Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Rick and Morty episode "Nomortland." Stream it on September 1st with an HBO Max subscription and read at your own risk!
Rick and Morty Season 8 might just be the best the series has ever been, and I'm even more steadfast in that opinion after watching the latest episode reference a show I regularly enjoy with my Netflix subscription. At a time when I'm actively watching the anime and eagerly awaiting the live-action Season 2 of One Piece to arrive, leave it to my favorite comedy to nod at the beloved series.
"Nomortland" finally lets Jerry have some fun in the Multiverse as he meets a version of himself who found a way to travel through dimensions via a glitch in Beth's closet. During their travels on "The Road," they encounter a group of Jerrys who claim to own the passages, and then must run from them to successfully return Jerry to his own reality. During their adventures, a sign is shown in the "Bandana Jerrys" compound that pays a quick homage to One Piece. Take a look!
On a photo list of "banned Jerrys" is a photo of a Jerry with a straw hat and a giant scar resembling an "X" on his chest. While that may not be too similar to the Luffy portrayed by Iñaki Godoy, it bears a very close resemblance to the anime version, who gained the scar further down the line. He also has a scar under the eye, which is from where Luffy cut himself in the manga to prove he was brave enough to join Shanks' crew.
I was never on the lookout for One Piece references in Rick and Morty, but I'm certainly going to be more wary of trying to find aliens who resemble Chopper or other Straw Hat pirates. Granted, the show references pop culture a great deal, so this may just be the one reference we get for several seasons.
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I love the implication, however, that there's a version of Jerry that exists that is either some version of One Piece's Monkey D. Luffy, or just a big fan of the anime. Knowing Jerry's general demeanor, I feel like the odds are higher that it'd be the latter, and he's just a huge fan of one of the best anime series for people to watch.
It's clear that there are some anime fans in the Rick and Morty fold, so I guess it shouldn't be surprising that it had an anime spinoff. Beyond the fact that Toonami (another popular programming block on Cartoon Network) played a pivotal role in exposing anime to an American audience, I guess it makes sense that the most popular animated series in the West would make a nod to such a popular anime series worldwide.
Rick and Morty airs Sundays on Adult Swim at 11:00 p.m. ET. As for One Piece, catch new episodes of the anime on Crunchyroll or Netflix while waiting for the live-action series to return in 2026.
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