Eyecatchers

An eyecatcher (アイキャッチ) also known as a bumper, is a segment used to segue a TV program into and out of its regular commercial breaks. They tend to be particularly elaborate for anime and tokusatsu shows, often being made with original footage and audio (unlike most Western counterparts, which reuse preexisting footage and audio from a network announcer).

Like most half-hour anime, One Piece is aired with one commercial break per episode, corresponding to two eyecatchers. Over time, many different eyecatchers have been aired, though nearly all of them spotlight an individual Straw Hat together with a unique leitmotif.

First Set
The first eyecatcher format spans from the Romance Dawn Arc to the G-8 Arc (Episode 1 to Episode 206): the Straw Hat Pirates stand on a beach watching the sunset beside the Going Merry, while wanted posters (different from the ones in the story) fly in the wind, until a particular Straw Hat's comes into view.

(Initially, the beach depicted only the first five Straw Hats—Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji. Chopper was added in Episode 90, while Robin was added in Episode 130.)

During the Arabasta Saga, Nefertari Vivi and Karoo received a joint eyecatcher, complete with their own leitmotif (though they were never depicted among the figures on the beach). This was discontinued after they fully parted ways with the crew in Episode 130.

Special Edition
In 2012, the series began re-airing from Episode 1, in a "Special Edition" remastering the original 4:3 (NTSC) resolution to 16:9 (HDTV). The eyecatchers were cropped accordingly, at the top of the screen, but otherwise unchanged. In the first 47 episodes, the "Special Edition" wordmark in Japanese katakana was added to the One Piece logo.

(As this edition stopped at Episode 53, only the first five Straw Hats' eyecatchers were remastered. The rest of the episodes can only be seen internationally.)

Second Set
The second eyecatcher format spans from the Long Ring Long Land Arc to the Post-War Arc (Episode 207 to Episode 516), closing out the pre-timeskip era as a whole: a particular Straw Hat is observed through a telescope, and eventually reacts, whereupon the telescope pans to some items representing them.

Notably, these eyecatchers are the first to feature Franky and Brook, complete with new leitmotifs; otherwise, they use the same leitmotifs as the first set.

Third Set
The third eyecatcher format, opening the post-timeskip era, spans from the Return to Sabaody Arc to the Dressrosa Arc (Episode 517 to Episode 746): something belonging to a specific Straw Hat is depicted on a counter (beside some coins), while all of the Straw Hats' shadows file past, until the last in line steps into view, picks up the item, and joins the others outside the Thousand Sunny. This format is notably more focused on the Straw Hats as a collective, retiring the previous eyecatchers' individualized leitmotifs in favor of a new melody for the entire crew.

In addition, a tenth "supplementary" eyecatcher closes each commercial break from Episode 535 on; this eyecatcher does not focus on any of the Straw Hats, but instead depicts the series logo assembling itself piece by piece.

(From Episode 579 on, the melody was adjusted to sound more "adventurous", with heavier emphasis on the brass instruments.)

Fourth Set
From Episode 747 to Episode 891, and during the Cidre Guild Arc, the eyecatchers have changed. The eyecatchers have their own unique background depending on what character is being used, and each character has the same tune that was used in the first two sets of eyecatchers. Each eyecatcher starts with the News Coo flying over the ocean before transitioning to one of the Straw Hat Pirates' wanted posters, including ones of non-Straw Hat members Bartolomeo and Law.

This is the second time that the wanted posters are being used for the eyecatchers, although the bounties and pictures have been updated to the current wanted posters.

Fifth Set
From Episode 892 to Episode 980, the eyecatchers have changed. The eyecatchers only have two versions, featuring Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro. Both eyecatcher starts with a close up and a character preparing for an attack. After a pause, the screen is attacked and disappear in a white flash following by an end card of the Straw Hat Pirates in Wano Country.

Sixth Set
From Episode 981 to Episode 1028, the eyecatchers have changed.

The first eyecatcher features the Straw Hats, except for Zoro and Sanji, in the order they joined the crew running in front of a paper divider. Luffy then turns back, and look around with Sanji's silhouette appearing behind the divider, and Luffy turns and punch the divider before the screen flashes white and an image of the Straw Hats in their raid on Onigashima outfits standing in front of the Thousand Sunny is shown.

The second eyecatcher shows Sanji swooning over two ladies sitting in front of a paper divider, before the divider behind him is cut by Zoro, and the pieces fly across the screen to show an image of the Nine Red Scabbards and Izou in the snow under the full moon.

Seventh Set
From Episode 1031 onwards, the eyecatchers have changed.

The first eyecatcher features Luffy opening his eye and gleefully jumping in the air, stretching his arm to pull Momonosuke to sit on his head as they are both grinning at each other. A rendition of the a Hanafuda card with a character fly in to cover the pair.

The second eyecatcher shows the Nine Red Scabbards, with Izou replacing Kanjuro, standing behind Momonosuke under the moon light as the camera zooms in on Momonosuke as he turns and the Straw Hat Pirates are reflected in his eye before the crew is shown standing with their backs turned and watching the sunrise. A rendition of the a Hanafuda card with a character fly in to cover the crew.

Other Eyecatchers
Aside from the regular sets of eyecatchers, there are a few special eyecatchers which appeared only once on special occasions.

Great Battle of Shibuya
A special set of eyecatchers was used in the Japanese broadcast of episodes 927–931. The purpose of this set was to announce the winners of a lottery among the participants of an event known as the Shibuya "Wano Country" Plan. The eyecatchers consist of a general notice, then a list of winners, and conclude with a Wano-style wanted poster of one of the Straw Hat Pirates.

