Japan really does get the cool anime crossovers. Baskin-Robbins, one of the most notable purveyors of ice cream in the world, recently teamed up with the Straw Hat Pirates to create new flavors that looked as though they came from the Grand Line. Beginning earlier this month and running until May 8th, the new promotional crossover has seen One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda enter the ring. Creating a new gift for fans, Oda has brought back a side character that had an encounter with a certain military man who caused serious problems for Monkey D. Luffy and his crew early on in their adventures.
Eiichiro Oda has revealed new original artwork that brings back Yu, a little girl who appeared during the East Blue Saga and had an unfortunate run-in with the military man known as Smoker. Hilariously, Yu bumped into Captain Smoker with a triple scoop ice cream cone, leading to an unfortunate confrontation with the man able to transform into smoke thanks to his Devil Fruit abilities. Despite Smoker’s pursuit of the Straw Hats, the navy soldier decided to give Yu some berries to buy more ice cream and proved that there are shades of grey when it comes to every character that is a part of the Grand Line.
[RELATED: Baskin-Robbins Shares First Look At Its One Piece Ice Cream]
Oda’s Delicious Contribution
【アイスといえば…】
サーティワンコラボを記念して
尾田っちがユウちゃんを描きおろし！皆さんもコワモテの大佐に
ぶつけないようご注意くださいさらにBASEアプリで
スモーカーとユウちゃんの
会話シーン(第98話)を無料開放中！▼今すぐ読むhttps://t.co/vFGUH6F1Yo#3段アイス#ONEPIECE pic.twitter.com/qBaZRQpHjX
— ONE PIECE スタッフ【公式】/ Official (@Eiichiro_Staff) April 9, 2025
Alongside the new artwork, the official One Piece social media account shared the following message, “To commemorate the collaboration with Baskin-Robbins, Oda has drawn an original illustration of Yu-chan! Everyone, please be careful not to bump into the scary-looking colonel. Additionally, the conversation scene between Smoker and Yu-chan (Episode 98) is now available for free on the BASE app!” For those who might need a reminder, the One Piece Base app is the official app for the series if you’re looking to explore the Grand Line in a brand-new way.
Yu never made a comeback since appearing as a part of the Loguetown storyline, arriving as a part of One Piece decades ago. It goes to show how much Eiichiro Oda knows about his world that he is able to recall short-lived characters from a world that is populated with hundreds, if not thousands of anime figures. As the Straw Hats sail into their final saga in both the anime adaptation and the manga, it will be interesting to see if Yu and other long-forgotten characters might make a comeback.
The Ice Cream Incident in Live-Action
One Piece’s live-action series has finished production on its second season for Netflix and while a release window has yet to be revealed, certain storylines from the manga have already been confirmed. Loguetown is one of the confirmed arcs that will make its arrival, with actor Callum Kerr taking on the role of Smoker. At present, it hasn’t been confirmed whether Yu will appear in the Netflix series, though considering Oda himself, as Executive Producer, has been sticking close to the source material, there’s a good chance that this scene will be recreated.
At present, there has been no word on this Baskin-Robbins crossover arriving in the West, though we’ll keep our fingers crossed that this One Piece team-up will hit North America.
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