used as passageway to the back of the ship. In the first appearance of this room, having no patients to cure in it yet, the sick bay was used by Chopper to relax in. Seeing as he is the ship's doctor, Chopper considers the sick bay as his own personal room.

Aquarium Bar


A great place used for storing live fish (for eating fresh) and has glass walls for viewing through the Aquarium below deck; contains a lounge that keeps fish so they stay perfectly fresh once caught. The aquarium in which the fish are kept surrounds the whole room, and surrounds the bar and continues on the ceiling of the back of the room. When one wants to take a fish out of the aquarium for food, they have to net the fish out from the hatch on the second floor deck. If that doesn't work, they'll just have to dive in and grab the fish themselves. In the middle of the room is the mast of the ship, which contains a small cupboard for storing alcohol and a dumbwaiter which leads to the kitchen above. Due to the room's atmosphere, Franky says it's a good place to eat dinner. In the initial scene of the aquarium being used, Luffy and Usopp foolishly put a shark in there, which unfortunately devoured all the fish they had previously caught.

The energy room of the Thousand Sunny can be entered through a ladder at the back of this room.

Library, Workrooms, Bath, Crow's Nest, and Survey Room


The large hut like structure at the end of the ship contains the bath and library. At each side of this building is a large lamp. The library, within this structure, is a large circular room with several books. Except for Luffy, everyone has books stored in here. Circling together with the room's shape is a long bench for people to sit on. In the middle of the room is Nami's mapping desk and contains the Ship's Log and other things. The library, according to Nami, is the "Sunny's Brain".

On top of the library, located in the attic like section of the building, is the bath. It contains a much larger bathtub than the previous ship. In Nami's words, taking a bath there while the ship gently rocks, has the feel of a high end spa.



On top of the foremast is the crow's nest. It is a dome shaped hut with several windows on the sides. It can be entered by climbing up the ropes surrounding the mast and then climbing a ladder up through a hole below the nest's metal carpeted floor. It contains some advanced telescopic equipment and a loud speaker microphone. The microphone is connected to a loud speaker located below the crow's nest. The crow's nest can also be used as a gym and contains exercising equipment such as dumb bells.

On top of the kitchen and dining hall of the Thousand Sunny is a little area that mimics the area on top of the Going Merry. This area can be accessed by going through a hatch that leads from the kitchen below, and gives access to the library. It also contains Nami's mikan trees, Robin's flower garden, the chimney for the kitchen below, and the office branch for Usopp's Factory.

Located below deck, to the aft of the Soldier Dock System, are the two rooms devoted to creating tools and other things, Usopp's Main Factory and Franky's Weapon Development Room. Both are complete with drawing boards and tools for the creation of blueprints and contraptions for the Straw Hats use in the near future. Both can be accessed by climbing down the stairs leading from the Energy Room.

Balloon Attachment
A large balloon was seen tied to the main mast of the ship, floating just above the crow's nest. It seems to allow for longer flight times (whether a Coup de Burst is necessary is unknown). It seems to be a helium balloon, essentially turning the Sunny into a dirigible

Features
The Thousand Sunny features many additions which the crew have long awaited for, and some nice additions Franky added himself, which, naturally, are powered by Cola. These additions include the Soldier Dock System and other internal contraptions which make the ship unique.

Soldier Dock System


The Soldier Dock system is a special system built within the ship represented externally by the two giant plates marked with giant numbers on either side of the ship. It is a turn table of compartments of sorts that each contain a special device or vehicle that the Straw Hats can use. It is named like this because the vehicles stored within are (which are commonly released from the left-side plate), as Franky calls them, the soldiers of the Thousand Sunny.


 * Channel Zero: Two compartments containing the paddle wheels to change the ship into Paddle-Wheel Sunny. It is powered by Cola. The wheels can rotate in reverse and are not connected to one another. With these wheels, the Thousand Sunny's heading can be changed easily. This was first seen being used in the manga when Franky showed use of it in order to pass a raging storm. In the anime, it was first seen being used to escape from an illusion of a fleet of Marine ships.
 * Channel One: Contains Shiro Mokuba I
 * Channel Two: Contains Mini Merry II
 * Channel Three: Contains Shark Submerge III
 * Channel Four: Contains Kurosai FR-U IV
 * Channel Five: Contains Brachio Tank V

Coup de Burst
The Coup de Burst (風来バースト (クー・ド・バースト)) is a maneuver used by the ship that was first seen in order to escape Vice-Admiral Garp's attack. Basically, the Sunny uses three barrels of Cola to fire a giant cannon downward and rocket the ship into the air thus making a great escape or as Franky calls it, a "Water Escape". The maneuver mimics the Going Merry's escape from Enies Lobby as well as the various other situations in which the Merry flew across through the sky. Thanks to the use of Adam Wood in its construction, the Sunny can withstand the force of this maneuver without incurring damage, whereas any other ship would suffer from its use.

