It’s been 26 years since the anime One Piece first premiered, and the creators are celebrating this milestone. As the final story arc unfolds in both the original manga and the anime, fans are wondering how much longer the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates will continue. To mark the occasion, Toei Animation has released new artwork featuring Luffy’s strongest form, as well as a tribute highlighting the memorable moments when Luffy’s crew came together to pursue their dreams.
To celebrate 26 years of the One Piece anime, artist Masayuki Sato has created a new piece of artwork. Sato is a veteran animator who has worked on many well-known series, including Cowboy Bebop, Death Note, Berserk, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Vinland Saga, and X-Men: The Animated Series. His new art features Luffy in his incredibly powerful Gear Fifth form. Along with the artwork, Toei Animation released a short video highlighting how each member of the Straw Hat crew joined Luffy on his journey to become Pirate King. You can find both the art and the video below.
One Piece’s Future
⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀＼／
┏━━━━━━━━━━━┓2025.10.20
TVアニメ放送26周年┗━━━━━━━━━━━┛
／ ＼イラスト：佐藤雅将#ONEPIECE
— ONE PIECE スタッフ【公式】/ Official (@Eiichiro_Staff) October 19, 2025
The One Piece anime series officially began on October 20th, 1999, but fans actually saw the Straw Hat Pirates in animated form a year earlier. In 1998, a special anime episode called One Piece: Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack was released. Interestingly, this first animation wasn’t made by Toei Animation – Production I.G. was responsible for bringing Luffy and his crew to life initially. Production I.G. is well-known for other popular anime like Kaiju No 8, Haikyu, and FLCL. While they didn’t continue working on One Piece, Toei Animation has consistently produced the series ever since.
Fans of One Piece, whether they follow the manga or anime, are eager to find out when Luffy and his crew will finally reach the end of their journey. Creator Eiichiro Oda has a history of developing storylines over several years – like the Wano and Marineford arcs – and there’s still a lot of story left to tell. Many mysteries remain, including the identity of the World Government’s leader, Imu, and numerous confrontations await Luffy with both allies and enemies. When One Piece concludes, the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates will undoubtedly be remembered for years to come.
What are your thoughts on the One Piece anniversary event? Share your opinion in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!
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2025-10-21 19:40