Are You That Afraid of the New Era?!! OP-17 “Manga” Alternate Art Explained
- Gregory Thornberry
- Aug 24
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 24
Apparently four Manga Rares, a Treasure Rare, premium SP cards and a ridiculous number of alternate arts we
ren't enough for OP-17.
So Bandai gave Shanks this thing too.
Are You That Afraid of the New Era?!! OP17-037 is technically a 1-cost Rare Event card from The World's Strongest Warriors. But its alternate art turns one of Shanks' best modern manga moments into a full-card collector piece that looks an awful lot like a Manga Rare.
And collectors noticed.
As of August 24, TCGplayer had 23 English listings starting at $119 for the Near Mint Foil alternate art. Meanwhile, PriceCharting had tracked just two early English sales at $335.10 and $254.56. That's nowhere near enough sales data to call this a $250 card, but it does tell us one thing.
This isn't behaving like a normal Rare.
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Is "Are You That Afraid of the New Era OP-17 037 Actually a Manga Rare?
No.
And this distinction matters.
The base Are You That Afraid of the New Era?!! OP17-037 is officially a Rare Event, and card databases classify the premium version as an Alternate Art, not a Manga Rare.
So why are people calling it a Manga card?
Because “Manga Event” has become collector shorthand for alternate-art Event cards that use full-card manga artwork and treatments reminiscent of traditional Manga Rares. TCGplayer specifically identifies these as a community-named category, noting that collectors also use terms like “Manga Rare Event.”
That's why we're putting “Manga” in quotation marks.
It looks like one. Collectors treat it like its own premium category.
It just isn't technically a Manga Rare.
The Artwork Comes From One of Shanks' Best Moments
This was a pretty easy scene to choose.
The card recreates Shanks' confrontation with Admiral Ryokugyu from Chapter 1055, “The New Era.” Shanks unleashes his Supreme King Haki from offshore, Ryokugyu realizes exactly who just showed up, and his enthusiasm for fighting suddenly disappears.
Shanks essentially questions whether the Admiral is really that frightened of the pirates ushering in a new era.
The alternate art blows that moment across nearly the entire card, using red manga linework, the giant Shanks close-up and pieces of the original dialogue.
For Shanks collectors, Bandai wasn't exactly playing fair.
OP17-037 Is Actually a Good Card Too
The collector treatment is the story here, but the underlying card isn't binder filler.
For just 1 DON!!, its Main effect looks at the top five cards of your deck and lets you add a card with a type including Red-Haired Pirates to your hand.
Its Counter effect lets you rest one of your cards to give one of your Leaders or Characters +3,000 power during that battle.
That's useful enough that early OP-17 Shanks builds are already running four copies.
Of course, you don't need four $100 alternate arts to make the deck work.
The regular Rare does exactly the same thing.
Your opponent will never know how financially irresponsible your Counter event was.
Why Is the OP-17 “Manga” Event So Expensive?
There are a few things happening at once.
First, it's Shanks. That alone gives the card a collector audience well beyond people actually playing green Red-Haired Pirates.
Second, this isn't some random panel. Bandai chose one of the character's most memorable late-series displays of power.
Third, Manga-style Event cards occupy an unusual space in the One Piece Card Game. They aren't traditional Manga Rares, but they look dramatically more premium than ordinary alternate arts and have developed their own collector following.
And finally, we're still in prerelease.
That last part matters.
OP-17 does not reach its full English release until August 28, so the current supply is nowhere near what it will be once stores start cracking boxes everywhere.
PriceCharting's two completed English sales are useful data points, but two sales do not establish a market.
Is $119 a Good Price?
Ask me again after August 28.
Seriously.
The current TCGplayer floor around $119 is considerably below those first $250-plus completed sales, which tells us prerelease pricing is already moving quickly. I would not confidently call $119 cheap, expensive or the eventual floor before normal release supply enters the market.
What I would say is that OP17-037 has the right ingredients to remain a meaningful collector card even after the prerelease craziness fades.
Shanks. Manga artwork. An iconic scene. A playable underlying card.
That's a pretty good recipe.
OP-17 already has plenty of cards trying to empty our wallets.
Are You That Afraid of the New Era?!! OP-17 apparently took that as a challenge.
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