It’s fair to say that Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece is the most popular anime and manga series out there today. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that One Piece stands among the most influential and well-known anime of all time.
Aside from the prolific manga, the long-running anime adaptation by Toei Animation has been going strong since 1999, mirroring the manga’s run with over 1,000 episodes. Running for over a quarter-century, the One Piece anime has gone through different stylistic changes, directors, writers, and a variety of other staff moves. So when a new adaptation dubbed The One Piece was announced during Jump Festa 2024, fans were both confused and intrigued by the decision. Now, well over a year after the announcement, where do things stand with this new One Piece anime?
One Piece: Luffy Is Worth 3 Billion Berries, But His Next Bounty After Elbaf Will Be Insanely High
Luffy is set to get a far higher bounty than his current 3 billion berries after One Piece's Elbaf arc.
Potential For A Tighter, More Consistent Adaptation
It was revealed that The One Piece will be a retelling of the manga’s story, meaning that the new adaptation will start things off from scratch. The series will start off with the East Blue Saga while running concurrently with the original adaptation. The original anime adapted the entire saga (which consists of 100 chapters in the manga) in 61 episodes – 53 if you’re not counting filler. Whether or not this new series will stretch things out for as long or be able to accomplish the same with fewer episodes remains to be seen. For many, this new adaptation is an opportunity to improve upon some of the inconsistencies of the original series.
Having first aired in 1999, there are noticeable differences between early One Piece episodes and some of the more impressive episodes that have recently come out of Wano and Egghead. There are a wide variety of factors at play when looking at how an anime is made. For big studios like Toei, juggling multiple projects at once is common.
At the time that One Piece was airing, the studio was also working on Phantom Thief Jeanne, Digimon Adventure, Adventure 02, and other titles. Consider this alongside the fact that One Piece was nowhere near the powerhouse it is today, and it’s easy to see why fans feel certain elements of the early anime could have been improved. The One Piece has the chance to improve upon the original in ways some fans have only dreamed about, and that all starts with the studio behind it, Wit Studio.
One of the Biggest Studios Around Looks to Add Its Own Spin on a Classic
Formed in 2012, Wit has earned a name as one of the top animation studios in Japan, with its highly acclaimed adaptation of Attack on Titan (seasons 1-3) garnering praise from both fans and critics. In the years since, they’ve gone on to work on titles like Vinland Saga, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Ranking of Kings, and Spy x Family (alongside CloverWorks).
Reaction online suggests that the majority of One Piece and anime fans in general are more than happy with the choice of studio. We know so far that Masashi Koizuka will be directing the series, with Hideaki Abe assisting and Kyoji Asano handling character designs alongside Takatoshi Honda. Yasuhiro Kajino will be working on creature designs, while Taku Kishimoto will be in charge of series composition.
Wit Isn’t Playing Around With This Adaptation
Netflix released a 20-minute video in August 2024, going behind the scenes with Wit and giving fans a sneak peek at the creative process behind The One Piece. It’s an incredible deep dive into the ongoing process, and it seems like the plan is to release more of these as things progress.
“I want you all to express, rather than copy and paste the work.” – Eiichiro Oda
The first video focused on the staff, giving great insight into the people working on the new project. What really comes through throughout the video is how much passion the staff working on the new adaptation have for One Piece. According to the video, the staff at Wit really seem to have put their all into studying Oda’s unique style and working on incorporating it with their own animation and visuals. Character designer Kyoji Asano stated, “When I was given the task to create the design, I thought I had to input Oda-sensei’s way of drawing. I had to possess him in myself. So for this 2 months, I was determined to just draw One Piece.”
The video has tons of insight, from early storyboards to prop design, to the thought process behind backgrounds like sea and sky color tones. It really feels like the team at Wit is doing their best to truly understand Oda’s work, paying attention to every minute detail and incorporating as much of the source material as they can. Not just the narrative, but the style, design, feel, and so much more about Oda’s art that give One Piece its distinct identity.
A Crammed Schedule Might Mean Fans Have to Wait Longer
As the behind-the-scenes video Netflix put out shows, Wit is putting their all into this project. That kind of commitment to quality is what fans have come to expect out of the studio, with their previous works attesting to their talent and consistency. Sadly for anyone hoping to see The One Piece air as soon as possible, this likely means that it will be a while until the series makes it to screens.
The One Piece aside, Wit has its plate full with a variety of upcoming high-profile projects. Season 3 of Spy x Family is slated to release this fall – though it being a joint effort with CloverWorks likely makes things less taxing. Aside from that, the studio is also set to release the fourth season of Ascendance of a Bookworm during the spring 2026 season. The studio is also set to contribute a short for Star Wars: Visions Volume 3. An anime adaptation of Agents of the Four Seasons was also announced, but has no release window.
So what does this all mean? It’s safe to say that Wit currently has its hands full with different ongoing and upcoming projects. Fall 2025 will be a busy season for the studio. Considering that Ascendance of a Bookworm is airing in spring 2026, it seems unlikely that The One Piece will air around then. After season 4 of Bookworm is finished, the studio will have The One Piece and Agents of the Four Seasons as its remaining big projects. Assuming that the latter comes out first, it’s entirely possible that 2026 will come and go with The One Piece still in development. Summer 2026 might be the most hopeful scenario for fans, but there’s a chance we won’t be seeing Wit’s take on One Piece till 2027.
