‘One Piece’ Anime Censors Eiichiro Oda’s Original Design For Stussy’s Vegapunk Outfit

Stussy (Mami Kingetsu) enjoys Sanji's (Hiroaki Hirata) puppy-dog eyes in One Piece Episode 1107 "A Shudder! The Evil Hand Creeping Up on the Laboratory" (2024), Toei Co. Ltd.
Stussy (Mami Kingetsu) enjoys Sanji's (Hiroaki Hirata) puppy-dog eyes in One Piece Episode 1107 "A Shudder! The Evil Hand Creeping Up on the Laboratory" (2024), Toei Co. Ltd.

According to One Piece anime production studio Toei, series creator Eiichiro Oda’s original, skin-heavy design for Stussy’s Vegapunk research outfit is ‘too hot for TV’.

Stussy (Mami Kingetsu) flashes a smile in One Piece Episode 1107 "A Shudder! The Evil Hand Creeping Up on the Laboratory" (2024), Toei Co. Ltd.
Stussy (Mami Kingetsu) flashes a smile in One Piece Episode 1107 “A Shudder! The Evil Hand Creeping Up on the Laboratory” (2024), Toei Co. Ltd.

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Tall, gorgeous, and possessing the vampiric abilities to grow bat-wings and suck an enemy’s life force via a bite wound, Stussy is originally introduced in the manga’s 860th chapter and the anime’s 828th episode as a ranking member of the antagonistic World Government’s lead intelligence agency, CP0.

The newly refreshed CP0 make their debut in One Piece Chapter 860 “10:00 Opening of the Banquet” (2017), Shueisha. Words and art by Eiichiro Oda.

As part of her duties, Stussy is ordered alongside the rest of her unit to hunt down and eliminate Vegapunk, a world-famous scientific researcher whose status-quo-upending work threatens to upend the current world order.

However, shortly after landing on Vegapunk’s hometurf, the unit finds itself coming into conflict with the Straw Hat Pirates, the latter team’s adventures having currently led them to be on the side of the scientist himself.

But as the two sides ready themselves for another round of one-on-one fights, the battlefield is soon upturned by none other than Stussy, who after turning on her teammates reveals that not only has she been a double agent for Vegapunk all along, but that she is also currently under his orders to rescue him from CP0’s clutches.

Stussy reveals her true self in One Piece Chapter 1072 "The Weight of Memory" (2023), Shueisha. Words and art by Eiichiro Oda.
Stussy reveals her true self in One Piece Chapter 1072 “The Weight of Memory” (2023), Shueisha. Words and art by Eiichiro Oda.

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Her cover blown following CP0’s eventual defeat at her and the Straw Hats’ hands, Stussy proceeds to team-up with the pirate crew in order to complete her mission.

But before doing so, she and Straw Hat crew members Zoro and Brook, move to follow in their friends’ ‘fashion footsteps’ by donning one of Vegapunk’s light-fitting and hyper-mobile research outfits.

As seen in the manga’s 1074th chapter, this outfit originally saw Stussy wearing a small, leg-and-side-cleavage-exposing leotard, a black leather jacket, a pair of Vegapunk’s signature jet boots, and a pair of pouches that even Rob Liefeld could appreciate.

Stussy, Zoro, and Brook get a fresh change of clothes in One Piece Chapter 1074 "Mark III" (2023), Shueisha. Words and art by Eiichiro Oda.
Stussy, Zoro, and Brook get a fresh change of clothes in One Piece Chapter 1074 “Mark III” (2023), Shueisha. Words and art by Eiichiro Oda.

Unfortunately, this fan-favorite alternate costume did not survive its translation to the small screen.

In the anime’s 1106th episode, rather than the above ‘risqué’ outfit, Stussy instead wears a variant which both expands her leotard to cover her entire chest and gives her a brand new pair of white, skintight leggings.

Stussy (Mami Kingetsu), Zoro (Kazuya Nakai), and Brook (Chō) don their Vegapunk research outfits in One Piece Episode 1107 "A Shudder! The Evil Hand Creeping Up on the Laboratory" (2024), Toei Co. Ltd.
Stussy (Mami Kingetsu), Zoro (Kazuya Nakai), and Brook (Chō) don their Vegapunk research outfits in One Piece Episode 1107 “A Shudder! The Evil Hand Creeping Up on the Laboratory” (2024), Toei Co. Ltd.

Further, rather than being a solitary ‘animation error’, Toei has continued to use the censored version of Stussy’s outfit up through the anime’s 1108th (and most recent as of writing) episode, Incomprehensible! The Seraphim’s Rebellion!

Curiously, though Stussy is covered up, the research outfits worn by Nami, Nico Robin, and Vegapunk’s assistant York, were all left untouched.

Robin (Yuirko Yamaguchi), Nami (Akemi Okamura), and  York (Mutsumi Tamura) as they appear in One Piece Episode 1107 "A Shudder! The Evil Hand Creeping Up on the Laboratory" (2024), Toei Co. Ltd.
Robin (Yuirko Yamaguchi), Nami (Akemi Okamura), and York (Mutsumi Tamura) as they appear in One Piece Episode 1107 “A Shudder! The Evil Hand Creeping Up on the Laboratory” (2024), Toei Co. Ltd.

As of writing, neither Toei, Oda, nor One Piece manga publisher Shueisha have offered public comment on the anime’s decision to censor Stussy.

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