Issue 33 of *Weekly Shonen Jump* was released on July 13, 2026.
To commemorate the 29th anniversary of the popular manga *ONE PIECE*, the issue included a special promotional card featuring “Monkey D. Luffy (aka Meat Luffy)” as a bonus, leading to a series of sell-outs at bookstores and convenience stores nationwide.
Shueisha had made an unusual announcement in advance stating that they would “print an additional 500,000 copies compared to a regular issue,” significantly increasing the distribution volume.
Furthermore, with a free giveaway offered to all digital subscribers, the card itself was by no means supposed to be particularly “rare.”
Despite this, why did hoarding and severe stock shortages occur at stores?
In this article, we’ll clearly explain the “reasons behind the hoarding despite low rarity” by examining the structure of the trading card market and the psychology of resellers.
First of all, what exactly is this “Meat Luffy” card included with Jump?
Let’s start by reviewing the basic specifications of the card that sparked this commotion.
- Card Name: Monkey D. Luffy (P-159) *Commonly known as: “Meat Luffy”
- Published in: Weekly Shonen Jump, Issue 33, 2026 (Special Price: 340 yen)
- Release Date: July 13, 2026
- Shueisha’s Response: Published with a 500,000-copy reprint, exceeding the usual print run
This card wasn’t just a collectible item; it also possessed practical strength in actual battles, with a very powerful “mid-game attacker” role and an effect that summons allies when it’s knocked out, making it an excellent fit for the latest starter decks.
Four Reasons Why a “Scoop-Up” Occurred Despite Low Rarity
Although the print run was increased by 500,000 copies compared to usual—and it was expected that the market would eventually be flooded with them—there were four main reasons why a rush to buy up the cards occurred on the release date.
1. Time-Lag Resale Flocking to the “Initial Rush Immediately After Release”
The biggest factor lies in the “time lag before the actual supply increases (and reaches readers’ hands).”
For the “free gift for all applicants” offer for digital subscribers, there is a time lag of about one month between signing up and actually receiving the card.
As a result, “players who want to add it to their deck and use it right away” and “collectors who want to get their hands on it as soon as possible” have no choice but to purchase a physical copy on the release date itself.
Resellers targeted this overwhelming initial demand (a sense of urgency) driven by the desire to “have it right now,” scouring stores to buy up stock in order to secure sales at temporarily inflated prices (around 1,500 to 2,500 yen, compared to the list price of 340 yen).
2. Players’ Demand to “Collect All 4 Copies” (Buying 4 Issues)
According to the official rules of the ONE PIECE Card Game, players can include up to four copies of the same card in their deck.
Since this “Meat Luffy” card is highly practical, players themselves needed to “buy four copies of Jump for their own use.”
The fact that many die-hard fans purchased multiple copies on their own also contributed to the rapid depletion of in-store inventory.
3. The overwhelmingly low barrier to entry: “List Price of 340 Yen”
The list price of a single issue of *Jump* is 340 yen (tax included). Compared to standard trading card packs or boxes (which range from several thousand to several ten thousand yen), the initial investment required is extremely low.
As a result, casual fans who normally wouldn’t engage in high-priced reselling, students, and even resellers looking to make a little extra pocket money all rushed in at once, viewing it as a “low-risk product,” which further fueled the buying frenzy.
4. The Online Preconception That “One Piece Cards = Profit”
Since its release, the ONE PIECE Card Game has become synonymous with “trading cards prone to price spikes,” with some limited-edition cards commanding premium prices of over several hundred thousand yen.
Even “resellers who didn’t fully understand the mechanics” were drawn in en masse, skimming only the surface of the information and acting solely on the symbolic notion that “ONE PIECE card game promo inserts = a surefire way to make a profit.”
The Social Impact of the Hoarding Frenzy and Stores’ “Exemplary Response”
This incident had a major impact not only on the trading card community but also on general Jump readers and retail stores.
Manga Fans’ Outcry and Anger
Issue 33 of *Jump* was a landmark issue for manga fans, featuring the highly anticipated finale (conclusion of Part 1) of the popular series *Ao no Hako*, ahead of its upcoming anime adaptation.
However, due to the hoarding driven by the desire for *One Piece* cards, situations frequently arose where “regular readers who look forward to the magazine every week couldn’t buy *Jump* as usual,” leading to an explosion of anger directed at resellers on social media.
Measures by Buyback Stores Like TSUTAYA to “Crack Down on Resellers” Become a Hot Topic
In response to this extraordinary situation, some card shops and major bookstores took swift countermeasures.
For example, on the day of release, some TSUTAYA stores and trading card specialty shops issued unusual announcements, such as “We will set the buyback price for the Luffy (Standard Edition) card included with Jump to 1 yen” and “Unopened items will not be accepted for buyback.”
Announcement from TSUTAYA Himeji Hiromine Store (Summary)
We will purchase the standard edition of the “Monkey D. Luffy” supplement included with Issue 33 of Jump, on sale July 13, for 1 yen, and the deluxe edition for 5 yen. Please note that unopened items are not eligible for purchase.
This resolute response by the store—“buying up stock from scalpers and cutting off their immediate resale channels”—sparked a huge buzz on social media, with users hailing it as a “god-tier response” and “deserving of a standing ovation.”
Summary: Lessons on Trading Card Resale Learned from This Incident
The “Meat Luffy” hoarding incident surrounding Weekly Shonen Jump Issue 33 highlighted a distortion in the modern trading card market: “No matter how many additional copies the publisher prints (500,000 copies) or how low the future rarity is set, a card can still become a target for resellers if there is a surge in demand on the release date and a low barrier to entry.”
However, as several days have passed since the release and the cards have become more widely available on the market, prices on flea market apps have rapidly stabilized.
It can be said that swift countermeasures—such as the publisher’s “advance announcement of a reprint” and retailers’ “1-yen buyback” offers—have been a major step toward curbing malicious hoarding in the future.
