Bandai announced a new character card illustrated by Kentaro Yabuki for the ONE PIECE Card Game on October 5, 2026, to give fans an official first look at the Straw Hat crew’s navigator in his distinct drawing style. The card will arrive as part of the upcoming extra booster release titled Extra Booster ONE PIECE Heroines Edition vol.2 [EB-05], which is scheduled to go on sale in retail stores across Japan on October 31, 2026. Packs cost 240 yen. Sealed booster boxes hold multiple character cards to give collectors fresh options as the game’s competitive card sets expand [1].
How Kentaro Yabuki Illustrated Nami Card
Bandai revealed a character card drawn by Kentaro Yabuki for the ONE PIECE Card Game on October 5, 2026, which brings Nami into his unmistakable art style. The company described the artwork as 描き下ろし, which means newly drawn. That credit confirmed the art was prepared specifically for the release. Bandai didn’t call him a guest illustrator, simply sharing preview images with official stream links [2].
The announcement post in Japanese stated, “イラストは『To LOVEる―とらぶる―』作者の矢吹 健太朗先生描き下ろし！” to confirm that Kentaro Yabuki drew the fresh artwork for this set. On the artist’s side, public acknowledgement came from the staff-run X account @yabuki_info, which quoted the game post on October 5, 2026 at 12:02 JST. That post read, “【ONE PIECEカードゲーム】 矢吹健太朗描き下ろしのカードが登場します！ ぜひチェックしてみてください！ (スタッフ)” with the staff tag showing that assistants wrote the message rather than the manga author himself. Assistants signed the note. Bandai said nothing about personal comments from the illustrator, and his staff offered no extra remarks about drawing Nami [2].
Japanese news outlets that covered the card reveal found no documented earlier ONE PIECE projects in Yabuki’s background. No tribute chapter, color pin-up, or special cover art by him appeared in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump, Jump+, or ONE PIECE magazine before this card debuted. Official channels avoided using the word “first” in their publicity notes [2].
Card Specifications and Two Visual Treatments
The newly drawn Nami card bears the catalog number EB05-055 and carries an SR card classification, marked by a star symbol placed beside the printed letters on the front face. In competitive play, Nami carries a cost of 5 and a power value of 6000, while her card text assigns her the Wisdom (知) attribute alongside East Blue and Straw Hat Crew character traits. The artist’s name appears printed in English letters as “Kentaro Yabuki” along the bottom edge of the frame. Both card versions carry that same credit line, matching official promotional previews shown to collectors. The card edge displays his full name along the lower border [2].
Japanese media outlets Inside Games and skypenguin reported that the card rolls out in two different styles: a standard card (通常版) and a foil-stamped variation (箔押しver.). The standard version shows Nami wearing a white-and-blue top while holding paper banknotes against a purple-pink background that features a cat silhouette and heart motifs. In contrast, the foil-stamped version keeps the same pose but places an enlarged close-up of her face behind her, surrounded by decorative lace patterns, heart-shaped cost icons, and a stylized character name plate. Japanese card collectors track these parallel treatments closely to see how foil layers change card values in secondary markets. Collectors pay close attention to both visual presentations [1].
Bandai’s original post grouped both images under the simple name of Character card “Nami” without providing official names for the two treatments. Neither version has published pull odds, and the publisher hasn’t stated which variation will be harder to find in sealed packs. Bandai gives no odds. Both cards carry the star mark next to SR [2].
Tournament Stream Reveal and Official Schedule
Although social media accounts posted the news on Monday, October 5, 2026, the card was actually revealed a day earlier on October 4, 2026. Bandai showed the physical card drawn by Kentaro Yabuki during the finals livestream of the tournament titled メラメラの実争奪戦, where card players saw their earliest glimpse of the art before digital preview graphics went live online. News outlets Dengeki Online and Inside Games published detailed reports later on October 5 after Bandai shared sample images [2].
English social channels for the One Piece Card Game joined the campaign on Monday by sharing a short teaser video to preview the new heroines expansion for international fans. Bandai plans to release the Japanese booster box on Saturday, October 31, 2026, though dates for localized English editions haven’t been shared yet. It arrives October 31. That leaves overseas collectors watching Japanese hobby shops and online retailers for early box openings and singles sales [3].