Oden's Story
During the flashback telling Oden's story, a special set of eyecatchers was used from Episode 960 to Episode 976. There are two variation of the eyecatchers with the first feature Luffy, Zoro, and Nami look towards the horizon, and the second Roger, Oden, and Shanks in the same pose. The camera then rotates around the captains as light flashes across the screen and a still image is shown. The image is different for each episode.

Translation and Dub Issues
The 4Kids dub discarded Toei's eyecatchers, instead making its own bumpers; a separate set of bumpers were made for its Cartoon Network airings, particularly during its time on the Toonami block.

In contrast, the Funimation dub retains Toei's eyecatchers, replacing the original One Piece logo with an alternative version with the Shonen Jump branding; during its television airings, it often used them and the Toonami bumpers together (as American television typically mandates two commercial breaks for half-hour programs).

Trivia

 * On very rare occasions, eyecatchers have been known to forgo their standard music and instead continue music from the episode proper. Instances of this include Episode 151 (which extends Mihawk's theme over a Zoro eyecatcher) and Episode 234 (which extends "Overtaken" over a Luffy eyecatcher).
 * Starting in 2009, the Dream 9 logo is shown. That was later changed to the Strong 9 logo in 2014 and the Adventure Sunday logo in 2016.
 * The leitmotif used in Episode 336's Chopper Man eyecatcher, would later be re-used in Bartolomeo's eyecatcher, and Episode 917's eyecatcher.

First Set

 * None of the posters use the portraits from the Straw Hats' in-story wanted posters (indeed, during this eyecatcher's entire run, only Luffy, Zoro, and Robin carried bounties at all).
 * Apart from Luffy's, each Straw Hat's eyecatcher was introduced in either the episode they join Luffy, or the episode immediately after; the exception is Sanji, whose eyecatcher was introduced with his debut episode (ten episodes before his official joining).
 * Throughout the series, the eyecatchers' wanted poster occasionally did not match its theme music.
 * In Episode 1, Luffy's poster came up twice, but Zoro's theme played in the first time.
 * In Episode 3, Luffy's theme played when Zoro's poster came up.
 * In Episode 6, Luffy's and Zoro's themes are reversed.
 * In Episode 8, Nami's theme played when Zoro's poster came up.
 * In Episode 9, Luffy and Nami's posters are seen, but Zoro's theme is playing.
 * In Episodes 13 to 15, Zoro's theme played when Luffy's poster came up.
 * In Episodes 139 and 143, Robin's theme played when Zoro's poster came up.
 * Episode 24 is the first episode to not have Luffy's eyecatcher in it.

Second Set

 * Episodes 207-242 showed only Luffy's eyecatcher, but during Episode 207 both Chopper's and Sanji's themes were playing. The eyecatchers did not update to feature the other Straw Hat Pirates until Episode 243.
 * Nami and Sanji are portrayed with the outfits they wore during the Water 7 Arc (for Nami, her second outfit), and the eyecatchers keep them in these outfits for the remainder of their use.
 * Franky's eyecatcher shows a bottle cap fly off one of the cola bottles as it fizzes over. Then, a glass pipe full of cola cracks, causing a leak to spurt out. It is difficult to observe what happened to the pipe at first glance, but one can make out that the bottle cap ricochets off the pipe, fracturing it.
 * In Zoro's eyecatcher, when his three swords were shown, his sword Yubashiri was one of them. Later on, when Yubashiri was destroyed and he got his next sword, Shusui, the swords were changed in the eyecatcher to fit the story.
 * Brook's eyecatcher is the only one where it shows a different sky background and the telescope moves upward to show his special items.

Third Set

 * Episodes 517-532 showed only Luffy's new eyecatcher as well.
 * In Brook's eyecatcher, Brook picks up a violin, but in the series he is holding a guitar. Brook is still associated with his violin, but is now more commonly seen as a guitarist after gaining his rock star image as the "Soul King".

Fourth Set

 * The beginning of the 4th set of eyecatchers resemble the first volume of the From the Decks of the World: The 500,000,000 Man Arc cover story which show the News Coo deliver the news, however the anime does not show Surume in the background.
 * Usopp's eyecatcher background resemble the fourth volume, that show the former Usopp Pirates and Kaya.
 * Episode 747 is the first time a new set of eyecatchers is introduced with Luffy's eyecatcher only appearing once, excluding special eyecatchers.
 * Bartolomeo's eyecatcher shows the same scene as the first eyecatchers in the series (Episodes 1 - 206), except with the Going Luffy-senpai docked instead of the Going Merry, and without his crew members.
 * Episodes 807 and 808 are the only regular episodes so far with more than two eyecatchers, both having six each.
 * As both episodes aired in a one hour special, this was meant to use all the Straw Hats' eyecatchers at least once.
 * Starting from Episode 879, Luffy's wanted poster was updated to his new bounty, revealed later on the same episode.
 * Despite Sanji's bounty (and poster) undergoing changes on the previous episode, the set finished airing before Sanji's eyecatcher could be updated as well.
 * During the Cidre Guild Arc, this set appeared again, making this the first time a set has been reused after being changed.

Fifth Set

 * The Straw Hats poses in Luffy's end card are the same as those from the cover of Volume 91, though Franky's slightly altered.
 * Unlike the previous sets, which featured all the current Straw Hat Pirates individually and occasionally some other characters, this set had only two versions, one for Luffy and one for Zoro. Their respective leitmotifs also changed to Japanese-inspired versions, in order to fit with the Wano Country's culture.

Sixth Set

 * Like the previous set, this set had only two versions, one for Luffy and one for Sanji.

Seventh Set

 * Luffy's card, the Boar, represent the month of July, the same month the series started in 1997.
 * Zoro's card, the Sake cup, represent the month of September, the same month Chapter 6, titled "The First", was released in 1997.
 * Chopper and Law share the Deer card, while Robin and Kid share the Butterflies card.

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