Heck, friendship is such a central theme in One Piece that the anime taught Western fans one of the Japanese language’s words for friends, nakama.
Mirroring the events of the original One Piece story, the time has come for Vivi has to say goodbye to her friends.
If you were going to classify anime/manga mega-hit One Piece, you could call it a pirate story, and it’s also clearly an action/adventure treasure-hunting tale.
And as further proof that protagonist Luffy and his crew are pals first and pirates second, Cup Noodle maker Nissin has been creating a series of short anime videos that recast the One Piece characters as Japanese high school students, which have just as much emotional impact as their sea-faring escapades.