In the Fishman Island Arc, it is shown that the Coup de Burst's power can be limited to smaller blasts, in the case of an emergency. Whether this feature was present before the time-skip is unknown.

Chicken Voyage
Chicken Voyage (チキン・ボヤージ) is a maneuver the Sunny can do in order to escape attacks immediately. By activating a contraption found at the helm, the Thousand Sunny can rotate its mane like a propeller to propel the entire ship backwards. This was first seen being used to escape an attack by the Flying Fish Riders.

Gaon Cannon


The Gaon Cannon (ガオン砲) is a powerful cannon hidden within the lion's mouth in the prow of the ship, the cannon itself fires a blast of air that resembles an energy beam (just like the non-canonical Goe Goe no Mi). The cannon is aimed in a room within the prow itself. It was first used by Usopp to take out most of the Flying Fish Riders, along with obliterating nearly half of Duval's base. The one drawback of the Gaon Cannon is the amount of cola it takes, 5 barrels in all, three to fire the cannon itself and two to fire a rear cannon, the same one used in the Coup de Burst, to stabilize the ship. This means that the cannon can only be used sparingly.

Coating
After the timeskip, the Thousand Sunny has been successfully coated. The coating was removed when the crew arrived at Fishman Island. It was then coated again before the Straw Hat pirates challenged the New Fishman Pirates.

Construction
The concept of the Thousand Sunny was first thought up by Franky when he was young. Inspired by his mentor Tom's creation, the Oro Jackson, Franky dreamed of making a ship that would sail around the world. This dream however was shattered when Tom was taken away, as Franky blamed himself for Tom's arrest and vowed to never build another ship ever again.



After the events in Enies Lobby, Franky's dream was revitalized and he decided to build the Straw Hats a new ship to replace the one that was lost, since he felt he owed them for the things that had happened. With the Adam Wood his gang bought with the money they originally stole from the Straw Hats and some aid from Yokozuna, Iceburg, Paulie, Peeply Lulu, and Tilestone, Franky toiled in making the new ship. After several nights of labor on Scrap Island, Iceburg revealed the new ship to the Straw Hats.

Voyage
After certain events in which the Straw Hats acquired Franky, the Thousand Sunny was immediately set a sail upon the news of Garp and his men coming back to capture Luffy and crew. As the Thousand Sunny was setting sail, Garp's ship appeared. Garp, feeling somewhat bad for going back at his word with his grandson about arresting the Straw Hats at Water 7, decided to attack the Thousand Sunny all by himself. Using several cannonballs like baseballs, Garp laid an onslaught on the ship.

After the crew reacquired Usopp, they decided on what to call the new ship. the Straw Hats decided to finally leave Water 7 aboard the Thousand Sunny. As Franky made some preparations to escape from the pursuing Marines, Garp, angered by Luffy's comments towards him, decided to attack the Thousand Sunny with a gigantic iron ball larger than the ship. Just when Garp's iron ball was about to hit the Thousand Sunny, Franky activated the ship's special technique, "Coup de Burst", and blasted the ship out of harm's way.

With the Marines far behind and it's crew celebrating on board, the Thousand Sunny ventured forth on its voyage.

"Eaten" by Thriller Bark
After sailing across the ocean for some time, the Thousand Sunny and it's crew came across a barrel that sent out a flare when the Straw hats opened it. After the sight, the Thousand Sunny was suddenly in the middle of a raging storm. It was then that Franky showed use of the Sunny's paddle wheels. With them, the ship was able to pass through the storm and into the Florian Triangle zone.

The ship next crossed paths with a ghost ship with a walking skeleton on it. The skeleton, Brook, initially accepted Luffy's offer to join to crew and came down to dine with the crew. As the skeleton explained himself to the crew and why he couldn't truly join them in the dining hall, a ghost came into the room. It was then found out that the ship was taken by Thriller Bark and trapped within its walls.



After Brook left the ship to deal with his business on the island and some preparations were made by the crew, the Mini Merry II was revealed and deployed from the Thousand Sunny's "Channel 2" compartment. After some time, just as the Straw hats on the ship were starting to wonder what exactly happened to the Mini Merry and the Straw hats on board it, an invisible opponent sneaked on board the ship and messed around with the Straw hats on board. This left them wondering what exactly had happened. After sometime, the Thousand Sunny drifted closer to the island and got stuck onto a giant spider web along with the Mini Merry II and Brook's ship.

