Yesterday, One Piece joined the 1000-episode anime club alongside Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Doraemon, Crayon Shin-Chan, Chibi Maruko-Chan, and the venerable Sazae-San (at over 7,500 episodes and still going). In a year that saw the 1000th chapter and 100th volume of of Eiichiro Oda’s ongoing manga and news of a live-action film, there’s so much for One Piece fans to celebrate right now.
The 1000th episode premier was accompanied by news that One Piece Film: Red, an original animated film, is in the works. Due late 2022, you can watch the teaser trailer below.
In a letter to fans shared across Twitter, Oda said he’s getting tired of drawing old men and wanted to draw a girl, which Red will let him pursue. “We have a lot of ‘surprises’ in store for you,” the mangaka writes.
Fans could barely contain themselves, and neither could Crunchyroll, which briefly went down yesterday.
When the streaming service went back up, fans took to sharing their favorite screenshots of the episode. Many were taken by the celebratory OP, which pays homage to the series’ first opening. One fan, @awryya, posted video of the openings side by side, showcasing how much the shows’ animation has developed.
One Piece celebrations took to the real world as well. The 1000th episode coincidentally premiered during Anime NYC 2021. Crunchyroll hosted a viewing party at the con the night of the 20th. And murals honoring the milestone were created in Japan and in Brooklyn, New York. The sites have become a small pilgrimage for fans seeking selfies.
You can stream all 1000 episodes of One Piece on Crunchyroll and Funimation.