The One Piece franchise has unveiled a fresh key artwork spotlighting Luffy in a fresh ensemble, building excitement for the impending Elbaph Island saga—a storyline that’s been unfolding steadily in the manga.
Meanwhile, the anime adaptation has revealed a scheduled three-month pause running from January through March 2026, followed by a shift to a one-to-one adaptation pace of one manga chapter per episode.
As per Toei Animation, the revised production timeline will enable episodes to better integrate the manga’s richer details, rhythm, and flow, while still harnessing the distinctive narrative flair that’s exclusive to animation.
ONE PIECE is a Japanese manga series created by Eiichiro Oda, chronicling the epic journey of Monkey D. Luffy, a spirited young pirate with the power of rubber, as he sails the seas with his crew—the Straw Hat Pirates. Their mission: to find the legendary treasure known as the “One Piece” and crown Luffy as the next Pirate King.
The series has been continuously published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 1997. As of March 2025, it spans 111 collected tankōbon volumes. In the English-speaking world, Viz Media handles the North American and UK releases, while Madman Entertainment distributes the series in Australia.
One Piece has evolved into a massive multimedia franchise. It was first animated in a festival short by Production I.G before being adapted into an ongoing anime series by Toei Animation, which premiered in 1999. Toei has also produced 14 feature-length animated films and a standalone OVA. The franchise has expanded to include a wide range of merchandise, including video games and a trading card game. In 2023, Netflix launched a live-action television adaptation, bringing the world of One Piece to a new generation of fans.
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