Amidst the events that occurred on the island, a group of zombies, headed by Perona, came onto the Sunny and raided the ship in search for valuables. During the raid, the zombies left the sleeping shadow less bodies of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji in the dining hall and decorated them. The zombies, carrying most of the crew's rations, then left the ship in a mess with nothing but the three straw hats and some preserved food. After some events in the island, the rest of the crew, except for Nami, then came back aboard the ship and discovered the mess and the state their shadow less crew mates were in. After waking up their shadow less comrades and discussing some things about their current situation, the Straw hats departed from the Sunny again in order to take back what Moriah, the Shichibukai who ruled Thriller Bark, and his cohorts stole.

After several events on the island, Perona and several zombie soldiers and wild zombies came back to ship. Due to her battle with Usopp and the current situation that was happening, Perona had become completely scared. She decided to use the Sunny as her means of escape and ordered some zombies to stock the ship with food and treasures from the storage. The zombies stocked the ship with so much food that there wasn't any more space in Sanji's giant refrigerator. As the zombies prepared the ship for Perona's getaway, Kuma, the Shichibukai, was noted to be also on board the Sunny asking for Moriah.

As a small scuffle happened between Kuma and the zombies, Nami arrived back to the Thousand Sunny and noticed Perona and her zombies stocking up the ship. Before the two women could confront each other with more than mere words, Kuma came down from the Thousand Sunny and interrupted the two. Through a mere touch of the palm of his hand, Kuma sent Perona somewhere else using his Devil Fruit powers. The Shichibukai's powers over Perona and presence scared the zombies and they thus left the Thousand Sunny. After a short talk with Kuma, Nami went into the Thousand Sunny for a change of clothes, and then went back to Thriller Bark to help the rest of her crew mates. With that the Thousand Sunny was left with its compartments stocked up full of food and treasure.



After the Straw Hats defeated Moriah, survived Kuma's vicious attacks, and slept for a whole day, they decided to reap the benefits that Perona and her zombies left behind on the Thousand Sunny. With the large load of treasure onboard, they decided to claim it as their own and use it for their fund. As for the food also onboard, they decided to use it in a party with the Thriller Bark Victim's Association for finally defeating Moriah. After two days of partying in which the Straw Hats finally got their long awaited musician, the Thousand Sunny was stocked up for the continuation of its voyage. With some farewells from the crew to the Thriller Bark Victim's Association, the Thousand Sunny set course for its next and original destination before Thriller Bark, Fishman Island, the underwater paradise of fishmen and merfolk.

Overseas Battle with the Flying Fish Riders
As the Thousand Sunny continued on its journey to Fishman Island, the ship and its crew aboard encountered many more of the mysterious and spectacular sights of the Grand Line. Among them were a rainstorm that poured down with candy instead of normal rain, a giant sea tanuki, a circular rainbow, and some serpent currents. Eventually, the Thousand Sunny finally reached the area where its next destination was supposed to be, the second part of the Red Line intersecting the Grand Line.

Unable to go any more forward with large rock wall in its way, and with the Log Pose pointing directly below the ship, the Straw Hats decided to deploy Shark Submerge III to investigate the depths below. Due to the extreme pressure of the depths below, the Straw Hats were unable to find anything below five thousand meters under the ship. However, their search brought up an enormous Seaking that threatened to destroy both the Thousand Sunny and its crew. Though the creature was defeated, it spat two things that landed abruptly onto the Sunny's deck. These were Keimi, a mermaid, and Pappug, a talking starfish.

With these new passengers onboard, the crew of the Sunny were promised a reward of great tasting Takoyaki. However before they could be given this treat, they learned that a friend of Keimi and Pappug had just been captured by the Macro Pirates and the Flying Fish Riders. Figuring that these two might know the way to Fishman Island, Nami asked that if the Straw Hats help them rescue their friend, they would show the pirates the way to the underwater paradise. The two agreed to reward the Straw Hats with such along with the promise of Takoyaki. With this, the Thousand Sunny was steered towards the Flying Fish Riders' base with help from a school fish forming an arrow called up by Keimi. Just as the ship was nearing the base, the school of fish leading the Straw Hats suddenly swam away due to them sensing the Flying Fish Riders nearby. Sure enough, the riders soon ambushed the Thousand Sunny and started attacking the ship from atop their giant flying fish. Though a battle between the Straw Hats and the riders ensued, the riders, for some reason, suddenly ran away from the scene as quickly as they arrived.

