One Piece‘s anime went on an unexpected two-week hiatus after releasing Episode 1145, where Dorry and Brogy join Luffy in his fight against the Five Elders. Although the villains are overwhelmingly powerful, Luffy is holding his own against them thanks to the support of his allies. The Egghead Incident Arc is approaching its finale, but before that happens, one of the best One Piece animators is returning after more than a year of hiatus from the series. Akihiro Ota, a name that almost all devoted One Piece fans know, previously worked as a key animator in four One Piece films, including the hit films Gold and Stampede. He took a three-year break from the franchise after the release of Stampede and returned as a key animator and assistant animation director in the TV series.
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In the TV anime, Ota has only worked on seven episodes in the series, all of which stood out from the rest of the series. He is best known for his phenomenal work in Gear 5 Episode 1072, Luffy vs. Lucci in Episode 1100, and Shanks vs. Eustass Kidd in Episode 1112. Episode 1112 was released in July 2024, so it will be more than a year since he’s been part of the animation staff. The official X handle of the One Piece portal site hypes his return by announcing his participation in Episode 1146 and sharing his key animation sequence from the iconic Episode 1072.
What to Expect From One Piece Episode 1146?
The official preview of the episode highlights the chaos on the island as the Five Elders continue to target Luffy. These villains usually sit in the Room of Authority within Pangaea Castle in Mariejois and rarely appear in the lower land. However, after seeing that the situation in Egghead was beyond the control of the Marines and Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, the rest of the Five Elders arrived at the scene using the same teleportation circle. While Luffy is fighting the Elders, Zoro has his hands full with Lucci, and Sanji is trying to save Vegapunk, even though it might be too late for the scientist.
Vegapunk has already sustained several fatal wounds, which means that the World Government will at least fulfill one of their goals if the genius scientist dies. On the other hand, the rest of the Straw Hats are still planning an escape from the island and heading toward Elbaf. Dorry and Brogy led their crew on the island to look for Luffy, or rather Nika, and take him to their homeland with them.
Although the Egghead Incident Arc is in its final phase, it will take the anime at least a few months to conclude this epic arc. Meanwhile, during NYCC 2025, which was held this month, One Piece shared the first look at the Elbaf Arc, featuring our beloved characters in their Elbaf fits. The Elbaf Arc will commence next year, although the release date hasn’t been revealed yet.
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm -
Image courtesy of Stage 6 Films
