Of the many anime characters that are set to make big moves in 2026, this might just be the year for one of One Piece’s Straw Hat Pirates. Tony Tony Chopper is set to make his live-action debut on the Netflix adaptation of the shonen series next month, showing the reindeer doctor in a brand new way. With a spin-off set to focus on a wild new take on Chopper, the release of the spin-off has been pushed back for a very surprising reason. As Chopper prepares to take Netflix by storm, manga readers will need to wait a few more weeks to see his solo story.
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Announced last year, the One Piece spin-off story was revealed as “Chopper’s,” focusing on Tony Tony outside of the Grand Line. The side story would focus on Chopper interacting in the “real world,” interacting with humanity and the technology that helps our world go around these days. Obviously, considering the subject matter, this side series won’t be considered to be a part of Eiichiro Oda’s continuity for the shonen series. Originally, the first volume was slated to arrive on March 4th next month, but has now been pushed back to April 23rd. The reasoning provided by One Piece’s staff is “to increase the initial print of the volume and meet the overwhelming demand for copies since its announcement.”
Tony Tony’s Real World Premiere
On March 10th, Netflix will release the second season of One Piece’s live-action adaptation, covering quite a bit of territory from the source material. Along with locales such as Loguetown, Whiskey Peak, and Reverse Mountain, a major part of the show’s return will focus on Drum Island. This particular winter landscape is the home of Tony Tony Chopper, who will be brought to life using CG animation with Mikaela Hoover (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Superman) set to voice the Straw Hats’ resident physician.
One Piece’s first live-action season stayed quite true to its source material, thanks in part to creator Eiichiro Oda acting as executive producer, and from what we’ve seen of Tony Tony so far, he is the spitting image of his manga and anime portrayals. In the build-up to the live-action adaptation’s comeback, we’ve seen Chopper appear in trailers and promotional material, though there are some big questions that remain about the eye-popping doctor. As One Piece fans know, Tony Tony will routinely transform into different forms, often bulking himself up for fights. While we have yet to see these transformations for the live-action series, we have to imagine they will make their way to Netflix next month.
As for what Tony Tony is currently up to in the manga and anime, he is still sailing with the Straw Hats as a part of One Piece’s final saga. With the group of pirates exploring the land of giants, Elbaph, Chopper is making a big splash this year in more ways than one.
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images courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