Extra Booster Heroines Edition vol.2 isn’t built around Nami alone, functioning instead as a broader release for popular female pirates and fighters from the series. The booster set features new cards for Nico Robin, Boa Hancock, Shirahoshi, and Yamato, while previews also revealed appearances for Vinsmoke Reiju, Miss Buckingham Stussy, Gerd, Charlotte Pudding, and Perona [4].
Kentaro Yabuki in Shueisha Manga History
Kentaro Yabuki has built a long relationship with Shueisha, beginning his professional manga career with Yamato Gensouki as noted in his author bio from Viz Media. He rose to major prominence in Weekly Shonen Jump with BLACK CAT, which began serialization in 2000 and later inspired a television anime that first aired in fall 2005. That action series proved that Yabuki could handle dynamic fight sequences alongside sharp character design, which established him as a dependable artist in the magazine’s weekly lineup. He debuted with Yamato Gensouki. Fans welcomed his crisp line work and clean composition from his earliest published chapters in Shonen Jump [2].
He achieved strong commercial success with To LOVE-Ru, which ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2006 to 2009 and spawned TV anime seasons airing from 2008 to 2009. The romantic comedy was followed by To LOVE-Ru Darkness in Jump SQ. from 2010 to 2017, and later by his fantasy series Ayakashi Triangle, which started in Weekly Shonen Jump in issue 28 of 2020. He also illustrated the manga adaptation of Darling in the Franxx for Shonen Jump+, with Volume 1 going on sale on February 2, 2018 based on the original TV anime by Trigger and A-1 Pictures [2].
Beyond his serialized manga titles, Kentaro Yabuki has occasionally created tribute drawings for other famous Shueisha properties. The community archive Kanzenshuu noted on January 11, 2023 that he provided guest illustration work for Dragon Ball, showing how comfortably he handles legendary characters from his peers. He drew tribute art before. While he created tribute illustrations for fellow creators earlier in his career, this Nami card stands out because Bandai places his artwork straight onto an official gaming product [2].
Guest Manga Artists in One Piece Card Game
Kentaro Yabuki joins a growing list of notable creators who have provided guest card art for the One Piece Card Game. In August 2026, Bandai announced a collaboration with Final Fantasy illustrator Yoshitaka Amano to create special cards of Loki and Saint Figarland Shamrock for booster set OP-18, titled -The Dominance of God- and scheduled for November 2026. That partnership showed Bandai’s readiness to invite creators from outside the core franchise to contribute distinct visual styles to collectible cards, giving fans alternative artistic interpretations of iconic story figures. The company pairs celebrated outside illustrators with beloved series personalities [3].
Other prominent manga artists have also illustrated special cards for Bandai’s trading card game over recent seasons. Baki creator Keisuke Itagaki drew a Kaido card for booster set OP-17 in August 2026, while Jujutsu Kaisen author Gege Akutami provided art for a Five Elders parallel card in OP-13 in August 2025. Promotional magazine campaigns featured Sakamoto Days author Yuto Suzuki illustrating Shanks in Weekly Shonen Jump 2024 issue 45, and Pyu to Fuku! Jaguar creator Kyosuke Usuta drawing Buggy for issue 46. Both magazine promos were distributed outside regular booster packs [2].
Trading card enthusiasts following character-heavy card games, such as collectors who track releases like the Weiss Schwarz Nikke Vol. 2 card expansion, see these outside illustrator collaborations as an exciting way to celebrate individual heroines. The Nami card also connects with recent multimedia projects across the wider franchise, tying into the anime adaptation of the One Piece: Heroines light novel series that premiered in July. Fans will see whether Bandai continues inviting outside manga artists to illustrate character cards in future booster sets [3].
- ONLINE NEWS Chappurin. (2026, October 5). 『ワンピース カードゲーム』ナミを「To LOVEる」の矢吹健太朗先生が描く！通常版、箔押しver.の2種で新パック「Heroines Edition vol.2」に収録. Inside Games. [Article Link]
- WEBSITE Samurai Sword Tokyo. (2026, October 8). Kentaro Yabuki One Piece Card Game: Nami EB-05 Artist. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Yomimono. (2026, October 10). Kentaro Yabuki Draws Nami Card for One Piece Card Game Booster Set. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Yomimono. (2026, October 6). One Piece Card Game Taps To Love Ru Artist Kentaro Yabuki For Nami Card. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Anime News Network. (2026, October 9). To Love-ru’s Kentaro Yabuki Draws Nami Card for One Piece Card Game. [Article Link]
