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Following the finale of the Egghead Arc in December 2025, fans of One Piece have been eagerly anticipating the effects of Toei Animation’s strategic shift to a seasonal format for this beloved shonen series. The fruits of that decision are now evident as the anime makes its much-anticipated return to the airwaves.
Episode 1156 of One Piece, titled “The Long-Sought Elbaph! The Big Reunion Banquet!”, delivers the kind of breathtaking spectacle that enthusiasts had hoped to see in the Elbaph Arc. While the episode is undoubtedly entertaining, it also sets the stage for the Straw Hat Pirates to face off against two of the most formidable figures in the entire Grand Line, promising a thrilling continuation of their saga.
Traditionally, One Piece uses updates on the Straw Hat Pirates’ latest adventures or conflicts as a narrative bridge to the next arc. However, due to Dr. Vegapunk’s worldwide announcement during the Egghead Arc, it wouldn’t logically follow for the series to rely on Luffy’s recent exploits to connect the Egghead and Elbaph Arcs. This allows for a fresh narrative approach as the story progresses into new territory.
One Piece’s Elbaph Arc Kicks Off By Teasing the Daunting Road Ahead of Monkey D. Luffy
In a lot of instances, One Piece uses the news about the Straw Hat Pirates’ latest adventure/conflict as a way to transition into the story’s next narrative arc. However, since Dr. Vegapunk’s message to world was already broadcast during the events of the Egghead Arc, it wouldn’t make sense for the series to follow news of Luffy’s latest exploits as a way of bridging the gap between the Egghead and Elbaph Arcs.
Instead, the One Piece anime does something much more interesting: it follows two different Emperors of the Sea on a collision course with the Straw Hat Pirates. One of these parties — the Blackbeard Pirates — are terrifying, but considering they’ve been rivals of the Straw Hat Pirates since the Jaya Arc, their appearance doesn’t exactly come as a surprise, even if it is exciting to see PIrate Island and its residents literally quake as Blackbeard returns to see the damage caused by Garp’s raid.
The other of these two parties — the Red Hair Pirates — have long been presented as the Blackbeard Pirates’ foil, but just like Marshall D. Teach’s crew, Shanks and his crew find themselves on a collision course with the Straw Hat Pirates. After Yasopp sunk Bartolomeo’s ship with one shot, it was clear that Shanks’ earlier words about being disrespected by Bartolomeo’s actions on Gartel Island weren’t just for show. Now, all that’s left is for Red-Haired Shanks to finall reunite with Luffy, and this time, it will likely take place on the battlefield.
These two sequences are as gorgeous and well-directed as anything from the Egghead and Wano Arcs, and they make Shanks and Blackbeard’s crews truly feel like Emperors of the Sea. Even if it was a bit surprising to start One Piece‘s return to airwaves with extended scenes featuring crews that aren’t the Straw Hat Pirates, the directorial flair of Episode 1156’s main scenes is legitimatel incredible.
Unfortunately, cuts to Shanks and Blackbeard weren’t the only things standing between fans and the Straw Hat Pirates’ arrival in the Land of Giants. Despite Toei Animation switching to a seasonal release format for One Piece starting in 2026, the Elbaph Arc’s debut episode still started off with the one thing fans were hoping they wouldn’t see: a significant recap segment.
A Recap (Episode) By Any Other Name Is Still Just as Boring
To be fair, One Piece Episode 1156 isn’t completely recap — the majority of the episode is dedicated to the micro-narratives regarding Shanks and Blackbeard. That said, it isn’t until over four minutes into the episode that the Elbaph Arc is able to move past the reanimated recap segments about Dorry and Brogy’s time on Little Garden, making it a much larger part of the episode than fans’ hoped.
For years, One Piece‘s pacing has been one of the most criticized parts of the series, so heading into its first seasonal release, most fans hoped that this issue would be a thing of the past. One Piece Episode 1156 doesn’t suffer from the prolonged shots and tepid pacing of earlier arcs, but the fact that it takes nearly five minutes for the first episode of the Elbaph Arc to move into new content feels like a major disappointment for fans who have called for a seasonal release schedule for years.
Hopefully, One Piece‘s Elbaph Arc feels more like the Shanks and Blackbeard-centric parts of Episode 1156 than the rest of the arc’s debut episode. With recent releases like Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 and Frieren Season 2, the bar is higher than ever for shonen anime, making it all the more interesting to see what the future holds for the anime adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s beloved franchise. The days of repetitive storytelling and unnecessary recap have long past, and it’s up to One Piece to adapt to the expectations of modern anime fans — especially now that the show is no longer releasing episodes year-round.
Thankfully, Eiichiro Oda’s story still has plenty of incredible moments in store for fans, and given One Piece‘s global surge in popularity over recent years, there’s little doubt that Toei Animation understands how important the series’ Elbaph Arc is. Monkey D. Luffy’s most exciting adventures are still ahead of him, and even if there is still the occasional recap montage to slow things down, the Straw Hat Pirate is sure to entertain fans as he inches closer and closer toward his inevitable battles with Shanks and Blackbeard to become the next King of the Pirates.
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
- Animation is incredible during Shanks & Blackbeard segments
- End of episode provides momentum for Elbaph Arc
- Recap bogs down pacing
- Slow start to Elbaph Arc