3 Best Ways to Catch Up With One Piece Before 2026 Return

One Piece is gearing up for a huge 2026, so it’s time to catch up with Eiichiro Oda’s long running franchise in anyway you can. One Piece has been running in the pages of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine for nearly three decades at this point, and the franchise has grown in monumental ways over the years since that debut. The franchise has not only gone on to over 1,100 plus chapters of manga, but nearly the same number of anime episodes too. Even still, there are still many other One Piece related things to enjoy outside of this immediate sphere too.

One Piece definitely had some impressive motion this year even after coming off a historic hiatus earlier this Spring, but the franchise is going to get even bigger with a wave of new releases coming in 2026 and changing the landscape of the anime’s future on a whole. The anime, live-action, and manga series are going to be expanding with new entries in 2026, so here are three major things you need to keep an eye on to be ready for what’s coming next year.

Catch Up With One Piece’s Manga

The first major thing that you will need to keep an eye on heading into 2026 and beyond is Eiichiro Oda’s original One Piece manga release. The chapter count is currently in the 1160s range as of the time of this writing, and it’s currently working through a new phase of the Elbaph Arc. This arc’s importance is still steadily revealing itself, but it’s been an island fans have wanted to see for nearly two decades’ worth of teases about the Giants themselves. But even more importantly, it’s still taking us through the Final Saga of the series overall.

Oda himself has yet to address how long the Final Saga will last with One Piece, but it has encompassed two arcs so far. Both have been key locations that Luffy and the Straw Hats have crossed on their way to Laugh Tale, and there are still a few more locations left to see (and many more foes to face) before getting to that final island. You can keep up with the latest three chapters completely for free with either Viz Media’s digital Shonen Jump library or Shueisha’s MangaPlus service. But to check out the entire backlog, you’ll need a paid subscription. Thankfully it’s only a few bucks a month.

You Have Time to Watch One Piece’s Anime

One Piece’s anime is going to go through a significant change too. Following the end of the Egghead Arc later this year, the One Piece anime will be shifting over towards a seasonal release schedule for 2026 and beyond. One Piece will be returning for the Elbaph Arc in April 2026, and that means there will be at least three months to catch up with the latest episodes. It might seems like a huge ordeal to watch 1,100 or so episodes, but it’s not that much if you start watching a little more every day.

Just a couple of episodes every day will get you caught up by the time April 2026 rolls around. You can make it even more efficient by cutting out extra time materials like opening and ending themes, and the opening recap or next episode preview segments. This means that each episode can be as quick as 15-18 minutes each, and a few of those a day will get you through the series much quicker than you would ever expect. It’s worth the journey, and you can find One Piece streaming with Crunchyroll, Netflix, and more.

Get Ready for One Piece Season 2 With Netflix

The most approachable of all of these options to catch up with it all, however, is with Netflix’s live-action series. Netflix’s One Piece currently sits at eight episodes with its first season, and it delivers on its own take on the East Blue saga from Eiichiro Oda’s original manga release. It’s a very faithful adaptation in terms of how it was all brought to life, and was such a success with both fans of the manga and brand new Netflix viewers too. Now in the works on its third season, Season 2 is gearing up for its debut with the streaming service next March.

One Piece Into the Grand Line, the official name for its second season, will be making its worldwide debut with Netflix on March 10th next year. So you currently have plenty of time to watch through that first season, and it will be necessary as Season 2 is only ramping up all of its adventures even more. Luffy and the Straw Hats are going to be crossing over into the titular Grand Line, and that means a ton of new allies and foes are going to make their debut. You’re going to want to see it all go down.

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