What's in store for One Piece in 2025?
A little about One Piece
The anime adaptation of mangaka Eiichiro Oda's work, One Piece , had its first broadcast in October 1999 and continues to date, with more than 1,100 episodes aired.
The story revolves around Monkey D. Luffy, a young man who dreams of becoming the Pirate King while searching for a legendary treasure known as the "One Piece." Little is known about this treasure, except that it was hidden by the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, who revealed its existence before his death, inciting others to embark on its search. The series combines action, adventure, and comedy, while also addressing more serious themes that add depth to both the plot and the characters. They face numerous challenges that test their resolve to fulfill their dreams and remain steadfast in their defense of justice.
Second part of the Egghead Arc
Throughout the seasons, we've seen how Luffy, despite sometimes being clumsy or childish, but always with a big heart, has recruited a very diverse crew. During his journey, he has also forged close friendships, highlighting values such as loyalty and the strength of true friendship.
In October of last year, 2024, the longest hiatus in the anime's broadcast to date was announced, with plans to resume in April 2025 with the second part of the Egghead Arc. This hiatus aims to allow the manga to gain more distance from the animation, as it was very close to achieving this. Furthermore, it could serve to improve the quality of Toei Animation's animation and make it easier for the chapters to cover more of the manga's content without fear of overreaching.
However, the arrival of this new season of the anime isn't the only thing fans can look forward to in 2025.
Reissue of the Fishman Island Arc
Crunchyroll announced a reboot of this arc, which will air weekly from November 7, 2024, to April 7, 2025. This project consists of only 21 chapters, less than half of the original arc, and features visual and audio improvements.
The reduction in the episode count seems like an attempt by Toei Animation to present something similar to a fan project that removed the filler from the series, making it more fluid from their perspective and reducing the number of episodes by about 400.
Second season of the live action
The Netflix live-action One Piece adaptation has been one of the most well-received, thanks to its faithfulness to the essence of the original work. It has managed to retain long-time fans while attracting new audiences, without losing sight of the manga on which it is based. This project, although ambitious and expensive, has completely succeeded and overcome the prejudices generated by previous failed attempts to adapt classic anime to the live-action format.
Therefore, the second season is a highly anticipated premiere in 2025.
While the first season adapted about 95 chapters of the manga into just 8 episodes, this new season will cover the final part of the Loguetown Arc and the Reverse Mountain, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden, and Drum Island Arcs. It will be in the latter where Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), Nami (Emily Rudd), Zoro (Mackenyu), Sanji (Taz Skylar), and Usopp (Jacob Romero) will meet another future member of the crew: Chopper, whose peculiar appearance has generated a lot of curiosity about how he will be brought to the screen.
Additionally, new characters will be introduced, including Vivi (Charithra Chandran), Dr. Kureha (Katey Sagal), Dr. Hiriluk (Mark Harelik), Smoker (Callum Kerr), Tashigi (Julia Rehwald), Crocus (Clive Russell), Brogy (Brendan Murray), and Dorry (Werner Coester). Several characters from the first season are also likely to reappear, in addition to the essential main characters.
(Image of the Minix Nami One Piece Figure - Live Action version figure, whose existence, at least to me, has surprised me)
