After more than two years, One Piece Color Walk 7 is finally here!
According to Shueisha, One Piece Color Walk 7 is scheduled to hit the Japanese retail stores on July 4, 2016 along with the release of One Piece Volume 82. The title and the content of One Piece Color Walk 7 are yet to be confirmed.
One Piece Color Walks are books that feature the color spreads from the One Piece manga in their full glory. Since author Eiichiro Oda’s beautifully drawn colored illustrations get printed in black-and-white when the chapters get released in the tankōbon/volume format, this is the best way to see them in their original form. The past four color walks followed a naming style based on animals, Lion for Color Walk 3, followed by Eagle, Shark, and Gorilla for the fourth, fifth, and sixth Color Walk respectively.
The first One Piece Color Walk was released in 2001, which VIZ brought to U.S. in 2005. VIZ published the 2nd Color Walk in 2012. Unfortunately, they have not released an English version of any of the following Color Walks since then. While there has been no official statement on it, it would be safe to assume that they did not perform as well in the United States as fans might have hoped. Not to mention, One Piece Color Walks are more expensive than the regular volumes, mainly due to the colored artwork and larger size. Therefore, if you would like VIZ to bring more One Piece Color Walks to U.S., please let them know that you want more! You can start by purchasing One Piece Color Walk 1 and Color Walk 2.
If you are a manga fan, VIZ Manga is now selling two box sets: One Piece Box Set: East Blue and Baroque Works (volumes 1-23) and One Piece Box Set 2: Skypiea and Water Seven (volumes 24-46) on Amazon at a great price. The newly announced One Piece Box Set 3: Thriller Bark to New World (volumes 47-70) will be available for purchase from October 4.
Keep checking The One Piece Podcast for future updates regarding One Piece Color Walk 7.