One Piece Anime Preview Teases New Story Arc, Characters

In the world of anime, filler arcs are a necessary evil. The non-canon stories are what help keep anime series on air while they are waiting for more source content to adapt. Long-running shonen series like Naruto and One Piece all use filler arcs to keep the franchise running, but these two anime titles have had varying success with its fillers. While Naruto have been derided for its frequent arcs, One Piece has managed to strike a happy balance.

Now, One Piece is about to kick-off a new filler arc before it starts adapting the manga's new canon installment. The "Marine Rookie" arc will begin on March 19th, and Toei Animation is eager to give fans a glimpse of the original story. A new preview of the arc's premiere has hit the Internet along with a slew of character designs.

In the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Jump, fans got a quick glimpse at the new characters who'd be introduced in the arc. The filler storyline will bring in several new Marine soldiers who run into Monkey D. Luffy and his crew in an unfortunate way. The filler story will center on Luffy and his comrades as they travel to save Sanji. However, Luffy's insatiable appetite gets in the crew's way as they run out of food during their journey. As such, the team sneaks into a Marine base to steal supplies, but Luffy is stopped when three new Marines from Aokiji's crew halt him.

UP NEXT: One Piece Creator Gives Update On Manga And When It Will End

You can check out the character designs in the following slides! And, as for the arc's new preview, it can be watched above.

You can check out Viz Media's synopsis of One Piece here: As a child, Monkey D. Luffy dreamed of becoming King of the Pirates. But his life changed when he accidentally gained the power to stretch like rubber—at the cost of never being able to swim again! Years later, Luffy sets off in search of the One Piece, said to be the greatest treasure in the world...

As 2017 moves forward, fans will have plenty of things to celebrate in terms of One Piece. The long-running franchise is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and creator Eiichiro Oda has said plenty of surprise are in store for fans.

[HT] ANN