Anime series One Piece is set to return with Part 2 of its Egghead arc on April 6 next year following a six-month-long hiatus, the makers announced on Sunday at Jump Festa 2025, an annual manga and anime fan convention.
The announcement was made by the voice actors of Luffy, Zoro, Nami and the rest of the Straw Hat pirates on stage at the convention held at Makuhari Messe convention center in Tokyo, Japan. The event also included a special message from Eiichiro Oda, creator of the manga series. In his address to fans, Oda confirmed that a new One Piece film is in the pipeline and opened up about his work on the Netflix live-action adaptation.
Addressing fans about the live-action series, the manga writer said, “People ask me, ‘Why are you putting so much effort into a live-action adaptation when ONE PIECE is already popular around the world?’ Yes, it may be quite known internationally in the manga and anime realm. But if you're told that there's a bigger playground out there in the world, wouldn't you want to go and explore it? That's why I'm putting my all into everything: the manga, the anime, the films, and the live-action.”
A new key visual and a trailer of the upcoming part was released at the event and subsequently on YouTube. The new visual showcases Luffy in his Gear 5 form in the centre, surrounded by Straw Hat crew members, Kizaru, Kuma and the Five Elders.
The announcement of the return of the series and the new film was followed by an emotional moment for fans as Kazuki Yao, who has been voicing the character Franky since the debut of the anime in 1999, passed the torch to Subaru Kimura after his retirement from voice acting due to poor health.
Besides voicing Franky, Yao has also lent his voice to Bon Clay aka Mr 2. German-Japanese voice actor Subaru Kimura is well-known for voicing Gian in the Doraemon series, Aoi Todo in Jujutsu Kaisen, Satori Tendō in Haikyu!! Season 4 and Haruki Hayashida in Tokyo Revengers.
“SUUUUUUUUUUUUUPER,” Oda began his tribute to Yao with a reference to Franky’s signature phrase. “Yao-san! I'll never forget my memory of the day you took me to that Kamabakka-ish bar! Thank you for being Franky for so long!! No matter where you go, you'll always be our nakama!! And Subaru-san, I'm looking forward to having you on board,” he said in his message.
The entire cast of One Piece, including Subaru Kimura, bid farewell to Yao on stage. They also struck Franky’s iconic pose on stage as a tribute to Yao’s time on the show.
Set in the world of pirates, One Piece follows Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy who sets sail with his wacky crew on a perilous journey across the Grand Line to find the legendary treasure One Piece and become the Pirate King. In his quest to achieve freedom in its truest sense, Luffy overcomes formidable enemies, forges meaningful friendships and unravels the world’s secrets.
