FNS 27-Hour TV: History of Japan was a 27-hour long continuous television program aired by Fuji TV across September 9 and 10, 2017. It was the 31st FNS 27-Hour TV special, an annual series aired as FNS Day.
The History of Japan special included 10 animated segments totaling about 26 minutes in length, which featured characters from One Piece, Dragon Ball Super, Chibi Maruko-chan, and KochiKame explaining various aspects of Japanese history as the hosts moved forward through time. About 6 minutes of this time was dedicated to One Piece-specific segments.
Short Summary[]
The Straw Hat Pirates introduce the viewers to various time periods in Japanese history, focusing on the Asuka-Nara periods (538-794 CE), the Sengoku period (1467-1573), and the Meiji-Taishō periods (1868-1926).
Long Summary[]
Introduction[]
The narrator begins the story of the Earth, starting 4.6 billion years ago with its formation. He speeds through prehistory up to the Paleolithic period, around 40,000 BC. During the progression, the Straw Hats relax in bubbles somewhere on the seafloor about 500 million years ago, during the Cambrian era.
Asura-Nara Periods[]
The first One Piece segment covers the Asuka-Nara periods, spanning the years 538 to 794. This is the second animated segment overall.
Luffy, Robin, Franky, and Chopper visit Hōryū-ji, where they learn about Prince Shōtoku, his twelve-colored meritocracy program, and his seventeen-article constitution. The three key goals of the constitution are read out: "clarifying the morals of government officials", "declaring official respect for Buddhism", and "emphasizing obedience to the Emperor". Robin then reads about Prince Shōtoku's envoy ships sent to the Sui dynasty in an attempt to integrate the dynasty's knowledge into the Japanese system, and Usopp claims that the envoys were all his subordinates, which Chopper believes.
The narrator moves on to after Prince Shōtoku's reign, when the Soga clan wielded a lot of power. He explains how Prince Nakano Ōe was responsible for destroying the clan's power, framed as a battle between himself and Nakatomi no Kamatari against Soga no Emishi and Soga no Iruka. His victory leads into the Taika Reform, ending the segment.
Sengoku Period[]
The second One Piece segment covers the Sengoku period, spanning the years 1467 to 1573. This is the sixth animated segment overall.
Luffy appears in a battlefield, and is immediately attacked by a samurai. At Luffy's surprise, the samurai asks which side he's on, then rushes him, but is easily defeated by Gomu Gomu no Pistol. Watching an opposing samurai force rush into battle, Luffy wonders why they're all fighting, and the narrator begins explaining the Ōnin War, consisting of warlords all across Japan trying to rule and leading into the Sengoku period, also known as the "Warring States period". The rulers who survived expanded their influence, eventually aiming to unify Japan in the 16th century. Meanwhile, Zoro engages the warring samurai, easily cutting through them with Three Sword Style.
Elsewhere in Japan, the narrator explains how Francis Xavier began to spread Christianity through Japan, bringing European goods with him. The Portuguese eventually began traveling to Japan more regularly, introducing firearms to the country and revolutionizing combat, which had previously been fought with melee weapons or bows. Back on the battlefield, a line of samurai attempt to shoot Luffy, but he reflects the bullets back at them, shocking them. Zoro tells Luffy to hurry up so they can return to the Thousand Sunny, and they run off.
Meiji-Taishō Periods[]
The third One Piece segment covers the Meiji-Taishō periods, spanning the years 1868 to 1926. This is the ninth animated segment overall. Unlike the other segments, all characters in this segment are depicted in the chibi style.
A Projector Den Den Mushi begins displaying on a theater screen, showing a scene in a Japanese imperial court. Robin and Chopper appear on either side of the screen, and Robin explains that they are watching Prince Tokugawa Yoshinobu returning authority to Emperor Meiji, leaving him the last shogun. Chopper asks if that's a good thing, and Robin explains how it began the democratic system in use today, drastically changing the times from the system used by the samurai before and starting the Meiji Restoration.
The narrator explains the Restoration, and how it led into current Japanese society. He mentions literature by Natsume Sōseki and Mori Ōgai, theatre and music from the West, and the establishment of new academic fields like science, medicine, and physics. He then moves on to 1885, which marked the establishment of the Japanese cabinet and the election of Itō Hirobumi as the first Prime Minister. Finally, he mentions new sports such as baseball and tennis, and the arrival of movies by the Taishō period. All examples he lists are demonstrated by the Straw Hats as they're mentioned.
Finally, he concludes that the Meiji-Taishō periods are possibly the most influential period of Japanese history, with the greatest effect on modern-day life.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
This list only includes One Piece characters.
External Links[]
- History of Japan on the Dragon Ball Wiki
- FNS 27-Hour TV (2017) on Wikipedia Japan
[]
Crossovers | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||