Danica Davidson
February 6, 2025 
Otaku USA readers might recall the One Piece Fitness BragMen gym, a One Piece-themed gym that opened in Shibuya in 2023. They have themed classes like Haki Projector Combat, Pirate Pilates, Marine Yoga, and Alabasta Belly Dance. And now that the facility is celebrating its second anniversary, it decided to do something special: a Luffy bodybuilding contest.
The contest is titled One Piece Body Make Contest Presented by BragMen and they want men 18 and up who “Strive for Luffy’s built-up body.” Guys who are interested are supposed to send in six photos of themselves, including ones in Luffy’s Gear 2 pose and Gum-Gum Gatling pose. Other poses are meant to show off the front and back, and one pose is open-ended so guys can decide what they want to do. Whatever they do, they have to dress like Luffy during all of this, wearing a straw hat and jean shorts. Let’s take a look at some sample imagery.
April 30 is the cutoff date for submitting pictures. Then people from One Piece Fitness BragMen, Weekly Shonen Jump, and bodybuilding contest association Muscle Gate will look over the photos and pick their favorites. They’ll be looking for things like muscular volume and how well the men can pull off the Luffy spirit.
The men who are chosen will then contend in a tournament on June 1 in Kawasaki.
VIZ Media publishes the original One Piece manga by Eiichiro Oda and gave this description for its plot:
One Piece Plot
As a child, Monkey D. Luffy was inspired to become a pirate by listening to the tales of the buccaneer “Red-Haired” Shanks. But his life changed when Luffy accidentally ate the Gum-Gum Devil Fruit and gained the power to stretch like rubber…at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, still vowing to become the king of the pirates, Luffy sets out on his adventure…one guy alone in a rowboat, in search of the legendary “One Piece,” said to be the greatest treasure in the world…
Source: SoraNews24
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
