One Piece: Strong World Announces U.S. Premiere Ahead of 1,000th Episode

By Megan Peters

One Piece is moving at a fast pace these days, and it seems a big milestone is looming over the anime. If you did not know, the hit series is just weeks away from reaching its 1,000th episode. As you can imagine, fans all over the world are eager to celebrate the event, and Toei Animation has plans to do so stateside with a big premiere.

After all, the news has broke, and it turns out a special One Piece movie is heading to the United States. One Piece: Strong World is about to get its overdue U.S. premiere in theaters.

Now, this isn't the first time the One Piece film has been shown in the United States. The movie first debuted in Japan in December 2009, but Funimation did not bring it to home video until November 2013. Up until this point, the movie has never been shown in theaters, but that will be changing ahead of episode 1,000. The debut will also bring out the stateside premiere of the One Piece: Mugiwara Chase featurette.

"We are thrilled to bring 'One Piece Film: Strong World' for the first time ever to U.S. theaters in celebration of One Piece's 1,000th series episode," Masayuki Endo, president and CEO of Toei Animation Inc, shared today. "One Piece fans across the United States can now experience this original film by creator Eiichiro Oda as it was meant to be - on the big screen!"

At this time, the movie will be screened in select theaters on November 7th and 9th. The first date will bring dubbed showings to fans while the subbed lands on the final date. Toei Animation is hosting the event in conjunction with Fathom Events, and the group's CEO said it is excited to bring this film to One Piece fans on the big screen.

"The One Piece franchise has been such a staple within the anime community, we can't think of a better way to celebrate 1000 episodes than bringing One Piece Film: Strong World to the big screen for the first time." Fathom Events CEO Ray Nutt told fans. "We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with Toei Animation and to bring unique events to anime fans nationwide."

Will you be checking out this One Piece film in theaters next month? Are you caught up with the long-running series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

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