The Straw Hats Gear Up For Egghead Showdown As ‘One Piece’ Anime Returns With Special Premiere Weekend, Adaptation Of Spin-Off Gag Manga ‘One Piece in Love’
After leaving audiences on the cliffhanger of The Five Elders’ true identity for what seemed like ages, Toei Animation has finally confirmed the premiere date for the Straw Hat crew’s explosive next season of the One Piece anime.
RELATED: Deku Pushes One For All Past Its Limits In New Release Date Trailer ‘My Hero Academia’s Final Season
This announcement regarding the Strawhat crew’s small screen return was first made during the show’s special AnimeJapan panel, as hosted on the recently-held event’s Red Stage.
Attended by the voice actors for Monkey D. Luffy (CV: Mayumi Tanaka – Turbo Granny in Dandadan), Roronoa Zoro (CV: Kazuya Nakai – Akitaru Oubi in Fire Force), Usopp (CV: Kappei Yamaguchi – Ranma Saotome in Ranma 1/2) and Franky (CV: Subaru Kimura – Ichirou Yamada in Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle Movie), the panel saw the various cast members reveal that the series will officially return to the airwaves on April 5th.
To this end, the cast also announced that on that immediately prior to the official premiere of Episode 1123, The World Shocks! The Straw Crew Barrier Incident, and the kick-off of the Egghead Arc Part 2, viewers can catch an 83-minute long recap of the arc’s first half, as originally detailed in episodes 1089-1122.
From there, the following day will see One Piece officially leave behind its usual 9:30 AM JST premiere time for its new 11:15 PM slot, with the second episode in the Egghead Part 2 Arc and 1124th overall, Full-scale Surrounding! Egghead Escape Plan, set to be its premiere late-night outing.
And in providing even more pirate-related-goodness, Toei Animation will help fans pass the remaining days until the series’ long-awaited return by releasing a five-episode anime adaptation of the official spin-off gag manga One Piece in Love.
The work of Protect, Me Shugomaru mangaka Daiki Ihara, the comedy series follows the adventures of three regular Japanese high school students – Yamamoto Luffy (CV: Ryosuke Kanemoto – Torway Remion in Alderamin on the Sky), Koyama Nami (CV: Ayane Sakura – Takao Ameku in Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective), and Nakatsugawa Usopp (CV: Yuichi Nakamura – Sataro Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen) – as they attempt to form a One Piece fan club and boost its membership among their fellow students, all the while providing readers with a Devil Fruit-flavored take on the setting’s standard tropes.
Set to consist of five-total episodes, Toei will upload one episode of One Piece in Love a day to the series’ official Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube channels beginning on April 1st at 8:00 PM JST, with the final episode premiering just shortly ahead of the core One Piece series’ broadcast return.
Further, in commemoration of the manga’s anime adaptation, Shueisha also announced that after almost four full years on hiatus, Ihara will resume his work on One Piece in Love on April 10th, with new chapters set to be uploaded to the publisher’s signature Shonen Jump+ app.
As noted above, the Straw Hats will crest over the horizon on April 5th, dropping anchor in their usual morning time slot before moving to their late-night, 11:30 PM time the next day.
According to a press release, Crunchyroll has confirmed that they will be providing same-day simulcasts for at least the core series; at current, it’s unknown whether the streaming platform, or any other entity, will be doing the same for One Piece in Love.
More About:Anime News