Written by Joshua Jacob
Early this month, One Piece returned to anime viewers with the long-awaited Elbaph Arc. Following Episode 1155 of the Egghead Arc, the long-running anime series went on hiatus from late December until April, leaving fans eager to see what would come next. With its return, the anime wasted no time reminding viewers why the journey of the Straw Hat Pirates continues to feel as exciting as ever, bringing back nostalgia, more world-building, and new mysteries as the story moves deeper into its final saga.
The premiere episode opens with a callback to when the Straw Hats first heard of Elbaph during their time in Little Garden, with Monkey D. Luffy (Mayumi Tanaka) and Usopp (Kappei Yamaguchi) expressing their excitement about the land of giants. That same excitement carries into present day, as the Straw Hat Crew celebrate alongside the giant warriors who just helped them escape from Egghead Island last episode. The tone now feels light and energetic, showing a rare moment of peace before the story begins to shift.
However, the episode quickly expands beyond the current presence of the Straw Hats, reminding viewers just how much bigger the world has become. Far away, Bartolomeo (Showtaro Morikubo), who idolizes Luffy and the other Straw Hats, finds himself facing the consequences of disrespecting the Red-Haired Pirates in Luffy’s name while on their territory. Elsewhere, the villain Marshall D. Teach (Akio Ōtsuka), known by his nickname “Blackbeard,” reacts to the recent events that happened on his territory while he was gone during the Egghead Arc. By the end of the episode, the focus returns to the Straw Hats where it is revealed that the Thousand Sunny mysteriously disappeared while everyone was sleeping from partying, leaving Nami (Akemi Okamura) and half of the crew missing and setting up the central conflict for the next episode.
One of the biggest strengths of this episode is how it balances nostalgia with story progression. The callback to Luffy and Usopp from the Little Garden Arc promising to the giants Brogy (Tetsu Inada) and Dorry (Daisuke Gori) to visit their land in Episode 77 really showcases how long Elbaph has been teased and why it matters, especially for Usopp who has been looking to become a brave warrior like them. Moments like this make the journey feel earned, rewarding longtime fans who have followed the story for years while still being easy for newer viewers to understand.
Another standout aspect is how the episode reinforces the scale of the world. While the story of One Piece generally follows Luffy on his quest to find the fabled treasure and become “King of the Pirates”, there is a lot more to the world than the adventures he and his crew take to get there. Shifting the viewpoint from the Straw Hats to Bartolomeo and later Blackbeard helps viewers understand that there are a lot of major events happening at the same time even without the main characters being directly involved. Unlike other anime where most of the show follows the plot of the main character and those closest to them, this makes the world feel more alive and unpredictable, as different characters’ interactions continue to impact each other and eventually play a big role in future events of the story. Bartolomeo’s situation highlights how Luffy’s name now carries real weight compared to when he was just a regular pirate while Blackbeard’s capture of two well-loved characters raises the stakes for what is to come.
At the same time, the episode does a great job of setting up a sense of mystery. The sudden disappearance of the Thousand Sunny to Nami waking up in a strange place in different clothing adds an unexpected twist as the Elbaph journey begins. Instead of easing into the arc slowly, the story immediately introduces a sense of uncertainty and makes it clear to viewers that this will not be a simple adventure to the land Usopp desperately wants to visit.
If there is one criticism, it would be that the episode moves rather quickly between three different storylines. While this helps establish the scale of the world, some moments may feel brief as the focus shifts from one major event to another. This makes the viewer not have enough time to let it sink in what they just witnessed with Bartolomeo’s crew before then jumping into the plot twist with Blackbeard and then immediately jumping to the plot twist of the sudden disappearance of Nami and other Straw Hats. Despite this, the pacing allows the episode to cover a lot of ground and build anticipation for what comes next.
Overall, the first episode of the Elbaph Arc does a strong job of reintroducing viewers to the world of One Piece after a long break while also setting up new stakes and mysteries. By combining nostalgic comebacks, expanding storylines, and unexpected cliffhangers, the episode proves that the series continues to keep its audience invested after all this time. As the Straw Hats move closer to the legendary land, it is clear that the next adventure will be anything but predictable.
The first two episodes of the Elbaph Arc are available on Crunchyroll. For Netflix viewers, episode 1156 is already available with the next episode releasing on April 18.