After sailing awhile after the Flying Fish Rider's last attack, the Thousand Sunny soon reached their base. Though seemingly empty upon arrival except for Hatchan, a previous enemy and the captured friend of the Straw Hats' new traveling companions, the crew guessed the riders were planning an ambush. Their guess was soon verified and a battle between the Straw Hats and the Flying Fish Riders within the base. As the majority of the Straw Hats battled aboard the Thousand Sunny, several things happened. Amongst these in particular was the revelation that the Flying Fish Riders' boss, Duval, had the same face as Sanji's wanted poster and whose grudge against Sanji was the reason why he and his men were attacking the Straw Hats so vigorously. As the battle against Duval and his men continued, the Flying Fish Riders decided to sink the Thousand Sunny by dropping a large anchor on the ship. However through Franky and Usopp's efforts, the ship escaped the attack and instead blew up the Flying Fish Rider's base with an attack of its own from the Gaon Cannon. the Straw Hats eventually defeated the Flying Fish Riders with Sanji rearranging Duval's face with a barrage of kicks. With the matter settled, the Thousand Sunny was then steered towards the Sabaody Archipelago where the solution to getting to Fishman Island could be found.

Left at Sabaody
After a little reward from Hatchan and some thanks from Duval for a new face, the crew of the Thousand Sunny were told that the only way to get to Fishman Island was to coat the ship with resin from the Yarukiman Mangrove of the Sabaody Archipelago. Learning about this, the Straw Hats steered the ship to the mangrove and disembarked in order to find a coating mechanic friend of Hatchan's, Silvers Rayleigh, to coat the ship. However, through a series of unexpected events, the crew of the Thousand Sunny ended up causing a large ruckus in mangrove. Fortunately in the midst of the mess they caused, the crew found the mechanic.

Having gotten the aid of Rayleigh, the ship was ready to be coated. However due to the mess that the crew caused, the mangrove was no longer safe. Considering the number of Marine troops and a Marine Admiral that were sent to the mangrove to clean up the mess, the crew decided to temporarily leave the Thousand Sunny in Rayleigh's hands. Knowing that staying on the ship at this time would bring only trouble while the mechanic modified it, the crew thought it best to wait it out in the mangrove as the mechanic did his job. Giving the crew his Vivre Card since he'd be taking the Thousand Sunny somewhere else, Rayleigh promised to return the ship after three days of work.

In the midst of the modifications of the ship, the coating mechanic left the ship in the care of the Rosy Life Riders in Grove 41 to save the Straw Hats from Kizaru. Despite Rayleigh's involvement, the Straw Hats were blasted off by Kuma to different locations. With its crew gone, the Thousand Sunny was left in the care of Rayleigh and the Rosy Life Riders until the Straw Hats could return.

After the Whitebeard War, due to Luffy being revealed as Dragon's son, the Thousand Sunny came under attack by various people such as the Coffee Monkeys. Fortunately however, Duval and his men fended them off as best they can. Kuma arrives to the Sabaody with one mission: protecting the Thousand Sunny. After Duval and Hatchan were seriously injured during a battle with the Marines, Kuma took over as the protector.

Two Years Later


Two years later, Franky returns to the ship and Bartholomew Kuma, having fulfilled his mission of defending the vessel, left the archipelago. With the planned Straw Hat reunion at Sabaody coming up, Rayleigh coated the ship. Slowly but surely, the crew of the Thousand Sunny came back to Sabaody. Also upon returning to the ship, Franky modified it with what he acquired from Vegapunk's lab. The ship also had a buoyancy sack placed underneath it, so it would not sink once coated. A bubble, caused by Franky redirecting the air in the bag formed around the ship's deck, allowing the Straw Hats to breathe while the ship is submerged. The ship then went under the water and the crew head for Fishman Island.

As the ship was traveling underwater, it came under attack by the Caribou Pirates. Caribou quickly jumps onto the ship. Before the other Caribou Pirates can follow, their seacow, Mohmoo, fled in terror after seeing Nami, Sanji, and Luffy, leaving Caribou on the Thousand Sunny. After the Strawhats tied Caribou up and travel to the Underwater Waterfall, the Thousand Sunny ran into the kraken. The ship went down the waterfall after the Monster Trio defeated the kraken and got separated. After reaching 7000 meters below sea level, the ship was in the Underworld of the Sea. Sunny went through the dark region of the underwater world until it came across the deep-sea volcanic region. There, the Sunny ran into a giant angler fish, an umibozu, the Flying Dutchman, and Vander Decken IX. Before the umibozu knocked down the Sunny, the newly-tamed kraken knocked out the giant. When the undersea volcano started to erupt, the Kraken (now named Surume) carried the ship away from the eruption and jumped into a trench. After reaching 10,000 meters below sea level, the ship finally arrived at Fishman Island. The Straw Hats then encounter a Hammond, a member of the New Fishman Pirates and a gang of sea monsters. Hammond gives the crew two options: join the New Fishman Pirates or have their ship sunk. Luffy rejected Hammond and the fishman prepared to attack. Franky activated Coup de Burst and the Sunny flew through the bubble surrounding Fishman Island. Immediately afterwards, the ship lost its coating and the crew was separated while the ship fell into a current which swept it out to the Sea Forest where it remained while being recoated by Tom's younger brother, Den.

