One Piece fans slam “sexualized” Bonney bath scene

One Piece is often a trending topic in the anime community – but a new episode has sparked controversy over its “sexualized” animation of Bonney in a bath scene.

2023 was indeed a good year for One Piece, with the anime, manga, and Netflix live-action series leaving no stone unturned to add to the success of the series.

When the Wano arc ended in the anime after running for so long, fans were thrilled to dive into the new Egghead Island arc that commenced on January 7, 2024.

However, before the anime could garner praise for the battles or Luffy’s new adventures, Toei released a controversial scene in the latest episode featuring Jewelry Bonney. While fans were thrilled to see Bonney back on their screens, they weren’t exactly happy with the character’s portrayal in one particular moment.

One Piece sparks controversy over Bonney bath scene

Jewelry Bonney is a character who ate a devil fruit that allowed her to manipulate her age. So, she can become an elderly adult or an infant if she wishes. Even though Bonney’s age is never revealed in the anime, avid manga readers already know that she’s 12 years old.

Episode 1090 saw Jinbe save Bonney and Luffy’s life – but the scene that came after has become quite contentious. It showed Bonney taking a bath after taking her clothes off. It’s not explicit, as the nudity is more implied, but fans familiar with her actual age took issue with it.

Fans took to social media, where many of them commented that she’s technically a kid and that the animators sexualized the character for fan service. “Bonney is originally 12 years old Her devil fruit allows her to age up and down. She is STILL mentally 12. She is STILL 12,” one user wrote.

“For those who don’t know, this is a gentle reminder: Bonney’s true age is 12 years old. Keep this in mind before watching the episode tomorrow,” another commented. “Toei so f**king foul for animating bonney like that now theres gonna be even more discourse on whether it’s okay to sexualize her or not and [I know] for a fact some of you freaks will purposefully not recognise the fact Bonney is 12 YEARS OF AGE,” a third wrote.

The community has demanded an apology from Toei, but the animation studio has yet to release any statement addressing the issue.