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Last updated: 1 November 2026

Quick Answer

One Piece is a Japanese adventure anime by Toei Animation, adapted from Eiichiro Oda's manga of the same name. It has aired since 1999 and follows Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates on their search for the legendary One Piece treasure. As of 27 September 2026 it has 1,180 episodes; the anime is currently between cours, and new episodes return in 2027.

About One Piece

Monkey D. Luffy sails the Grand Line with his Straw Hat crew to find the legendary One Piece treasure and become King of the Pirates. Along the way they explore wild islands, fight powerful enemies and protect their friends at any cost. It is one of the longest and most loved adventure stories in anime. The One Piece anime began in 1999, animated by Toei Animation, and it is still going strong with well over a thousand episodes. What makes it special is the world-building: every island has its own culture, history and problems, and small details from early episodes can matter hundreds of episodes later. Under the wild comedy and huge battles, it is a story about freedom, friendship and chasing your dreams no matter what the world says. Whether you are starting from episode 1 or catching up with the newest arc, this is the definitive pirate adventure in anime.

One Piece is a TV anime from 1999, first released in Fall 1999. It belongs to the Action and Adventure genres and is listed as currently airing. The summary above is written by the AnimeYug team in our own words.

Official Trailer

Story & Plot

Monkey D. Luffy ate the Gum-Gum Fruit and gained a rubber body, and one huge dream: find the One Piece, the legendary treasure left by Pirate King Gol D. Roger, and take his title. Setting sail from the East Blue, Luffy gathers a crew of misfits: swordsman Zoro, navigator Nami, sniper Usopp, cook Sanji, doctor Chopper, archaeologist Robin, shipwright Franky, musician Brook and helmsman Jinbe.

Together the Straw Hat Pirates cross the Grand Line, taking on Warlords, emperors of the sea and the World Government itself. Every arc frees another island from tyranny and reveals another piece of the world's hidden history, the Void Century, the ancient weapons and the truth the government killed to bury. It is a journey about freedom, and it is still sailing.

What keeps the journey gripping is how each new island asks the same question in a new form: who gets to be free, and who decides? Roger's last words launched a whole generation of pirates, and the race for his treasure slowly becomes a race for the truth of the world itself. A truth the World Government has spent eight hundred years trying to erase.

Story Arcs & Episode Guide

The One Piece anime is split into story sagas. Here is every saga in order, with its episodes and years.

ArcEpisodesYearsAbout
East Blue1–611999–2001Luffy sets sail and recruits his first crewmates
Alabasta62–1352001–2002The crew enters the Grand Line to save Vivi's desert kingdom
Sky Island136–2062002–2004The Straw Hats ride a knock-up stream to an island in the sky
Water 7207–3252004–2007The crew cracks as Robin is taken to Enies Lobby
Thriller Bark326–3842007–2008A shadow-stealing warlord haunts a ghost-island ship
Summit War385–5162008–2011Luffy storms Marineford to rescue his brother Ace
Fish-Man Island517–5742011–2012The crew reunites after two years of training
Dressrosa575–7462013–2016Punk Hazard leads into the fall of Doflamingo
Whole Cake Island747–8892016–2019A rescue mission deep inside Big Mom's territory
Wano Country890–10852019–2023The raid to free the samurai land of Wano from Kaido
Egghead1086–11552024–2025Dr. Vegapunk's future island hides world-shaking secrets
Elbaph1156–present2026–presentThe current saga: the crew finally reaches the land of giants; latest episode 1180 (27 September 2026)

Why Watch One Piece

  • One unbroken adventure: 1,180+ episodes following a single crew toward a single goal.
  • Deep world-building: islands, factions and mysteries planted early pay off hundreds of episodes later.
  • Big laughs and bigger feelings: slapstick comedy sits beside some of anime's most emotional story arcs.
  • Its source manga is the best-selling manga series in history, with over 600 million copies in circulation.
  • Masterful foreshadowing: tiny details from the earliest episodes keep turning into major plot twists.

Who Is It For?

One Piece is rated TV-14 in the US, so it suits teens and adults best. Expect cartoon-style pirate battles, some blood, mild language and emotional storylines about war, loss and freedom. Older children may enjoy it with guidance, but it is not aimed at young kids.

Main Characters

View all characters →

Voice Actors

The Japanese voices behind the main characters of One Piece.

  • Monkey D. LuffyCaptain of the Straw Hat Pirates
    Japanese voiceMayumi Tanaka
  • Roronoa ZoroSwordsman of the Straw Hat Pirates
    Japanese voiceKazuya Nakai
  • NamiNavigator of the Straw Hat Pirates
    Japanese voiceAkemi Okamura
  • UsoppSniper of the Straw Hat Pirates
    Japanese voiceKappei Yamaguchi
  • SanjiCook of the Straw Hat Pirates
    Japanese voiceHiroaki Hirata
  • Tony Tony ChopperDoctor of the Straw Hat Pirates
    Japanese voiceIkue Ōtani
  • Nico RobinArchaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates
    Japanese voiceYuriko Yamaguchi
  • FrankyShipwright of the Straw Hat Pirates
    Japanese voiceSubaru Kimura (2025–present); originally Kazuki Yao (2005–2024)
  • BrookMusician of the Straw Hat Pirates
    Japanese voiceChō
  • JinbeHelmsman of the Straw Hat Pirates
    Japanese voiceKatsuhisa Hōki (2010–present); originally Daisuke Gōri (2009–2010)
  • Portgas D. AceSecond Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates
    Japanese voiceToshio Furukawa
  • Trafalgar LawCaptain of the Heart Pirates
    Japanese voiceHiroshi Kamiya
  • ShanksCaptain of the Red Hair Pirates
    Japanese voiceShūichi Ikeda
  • Boa HancockPirate Empress; captain of the Kuja Pirates
    Japanese voiceKotono Mitsuishi
  • SaboChief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army
    Japanese voiceMiyu Irino (2024–present); originally Tōru Furuya
  • KaidoCaptain of the Beasts Pirates
    Japanese voiceTesshō Genda
  • Monkey D. GarpVice Admiral of the Marines; Luffy's grandfather
    Japanese voiceHiroshi Naka
  • Edward NewgateCaptain of the Whitebeard Pirates
    Japanese voiceKinryū Arimoto (until 2019); Ryūzaburō Ōtomo (2019–present)

