Popverse's top stories of the day

• Harley Quinn is making April Fools Day 2025 one to remember with a not-so-sweet-smelling DC comic book special
• Watch the D&D, Warhammer, Mega Man, and more anthology panel Secret Level from Prime Video, filmed at NYCC 2024
• Nintendo's long-time Mario voice actor reveals the secret behind voicing Mario's Dad in the movie (and how it goes back to his original audition decades ago)

"That was such a huge moment in the cultural Zeitgeist of One Piece and anime in general," says Colleen Clinkenbeard. "Everybody was hyped about it whether they watch One Piece or not."

Clinkenbeard was speaking at the One Piece voice cast panel at C2E2, and the moment she was referencing comes from Episode 1071, when main character Monkey D. Luffy uses his Gear 5 abilities, leading to one of the biggest action pieces of the anime. The scene was a smash hit with fans, and apparently, it was just as exciting for the voice actors recording it.

"We just put out our whole selves into it," Clinkenbeard says, "We stayed late nights, we watched it together as a group, I had two directors with me at that time. One of my directors, Emily, she brought in instruments. She brought in kazoos and drums, so that we could get in the mood of the Drums of Liberation."

Related - One Piece: How & where to watch all the anime episodes and movies in order

The Drums of Liberation, by the way, are the sound Luffy's heart makes while he is in his Gear 5 form - it's a key part of the One Piece soundtrack, and apparently an effective way to get the actors in character.

So how did it come out, in the actors' opinions? Clinkenbeard admits, "I was a little concerned, because I wanted to make sure that people liked it and I know that some people don't like everything." But even before she was out of the booth, the actress had high hopes for the scene, due in part to a test audience member that the directors had brought in.

"Anthony had me bring in my son," explains Clinkenbeard, "Because he said if we could make my son laugh, we were doing it right."

A great way to test consumer reaction, if you ask us.