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The design process for anime is different at every studio, but usually it involves putting a pen to paper and sketching out an idea. However, when Toei was putting together the characters for One Piece Fan Letter to celebrate the anime’s 25th Anniversary, the crew used an unusual medium to create the initial designs for the new One Piece characters. Rather than draw them, they put them together as Miis. Yes, from Nintendo Wii fame.

The story was shared as part of a larger interview with Newtype, Director Megumi Ishitani and Character Designer Keisuke Mori talked about how they brought One Piece Fan Letter to life. When designing the new characters, Mori said “At first, Ishitani made Miis of the characters.” The interview quickly clarified if they were talking about the avatars from Nintendo games. “You got it,” Mori confirmed. “I told Ishitani that anything was fine, a simple drawing or something from a game, I just wanted some kind of image for the character. So she showed me Miis.”

Ishitani gave her reasoning for using such an unusual design medium. “This actually worked really well. If you do a drawing, you might overdo it, but with Miis you’re just putting together existing parts, so it narrows down the design elements. It makes it easier to understand what points make the character unique.”

After that, Mori took the Miis and “One Piece-ified” them while trying to match them to Eiichiro Oda’s style as much as they could. Yet all the original characters from One Piece Fan Letter started life as Miis on a Nintendo console.

THE ONE PIECE IS REAL...ly important to Popverse! That's why we've put together the key articles to keep your fandom of the manga-turned-anime-turned-live-action-show alive:

• How to watch One Piece One Piece in chronological and release order (All 1,100+ episodes plus the movies!)
• When the next episode of One Piece is coming
• The One Piece English cast shared the life lessons they've learned playing the Straw Hats for nearly 20 years
• Why One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy is the perfect hero for the dark times ahead
• Every difference between the live-action One Piece and the original manga
• One Piece Gear 5 Form: Everything we know about Luffy's latest transformation
• Wondering what ethnicity and nationality the One Piece pirates are? Here is what Oda himself has to say
• Ranking the One Piece anime's arcs, from best to worst
• Why is One Piece more popular now that the anime is 25 years old? We asked around and found out
• The English cast of One Piece explain what they love about Eiichiro Oda's storytelling - "He's a genius!"