As the king's execution drew near, the Straw Hats make their move. Thousand Sunny flew into Gyoncorde Plaza and Franky shot the Gaon Cannon at the New Fishman Pirates. The ship landed in the plaza, and the Straw Hats and Jinbe stand in front of it, ready for battle. Ussop, Chopper, Nami, and Pappug get into Dock Soldier Four as Franky prepared to reveal one the Sunny's newest weapons.

Naming Issue
The name Thousand Sunny is a name suggested by Iceburg that describes a ship sailing through a thousand seas like the sun. However before the ship was properly named as thus, a couple of names were suggested by the crew. Most of which were suggested by Luffy and involved the word lion in it. The following are those names suggested by the crew.


 * Bear!! Polar Bear!! Lion (クマ!!白クマ!!ライオン号): Luffy's first suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Tiger!! Wolf!! Lion (トラ!!狼!!ライオン号): Luffy's second suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Squid!! Octopus!! Chimpanzee (イカ!!タコ!!チンパンジー): Luffy's third suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Dumpling, Gorilla, Lion (ダンゴ・ゴリラ・ライオン号): Luffy's fourth suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Boss Lionel (ライオネル親方): Zoro's suggestion for the ship's name.
 * Darkness (暗黒丸): Robin's suggestion for the ship's name.''
 * Monsieur Sunflower (ムッシュひまわり): Sanji's own suggestion for the ship's name.
 * New Battle Franky, Lion Gang Champion (ニューバトルフランキー「ライオンギャングチャンピオン号」): A name which Franky intended to call the ship.

This naming issue had also affected fans and readers alike before the ship was actually named. Many assumed that the ship's name was "King of Beasts" due to Iceburg's comment that the Pirate King should ride a ship with the theme of the king of all beasts, a lion.

In Chapters 489 and 495, as well as in Strong World, Brook called the Sunny "Lion-Chan", much to Franky's chagrin.

Thousand Sunny Beach House
To commemorate the 10th anniversary of One Piece, a special beach house was created in Kamakura. The beach house in question was made to resemble the Thousand Sunny. The beach house contains various One Piece related attractions and serves as a museum.

Merchandise
Thousand Sunny figurines are presented in several merchandise series, including One Piece Wobbling Pirate Ship Collection and One Piece Super Ship Collection.

Trivia

 * During the Thousand Sunny's voyage to Fishman Island after being detoured in Thriller Bark, it encountered several more phenomena of the Grand Line. The phenomena, that the ship and its crew encountered, are based on Japanese puns and a Japanese mythology:
 * When the ship went through the rainstorm that poured down candy instead of rain, the pun used was "ame". Depending on how it's written, the Japanese word "ame" can mean either 'rain' (雨) or 'candy' (飴). Thus there is a pun when the Straw Hats stated candy was falling instead of rain in Japanese. They are basically saying that a certain thing is falling down instead of another thing that sounds alike in English (though emphasis is put on different vowels, "A" for 'rain' and "E" for 'candy').
 * The name of the giant Seaking that they encountered is also a pun. "Umidanuki" (海狸) means 'beaver' in Japanese, however, the Seaking they encountered was a more literal representation of its name.
 * Finally, the circular rainbow and the serpent currents comes from ancient Japanese mythology and folklore. In ancient times, the Japanese often associated rainbows as bad omens signifying the coming of serpents. The scene where the Straw Hats see a circular rainbow just before suddenly encountering the serpent currents is based on this myth.
 * The Thousand Sunny's lion figurehead being mistaken for a sunflower is part of a running gag involves sunflowers and lions. The gag first appeared with Nami's dress when she was young. The dress originally had a sunflower design but Bellemere stitched on some eyes and a mouth in order to make it a lion. This gag is also featured in the cover art of a chapter with Zoro trying to capture a lion who is hiding behind him among a bunch of sunflowers.

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Thousand Sunny 千陽號 Thousand Sunny