These pirates. Give ‘em one piece of territory, they soon start claiming another.

One Piece has already been playing in North America as an anime series; the Cartoon Network is currently running the third season. But now Monkey D. Luffy and cohorts have invaded a toy fair, and will soon be physically inhabiting the homes of fans.

Toy Fair 2008, organized by the Toy Industry Association, Inc., just concluded in New York, having run from the 17th until the 20th. And Toei Animation chose this occasion for launching its line of toys, games, and collectible figures in North America, with FUNimation as its agent. FUNimation already manages home entertainment and distribution for the One Piece series and its films, so the addition of this new line of products is an additional feather in its cap.

Kanji Kazahaya, who is the director of the international department for Toei Animation, described FUNimation as "the recognized leader in the brand management and distribution of the most prominent brands in anime entertainment," adding, "We are delighted to join them in the launch of a new era of One Piece."

In fact, FUNimation arranged a one-two punch during the Toy Fair. As well as acting as Toei’s agent for the new products, on Tuesday the company released the DVD of One Piece Movie 8 -- the Desert Princess and the Pirates Adventures in Alabasta. This release came close on the heels of "The Foreign Exchange," a program presented all through February in conjunction with The Bigger Picture, featuring the One Piece movie as one of the three Japanese films shown in 98 theatres across the U.S.

In addition to that, FUNimation will release the first dubbed television episodes on DVD in May.

So batten the hatches and prepare to be boarded!