Staff & Production

Original Creator
Eiichiro Oda
Animation Studio
Toei Animation
Series Director
Wataru Matsumi (from episode 1123, 2025); Tatsuya Nagamine (until episode 1122)
Series Composition
Shōji Yonemura (episode 799–present)
Music
Kohei Tanaka and Shirō Hamaguchi
Producer
Ryūta Koike (Toei Animation)

Manga & Source Material

One Piece started as a manga by Eiichiro Oda, and it is still running today. The anime follows it closely, with occasional filler episodes to avoid overtaking the story.

  • Written and drawn by Eiichiro Oda
  • Serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump since 22 July 1997
  • 115 collected volumes in Japan as of November 2026, with volume 116 due in December 2026
  • More than 1,175 chapters published, and the manga is still ongoing
  • Holds the Guinness World Record for the most copies published for the same comic series by a single author

Music

Across more than 25 years, One Piece has used 29 opening themes and 23 ending themes. Ending songs were dropped in 2006 and only returned in 2023, after a 17-year gap. The Egghead arc alone cycled through three openings, “Uuuuus!” by Hiroshi Kitadani, “Tenshi to Akuma” by GRe4N BOYZ and “Carmine” by ELLEGARDEN. Here are the landmark themes:

Opening Themes

  • “We Are!”by Hiroshi KitadaniThe very first opening (1999)
  • “Believe”by Folder 5Second opening (2000)
  • “We Go!”by Hiroshi KitadaniFirst opening after the timeskip (2011)
  • “Hope”by Namie AmuroWhole Cake Island era (2017)
  • “Over the Top”by Hiroshi KitadaniWano Country era (2019)
  • “Carmine”by ELLEGARDENFinal Egghead opening (2025)
  • “Luminous”by Aina The EndCurrentElbaph arc (2026)

Ending Themes

  • “Memories”by Maki OtsukiThe very first ending (1999)
  • “Dear Sunrise”by Maki OtsukiEgghead arc (2024): sung by the voice of the first ending
  • “The 1”by muqueEgghead arc (2025)
  • “Punks”by Chameleon Lime Whoopie PieEgghead arc (2025)
  • “Sono Mirai (That Future)”by Jisoku 36kmCurrentElbaph arc (2026)

Series Timeline

  1. 1997

    Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga begins in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine.

  2. 1999

    The TV anime premieres on Fuji TV on 20 October 1999, animated by Toei Animation.

  3. 2000–2022

    15 theatrical films reach cinemas, from One Piece: The Movie (2000) to the most recent, One Piece Film: Red (2022).

  4. 2024

    While the Egghead arc pauses to recharge, a re-edited Special Edited Version of the Fish-Man Island saga (21 episodes) airs in its place.

  5. 2025

    The anime moves to a late-night Sunday slot on Fuji TV for the first time, and the Egghead arc ends with episode 1155 in December.

  6. 2026

    The Elbaph arc begins in April under a new seasonal format, two cours a year, up to 26 episodes. The 2026 run ends with episode 1180 in September.

  7. 2027

    New TV episodes continue the Elbaph arc, and THE ONE PIECE, WIT Studio's remake of the East Blue saga, arrives on Netflix in February.

Release Schedule

Japanese broadcast
Sundays at 11:15 p.m. on Fuji TV, a late-night slot since April 2025
Current format
Seasonal since 2026: two cours a year, up to 26 episodes a year
Latest episode
Episode 1180 (Elbaph arc), aired 27 September 2026
Next episodes
New episodes return in 2027. The exact date has not been announced yet
Streaming
Crunchyroll streams new episodes the same day as Japan, and the English dub of the Elbaph arc is now releasing weekly on Tuesdays

Schedule information as of 1 November 2026. Dates can change, check the official announcements for the latest news.

Quick Answers

Is One Piece finished?

No, not yet. One Piece is currently airing, which means new episodes are still being released.

What genre is One Piece?

One Piece is a Action and Adventure anime. You can browse more titles like it on our Action anime page.

When did One Piece release?

One Piece first released in Fall 1999. It is a TV series.

How many episodes does the One Piece anime have?

One Piece has well over 1,100 episodes and is still airing, making it one of the longest-running anime series ever made. New episodes continue to follow Luffy and the Straw Hats on their journey.

Where should a beginner start with One Piece?

Start with episode 1 of the TV series. The early East Blue episodes introduce the crew one by one, and almost everything that happens later builds on them. The movies are optional side stories you can enjoy anytime.

Who created One Piece?

One Piece was created by Eiichiro Oda. His manga began in 1997, and the anime adaptation by Toei Animation followed in 1999.

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